Chuck Girard's Staging Area

This is the one race on my local training paseos that I try not to miss. It’s a good vibe with good people and a fun time. The medal this year was not my cup of tea but it certainly is unique and I’m sure a lot of people liked it (I preferred last year).

I ran this race as a training workout with my buddy so no podium glory for me but the trophies are pretty cool if you are contending for one.

Also, I’m not a fan of cut-off shirts (prefer tank or t-shirt), but the quality of the shirt was vastly improved this year. I hope they keep this new manufacturer.

If you’re in town, do this race, it’s worth it!

Considering how many people run this race, it’s quite a marvel that it goes off as smoothly as it does. The urinals in the start park were well managed and quite quick and easy.

Some lessons I learned
1. Don’t run this one for time, just enjoy the atmosphere and soak in the vibes
2. If you’re going to run it for time, make sure you’re at the very front of your wave. I submitted a previous race time of 3:13, I was hoping to go with the 3:10 pacer in my wave but as I was just a few dozen feet behind them in the wave, as it funneled to the start, I hit the start line about 4 minutes after the 3:10 pacer and I never saw them again. I was stuck in a sea of 3:30 paced runners and spent way more energy than I should have trying to weave through and pick up the pace.
4. Seriously, don’t run for time
5. Pack some post race food in your gear check bag. The post race eats were very disappointing/non-existent.
6. Beware of drinking too much water without enough sodium. The mini bottles instead of cups were great on a hot day. It meant I could carry it for miles and continue to wet my head and face… but I inadvertently drank too much water for that amount of sodium caps I had and I diluted my electrolyte intake too much.
7. Beware of slipping on discarded water bottles
8. Go for the name printing on your race shirt. So many people around me were having their names shouted by the crowd and I was so jealous.

The t-shirt and medal are very nice. The race finisher food was lacking. The race was extremely crowded. The experience is unmatched.

This race is a great size. Not too big, not too small. I love that they start the half at the same time as the full. Though, my one complaint was the 10min delay on a freezing cold start line.

Great vibes, decent amount of spectators cheering, excellent post race athlete food. Not a fan of the t-shirt, design or quality, so I passed on that. Not much else to speak of in the way of swag but the medal is unique.

I started the day with a 1:29 in mind, ran with the 1:30 group til about 4.5 miles and realized my HR was so low from the downhill I decided to take it out early. Nearly finished with a 1:26 flat. Such an easy, fast course. I’m coming back here next year to run the full if my BQ time doesn’t get in this year 😂

Stunning coastal scenery run can’t be beat. The weather was perfect for views even if I would have preferred some clouds for performance.

The medal is very unique, seems to be made of ceramic. Not the prettiest thing but definitely different. The shirt is nice and runs large but I had no problems changing it from a medium to a small after the race. Not much in the way of swag or freebies but the runner snacks were decent and overall race production was top notch.

The elevation profile is deceptive. There is one steep hill in the 4th mile which I was prepared for, but what doesn’t really show up are all the little rollers. A lot more actual elevation to this course than I was expecting.

I do think the course was just a little long in the first 3 miles. After the 3rd mile, my watch indicated the mile marker about 30s earlier than the course mile marker and it remained this way for the rest of the race. I ran every single tangent (and there are a lot of them!) and never had to weave but GPS logged 13.22 at the end.

I used this race as a marathon pace training run for the first 10 miles and turned it up a bit for the last 5K, still managed to get an HM PR despite the conservative start and challenging hills.

Kudos to the race directors for running shorter distances on Saturday unlike some other HM’s that try to cram 5 and 10k onto the same course on race day making for a really chaotic and difficult finish.

My only gripe would be that there isn’t any obvious information on race photos, availability, prices, etc. This is pretty common for bigger races though.

Overall this was a great race and I’d definitely recommend it.

This is a fun night event put on by a great group of folks. The volunteers and course workers are always full of energy and cheer which is great. The lighted arches leading into the finish line is a neat experience for such a small race. If I had it to do over again, I would do the 5K rather than the 10 for a few reasons.

1. The 10K is two loops of the 5K course and the 5K starts immediately after the 10K, this means that on lap 2 of the 10K it’s pure chaos trying to navigate all of the walking and slow jogging 5K’ers. They’re all over the course, having a great time but without any regard for the faster 10K runners coming through on their second lap.

2. There was just one aid station on the opposite side of the loop which is fine, but it was a warm night and I would have liked a sip of electrolytes on both laps. Wouldn’t need it in a 5K but when you’re out there for 40 minutes, it would definitely help. First lap through it looked like they weren’t really set up yet. There was only one volunteer at the tables, no one there to hand out cups to runners and it was far off the running line, so I figured I’d wait til lap two. But by that time the aid station was swarmed with 5Kers and I couldn’t get over there at all so I didn’t bother.

3. Outside of the start/finish and the bridges, this path is super pitch black dark at night. Even with a headlamp it’s hard to see where you’re going which made it a little tedious for a 10K

All in all, I had a good time and I’ll be back next year, but I’ll stick to the 5K

No participation medal, only medals for age group podiums but you do get a nice quality shirt and the entry fee was very reasonable. The 5K course was great for a good time, slightly uphill for the first mile and gradual downhill for the remainder. I’d do this race again.

Get there earlier than you think you need to, restroom waits were long, corral staging is a little chaotic, race finish is a minefield of dodging 5K walkers. Overall a lot of fun though.