There are always a number of race options for the Saint Patrick’s Day weekend, and with so many great races, it can be hard to decide. My wife and I opted for the Shamrock’n Half-Marathon in Sacramento because we were visiting family in nearby Davis. This turned out to be an excellent decision.

For a Sacramento native, this race will make you proud of your city. The course starts and finishes at Raley Field, home of the Sacramento RiverCats, and traverses several of the iconic spots throughout the city.

The race starts by crossing the beautiful Tower Bridge and a drop into Old Sacramento, a brief tour of the cobblestone-covered riverfront, and back up onto the bike trail along the Sacramento River. There was minimal viewing of the river due to fog, but that ended up being a good thing since it kept us cool throughout the first half of the race. There were plenty of surprises that popped up in the fog, from live bands to enthusiastic volunteers at aid stations. There were also restroom stops every 2-3 miles.

After a brief out-and-back on the Marina View trail, we worked our way into downtown Sacramento near Land Park, eventually running through a crowd of screaming and cheering children as we passed the factory for Blue Diamond, the premier sponsor of the race and a local company in Sacramento. This was around the tenth mile, which was a spectacular boost of energy and inspiration for us to keep up our pace, and easily one of the highlights of the race.

The final part of the race took us back to the Sacramento River and back across the iconic Tower Bridge. A challenging aspect of the race is coming so close to the finish line at Raley Field, then being diverted north to circle the Ziggurat building and return along 3rd Street. However, the finish is worth the wait, as you get to enter the field itself from the outfield fence, run along the warning path of center and right field, and finish along the first-base line to celebrate with your friends and family in the stadium.

There were complimentary pictures (why don’t all races offer this by now?) and video available immediately, and possibly the coolest medal we have ever earned. You can see the medal in the attached picture, and understand why we will definitely be back to run this again!

For more information on this race and other races (of all different lengths) throughout the country you can follow us on Instagram @runbutte and see for yourself!