Had such a fun time with this race! I completed the marathon relay with my friend Mike. We decided to head to this race that is known for its epic views, and they did not disappoint! The race expo was well managed and organized, with the tables for different race distances clearly marked. We quickly got our bibs, and then went into the main room to check out the vendors and get our shirts. Unfortunately, the shirts ran small, and while there was a shirt exchange available, the sizes were limited and I was unable to swap for a better fitting shirt.
On race morning busses take runners to the start, and they were well organized. When we got to the start it was easy to find the bag check, but there were long lines for the porter potties.
The race started a few minutes late, but the forest views were beautiful in the first few miles. My leg of the race ended after 8 miles, but they were 8 scenic miles!

Tip for anyone running this relay: Give the runner running the leg after you a change of clothes to pass on for you, so you can be as comfortable as possible on the bus ride to the finish.

Race awesome took over this event, and I’m loving it! The new course had NO WANTAGH PARKWAY for the half!

The race starts is Eisenhower park, then runs past the coliseum before heading towards museum row. We headed into a athletic complex, and even got to run a lap on the track. I really liked that there were no long stretches on a single road, so there was always something new to see.

The aid stations had water, Gatorade (a different flavor at each station!) and bananas at the later stations! The stations were every 2-3 miles, I which felt a little drawn out at times.

The post race festival included beers from great South Bay for each runner, and a huge variety of food trucks, yum!

The race swag was nice, but the same medals and shirts as 2020’s virtual event, so I would have liked those to he updated.

Had a lot of fun with this race!

It was virtual, and there was an option to run with your dog, so I brought the pup along for a total of 6.2 miles, broken into a few smaller runs, and completed my own race without him.

The swag for this race is really nice! I got a pullover, a medal, and a water bottle, and the pup got a collar and bandana. So sweet!

The best part about virtual races? You get to run it on your own time! I loved the sense of community that I felt taking on this virtual event, and getting to see everyone posing their fun, wonder woman inspired outfits. The half zip that came as the swag for this event is super cozy, and the metal is as iconic as wonder woman herself.

Sign up was easy, and my swag bag came in quickly, including a race bib, half zip, sweat bands with pockets, and a medal.

I had a great time participating in the Napa Valley Half Marathon!

Their expo may be my new favorite. As soon as you walked into the napa valley mariott, you knew there was a race happening, with signs and photo ops all over the hotel. There were plenty of tables for runners to pick up their bibs, and we had been emailed our bib numbers prior to eace day, which made the process quick. The main room of the expo had a wall of volunteers handing out race shirts and bags. The bags were a pleasant surprise - they were sturdy backpacks that were to be used for gear check, but would make for a nice post-race souvenir. There were vendors, an official race merchandise area, and wine tastings all around the expo. They had the courtyard of the hotel set up with naked wines, who had a wide variety of wines for runners to sample.

On race morning there was a bus option to get runners to the start. We had someone drop us off at the start, since we weren't staying at one of the race hotels, and there was no parking at the start line.

There were no corrals at the start line, but runners seemed to do a good job at placing themselves with the beast pacing team, based off the pace they planned to run.

From the start of the race, this net downhill course was all hills. The rolling hills were never too steep, but they were persistent. I would say maybe there was a total flat region of a half mile over the course of the half.

The aid stations were well manned, with Nuun and water at every stop. The later stations also had gels and fresh fruit. I liked that there were trash bins placed at most mile markers, so that runners had a place to throw their trash rather than dropping it on the road.

The course was scenic, mostly lined with vineyards for the duration of the race. I was even able to spot some hot air balloons taking off as I ran.

At the end of the race the post-race area had plenty of goodies, from hot soup to ice cream samples.

The runner goodie bag included vouchers for buy one get one free tastings from some local vineyards, so we celebrated after the race by taking advantage of that offer at Miner.