Latest reviews by Wes

(2016)
"Not a bad little event. Fills the winter gap nicely"
Overall
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I did the double, which is the 5-miler followed immediately by the 10-miler (that review to come shortly).

We'll get to that challenge in a moment, but first a quick word on the event management. They managed to keep spirits and energy high, and everyone was clearly having a great time! The expo and start/finish area were on the small side, but well organised and very easy ingress/egress.

The course itself is like many in this area: a mostly flat paved trail that runs parallel to a small creek and winds through some neighbourhoods and golf courses. What separates this one is the starting venue of Hudson Gardens, which is a quite pleasant place for the first 1-2km and as a place to finish. I would normally expand on what makes the -5-miler course different from the 10-miler course, but there is nearly no difference: you just go a little farther out along the same path.

If the distances weren't novel enough (5-miler and 10-miler), one can opt to do both back-to-back, which is what I did. I'm glad I did too, because I'm always looking to push myself. It totals up to about 24km, which for me isn't that big a deal. The challenge comes from finishing, medaling, and then starting again after you've rested and mentally completed your goal. That was *way* harder to restart than you would think. Great experience!

Between the pleasant venue, good organisation and additional challenge of doing a double, I'd say this one is, while a tad forgettable, a good way to fill the event schedule toward the end of winter.

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(2016)
"Doing both events as a double is a refreshing challenge!"
Overall
T-Shirts/SWAG
Aid Stations
Course Scenery
Expo Quality
Elevation Difficulty
Parking/Access
Race Management

I did the double, which is the 5-miler followed immediately by the 10-miler (see previous review).

We'll get to that challenge in a moment, but first a quick word on the event management. They managed to keep spirits and energy high, and everyone was clearly having a great time! The expo and start/finish area were on the small side, but well organised and very easy ingress/egress.

The course itself is like many in this area: a mostly flat paved trail that runs parallel to a small creek and winds through some neighbourhoods and golf courses. What separates this one is the starting venue of Hudson Gardens, which is a quite pleasant place for the first 1-2km and as a place to finish. I would normally expand on what makes the 10-miler course different from the 5-miler course, but there is nearly no difference: you just go a little farther out along the same path.

If the distances weren't novel enough (5-miler and 10-miler), one can opt to do both back-to-back, which is what I did. I'm glad I did too, because I'm always looking to push myself. It totals up to about 24km, which for me isn't that big a deal. The challenge comes from finishing, medaling, and then starting again after you've rested and mentally completed your goal. That was *way* harder to restart than you would think. Great experience!

Between the pleasant venue, good organisation and additional challenge of doing a double, I'd say this one is, while a tad forgettable, a good way to fill the event schedule toward the end of winter.

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(2016)
"Can't be bored along this course!"
Overall
T-Shirts/SWAG
Aid Stations
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Expo Quality
Elevation Difficulty
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Race Management

there's a lot to say here, but most can be found in a dozen other official and unofficial sources. My two cents on this 10K are coming from someone who just can't slow down and properly appreciate the run (believe me, I tried!).
You're basically running throughout the Disneyland Park and California Adventure Park with plenty of backstage sections. During this run, they pipe in Star Wars theme music along the entire course, with random Star Wars Character photo-ops and mile marker photo-ops, as well as random Star Wars touches to keep an eye out for. This, as a prequel-hardened Star Wars fan, pleases me.
The downside is that there will be a long queue for each photo-op, which I just couldn't make myself do (not with all those runners passing me en-masse). The second bummer is the newly-tightened costume restrictions, effectively killing my custom Jedi cosplay glory. I'm sure they had their reasons, but there shouldn't be an appreciable difference between a cape and a cloak for safety or security reasons. Sleeve prejudice I say!
But I digress...
Great expo, worth arriving the day before the event. Unlike what some have said, they don't run out of merch! A queue at the expo means good things: have patience.

I did this event as part of the Star Wars Rebel Challenge, which is this 10K followed by the Half the following day. My only complaint about this is I wish there was a another level of challenge which included the 5K the day before (a la. Goofy Challenge at WDW).

Lastly, the crowds. Apparently the first they did this Star Wars Marathon weekend in 2015, the crowds weren't too bad. This year, what with the confluence of the new Star Wars movie a month earlier, Star Wars Season of the Force event in Tomorrowland, and the Official Diamond Celebration filming over a 3-day weekend, this place was a mad house! My family and I took refuge in California Adventure for most of the time here, as there was literally nowhere to stand, let alone walk or play. It might not be that bad in 2017, but bear this in mind when signing up.

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(2016)
"Magical Start & Finish, with a healthy dose of LA in between"
Overall
T-Shirts/SWAG
Aid Stations
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There's a lot in common with the 10K (my review here: http://bit.ly/1V4Zf6V), but the biggest difference is where the course had to spread out to make 21km. In this case, the area directly south of Disneyland. Inside the parks it's all magic, then you run past nail salons, boarded up houses, McMansions and law firms of varying levels of distinction. I didn't mind this too much, but it's a lot less magical when you leave the parks and you're surrounded by the Real World. They did their best to keep the Star Wars theme throughout, mostly through recruiting cosplayers (like the 501st Stormtrooper Legion) to encourage near the aid stations. That all said, the course was well managed and they did their best. Also,nothing quite compares to running through he parks and backstage before sunrise, or that finish line!

In retrospect you're basically running throughout the Disneyland Park and California Adventure Park with plenty of backstage sections (apart from the aforementioned LA jaunt). During this run, they pipe in Star Wars theme music along the entire course, with random Star Wars Character photo-ops and mile marker photo-ops, as well as random Star Wars touches to keep an eye out for. This, as a prequel-hardened Star Wars fan, pleases me.
The downside is that there will be a long queue for each photo-op, which I just couldn't make myself do (not with all those runners passing me en-masse). The second bummer is the newly-tightened costume restrictions, effectively killing my custom Jedi cosplay glory. I'm sure they had their reasons, but there shouldn't be an appreciable difference between a cape and a cloak for safety or security reasons. Sleeve prejudice I say!
But I digress...
Great expo, worth arriving the day before the event. Unlike what some have said, they don't run out of merch! A queue at the expo means good things: have patience.

I did this event as part of the Star Wars Rebel Challenge, which is this 10K followed by the Half the following day. My only complaint about this is I wish there was a another level of challenge which included the 5K the day before (a la. Goofy Challenge at WDW).

Lastly, the crowds. Apparently the first they did this Star Wars Marathon weekend in 2015, the crowds weren't too bad. This year, what with the confluence of the new Star Wars movie a month earlier, Star Wars Season of the Force event in Tomorrowland, and the Official Diamond Celebration filming over a 3-day weekend, this place was a mad house! My family and I took refuge in California Adventure for most of the time here, as there was literally nowhere to stand, let alone walk or play. It might not be that bad in 2017, but bear this in mind when signing up.

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(2015)
"A decent little half for a December slot"
Overall
T-Shirts/SWAG
Aid Stations
Course Scenery
Expo Quality
Elevation Difficulty
Parking/Access
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The course is more-or-less forgettable if you live in Colorado and particularly in the Greater Denver Area: basic trails that are mostly paved and wind through some suburbs but have decent mountain views. That said, a Christmas-y one in December (a hard month to find long events around here) was a refreshing surprise! Not too over-the top with the Christmas themes, so pretty approachable for those of non-Christian faith, but be prepared for lots of santas, elves and reindeer costumes.

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