Austin Somlo's Staging Area

Huarache Turbo needs to learn how to manage a race properly. How do you like it when you are at the start of the line and there are dozens of cars and trucks lined up in front of you? Worse, how do you like it when you are about to finish and many of these same cars and trucks are pulling out in front of you and driving on the course, blocking your way 90% of the time? Yeah…this race is a major AVOID.

The production values are good, but several issues. I signed up for the race months ago, knowing full well it’s going to take place in June and it’s going to be extremely hot. Lo and behold, 6 days before the race was going to happen, they called off the “competition” aspect because it will be extremely hot. Of…course, this is Texas. Needless to say, I wasn’t happy about it, seeing the race converted to a “fun run.” Had I known it in the first place, I would have never signed up for it; what’s the point? Why not have it at 7 in the morning instead of 7 PM? Where’s the logic in that? Better yet, why not have it in March when it’s much cooler? Also, I’ve emailed and messaged repeatedly for a course map but never got a response, either. Ridiculous. Hence, I am boycotting any race put on by Huarache Turbo.

The race was heavily promoted, and communication was terrific in regards to the threatening weather. Everything else was great including the cupcakes at the end of the race. However, I am a bit disappointed with the race itself. When they announced it was going to start at 9 AM instead of 8:30 due to lightning, I was like okay…then I waited until 8:45 AM to get out of the car to line up, thinking it’s going to begin promptly at 9; then all of a sudden, the race started at 8:50. What the hell? I didn’t appreciate it. Nobody led the course throughout; the front runners had to figure it out themselves; after mile 2, there were no cones at all at the turn, making it pretty easy to keep running straight through by mistake. Also, what I don’t approve is that there were cops at the beginning of the race but none to direct traffic along Lookout Road; some of the automobiles were driving too fast, being disrespectful to the participants and putting them in harm’s way. I’ll gladly run the race again next year, but they need to implement traffic control big time.

The biggest mistake is combining the 10K race with the 5K race. When they both intersect about 30 minutes later, the pack will start to swell, leaving little to no room for runners because the path, especially on the sidewalk by Frontage Road next to 1604, is narrow, thus making it very hard for the faster runners, especially in the 10K, to pass through unobstructed. Afterwards is another idiocy: the awards show for the 10K isn’t for another 3 hours after the start of the 10K race. So, anyone who won an award was forced to wait, wait, and wait, especially for the stupid exercise program to end. As for myself, because I placed well, I got a free entry for next year’s race, but I will not go again because I don’t like the overall setup. Also, I asked about the location of water aid stations, but nobody could give me the answer which wasn’t good since I needed to know and be mentally prepared for it.

If you notice the times for 2023, they are so fast that it’s due to the course being very short…like 0.30 of a mile short. The start time took forever, and the organizers decided to put people with strollers and those who’ll push people who are physically disabled in the front before everybody else. Obviously, I knew what was going to happen next. They made passing them difficult by the time we hit the River Walk which was already very narrow to begin with and full of non-participants. It’s not their fault, but it was just a bad idea from the get-go. By the time we hit the end of the “halfway mark,” it got so confusing that we were in a merry-go-around before going back to the River Walk (there was nobody to lead us on bike or whatever the entire time). At one point, there was supposed to be a slight diversion, but the volunteers didn’t do their job at all, skipping it. After the race was over, the host on the microphone kept babbling on and on and on and on (that took forever!), just like she did prior to the start, until finally the awards ceremony got underway. It’s the worst organized and most inept “5K” race I’ve ever seen in my life, and I’ve done hundreds of them.

Let me tell you a story: a runner woke up at 4 AM, drove almost 2 hours to a race, warmed up, ran 13.1 miles over a tough course, and won it as witnessed by all of the organizers at the finish line. Then, he found out 30 minutes later that his time went missing in the system and the 1st place medal was awarded to somebody else who came in 2nd almost 20 minutes later. How would you feel? Well, it happened to me, and I’ve never seen anything like it in my life, having run many races and winning some of them. They had a chance to correct the error but really never did, and I was forced to file a claim with my credit card company for fraud. This Adam Holt, the race director, has to be the biggest idiot and liar I’ve seen, and he should be ashamed of himself.

Hey Adam…if you are reading this, why did you give the 1st place award to somebody else after you saw me win the race? You are such an idiot.