This was one of my best race experiences this year. Part of it was that I had a good run, part of it was the laid-back race itself.

A friend of mine was an ambassador for this race, so I thought I'd go run it. It turns out this is a relatively small race (no corrals, no wave start--neither was necessary) but a really excellent one. Personally, I would find it worth travelling for this low-key, friendly race and would likely go back in 2017.

Packet pickup is held at the running store. I didn't attend, because you were allowed to have someone else get your packet if you'd like. (I know a lot of races don't allow that now, but I appreciated it.) Race swag consisted of a very soft cotton t-shirt with vintage-inspired/retro race design. Personally, I love it. All runners also got a knit hat suitable for winter wear in real winter (which Scottsdale doesn't have, even if it does get chilly at night). It's nice to get a packet that isn't overstuffed with race ads and knick-knacks. Many people, including the friend I convinced to join me, picked up their packets on race day. There was pretty much no line, and there was a small army of volunteers ready to get everything to you quickly. Gear check was right across the street, which also made it easy to check your shirt and hat if you picked up on race day.

Parking was easy, as there were multiple large parking lots and structures nearby. Free parking is always a bonus! It seemed like everyone parked within a few blocks of the start,

The course was pretty flat, and while it was chilly when we started it warmed up during the course of the run. The race course is essentially a giant rectangle, down one main road (only partially closed, but there was plenty of room for runners), turn right, turn right, run through a park/golf course, run through a little bit of residential, and then turn right back to the finish (which was maybe a dozen yards from the start). This was my first visit to Scottsdale, which I only associated with golf courses, so I thought it was fun that the course did run around the edge of a golf course.

There were pace group leaders all the way to a 3:00 finish, which I thought was pretty cool. I wasn't out to nail this course, but until I developed a weird blister bad enough to make me not want to run much, I was on my way to a PR using a run/walk. Each intersection had police and volunteers to keep the runners safe, and everyone was very upbeat. The aid stations were well-stocked and had enthusiastic volunteers (I'm sure you've seen the races where all the volunteers are watching their phones with one hand--this was NOT that).

I was among the last dozen runners to finish the race, and was still greeted with fanfare and hoopla (and a medal) at the finish line. The medals are large and colorful, with the premium fat ribbon. When I finished it was sunny and gorgeous outside. There were a variety of tents for vendors, sponsors, etc. and I know some had snacks, but i pretty much ignored most of that and made a beeline to the mimosa garden!

The mimosa garden was a fenced off area (you know, state laws about alcohol and all) with some shade and some tall tables (so you could stand, or lounge on the grass). There were multiple kinds of sparkling wine, including a pink, and orange juice. Everyone seemed to be enjoying themselves.

If you're looking for a low-key race with useful swag, a flat and fast course, and a great after-race atmosphere, I recommend this one.

This is my first year running this race, and I did a few things totally wrong.... First, I didn't account for extra traffic headed to San Jose because I didn't know about the Christmas In The Park event (which is apparently A Thing, has been for years). Second, I didn't account for the time it would take me to walk from Convention Center parking to the packet pickup (hey, it looked all small on the map!). Third, I didn't think about planning time to put on the Santa suit (for $7, I wanted to do the race in a Santa suit!). Finally, I should have planned to go early--packet pickup started two hours before the race--and drink coffee while waiting. Despite being the very last person to pick up a packet, and crossing the starting line as they were literally dismantling it, I had A BLAST!! (I was not the only person crossing the starting line at that time. Also, I did not finish last.)

The race is a fun, family-friendly event, and costumes are encouraged. There was a costume contest and while I may have opinions that differ from the judges, and some of the best costumes didn't enter (I'm looking at you, Krampus!) it was fun to see so many people in various holiday outfits. There was Hanukkah, complete with a menorah hat; storm trooper Santa (red sparkling armor); Darth-Claus (with a Christmas tree on the tip of the light sabre!); Santa riding a reindeer; Santa riding a unicorn; T-Rex Santa; sleighs; and a variety of other randomness. There were multiple dogs with costumes, including one dressed up like Max, the Grinch's dog.

The course was familiar to me because it runs along some of the same area as the last stretch of the Rock 'n' Roll San Jose half marathon. (I don't know any of the street names, I don't live there. Sorry.) The course is sufficiently flat that it was fine for all sorts of strollers, wheelchairs, and other mobility aids, but it isn't flat. There are a few hillier areas, such as the crossing that goes underneath the railroad tracks. A small part of it runs around a few blocks in a residential area, and several of the residents were outside cheering on the runners. The finish line is right alongside Christmas In The Park, and the inflatable had snow! Okay, I'm sure it was shaved ice because the gorgeous running weather (mid-50s) was way too hot for snow. Still, it was a really fun touch, and I was surprised so it was delightful!

There was one water station just at mile 2. While I could have used a little water before then, I also ran an extra mile around the parking garage and to the race start, so there's that. The water station was well-stocked and staffed. Also on course were several organized cheer stations, complete with cheer stations.

The race shirt is CUTE! The long sleeves are peppermint-striped like a candy cane, and the main body of the shirt is red and printed to look like an ugly Christmas sweater. The race uses an electronic gift bag (which I kind of appreciated because I'd likely recycle all the paper), so the only pre-race swag is the shirt and bib. You can pre-order a santa suit (pants, jacket, belt, beard, hat) for $7. At that price it isn't super high quality, but it will last for at least a few runs (and I may use mine to make a pattern for another santa suit). Everyone got a finisher medal, which I thought was a nice touch. It's a cute design, goes with the shirt, and has a fat designer ribbon on it.

Post-race eats included water, chocolate milk, cookies (cookies!!), and samples of Noosa. There were also a variety of treats for sale at Christmas In The Park (popcorn, kettle corn, hot chocolate, etc.) That celebration had a bunch of little shops, life-size dioramas, a Nativity scene, fir trees decorated by various groups, music, rides, and activities. It was a bit crowded when all the runners were milling about, but still a cool finish line.

Overall, I had a really, really fun time at this race. I wasn't there for a PR, but I saw plenty of faster types who could have been (as they passed me on the out and back). Even if you don't have a family or kids, this is still a fun event for a group of friends, or even a solo runner.

It's strange to be in a college town on a holiday; not only is the parking plentiful, it is FREE! Yes, FREE. FREE on the streets at metered spaces, and FREE in the parking garages. I parked at the Maynard Street garage (where the usually off-limits spaces are also fair game on holidays) and was within 3 minutes' walk of the registration.

The Ann Arbor Turkey Trot offers pre-race-day packet pickup, but I hadn't even pre-registered, so I couldn't take advantage of it. Race day packet pickup never seemed to have a long line, and there were plenty of volunteers doling out shirts and bibs and safety pins. Race day registration is available (cash, check, card) on-site, with the understanding that there are limited sizes available for the race shirts. (There were no medium, but plenty in every other size.) I showed up about an hour before the start of the race and had plenty of time to register, walk back to my car with the shirt, and attach my bib before anything happened. A separate table had a stack of forms and pens, and the line ahead of me had maybe 2 people in it. The registration was quick and painless, and there was a giant bank of porta potties nearby. Pro tip: the only thing open before the race start was a nearby Starbucks, so plan ahead if you want/need coffee!

People started to gather in force about 45 minutes before the start of the 5k turkey trot, and that's when the announcements and music began too. I used most of the pre-race time to look around what used to be a very familiar section of Ann Arbor and see what had changed since my last law school reunion. (Answer: LOTS.) The starting are was flanked with two giant inflatable turkeys as well as the start/finish arch.

First, there was a costume contest and some people took it very, very seriously! The categories included individual, ugly sweater, group, and kids. The winning group was dressed like parts of Thanksgiving dinner (broccoli, carrot, drumstick, etc.) and their costumes were made entirely of balloons! There were tons of silly hats and shirts on people of all ages. (As one teen boy near me said, "I love this race! It's an excuse to act like a doofus for three miles!") Costume contest winners were awarded trophies. Pro tip: if you want good pictures of the costumes, you need to stake out a spot early.

Next came the kids' race. This was a 1k Tot Trot (for kids under 10) with plenty of participation; adults registered for the race could run with their kids. I thought it was cute that every kid's bib had number 1 on it. (The kids' race is not timed, I think.) Kids also got a race shirt and the post-race goodies. Some of them then turned around and did the 5k with family (a few took a stroller ride, one or two went on piggyback, but many ran/walked). I didn't watch the kids' race because I was making my way to a more appropriate place in the corral for the 5k.

The 5k has a mass start, (The 5k is timed, with the foam covered timing chips that stick to the back of your bib.) According to the announcer there were over 3,000 people registered for the 2016 run. Given the number of participants (and strollers and large costumes), overall I think people did a pretty good job with self-seeding. The first half mile was rather crowded, but it eventually spread out significantly pretty quickly. There were runners and walkers of every level, from super competitive athlete to "I'm just here for the cookies."

The course is an out-and-back starting on East Liberty, heading down Main Street, curving around The Big House (that's the football stadium to the rest of you), doing a loopy thing through part of the neighborhoods, and then returning back up Main to East Liberty. It isn't 100% flat, but the hills are very gradual; the main uphill is on the way out, making the finish a nice downhill. There was one water stop about half way through the race, which was plenty for a 5k. While it was about 38 degrees when we started, it warmed up a little during the race; we had some sprinkles, not actual rain, so I was glad I had dressed in layers. (I took off my gloves, wool BUFF, and fleece running beanie during the race, but put them right back on when I was done.)

The finisher chute is not blocked off from the crowd (it is right at the finish line, but not through the water/snacks) but is fairly well organized. There were no massive traffic jams, and everyone was pretty nice. Each runner received a cute turkey medal on a thick ribbon with race-specific graphics. Post-race treats included bottled water, bananas, chocolate chip cookies, hot cocoa (perfect for dunking the cookies), coffee (with optional cream, sugar, etc.), and some boutique energy truffles. There was more than enugh for everyone, and I think we each could have eaten multiple bananas and cookies.

Awards included top overall male and female, and 5 places deep in each of 5 age divisions. I didn't watch the entire awards ceremony, but I did see that turkeys and pies were awarded along with the trophies. Liberty Plaza, the site of the awards ceremony, also had an inflatable Santa house, complete with a real bearded Santa outside for photo ops with the kids.

The t-shirts were long-sleeved heavier cotton shirts (Gildan) with the race design on them, available in unisex sizes only for adults. The kids got shirts in kids' sizes. Personally I find it very cute and do plan to wear it again.

Overall, this was a super easy, friendly, low-key Turkey Trot. I liked the course--who doesn't love a downhill finish?--and the atmosphere, and would definitely do this race again.

As I wrote in my blog post, this is a gorgeous little race! I'm surprised it isn't bigger, but since no one has heard of it--seriously, when I checked into my hotel and asked for a late checkout because of the race the hotel staff said, "oh, there's a race this weekend? What race?"--I thought the race was relatively new, like just a few years old. (I hadn't heard of it before, and I live within driving distance.) I found out after the race that this year was actually the 21st anniversary of City to the Sea! The race benefits the local junior college track and field, which I thought was pretty cool. This year there were fewer than 2000 runners in the half marathon, according to the race results.

There is also a 5k race (it starts at a different location) if you'd like to have a race-cation and run a little less. I didn't look to see how many runners it had, but I'm betting it was reasonably small. Maybe a good course to try to win if you're a fast person?

Overall: 4 stars
The course was great, the shirt was cute (if tiny), the volunteers were the best! (I give the aid stations and the volunteers a 5+!) There were plenty of pre-race emails with information about what to see and do in the area, and leading up to race day there were emails with race-specific instructions about packet-pickup, etc. Transportation back to the start was smooth. The race had a few bumps that i would expect of a newer race, which is the only reason I'm not giving it 5 stars.

Packet pickup/Expo
The actual packet pickup was definitely a 5+. Race volunteers helped me out quickly and were very friendly. Since I had some traffic issues on the way down from Oakland I missed most of the expo, so I don't think it's fair for me to rate it. Running Warehouse had plenty of staff on hand to help with last-minute purchased, and there were specials on running shoes (many brands/sizes!). Everyone was really helpful.

T-shirts/swag: 4 stars
The medal is big and on a nice ribbon, though the design is a little boring (it is the race logo). I don't know whether using the logo is a tradition though, in which case I'd probably find it really cool. The shirts are cute, but many of the female runners won't get to wear them (see recommendations). There were stickers and pint-cups for all runners at the end, which was cool. You could use the cup for beer (I didn't, but others did!). I particularly liked that I didn't get a bag or a bunch of paper--I've got lots of bags, and since I'm not local, all of those race flyers would have been wasted on me (not to mention recycled).

Aid stations: 5+++
The volunteers at every part of the course were awesome. Anywhere there was any chance you might go the wrong way, there were at least two people to tell you not to go that way. If you got lost, it's because you worked hard to get lost! Aid stations were well-stocked, even for us back-to-end-of-the-parade people; water and electrolytes (the brand is Fluid--I thought it just meant "fluid stop" but it turns out that's the brand name), plenty of cups, and I forget which nutrition product was out there but there was plenty left for me when I got there.

Course scenery: 5
Apparently fall/winter is the time of year to visit San Luis Obispo. (We got gorgeous running weather, which I know isn't part of the scenery or under the race director's control, but it is worth mentioning.) I'd never been there, so running through part of town was cool. Sure, part of the race was alongside the highway, but I barely noticed, and any possible negative points for that (seriously, didn't notice, and there was lots of green and hills to look at) were more than balanced out by the miles through the park, and the last few miles where you could see the ocean. GORGEOUS. I don't get to do many point-to-point courses, so I enjoyed that as well. Once I hit the last miles through the town area, I switched to the sidewalk. There was some road resurfacing (I think) and the road was a little more uneven than my wimpy ankle could handle. The sidewalks were plenty wide and very even, so that was a plus. I also liked running through the neighborhoods, many of which had Halloween decorations up.

The race finishes in a park. It's ocean-side, but the ocean is many, many feet straight down (so don't get any post-race beach swimming ideas). The finish area had some vendors, but not a ton. I did get to check out LuLaRoe and Fluid (they make a recovery drink that I tried that was delicious!). Other booths included massage, the Cuesta College track and field, and probably a half dozen others. There was a sports recovery and massage place that also had a giant kiddie pool (the deep kind) filled with ice water! I wasn't brave enough for that, but I did take the opportunity to rest in a lounge chair. The beer garden had an 80's cover band that was really quite good. There was a Cuban food truck and a coffee truck. The park itself has a built-in playground-type area with dinosaur themed equipment, and nearby there was a kids' race area for the kids to compete against each other--pretend fire to jump over, hoops to jump through, etc.--the kids seemed to be eating it up!

Elevation: 3ish
In terms of elevation, do look at the elevation posted on the race website. It's not difficult, but I marked it a 3 because there are definitely hills--and they aren't little tiny ones. There is a nice long stretch of downhill, but if you don't run downhill that can be challenging too. Basically, I live on a flat piece of the world, so anything hilly gets a bump up in the "challenging" rating. For reference, this course was nowhere near as hilly as Tiburon Half Marathon, or Rock 'n' Roll San Francisco.

Parking/Access: 4 stars
Since it is a point-to-point course, you park at the start and take a shuttle to the finish. I can't give it a 5 because the directions in the email and on the race website both said to exit Marsh Street to get to the parking garage, but that exit was closed to traffic. In the end it wasn't that big a deal as I found on-street parking (free until 1 p.m. and right near the race start) but I had a moment of panic on my way in!

Recommendations for future races:

Advertise! Get on social media! This race should easily have 6000 or more runners, every year, with plenty of return participants. The course lends itself well to Snap and Instagram, but even jumping into a few twitter chats here and there, or posting invites in runners groups on facebook would help get the word out. I "liked" the event page but never saw any of the content come up in my facebook feed, which is just a testament to how much facebook loves to mess with the algorithm.

For email, I would differentiate pre-race communications for those who are registered and those who are not. I mistakenly thought I had registered in advance (oops!) and a friend of mine thought she was also registered due to the emails about what to expect on race day. (She couldn't run, so she wasn't disappointed when she found out she wasn't registered.) The race definitely needs an A/B list for email to encourage past runners to return while also getting race-day details to current runners.

Third, have a woman order the shirts for the women. There wasn't any indication in the pre-race materials or on the website that the shirts would run small. The instant I saw the brand on the tag, I knew it was going to be small. Even the XL is tight on me (I wear a 12, I'm not extra-large). There were no XXL or XXXL shirts. I suspect a lot of women just didn't take a shirt, as there were a ton of XS and S sizes left.

Finally, the post-race food needs serious improvement. I didn't get a burrito, and I probably could have dealt with that and gotten over it, but when I got on the bus to head back to the start I found out that literally half of the people on my bus did not get a burrito. Not cool. I thought I had missed the burritos because I have a bum ankle and took more than 3 hours to finish, but the majority of the people on my bus who didn't get a burrito finished well within the 3 hour time limit. Ordinarily I would not make such a big deal about a burrito, but there was literally no other post-race food (no bagels, no bananas, etc.) Runners were left with two options: buy food from the Cuban food truck (which I am sure was lovely, but there wasn't anything vegetarian on the menu) or wait until returning to the start.