Melissa Sims's Staging Area

I love the Monterey Bay area! This is definitely one of the prettiest courses I’ve ever run on so I highly recommend it and I hope to participate again in the future. The race is very well organized. Easy packet pick up, and a pretty good expo with lots of vendors. I was unable to attend the happy hour or any of the race clinics so cannot comment on that. The course had plenty of aid stations – two with energy gels and the others with water and gatorade. The course itself was hillier than I realized. Being just one week after running my first marathon in NYC, my legs were still recovering so it made the hills a bit of a challenge. However, for me, this race was all about the views which cannot be beat. Weather was perfect – cool and slightly overcast. The medal is cute – looks to be ceramic which is unique. The shirt was a nice design although sizing was wonky – mine is way too small. I stayed at the Marriott which was a great location just across from the expo, but really pricey and had a two night minimum which made the weekend pretty expensive. Overall I loved this event and hope to do it again next year!

I liked this race a lot. I wasn’t able to take advantage of all of the “extras” i.e. runner store, expo, sunset festival, yoga, etc., so I’m sure those things would have made it even more awesome. The course scenery was really spectacular. Great support along the way, and plenty of water stations. Not sure I would travel to Vancouver again to run, since I have so many equally beautiful courses in the bay area, but this race has been on my wish list for a long time so I’m really glad I did it. Nice medal, and runner shorts instead of a shirt which I liked because I have more than enough race shirts 🙂 Also was given a nice drawstring bag/backpack at bib pick up. Overall a really great race!

This was a really fun race. The forecast called for rain, but we lucked out with just a little a few tiny sprinkles. Such a gorgeous course. It was mostly flat with a couple of small and short inclines. The production was smooth – my only complaint is that I feel like there should have been one more aid stop on the 10K course – maybe at the turnaround. Otherwise, it was great. Bib pick up was easy, parking was easy, great post-race spread with pancakes, fruit, water, granola bars etc. at the end. It was fun to finish on the beach. Nice colorful medal and shirt. I hope to do this one again 🙂

This was a great race! The expo was pretty big but well organized so bib pickup was easy. The shuttle to the start was EARLY in the am. Last shuttle was 5:15 AM for a 6:30 AM start, so it was dark and cold while waiting for the race to begin. However there were heat lamps which were awesome. Great energy from the crowd and great support on the course. Aid stations were well stocked with gatorade, water, bananas, orange slices and gu. Course was flat so not too challenging other than the distance. Since this was my very first half, I just wanted to finish. I think it was perfect for a first-timer. Next time I’ll try to speed up a bit!

I believe this race is hosted each year in conjunction with the College Football Playoff? This year the game was at Levi Stadium so the race was in downtown San Jose. Race production was good: easy packet pick up, well marked course, one aid station, water and bananas at the finish. Course: Flat. Scenery in downtown SJ not great. Swag: Race entry included a couple of tickets to the College Football Playoff expo which I did not have time to attend, as well as a short sleeve tech shirt and a finisher medal. I ran this race because the organization supports teachers, and because it was close to home. Overall a good experience – especially since I got a new PR!

This is a fun San Jose tradition. The run is in the afternoon, so nice not to have to get up too early :-). The course is mostly flat with one small hill near the SAP Center after the turn around. Lots of people dressed in Santa or other Christmas costumes. The race ends downtown at Christmas in the Park. Cute medal that doubles as a Christmas ornament. This year it was raining!

I love this race – for some reason it is PR friendly for me. Even though the scenery is basically non-existent (downtown San Jose), there is always a good vibe. It’s big (this year a little over 11K runners) but not too big. Lots of volunteers, and we enjoy doing it as a family each year before the big feast. This is a great hometown race.

I pretty much love any run along the water and this one was no exception. It was a fairly small, low key race with only about 200 runners doing the 10 mile course. I think the five miler had more. This was my first ever 10 mile run, and I used it for pacing practice for my upcoming half marathon. I ran slow, and it turned out great. Other than being along the ocean I loved that the course also took runners out to the Santa Cruz harbor with great views of the boats and even a short trail run mixed in. Finishers got a cute surfboard medal – I forgot to pick up my shirt so can’t comment on that. Overall – great experience!

I love any race near the ocean, and this was just that. Something about the smell of the sea and the beautiful views puts me in my happy running zone. This race was the inaugural “Little Wharf” run, organized by the same people who put on the Wharf to Wharf race. I enjoyed this race – not too crowded & well organized. Runners received a cute hat, shirt and tote-bag instead of a medal.

The best thing about this race was that I got a new 10K PR – YAY!

The course: It was just ok. Since it was in Alameda I was hoping more of the course would be along the water. There was a small section along the water front, and the rest of the race was not pretty at all. We round around through warehouses. However it was flat which helped. I’m also curious because according to Strava their mile markers were off, and the distance was 6.1. (Which if accurate, would have contributed to the PR).

There was a little festival after the run which was decent size, although I did not stick around so can’t really comment. Nicely organized. I forgot to pick up my shirt so no comment on that, but the medal was really cool!

Brazen Racing always puts on a great event: well organized, friendly volunteers, well marked course, nice shirts, nice medal, great food at the end. I’ve done several of their races and am always impressed. This course was challenging for me due to the hills, which weren’t terribly steep, but there were several of them. It was an out and back course along Lake Chabot, so very pretty. Oh – and bag pipe players at the start and finish! Very cool!

I’ve always kind of avoided trail runs for the most part, because I’ve worried about uneven paths, tripping, rocks, etc., not to mention hills :-). I was pleasantly surprised with this race which the organizers said was a good “first time” trail race on their website. The course had some hills, but only one that I needed to walk up. Based on the other runners around me, it seemed like it was totally acceptable to walk up the bigger hills. I also enjoyed the scenery, and experienced no knee or hip pain like I sometimes do after road races. Overall it was a great experience, and I will definitely start mixing in some trail races now that I see how much fun they can be.

This race was all about the views for me. Because I’ve never attempted a 12K before, I was just running to enjoy the views and see if I could manage the distance. It turned out to be a really fun run. The views could not be beat. The weather was absolutely perfect. Represent Running always does a great job. The race was well organized with buses to take the 12K runners to Sausalito to start. The shirt was a cool design, and the medal was nice too. Because I had to stop to snap some pics along the way, my time was pretty slow but it was worth it to enjoy the scenery. The only challenging part was the uphill around mile 2 (I think) which was to get to the start across the bridge. There was another small uphill near the finish. Otherwise the course was pretty flat. I will definitely try to do this one again next year.

This was my first T9 Mermaid Series race and it was lots of fun. The race was very well organized. Lots of free parking, well marked course, pretty scenery, friendly staff, good post-race snacks, nice swag (medal and a necklace). The race shirt was a cute cut and nice quality too. I loved that one of the vendors was giving away air plants at their booth – very unique. Also they had a fun game to try to win a prize by tossing a ping pong ball into a T9 bra – pretty funny. They also had a staff member taking photos with cute signs against their backdrop. They took the photos on your own phone so that was great – no waiting. Overall my daughter and I had a great morning at the race. I will definitely participate in more T9 runs in the future.

This was the inaugural Silicon Valley Food Truck 5K. It was well organized and the festival afterwards was quite large with food trucks, music and vendors. The course was mostly flat along the Guadalupe river trail. The only problem was the afternoon start at 3:00pm – it was HOT in San Jose today. The heat made this race a bit of a struggle for me. If they repeat this event next year, I hope it’s a morning start. Other than that – Represent Running put on a nice event as they always do. I’m looking forward to the 10K tomorrow with the morning start :-).

This is a fun race starting at the SAP Center downtown, winding through the Rose Garden (ish) area and finishing at Santana Row. The race is well organized and supports the Pat Tillman foundation which is the biggest reason I participate.

This is one of my favorite courses. The views are beautiful and the set up is well organized. It’s easy to park close by either on the street or in one of the lots for the marina.

This race is the same course as Brazen’s Bay Breeze race that takes place in February. It’s a flat course with nice bay views. Start is at the park adjacent to the San Leandro Marina and the course is out and back mostly along the water. This is a well organized race with lots of snacks post-race. Easy parking on the street or in lots by the marina.

This course is actually a 6K since they expanded it to run to Avaya stadium. It starts at the SCU campus which is always lovely (biased bronco opinion maybe) and runs on city streets out to and through Avaya stadium which is different and kind of fun with some photo ops if you want to stop.