I have been trying to run a Vacation Races race since before the pandemic. I think I have deferred either voluntarily or due to COVID for 3-4 different races. Oops.

I drove up to Yosemite on Friday before the race and found the expo with no issues at Bass Lake. I lucked out that my hotel was one of the shuttle stops so other than the 3AM wake up call, race morning was easy. Note- if you get car sick- keep your eyes closed on the shuttle.
It dropped us off at the start in the cold, dark woods. The announcers were trying to keep everyone’s spirits up and there were plenty of porta-potties.

This race did something very smart- they started the slower runners and walkers first. I’ve always wondered why other races don’t do that.

The first 5 miles are on a nice dirt road winding through the forest. I was in runner's heaven. Around mile 3ish, you start downhill and the next 7 miles are mostly downhill. I was loving the downhill and all the views but knew I was probably going to pay for this fun. And I did- miles 10-13 were mostly flat with a few rollers around Bass Lake to the finish but the rollers felt huge. And I like hills.
The end brings you back into Bass Lake for a gorgeous finish line. The volunteers hand you an awesome medal and box filled with goody’s. Yay!

The only nightmare was the shuttle home. Our driver got horribly lost, 7 miles turned into over an hour and I am not sure if they ever figured it out because I hopped out at a stopping point and was going to walk back, ha!

But, I would definitely run this race again.