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Latest reviews by Dana
Dana recommends this race
(2015)
"Scale some hills above LA"
Overall
T-Shirts/SWAG
Aid Stations
Course Scenery
Expo Quality
Elevation Difficulty
Parking/Access
Race Management
Note: I tagged this race as a trail race, but really it's a hybrid trail and road. It takes place in Elysian Park, and maybe 1/3 of the race is on asphalt; the rest is on dirt, grass, or gravel trails.
Overall:
I've run this race twice, in 2015 and 2013. It's a fun, chill race, and both times it was a great way to spend a morning. The registration fee is quite steep ($45) if you don't register way in advance. I'd definitely run it again in the future.
Pre-race:
Parking is pretty straightforward, and free! Both times I got there early enough to get a spot pretty close to the start/finish, but there seems to be plenty of parking nearby on the grounds of Elysian Park. There are also real bathrooms in the park, which is a bonus! There is packet pickup the day before at a local running store, but I've only ever gotten my bib the morning of. It's a pretty small race, and well organized, so I didn't have any hassle getting my packet then. Plenty of room on the trails and in the park to warm up.
Race:
Bright and early start at 8am. Chip timed. Out-and-back course that loops around a bit and involves a steep climb up some dirt switchbacks. Definitely challenging, but the views are amazing and totally worth it... at least that's how I feel now that I'm not currently running up those hills! Be sure to keep an eye out for ankle-breaker holes on the dirt trails.
Swag:
A cotton t-shirt and a fun, sparkly Rudolph medal. In 2013 the shirts were tech tees.
Aid stations:
I was upset in 2013 that there was no water stop, and was a little peeved that it was the same in 2015. However, looking through pictures after the race, I noticed there *was* a water stop at about the 2.5 mile mark - a little table with cups that might have been water or Gu hydration mix, or possibly both (there was a vendor offering the Gu drink before and after the race). The water stop wasn't advertised, and when I walked right by it I didn't even notice it, but it was there. Also, there was no first aid station to be found... I was looking for ice after the race and couldn't find any. I'm assuming the race officials had something in terms of first aid, and I would have looked harder had I been having an emergency, but whatever might have been there was not easily found.
Course scenery:
Breath-taking, IMO. The race starts and finishes at the top of a hill; on one side is downtown LA and Dodger Stadium, and on the other is mountain ranges (Mount Washington? Highland Park? My LA geography is mostly non-existent) with houses sprinkled on top. Absolutely beautiful on a clear day, or once the smog clears.
Post-race:
Volunteers hand you a medal as soon as you cross the finish, and there's plenty of water mere steps away. Several vendors are by the finish line, too, with free yogurt and protein drinks, as well as information about the charities the run supports. Around 9 or 9:15 bib numbers are called for raffle prizes, and then race awards are given out. It's all very low-key.
Room for Improvement:
It would be nice if more attention was called to the water stop... maybe if volunteers were calling out "water" or if there were signs? The price is a bit steep too, especially for a race with cotton t-shirts, but I don't know how much it costs to host races in the park, pull permits, etc., and the race benefits a few charities, so it's hard for me to complain. Next time I won't wait til the night before to register!
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Dana recommends this race
(2015)
"A fun community event"
Overall
T-Shirts/SWAG
Aid Stations
Course Scenery
Expo Quality
Elevation Difficulty
Parking/Access
Race Management
Overall:
I love this race. I ran it in both 2014 and 2015, and hope to run it for years to come! It's a real community event, held in memory of the 6 Worcester firefighters who died in the line of duty in 1999 (it's been held every year since 2000). Most of the volunteers on the course are firefighters, and most spend the race applauding, thanking, and high-fiving runners. It's great motivation!
Pre-race:
Plenty of parking in nearby WPI garage and on side streets. On-site bib pickup is quick and easy; numbers are emailed to runners beforehand. I've never been able to pick up my bib before race day, so I'm not sure how it compares. A handful of porta-potties are on hand at Institute Park - not a lot, but the lines generally move quickly.
Race:
Mid-June with an 11:30am start time = traditionally hot race. Not much shade (if any) on the course, which winds through downtown. There is one glorious part where the course dips under a bridge into lovely, cool shadow, which is always welcome for me! In 2015 there were just over 1100 runners, and for a mid- to back-of-the-pack runner like me, the course is never too crowded. Ends with a gradual uphill, but otherwise relatively flat (76 ft gain).
Swag:
The race shirts both years I ran were tech t-shirts with cool graphics. However, both years the sizes ran very large. If I didn't swim in the shirts, I'd wear them all the time!
Aid stations:
Two stations serving water. For past races, local high school and roller derby teams staff the tables and have been great! The water is always quite warm by the time I get to the stations, but it's hard to prevent that in the midday heat.
Course scenery:
I'm biased because I'm from Worcester and get a kick out of running through my hometown. For the unbiased there's not much to look at. Bonus: course takes you by a fire station where firefighters have a hose out to help cool down the runners.
Post-race:
The Sutton Fire Department turns their giant fan into a misting machine and it's amazing. There's a post-race BBQ at Institute Park with entertainment, food, and free ice cream for runners.
Room for Improvement:
In 2015, the pre-race announcements took about 15 minutes. This wouldn't necessarily be a problem if the race weren't held at midday in June, and if the announcements weren't delivered while all the runners stood in the sun at the starting line. I understand that this is a very special event for the city of Worcester and for the firefighters and their families. That’s the whole reason why I run this race! Moments of silence and ceremonial gestures are special parts of the event. But if you’re going to make announcements and thank sponsors while all the runners are standing in the beating midday sun, please don’t ramble on for 15 minutes!
Dana recommends this race
(2015)
"Long course, great post-race party"
Overall
T-Shirts/SWAG
Aid Stations
Course Scenery
Expo Quality
Elevation Difficulty
Parking/Access
Race Management
Overall:
A fun race I'll definitely be running again in the future. Not *actually* a 5K, but a good course, lots of volunteers, and an awesome post-race party. A good value for the registration fee.
Pre-race:
Packet pickup is held the night before, as well as the morning of. It's a relatively small race so pickup is a piece of cake. Parking is on-street because the race takes over a large public parking lot. There are two small lots nearby, and a larger one by Horn Pond about a mile away from the start/finish.
Race:
Chip-timed. It's billed as a 5K but in reality was about 3.5 miles, which was a surprise! It's a mostly flat course with a few short (but pretty steep) hills thrown in, and it finishes on a small hill as well, though overall the gain is only 83 feet. It's a small race so has a tight-knit feel, and it benefits the local Boys & Girls Club so it's a community event as well (the mayor usually runs it). There were lots of volunteers on the course, which was also well marked. The race is a very decent value for the money - $25 pre-reg or $30 day of - with a tech shirt (if you pre-register), free food and drinks afterwards, free entry into raffles with some great prizes, and free massages from physical therapists (or, if you're like me, free PT suggestions for your dodgy knee).
Swag:
Tech t-shirts for the first 300 registered runners.
Aid stations:
To be honest, I'm wracking my brain and can't remember any aid stations. There must have been a water stop on the course (I think??), but I had brought a water bottle and didn't stop. There was a kiddie pool full of ice at the end with bottles of water, and that was lovely.
Course scenery:
Roughly half the course is through quiet, suburban neighborhoods, and other other half is around scenic Horn Pond.
Post-race:
Great post-race party with free BBQ and beer (21+ of course), as well as awards, raffles, a DJ, and general frivolity. There was also a massage tent provided by a local physical therapy office. Race photos are provided by a local photographer and posted on Facebook.
Room for Improvement:
It would have been nice if the course had been 3.1 miles as advertised, but the post-race party was fun enough that I didn't care too much. Also, an additional water stop (or a water stop in the first place? I feel bad that I can't even remember one) would have been nice as the day was quite warm and the race started at 11am.
Dana recommends this race
(2015)
"Supprting the Watertown Free Public Library"
Overall
T-Shirts/SWAG
Aid Stations
Course Scenery
Expo Quality
Elevation Difficulty
Parking/Access
Race Management
Overall:
A small, no-frills race with a nice community feel. I love and support public libraries, so this race to support the Watertown Free Public Library was right up my street!
Pre-race:
Excellent. It was a small enough race (~140 participants) that there was plenty of parking in the free public lot behind the library. Bib pickup was inside the library and was very well organized. If you wanted to register day-of, they had laptops out to access the online app and were accepting PayPal donations to the library as the race fees. Easy-peasy. Also excellent were the real bathrooms at our disposal in the library - a definite bonus!
The one thing that wasn't entirely excellent was finding where the starting line was. The race website only said to go to the library to register if you had missed online registration, but didn't actually say where the race started. I assumed the start would be at the library, but where? In the street out front? Behind in the parking lot? If I had thought to look closely at the course map, I would have seen that the race start was next to the park next to the library, but as it was I had to dig through the library’s facebook page to even find the course map, and once I did find it, it was tiny and a little hard to read. We just followed people as they started moving en masse away from the library and ended up at the starting line.
Swag:
Short-sleeve green tech t-shirts with a cute dinosaur rocking a sweatband. I loved these shirts, but unfortunately, the sizes were unisex and ran massive. However, I have a very hard time faulting the race organizers for this - the race fees were pretty cheap for the area ($25), and went to a good cause (the public library)... sure it's always annoying when race shirts don't fit (especially when they're super cute like this one!), but I'd gladly sacrifice a well fitting race shirt for a fun, inexpensive race that benefits a cause I support.
Race:
[Disclaimer - I walked this race due to a dodgy knee, so my experience may be different from those who ran it.] Mostly quiet course that went through residential neighborhoods after starting on Main Street for several blocks. The streets were open to traffic and I had to wait for the lights at intersections once or twice along the Main Street stretch; I'm not sure if traffic was restricted for the runners, but I would hope so. Each turn in the course had a smiling volunteer with a big, sparkly sign, so staying on the course wasn't an issue at all. The first turn off Main St was up a huge hill, one I was *very* glad not to be running up! There were a few people out in their yards to cheer us on, but for the most part it was a quiet race... at least for those of us bringing up the rear.
Aid stations:
There was a water stop maybe about halfway through the course. It was quite a humid day and I remember wishing there were another water stop along the way.
Course scenery:
Very suburban/residential. Fun for me because I used to live in Watertown and the race gave me a chance to explore some neighborhoods I hadn't visited before.
Post-race:
No frills. I was the last to finish, well after the runners, so I don't know if I missed awards or anything. The PA guy was still there to announce my victoriously slow finish, and volunteers were still there to hand me water, both of which I appreciated. People sort of milled around a little, but the weather wasn't great and the organizers packed up pretty quickly after I finished.
Room for improvement:
I'd love to see more information on next year's race site, specifically about where the starting line is, or an easier-to-read course map in general. I will say, I wrote about this race on my blog, and the organizer contacted me to thank me for both the compliments and critiques, saying that they appreciated hearing ways they could improve the race. It's nice to know they're looking for ways to make an already good race even better!
Dana recommends this race
(2015)
"Scenic urban race"
Overall
T-Shirts/SWAG
Aid Stations
Course Scenery
Expo Quality
Elevation Difficulty
Parking/Access
Race Management
Overall:
A low-frills but mostly enjoyable race. $30 pre-registration, $35 race-day; $20 if you're a college student. Also a 3-mile walk for $30/$35, which seems a bit steep. Cost is relatively low for Cambridge races, but swag and amenities are pretty minimal for what you pay. Course isn't closed to cars (though traffic lanes are restricted) on street portion, and lake path portion is open to the public (walkers, dogs, etc.). Not a bad race at all, but I think once was enough for me.
Pre-race:
Marathon Sports sponsors this race and holds packet pickup at their Cambridge store during set hours the week beforehand. They also have day-of pickup as well. I picked up my bib and shirt during the week, and it was easy-peasy. Parking is on-street only, so be sure to get there early enough to snag a spot close by.
Race:
Course is billed as flat but has a few gradual hills. The race starts and finishes on streets where traffic is restricted but not totally blocked off, with a few miles in the middle of the race veering off the streets and onto paved paths around Fresh Pond. The paths are open to the public so be aware that you'll be running around walkers, baby strollers, leashed dogs, etc. I found a few spots on the course to be confusing, as there were no volunteers or signs to direct runners, but for the most part it was straight-forward.
Swag:
Lovely, soft, cotton blend short-sleeve t-shirts. The shirts in 2015 were guaranteed for the first 1000 people to register.
Aid stations:
One station serving water that you pass twice. Gets a little bottle-necked with runners coming at it from both directions.
Course scenery:
The part of the course around Fresh Pond is lovely. The portion on the streets is a mix of quiet, residential neighborhoods and busy streets like Fresh Pond Parkway and Huron Ave.
Post-race:
Whole Foods was on hand with free bananas and samples of Chia Bars and other small snacks. I ran with a group from work and met up with them, so I can't say for sure whether there were post-race festivities or not.
Room for Improvement:
I'd love to see a better organized water station, and either signs up or more volunteers on hand to direct runners onto and off the pond path. Also, I know you can't restrict the public from using a public path, but having to dodge so many walkers and dogs made that part of the course a bit of a challenge.