Brazen New Year’s Eve Half Marathon, 10K & 5K

Brazen Racing’s Almost New Year’s Eve starts and finishes in Fremont’s Quarry Lakes Park. I did the half marathon in 2017, and my description in my Rave of the course was pretty thorough, plus or minus some punctuation oopses. In 2018 I volunteered, working at an aid station.

Our aid station was between miles 4 and 5 for runners of the half marathon, a turn-around point in an out-and-back leg. We only saw runners of that distance. We packed all our stuff at the start/finish area – tables, water, fruit, goodies. We were able to park our vehicles 20 or 30 yards from where we set up. While Brazen advises those who do the early, “Hikers” start that aid stations may or may not be fully set up, we were fully set up long before the first “Hiker” showed up.

We had the usual fluids: water (30 gallons!); electrolyte drink mix with the necessary 5 gallon jug; cans of Coke; pitchers and paper cups. For snacks we had regular and peanut M & Ms, trail mix, gummy bears, Skittles, Jelly Belly jelly beans, Rice Krispy Treats, Payday bars (the Treats and Paydays were cut up, potato chips, and peanut butter filled pretzel bites. For fruit we had cut up bananas and orange wedges. That I can remember. This is typical of a Brazen aid station.

We had a pavilion in case shade or shelter from rain was needed. It was a beautiful very cool day, so we didn’t use it.

In my opinion, “working” at an aid station hardly deserves to be called working. Several hundred pounds of water, goodies, and tables have to be brought from vehicles to the trail and set up (there were three of us sharing that work), but that takes perhaps 20 or 30 minutes. Once the runners start coming, though it becomes fun. The “Hikers” come one or two or three at a time, with the fastest of the regular-start runners mixed in with the slowest “Hikers”. We chat with them, offering liquids and goodies. This also is a safety check for whether any are having trouble. For all the serious purposes, it was a fun few seconds or couple of minutes with each runner.

Then the main pack of runners came in waves of 3s and 6s and #s, where one is continually offering water or electrolyte drink or snacks and still keeping an eye out for a runner who might be struggling. Since we were at the ~1/3 point in the half marathon course, many – especially the fastest – just did the turn-around and kept running. Others snagged a cup of water and a snack item and headed back out. Others spent a minute or two grazing and chatting. It was a slightly crazy time, handing out water (me), pouring more glasses of water and electrolyte drink, replenishing water bottles, and cutting up more fruit and candy bars, but it was FUN!

As the runners thinned out again and we knew there were only a few more, we consolidated our goodies onto one table and started packing things we knew we wouldn’t need. The course uses a public trail, so all along we offered water and such to others running or biking or walking on the trail. A few stopped and took up our offer, chatting about the race, and such. One family stopped with us for quite a while as their two pre-school-aged daughters grazed and we chatted with the parents.

Finally the “sweeper” came, assuring us that there were no more runners coming. We finished packing (we left the trail a little cleaner than it was before the race) and headed back to Quarry Lakes Park. All in all it was a very pleasant and fun 3 or 4 hours. For volunteering Brazen gives those who do a race T-shirt and credit for a “free” race.

Event & Course Description: Brazen Racing runs out the old and runs in the new year with a pair of races on New Year’s Eve Day (NYE) and New Year’s Day (NYD). In 2016 and now 2017 NYE was run in Quarry Lakes Park in Fremont and the Alameda Creek Trail, while NYD was run at Lake Chabot near Castro Valley. Quarry Lakes Park is the former site of a sand and gravel quarry, with lakes formed by ground water and water from the nearby Alameda Creek. The park is a mix of public use areas and preserves for local plants, animals, and birds, with trails around the lakes in the park. There is plenty of parking inside the park, and the parking fee for NYE is pre-paid.

I did the half marathon and will note where the other distances leave the half marathon course. Most of the 10K and half marathon courses were new for Brazen. All runners started with a clockwise circle 2/3 of the way around Horseshoe Lake. 5K runners then turned right to finish their loop course with a 2/3 circle around Rainbow Lake back to the finish. 10K and half runners turned left, zig-zagged up to the Alameda Creek Trail, crossing a pedestrian bridge to the other side of the creek. Once there, all runners turned right for the first of two out-and-back legs for runners of the half. About 2/3 of the way on this leg 10K runners turned around, headed back into the park, and followed the course taken by the 5K runners back to the finish. Half marathon runner went a bit farther, turned around, and when they reached the pedestrian bridge continued out for their second out-and-back leg in the other direction on the Alameda Creek Trail. This leg was about as long as the first leg. Half runners turned around, crossed the pedestrian bridge into the park and then completed their circle around Horseshoe Lake back to the finish (a different and shorter route than that taken by other runners).

The 5K course is almost entirely packed dirt with some fine gravel, and that course is half of the 10K course. The part of the 10K and half marathon course on the Alameda Creek Trail is entirely paved. So the 10K course is about 50-50 dirt-paved, and the half marathon course about 80% paved. The trail on the side of Alameda Creek across from Quarry Lakes Park has a fair amount of shade, so the 10K course had about 20-30% shade, while the half marathon course had 30%-40% shade. SF Bay Area December weather can vary, so runners need to check weather forecasts for race day several days ahead. If rain is forecast for race day or the previous or following day come prepared for wet weather. NYE 2017 had near perfect running weather – a bit chilly (Bay Area chilly, not Illinois chilly), with some clouds.

Organization & Production: Brazen is one of those organizations where runners’ only worries are getting there, running their race, getting home, and stiffly hobbling into their dwelling. All necessary information is on the website, online registration is easy, the pre-race instructions email is sent several days before the race and gives very complete information and instructions, and everything from start/finish area set-up through aid stations and back for recovery flow smoothly. For those who could, there was packet pick-up at Road Runner Sports in Berkeley for several hours each on the two days before the race. Or one may pick up one’s bib and race T-shirt on race day morning. Either option always runs smoothly and quickly.

Brazen marks its courses well, though once one was on the Alameda Creek Trail the choices were to stay on course, wander into people’s back yards, or tumble down the bank into the creek. The markings on trails in the park were clear. Brazen also places numbered mile markers along its course, making keeping track of one’s progress easy. Brazen had four aid stations at this race. The first was inside the park, about 1.4 miles from the start. The second was at the end of the pedestrian bridge, where 10K runners would pass it twice, and half runners three times. This station area got a bit congested as outbound mid-pack 10K runners and mid-pack and slower half marathon runners inbound from their first out-and-back leg arrive around the same time-frame from two different directions. The volunteers did their best to spread runners out by how they positioned the tables and the volunteers handing out water and electrolyte drink. The other two aid stations were at the ends of the two out-and-back legs, encountered only by half marathon runners. Brazen aid stations always feature a wide range of sweet and salty snacks, fruit, water, electrolyte drink, and sodas, and GU gel packets.

Swag & Goodies: Brazen’s recovery area food is pretty amazing for variety. Finishing runners were greeted by having their names called out on the PA system, given their finisher’s medal, and handed a bottle of water (if wanted). A few yards away in a covered picnic area was an even wider variety of cookies, chips, cakes, pretzels, fruit, and candies. Brazen’s “signature” recovery snack is multiple flavors of It’s It ice cream sandwiches (my favorite is mint ice cream!). Evidently there is a Costco near Quarry Lakes Park, as there were boxes and boxes of extra large pizzas – I saw “deluxe”, pepperoni, no-meat veggie, and cheese. The deluxe was very tasty.

Bib: Brazen doesn’t do plain race bibs. The usual pattern has distance color-coded stripes, the distance, the race name and date, artwork shared with the race T-shirt, the runner’s name, Brazen Racing’s logo, and the bib number. NYE 2017 bib artwork featured a black hotrod that looked like a hybrid of the Beach Boys’ “Little Deuce Coupe” and ZZ Top’s panel wagon. Running from the front of the hotrod, along the front fenders, and onto the doors were blue flames. At the back of the hotrod was a sign, “Now Leaving 2017”.

T-Shirt: The NYE 2017 race T-shirt for half marathon runners is a light blue tech type with the Brazen Racing logo across the chest in front and race artwork and sponsors’ logos on the back. The race artwork has the hotrod described above with a large full moon behind it. It’s definitely going to be a favorite!

Finisher’s Medal: The finisher’s medal is large and substantial. It features the hotrod, full moon, the “Now Leaving …” sign, and fireworks bursts. As mentioned above, Brazen does a pair of New Year themed races. I didn’t do NYD, but its medal replaced the moon with the Sun and the sign with a “Now Entering 2018”. The NYD hotrod is purple with yellow flames. For those who participated in both races there was a connector medal with an arched bridge and the words “Pedal to the Metal”. All. Extremely. COOL!

My Results & Opinion of the Race: Having done seven Coastal Trail Runs races and eight Brazen Racing races in 2017, comparing the two is almost inevitable. Using Rock ‘N’ Roll events as a sort of standard for high-end price, Coastal would be low price, and Brazen medium. Coastal’s Tees, and medals are simpler and use the same artwork year to year; Coastal’s bibs are plain white with bib number. Brazen’s Tees, medals, and almost all bibs have artwork that changes from year to year. Both have a fairly wide variety of aid station snacks, Brazen a bit more. Brazen’s recovery area food is more varied, but Coastal grills burgers or brats for finishers of their longer distances, and their finish area cooler has bottles of beer. What the two have in common is that both provide their runners good value and excellent race experiences in a wide variety of venues and trails. Personally, the differences between the two aren’t much of a factor when I choose between the two. The dates, venues, terrains, and distances are my main considerations. I have some preference for Brazen, but on balance Coastal is not a step-down.

2017 was a frustrating year for me, a couple of steps backward (at the least) in my capabilities. Brazen New Year’s Eve was just my fourth completed half marathon in 2017. But I finished NYE under my own power and vertical, and it was my second half in the month of December. So I’ll take it as a restart point. As a whole I like Quarry Lakes Park. It’s really pretty. OTOH, Alameda Creek Trail to me is just OK. However, the new course went farther toward the foothills above Fremont, and that part was prettier as well as not familiar. It looks like Brazen’s Western Pacific half and full Marathons will use the course Brazen usually uses. This may be because that Marathon course is certified for qualifying for the Boston Marathon. I haven’t planned out much of 2018, but the chances that I will “run” or volunteer at Western Pacific and/or New Year’s Eve in 2018 are pretty high.