The Ladybug Run for CDH awareness is a fundraiser, a moment of remembrance for those kids who died from CDH (50% of children do not survive), a celebration for the CDH kids who do survive, a networking social for CDH families, a fun run, and a great way to spend a day.

Pretty much everything I said about last year applies to this year.

This was my second year running the Ladybug Run. I missed the early packet pickup due to work, and picked up my shirt and bag the day of the race. Volunteers kept the line moving quickly, and I had plenty of time to put my bag (a really nice drawstring from Athleta) and coupons in my car (day passes to Club Sport, gift card for Chick-fil-A), with my tee. This year's tee has a cute ladybug design on the front, with sponsors and essential facts about CDH on the back. Day-of registration was also available, subject to the race limit (which I assume has to do with the permit to use the park).

Pre-race, there was a program to remember those kids who lost their fight with CDH, and to celebrate those who lived. There was a ladybug release (yay, natural pest control!) and a ladybug costume contest.

The 5k and 10k have a combined start, with a separate start and course for the kids' race. There are no formal corrals, but the crowd is released in (unmarked) groups. People are pretty good about sorting themselves out. The 5k is one loop, and is stroller-friendly though there is a significant hill (it's paved). The 10k is the 5k plus another, different loop. It runs past the dog park, so naturally I had to stop and pet some dogs, and watch some of them playing.

We had gorgeous weather once again for the after-party. Sponsorships literally pay for everything, so 100% of your entry fee goes to CDH awareness. The after party featured live music, local beer and cider (2 pints each, but there was plenty for another round if you were so inclined), and a huge spread of food: grilled cheese, tomato soup, bananas, bagels, peanut butter, watermelon, coffee, hot cocoa, water, oranges, and more.

While there is beer and cider, this is a 100% family-friendly event. Plenty of kids were on the 5k route. Serious runners had a place up front (ribbons for age group awards). Medals for everyone.

I look forward to the 2019 event.

This race has two distances, 5k and 10k, plus a kids' race. The race is entirely staffed by volunteers from Clark Public Utilities, and the race entry fees go to Operation Warm Heart, a fund to help those experiencing economic hardship pay their utility bills. The fund specifically helps people who don't qualify for other programs, like government aid. Most heat in this area is electric, so having the power shut off in winter can be especially hard. One of the cool things about this race is that the entire race is run by Clark Public Utilities employees--there are no other volunteers--and 100% of the race entry fee goes to Operation Warmth. Everything else is donated by sponsors.

Registration is online or by mail. You can register online up until the day before the race, and on race day if you pay $10 more (regular entry for either 5k or 10k is $30). There are two pre-race packet pickups, but since I live in Portland and wanted to avoid the extra trip, I did day-of bib pickup. (This only works because many of the people who can pick up their bibs early do so and I am thankful they did!) In addition to the 5k, 10k, and kids' races, this race has adopted the highly successful Race for the Cure non-race option, "sleep in for warmth."

Parking is free and plentiful in the lots at Clark College, which is about two blocks away from the starting line at the Clark Public Utilities building. There was also parking at the library, and downtown street parking about three blocks away; you can also park at the public spaces on Fort Vancouver. The race is pretty low key (though I did see some obviously experienced and speedy runners) and access is really easy.

Both the 5k and 10k courses are a loop. The start/finish is in the parking lot in front of the Clark Public Utilities Building. The area had a bag/coat check, bib and shirt pickup, plentiful porta potties (including the nice ones that are a truck instead of a plastic shed), and booths for some of the race sponsors and local businesses. Post-race, this area had some snacks including grilled cheese sandwiches by Franz bakery, KIND bars, and peanut butter bagels. Since I don't live in Vancouver, I didn't check out the booths too carefully.

The kids race, which I did not see, takes place entirely in the area right around the Clark Public Utilities Building. The other courses use typical Vancouver race routes, with the 10k on an out-and-back across Fort Vancouver down to the river, running west to a turnaround point, and going back. There were two water stops on the 10k course (but you pass them twice, so it's 4 drinking opportunities). Most of the course was on sidewalks, though there were some street portions. There were plenty of volunteers at all turns and crossings, and the 5k/10k split was well-marked. (The bibs are all the same, not coded to 5k or 10k.) The 5k and 10k share the portion that crosses Fort Vancouver, at which time the 5k heads for a loop around downtown.

The field was a decent size, but not gigantic. The event was family-friendly, with participants of all ages, and kids in strollers. There were quite a few people with dogs despite the request that people leave their pets at home (this wasn't super obvious on the website, you had to click to the FAQ), but I didn't see people running with their dogs (and all of the dogs were very well-behaved). I started at the back of the 10k pack (walking with a friend who is on "no run" instructions from her PT) and found that people sorted themselves better than they do at larger races--strollers and dogs in the bag, fast people in the front. The 10k starts first, with a brief break before the 5k starts. The race is chip-timed with the type of chips that are metallic-looking and stuck to the back of the bibs.

While the race only has medals for the top finishers, I'm fine with that. (Hello, it's a charity race to help keep people warm in the winter. I don't need fancy stuff.) There were race shirts for all 5k and 10k participants; if your kid wanted a shirt, they had extras for sale for $10 (this is because the kids' race is free registration). Since I registered pretty late, I was offered one of last year's shirts (they had XS, S, XL, and XXL) which was fine with me since I like the design better. The first 1000 registrants also received a goody bag with stuff in it from the race sponsors. (No idea what all was in there, since I registered late, but I'm cool with that.)

The finisher party was across the street in the library parking lot, in two big tents. The first tent was a beer tent, with locally made beer called "Heart of the Couve." The second tent was the soup tent, sponsored by a farmer's market/produce market Chuck's something. There was a turkey soup and a vegetarian vegetable barley. I was happy for a warm bowl of soup at the end.

I would definitely run this race again. (Maybe even run next year.) It's a great cause, and the race was very well-organized and well-run.

Disclosure: I am a member of the Rock 'n' Blog team for 2017. In exchange for helping to promote the races, team members received free entries to the races. All opinions are my own, and race reviews are not required by Rock 'n' Blog.

This is my third year doing the 5k and half marathon "Remix Challenge." (Do both races, get a piece of bonus bling in the shape of a guitar with a spinning guitar pick!) Due to the recent mass shooting in Las Vegas, several aspects of the race weekend were altered at the last minute (well, within the weeks leading up to the race). Overall, I think the changes were positive, and improved the race weekend experience. In addition, I'm impressed at how quickly the big pieces were rearranged to accommodate the races and local security concerns.

Registration: The Las Vegas races are the most expensive in the Rock 'n' Roll series. I don’t remember what the pre-sale price was for 2017, but during the 2018 pre-sale, you can register for the marathon or the half marathon for $99. (The pre-sale race runs from just before the race weekend to I think a week afterwards.) If you miss pre-sale but want the best price, sign up at the Rock ‘n’ Roll site to be on the email list, and they will send you an email when registration opens. Otherwise, the price goes up rapidly. I do not know whether this race was available on Groupon, but sometimes Rock 'n' Roll races do show up on Groupon a few weeks beforehand. You could also register at the expo. Per Rock 'n' Roll series policy, you must pick up your own bib. (Long-time runners may recall that you used to be able to pick up friends' bibs with their ID, but those days are long over--and in the wake of the violence in Las Vegas, I doubt that would have been allowed anyway.) If you absolutely could not make the expo--which was the case for the people who ran at Disneyland in the morning and then flew in with just enough time to hit the race--race-day pickup was available for an additional fee. (Said fee is justified when the race is this huge. You really need people to pick up their bibs before race day.)

Expo: speaking of the Expo, I was really excited for this year! Las Vegas had one of the better expos, and it was by far the best of the seven 2017 Rock 'n' Roll Races I have run so far. Like the other Rock 'n' Roll expos, first you get your bib, then you pick up your shirt and gear check bag, and then you enter the Brooks (clothing sponsor) area with the Rock 'n' Roll specific Brooks gear (and Moving Comfort, and some other products), then you enter the expo proper. The usual suspects were all there (all the race's sponsors and series sponsors, like Geico and Toyota), but also a few new ones like Science in Sport (SiS), the new official gel of the Rock 'n' Roll series. SiS had the option to sign up for their mailing list to get a free gel, so you could try it out before race day. (Nothing new on race day!!) The expo had a few vendors with night-themed things like lights and visibility gear. There were also some rarely seen vendors like Sparkle Skirts, and a bunch of end-of-year clearance gear booths. I tried some new stuff, and managed to avoid the eye cream/face cream sales people that show up at every Las Vegas expo. (Fortunately they were not as obnoxious as the ones that showed up to the IDEA World conference expo in July! Why on earth do these people assume that people into fitness want to buy their overpriced anti-wrinkle creams?)

Starting line and course access: As I mentioned, the mass shooting required some changes to the race weekend. The old starting line had been down by Mandalay Bay, across from the concert venue. The new starting line was by New York New York, with the runner staging area around the arena. The race did everything possible to tell runners to expect it to take a long time to get to the starting line. The marathon and half start at the same place, and the 10k starts separately, with all three races sharing a finish line. In the years when I have taken the monorail, I left at least an hour for travel on the monorail, in addition to time before the race to meet with friends. (The monorail is awesome, but it's not designed for a Vegas weekend crowd plus 40,000 runners.) Patience is the key in getting around Vegas during this race weekend! This year I stayed at Planet Hollywood, so I was able to walk to the starting area. As with any high-security race, THE ONLY BAG allowed for gear check was the clear plastic one we got at packet pickup. Gear check was done by UPS, and all gear had to be on the trucks by a certain time. One nice thing about being outside the arena is that the electric sign on the arena had information regarding when the corrals opened and closed. The new starting are staged runners in a T shape, with three different sets of colored bibs.

In the waiting area Geico, one of the race sponsors, was doing spray-on airbrush “tattoos,” and the line was huge (but they seemed to be shuffling people through pretty quickly). There was a big We Run Social meetup, and other groups were clearly meeting up for photos. Security in the area was pretty high, and allegedly people without race bibs were not allowed in the area. The police had K9 units out, as well as some mounted police, and helicopter surveillance. My basic life philosophy is that living in fear is letting terrorists win—I was going to go to Vegas even if the city cancelled the races, because I don’t let “bad guys” boss me around. I heard that some people did cancel and ask for a refund, but the vast majority of runners seemed to be there. Also, the Rock ‘n’ Roll series sold soft tech shirts with #VegasStrong on them, and there were a ton of them out on the course.

Course: This the one and only (well, two or three if you count the marathon, half marathon, and 10k as different…but they share the course) #StripAtNight race. Even though the maps and such in the app were not changed when the course was, they were changed online, the changes were emailed to registered runners, and the information at the expo accurately reflected the course. I really liked the new course. Since we started about a mile up the strip, changing only the starting line would have added about a mile to the course. To compensate, a mile of the old course was removed—and it was the boring, dark, blah mile between the strip and Fremont Street! Hooray!! As a result, almost the entire half marathon was on the strip. This year, I stayed with the Rock ‘n’ Blog “Party at the Back of the Pack,” and aimed for an 18 minute mile (to finish in official course limit time of 4:00…though I ran over that…I blame the daquiri).
Bands and DJs entertained at key points. There were plenty of people cheering (especially when I stopped for a strawberry daquiri and then ran to catch up to my friend), as well as some friendly unofficial aid stations offering questionable hydration choices. (Wine from strangers? Wine-not?) Aid stations on the course had water and Gatorade. The gel stop had SiS gels, which don’t require any water with them. Instead of being thick and frosting-like (think Gu, Cliff Shots) or thin and watery (like Glukos, the prior official gel of the series), SiS gel has the consistency of super soft jello. I found it very easy to slurp down and with zero tummy upset—but always try stuff before you eat it on course during a race!

Post-race: the usual Rock 'n' Roll finish line celebration! Lights, flashing lights, a gymnast on a trapeze suspended by balloons, everyone’s favorite announcer (Ann is THE BEST), and a chute lined with cheering people, runners who have finished, and music! Post-race snacks included water, Gatorade, chocolate milk (with enough left for even the longer-than-4-hour half marathoners), pretzels, Pocki sticks (not kidding—they had pallets of them!), bananas (too brown for my taste), and Pringles. I never thought I’d like Pringles again (they are kind of weird), but after a race they are delicious! The entire chute from finish line through the “beer garden” (really just an area where you got your free beer) was about 0.4 mile, so most people took it slowly.

Outside the chute were a series of tents. The gear store had many of the same pre-race items at the expo, but also had some things I didn’t see at the expo, such as race shirts with everyone’s name on them. The lines at the Remix Challenge and Heavy Medals pickup booths both moved quickly.
Swag: This race has had pretty cool medals for the past few years, including a slot machine themed medal that had spinners and glowed in the dark. This year the marathon, half, and 10k medals had a larger frame, an interior spinning circle designed to look like a roulette wheel (but only with the numbers 5, 10, 26, and 13), and a center single die that was also a spinner. On the half marathon medal, the die has only 1 and 3 (instead of the numbers 1 to 6). The outline of the strip runs along the bottom of the medal. I think I have a new favorite series medal! The technical shirts, which you pick up at the expo, are Brooks, and the women's sizes run small (just like they do in every other Brooks style). I wear a size 12, and need an XL in the women's specific designs. If you are a larger body or have a bigger chest, you're much better off choosing a "unisex" (read: men's) size; those fit more like a traditional tee shirt. Unlike in years past when every race city had a unique design, this year most of the shirts had a semi-generic design (such as a guitar graphic that looked like a neon sign) with maybe a small add-on (like the outline of the strip at the bottom). I think it’s kind of disappointing, especially to people who ran multiple races and ended up with essentially the same shirt, but at least they aren’t all grey like they were in 2013! I did dock the swag a star because Las Vegas deserved much better shirts.

This is one of my favorite races just for the buzz and excitement that bringing this many runners together can cause. Every group has a meet-up. There are a ton of first time marathoners and half marathoners. I see people I only see once a year. I really hope they keep the course changes, as they made the course SO MUCH better than it has been in the past. If you don’t catch the pre-sale and want to do 3 Rock ‘n’ Roll races, the cheapest option will be the 2018 TourPass 3-pack.

Disclosure: I am a member of the Rock 'n' Blog team for 2017. In exchange for helping to promote the races, team members received free entries to the races. All opinions are my own, and race reviews are not required by Rock 'n' Blog.

This is my third year doing the 5k and half marathon "Remix Challenge." Due to the recent mass shooting in Las Vegas, several aspects of the race weekend were altered at the last minute (well, within the weeks leading up to the race). Overall, I think the changes were positive, and improved the race weekend experience. In addition, I'm impressed at how quickly the big pieces were rearranged to accommodate the races and local security concerns.

Registration: The 5k races for Rock 'n' Roll are among the more expensive, and the Las Vegas races are the most expensive in the Rock 'n' Roll series. In 2017, you could buy a 2018 5k entry for most races during the pre-sale period for $30. (The pre-sale race runs from just before the race weekend to I think a week afterwards.) Otherwise, the price goes up rapidly (I think up to $70). I do not know whether this 5k was available on Groupon, but sometimes Rock 'n' Roll races do show up on Groupon a few weeks beforehand. You could also register at the expo. Per Rock 'n' Roll series policy, you must pick up your own bib. (Long-time runners may recall that you used to be able to pick up friends' bibs with their ID, but those days are long over--and in the wake of the violence in Las Vegas, I doubt that would have been allowed anyway.)

Expo: speaking of the Expo, I was really excited for this year! Las Vegas had one of the better expos, and it was by far the best of the seven 2017 Rock 'n' Roll Races I have run so far. Like the other Rock 'n' Roll expos, first you get your bib, then you pick up your shirt and gear check bag, and then you enter the Brooks (clothing sponsor) area with the Rock 'n' Roll specific Brooks gear (and Moving Comfort, and some other products), then you enter the expo proper. The usual suspects were all there (all the race's sponsors and series sponsors, like Geico and Toyota), but also a few new ones like Science in Sport (SiS), the new official gel of the Rock 'n' Roll series. The expo had a few vendors with night-themed things like lights and visibility gear. There were also some rarely seen vendors like Sparkle Skirts, and a bunch of end-of-year clearance gear booths.

Starting line and course access: the race did everything possible to tell runners to expect it to take a long time to get to the starting line. In the years when I have taken the monorail, I left at least an hour for travel on the monorail, in addition to time before the race to meet with friends. (The monorail is awesome, but it's not designed for a Vegas weekend crowd plus 40,000 runners.) Patience is the key in getting around Vegas. This year I drove with a friend and we were running late. Even though we had been told at bib pickup, at bag pickup, over the PA system, via email, etc. that THE ONLY BAG for gear check MUST be the clear plastic one we got at packet pickup, a ton of people apparently still showed up with non-compliant bags. Seriously guys,there was just a major shooting--in the area where the Rock 'n' Roll concerts are usually held, just up the road!--and you don't follow directions? I'm not impressed. That said, since I arrived late (the race had already started) and wasn't carrying a bag or a pack, the security line went quickly--even with the hand-wand metal detectors. Being late meant we missed out on the glow sticks passed out by SLS, but Brooks was on hand giving out blue glowstick bracelets. We jogged over to the corrals after heading in the wrong direction (the finish line is now where the starting line used to be), and security looked at our bibs and ushered us into the corrals. We were not the only late arrivals.

Course: This is NOT the #StripAtNight race. This is the warm-up 5k/shake-out run. It doesn't go down the strip, and it never has. (The strip is shut down twice, exactly, per year: New Year's Eve, and the Rock 'n' Roll marathon/half-marathon/10k. Las Vegas isn't going to shut it down for a 5k.) Even though the maps and such in the app were not changed when the course was, they were changed online, the changes were emailed to registered runners, and the information at the expo accurately reflected the course. In years past, the majority of the course was within the Las Vegas Festival Grounds with just a little bit on the streets of Vegas; the part within the Festival Grounds had light-up stuff to make it more interesting. This year, the course was mostly outside of the Festival Grounds, with just the start and finish inside. It's not nearly as exciting as running on the strip, but it's no worse than most urban 5k races. There were aid stations with just water, and several DJ stations along the course.

Post-race: the usual 5k Rock 'n' Roll chute stuff like water, pretzels, bananas. Not exciting, but hey guys, it's a 5k--you don't need a giant buffet. The beer area was set off to one side and had, per usual, only the sponsor's beer, Michelob Ultra. I didn't care, since I don't like beer. In year past, there was DJ music post-race, and the main concert was on Sunday before the big races. This year, the concert was moved to Saturday after the 5k. This was great because it meant more rest time prior to the longer race. (It's hard to be on your feet for several hours and THEN run a race.) I loved the Goo Goo Dolls!! It was so great to see them in person, even if I couldn't stay for the whole thing.

Swag: pictures don't really do it justice, but I think the 5k medal is really nice. It's one of my favorite 5k medal designs. The technical shirts, which you pick up at the expo, are Brooks, and the women's sizes run small (just like they do in every other Brooks style). I wear a size 12, and need an XL in the women's specific designs. If you are a larger body or have a bigger chest, you're much better off choosing a "unisex" (read: men's) size; those fit more like a traditional tee shirt.

In general, I like that the Rock 'n' Roll series has 5k events at more of the race weekends. Lots of runners want the bigger race experience, but aren't ready for a half marathon yet. The timing was generous, and allowed a slowish walk, enabling more people to participate. While this race as a standalone is expensive, and the new 2018 TourPass scheme does not have an unlimited option (meaning you either register separately for the 5k at whatever the price is, or use one of your ten races in the ten pack--making the race price just under $70), it's a good destination option for those who want to come to Vegas but aren't up for the longer race distances. I suspect that participation will drop under the new 2018 TourPass scheme, as fewer TourPass holders will do the Remix Challenge (and since they won't be running, they won't be bringing along their new runner friends and family).

I had so much fun running in 2016 that I decided to come back! I also got a bigger group of friends to join us, most of whom were also running the Rock 'n' Roll half marathon.

This year the medal was even cooler (the sugar skull in the center had a jaw that swings back and forth) and the shirt was based on the same design as last year but with way more color on it. The Los Angeles Carerra de Los Muertos supports Olvera Street Merchants Association Foundation, a group dedicated to preserving cultural events on historic Olvera Street in Los Angeles. OSMA sponsors a nine day Dia de Los Muertos festival on Olvera Street which includes traditional performers, altars, face painting, a novenario procession, and more. A fun event that supports cultural preservation? YES, count me in!
As I noted in my review of 2016, there were approximately 4000 people pre-registered for the Los Angeles event, according to the last emails from the organizers. It had to be more than that this year—it was an impressive turn out—maybe even double.

Again, the race was VERY easily accessible via public transportation, as Union Station is just across the street from Olvera Street. (Several muni lines go to Union Station.) For a princely $1.75 I took the purple line in from Pershing Square, just a few blocks from my hotel, which took like 10 minutes maybe? It would have taken longer to get a car.

On-site packet pickup was handled a little differently from last year. Instead of being right in the center of the Olvera Street parklet, it was off to the side—and unfortunately there was some construction, and a staircase that made this location less than desirable. I also noticed that the vast majority of runners didn’t come to get their bib and shirt until JUST before the race. (I was there at 6:45 and there was zero line. I even took public transit, so there was pretty much no excuse for arriving late.) Honestly, when the race starts at 8 a.m., don't show up at 7:45 and expect a short line. At 8:00, which is when the race was supposed to start, people were still just arriving to the area. Also, a large number of people had neither printed the confirmation nor pulled up the confirmation email, which slowed things down A LOT. The race assigns bibs on race day—scan the QR code on your confirmation, scan the QR on the bib, done—so all of the lines move faster. (This is the same process the Nike Women's races used to use, and for a pre-race pickup it is much more efficient than pre-assigned bib numbers that require you to get in a specific sub-line where your number is.)

The Carerra caters largely to the "fun run" crowd, though runners who wanted timing could add it for $5 during online registration or at the race. I don't know how many people chose this option. Bag check was in a better, less congested area this year, which was nice. The event organizers strongly discouraged checking a bag but sometimes it is unavoidable—two of my friends flew in from Alaska, and they came to the race straight from the airport! I had my sling bag so we could go from the race directly to brunch.

Olvera Street has a large central plaza with a parklet and a gazebo in the center. As it was last year, the race was set up off to one side (in the street, not the parklet). Again the stage had pre-race entertainment, including a mariachi band and a Zumba fitness warmup for the runners, and some fantastic Dia de Los Muertos statues and art. Face painting was $10 and very popular though obviously it wasn't possible to paint everyone’s face; the artists actually did individualized designs for each person, so it took some time to get through the line, but the results were beautiful. Many people painted their own faces prior to arrival, which meant they could guarantee makeup and match their outfits. This year I saw a similarly great parade of Dia de Los Muertos themed clothing and accessories, including a “Dia de Los Dodgers” shirt (since they are playing in the World Series). There were a lot of cool DIY outfits, or runner accessories like a crown of marigolds on a run visor (you get the color and the fun, but don’t melt it with forehead sweat).

Speaking of serious runners, even though this event was targeted to the entire community, serious runners were well taken care of by the race. (I saw them zoom by with an escort on the way back.) The pre-race announcer encouraged everyone to let the runners to the front of the corral, and for the most part everyone cooperated. I managed to start mid-corral this time, putting me by the finish line backdrop since the start and finish use the same chute. Everyone received a finisher medal, there were medals for the top three places in each division, and really cute painted clay sugar skull trophies for the top three men and women. This year I learned the overall awards are custom done by a local artist, and no two are ever alike.

Walkers and shufflers were also plenty welcome, and I again loved seeing entire families out there engaging in healthy activity. (One of the nice things about not automatically timing everyone is that it keeps the cost down for the runners who don't care about timing, which makes it more affordable for families.) Every body type was represented, from athletic-cut to super curvy, as was every fitness level (from "I do 5ks in my sleep" to "5 whole k is a LONG way to walk"). There were also a lot of kids! I saw several women running and walking with babies strapped to them in carriers, and parents pushing babies in strollers.

The course itself was the same as 2016: an out-and-back that went from Olvera Street through China Town and over a street overpass above the Los Angeles river before turning back on itself. There were several dance groups and a mariachi band providing on-course entertainment, as well as a few water stations. Several people reported the course was a bit shorter than 5k, but this could be due to the GPS situation (as one, when everyone in the same area tries to connect at the same time it becomes an issue, and two, GPS is only accurate to +/- 60’ at any given measurement point). This is a part of town I have never had any reason to see before I first ran this race.

This year the finisher chute had bottled water, clementines, and some other snacks. Sponsor/vendor booths included Clif Bar (with free nut-butter-filled bars), Topo Chico, the LA soccer team (with a soccer activity for kids), the local power company (free sweat towels), Coca-Cola (free drawstring bags and tastings), a radio station, and a few others. You could buy a button or postcard to support Olvera Street Merchants and see the prizes up by the gazebo.

Also up in the parklet, around the gazebo, were several Dia de Los Muertos altars, including a smaller one where runners could contribute photos or ofrendas. This year they added a big banner all the runners could sign in memory of a loved one, which I thought was pretty cool (since not all of us backed pictures). There were race-backdrops for photo ops (with long lines though). Musicians and dancers performed on the gazebo after the race, and some of the Olvera Street shops and restaurants opened for business.

Overall, I thought this race was very well done in terms of management. While the race started 30 minutes late, I mainly blame the packet-pick-up (and I put a lot of that blame on runners arriving at the 11th hour--honestly, it was a ghost-town at 7). The race was fun, the swag was cute. The location was perfect--both appropriate culturally (Olvera Street) and for transit access. I don't travel for 5k races, but if Rock 'n' Roll LA is the same weekend as Carrera de Los Muertos in 2018, I will definitely run it a third time, and recruit even more runners.