The emcee at the start was fantastic. He had people cha-cha-ing before the race/walk began. There was coffee available at the start, a very nice touch on a chilly morning. Only two porta-potties available but the line moved fairly quickly. It was a smaller event, probably 500 or less. Also, there were so many volunteers and zoo employees in animal costumes it felt like Disney!

It's a looped course on the fairly flat pavement in the first section of the zoo.
Unfortunately, it is rather early and was chilly, so many of the animals were not out in their exhibit as I ran by. However, you have access to the rest of the park that day so as soon as you rest up after you finish, you can go enjoy the zoo with the family.

This event is not professionally timed, so there's no pressure to PR or to hurry and finish. There were more walkers than runners. Tons of families. The course was also extremely well marked. Signs were the largest I've seen for races and I was able to read them far in advance before I needed them. And even though it was only a 5k run/walk and 1k walk, there were at least 2-3 aide stations out on the course.

After the finish, there was a "finish line" party with everything you could think of... including coffee! There was a local bakery offering brownies and mint chocolate chip fudge bars... I'll admit I had two. For all the kids, there was a hula hoop contest, a bouncy house... really an awesome family-friendly event.

Want to introduce your family to a healthy lifestyle and have a fantastic trip to the zoo at the same time? This is the event to put on your calendar!

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