Amanda Sava's Staging Area

Nice course, well-marked with good views and easy to navigate. The hills weren’t too bad (in the comparison to San Fransicso hills or trails), though I clearly didn’t train well for enough for them! I would have preferred that the course be a little more scenic, but starting and ending at the Space Needle is pretty great.

The race production and swag are usually great at the Hot Chocolate races, and this one was no different. Always love running back for Hot Chocolate and other tasty goodies!

The 5k was a nice easy loop along the Sammamish River Trail and the Bear Creek Trail. The costumes were fun to watch run past and the fall foliage was gorgeous! There were fun giveaways and good snacks at the end of the race and free race photos via email a few days later.

I know I’ll never run the Boston Marathon, but at least I can say I’ve “run Boston”. If you’re in the same boat then, this race is for you.

You get to start off in Boston Common with 10,000 of your fellow runners (it’s a great way to stay warm). Then you head out Commonwealth and through Boston’s beautiful Back Bay neighborhood. You make the iconic “Right on Hereford, Left on Boylston” and go through the finish line of the marathon then back to the Common. What more could you want for the privilege of not having to run all 26.2 of the marathon????

The swag was great – a unisex tech tee (this year was bright yellow, which is unfortunate, but…), a nice B.A.A. medal and a good little snack bag. But then who thought that the B.A.A. would put together a bad race?

I’d be willing to do it every year if it weren’t all the way on the other side of the country!

The Pros:
– There are challenge medals if you run any of the SF Marathon races
– You do get some nice scenery

The Cons:
– You have to take a shuttle to the start
– The parking is atrocious
– The 10k start is halfway through the half marathon course so you are merging with some fast or tired runners
– They don’t space the waves out enough and so you end up with A LOT of traffic for the first 3 miles
– The last three miles are all uphill – it’s not a big hill, but if you don’t like hills.

If you like lots of hills and lots of single track, you’ll love this race! The course is challenging and beautiful – it just wasn’t my day.

As always, Brazen puts on a fantastic race. The course was well-marked and easy to follow (even if it isn’t easy to run). The aid stations were well positioned and well stocked. And of course, the t-shirts and medals were fantastic as were the It’s-Its!

I’ve run the 5k and the 10k on this course and they are plenty challenging. This was my first time trying to tackle the half marathon course, and even though this year’s result was sub-par, I’ll be back to try again!

I never thought that I’d pick an all day race as my favorite, but it is!

I love the fact that you have 6 or 12 hours (and anywhere in between) to see just how much your body can do. That, coupled with the fact that you get to run/walk/crawl with all sorts of people throughout the day makes it a pretty great day.

The aid stations are fully stocked with all the food and drink you need to keep running all day. The medal/coaster is always awesome and the hoodies are a coveted item to say the least.

And don’t forget the bragging rights that you have from being crazy enough to run around in loops for hours on end.

The good news:
I love that you get to start the race off on the ball field and that they get a ticket to the baseball game later that afternoon. The medal and shirt were nice. And getting to see the 1989 World Series trophy was fun (the Giants usually have theirs out).

The bad news:
The course was pretty crappy – two loops around a parking lot are not fun and not worth the entrance fee. The course also wasn’t marked all that well so there was some confusion at one turn and there were a number of people that were cutting the course around some cones that were spaced too far apart.

If you’re going to run a Rock n Roll race – this is the one to do!

All the RnR races are well produced, good bling and shirts, the expos are good (plenty to look at and buy), and the challenge bling is always fun (city to city and multiple race). You won’t be disappointed.

The reason that this is the best (and I only have the 4 California races to compare to) is the fun factor. San Diego is a great spot for a “racecation”, the course is a great tour through the city, the residents are super nice and great cheerleaders, and there seems to be the most on course entertainment.

San Diego is RnRs flagship race so it makes sense that it’s the best!

I admit, I am biased when it comes to this race. I’ve run a race in the Oakland Running Festival every year since the inaugural race in 2010 – this is the third time I’ve done the 5k. I live close by so not only is this my hometown race, but I can walk to and from the finish (that’s a great perk).

Due to the construction around the usual start/finish area there was a course change and I think it really made for a great change. We started at the Pergola at Lake Merritt and ran a 5k loop around the lake. It’s a flat, easy and beautiful course.

The shirt and medal were nice (the medal has a bottle opener on it), the volunteers were friendly and enthusiastic and the finishers village was great (TONS of food from Whole Foods and free beer).

New this year, a combo/challenge medal in partnership with the Rock n Roll San Francisco half. All you had to do was both races and you got an extra medal – yay!

Great scenery, fun course and a great production – Rock n Roll really knows how to showcase a city.

This was my 4th Rock N Roll race, and everything was as great as usual. The expo was good, plenty of swag and lots of nice race staff. The shuttle service to the start line was easy to use and very good, easy to find and way easier than trying to park out in Golden Gate Park. There were plenty of aide stations and bathrooms – always nice on a long race and not always that plentiful in big races.

I don’t love point to point races, but in San Francisco it always makes for a beautiful race. You start in Golden Gate park, then run out into SeaCliff and on into the Presidio where you get amazing views of the Pacific and a few good hills to tire you out. Then you’re on to the Golden Gate Bridge which is always an amazing experience. From there you drop down into Crissy Field and the Marina on your way over to down town and the finish line. I beautiful way to experience San Francisco.

New this year, a “City to Town” combo/challenge medal in partnership with the Oakland Running Festival. All you had to do was both races and you got an extra medal. I’m not going to lie, this was the reason that I did this race since I always do the Oakland race.

This was the second year for the Brazen Victory – and it keeps getting better.

The course is flat and fast (for those fast runners) and pretty much all asphalt. Not your typical Brazen race, but it’s a great location – the views are hard to beat. The good news is that you get all of the great food, shirts, medals and friends you normally get with a Brazen race!

This is my favorite way to start off the year – some times I do the 10k and sometimes it’s the 5k (it usually depends on how New Years Eve goes). This year was a lovely 5k stroll 🙂

The 5k course is relatively easy, a few small rolling hills on a pavement course (there’s a little trail at the turn around, but that’s it). As usual with a Brazen race the aide stations and finish are both stocked with tons of food and water and the shirts and medal are great.

Two random/important things to know about this race:
1. If you want to get the “mega medal” you need to run both the New Years Eve race and the New Years Day race.
2. If you want to be a Brazen Streaker (the few, the proud, the crazy) this is the beginning of the year and the first race you need to complete.

I love beach races and I love races in Santa Cruz – so it’s pretty much a default that I love this race. I’ve done it 4 years in a row, some years I run it and some years I walk it, but it’s always great.

But what I really love is the beautiful course and all the people on it. There are elite runners and then there are walkers that have done every race for 44 years (he might have run it years ago) – and everyone is having a good time. The music and spectators on the course are always fun (if not always able to carry a tune).

There are two big down sides to the race:
1. It’s getting harder and harder to get in to – it’s a small road race and they like to keep it that way. But I’m bummed that I may not be able to get in one year.
2. They always seem to have issues with the shirts at the end. I’m not sure if they don’t order correctly or if they give out the wrong sizes, but it’s almost guaranteed that if you’re at the back of the pack you won’t get the shirt size you want (if you get one at all).

I’ve done plenty of halfs, but I finally decided to try my feet on the full marathon distance. I felt like the 12 hour Dirty Dozen would be a good way to do it – plenty of support, bathrooms, food and even the opportunity to sit down and change socks if I wanted to. And of course the 12 hour limit is more than generous for a marathon.

The course is a 3.4 ish mile loop with beautiful views of the bay along the way – you can just keep chugging along for 6 or 12 hours. About half way along the loop there is an aid station with a restroom, so you have plenty of aide. As a 6 or 12 hour runner there is a ton of food available to you at the aid stations. At the start/finish area there’s plenty of space to set up a tent for your support crew or just friends that are there to watch you and your special kind of crazy – there’s even a bbq mid day and your guests/crew can buy food while they’re waiting for you.

As for my race, my theory was sound, all I needed to do was eight laps and I’d be done, no problem! I forgot to do two things – train and trim my big toenail. I did manage the distance and I even added the afternoon 5k for insult, but it was not my best performance by far. The good news is that I know my body can go the distance, it just needs A LOT more training!

I wasn’t expecting much from this race, but I’ve always wanted to run on Angel Island so I didn’t much care!

I did the 5 miler, which was a beautiful loop up to the the summit and back. It was pretty much all trail (a little asphalt at the beginning and the end) and had easy switchbacks all the way up and down – so even though there was a nice bit of elevation gain (800 feet or so) it never really felt like it. The 5 mile course pretty much stuck to the Sunset Trail which offered nice amounts of sun and shade as well as AMAZING views pretty much the entire time.

The only minor complaint would be the lack of support. There was no aide station for the 5 mile race and only one stop for the half marathoners (which isn’t really enough on a hot day and tricky course). The pre-race email was very clear on carrying your own water, so I had it covered – I’ve just never not had an aide station on a short race.

It was the inaugural race for them and they are a new race company so I’m hoping that next year will be better – because, yes, I probably will be back!

I love Brazen and I love Brazen races, but uggg, I am not a fan of Quarry Lakes… It’s a relatively un-scenic and easy course. Just not one of the best Brazen races.

Pluses – it’s Brazen’s only Marathon race (if you like that kind of think ;), it’s flat and easy, there’s always plenty of parking, and of course there’s the awesome food and swag that Brazen always delivers.

Minuses – it’s flat and not very interesting, it’s usually of packed with strollers and walkers (don’t get me wrong, because I’m frequently a walker – I just get frustrated when I see walkers that don’t listen for runners trying to pass or walking 3 and 4 abreast so runners have difficulty getting past).

I’ve run all of the Giant races and so far this one is actually my favorite! This was the first year in Sacramento and they did a great job. The shirt and medal were super cute and the course was lovely. The only draw back for me was driving to Sacramento early for a race, other than that – great inaugural race!

Brazen always does a great job (I know I’m a little biased) but this really was a spectacular first race. I’ve done plenty of inaugural races, and they rarely go as smoothly as this one did!

It was a beautiful course, flat and fast. As usual, the aid stations were well placed and well stocked and the swag was great!

This was a great course – nice rolling hills, pretty neighborhoods and great scenery through the vineyards.

The swag was good – ok shirt, cool coaster medal and wine glass for tasting at the end.

The down side is that, being a slower runner, a lot of the food and wine booths were packing up when i finished. That was a big bummer, but it’s probably fine since it’s not like wine is an excellent recovery drink!

The trail was gorgeous and relatively easy, so it made for a nice vacation run. The group is a little more competitive than I’m used to in the laid back bay area, but I still managed not to come in dead last!

This seemed like more of a self-service race, there were no aid stations on the 5 mile course, I’m not sure about the half marathon. But given that it was quite cool and drizzly it didn’t really matter for me.

No swag to speak of – no medals, shirts or even ribbons, but there were snacks at the end so that helps

Overall, Northwest Trail Runs seems like a great group – nice people, nice routes and what looks like a few good running series in Summer and Winter. I’m looking forward to more vacation runs with them.