What a fun Fourth of July race! I missed the "expo"/bib pickup because I completely forgot about it over the holiday weekend, but it seemed most people chose to pick up their packets the morning of anyways. They did allow race day registration, but they only allow 1,000 runners combined between the 10k and the 5k - so as the race gets more popular, race day registration will likely not be possible.

Parking was easy, Costco was a block away and closed for the Fourth of July so everyone was told to park there. I got there pretty early, so I'm not sure how much the lot filled up.

The shirt is nice, cotton so probably nothing I'd wear running. The goodie bag came with a snack, coconut water, chapstick, and a coupon for free popsicles. The same popsicles were handed out as we crossed the finish line, which I was really excited about. There was also a free pancake breakfast offered for runners before and after the race, but I'm not a huge fan of pancakes and I definitely can't eat them before I run. There were free 5 minute massages offered after the race, but I didn't get one.

Probably the best part about the event was the announcer. He was hilarious, decked out in American flag clothes, and British!

Santa Cruz has great weather for morning runs. It was foggy and overcast, so a little chilly waiting around for the race to start. But it feels great once you start running. The 5k is mostly flat, a few gradual inclines. There were no water stations along the 5k route, so I can't comment on those (although it made me rate them). Medals are only given to the top 3 males and females in each age group.

It didn't look like there was a starting timer, and when you look at the results online everyone's race time is the same as their gun time. When they first posted the results, there was actually an error that showed all race times as 6 minutes off, but they re-posted the results with correct information.

Overall, it was a really fun race and I definitely plan to come back next year! Maybe I'll try the 10k.