Melissa Sims's Staging Area

This was my first marathon, so I don’t have anything to compare it to. It exceeded my expectations – I was nervous after reading reviews about complicated logistics but honestly everything went like clockwork. The weather was stunning, the crowd support was off the charts, there were some hills but they were not terrible. I was disappointed in my finish time – marathons are really hard! But I hope I get lucky in the lottery again next year so I can improve my time. I feel like I learned a lot along the way about how to run a marathon so I’d like to try again. New York is so fantastic – I loved everything (except maybe the long walk out of the park after the race).

Race production was good. Downtown SJ is just not pretty, but since it’s convenient for me, I always like to participate. Represent Running did their usual good job. I stupidly missed the start because I had the starting time wrong, but managed to find my way :-). It’s fun to have a hometown St. Patrick’s Day run!

What a fun race! Brazen racing always = great production. Organized, well marked course, plenty of aid stations, great snacks at the end. This race was a particular favorite because the views were AMAZING. The course was basically flat and was an out and back on the SF Bay Trail. The weather was cold but sunny, so perfect morning for a run. I opted out of the shirt, but I saw other runners wearing it and it was a nice design. Medal was so cool! I love that Brazen always does extra medals for age group wins…..I haven’t gotten one yet, but I hope to one of these days. I definitely recommend this race and will try to do it again next year. Thumbs up!

This race is a fun San Jose tradition. This year I thought they should have had an aid station sooner – it wasn’t until about mile 3. I wasn’t prepared for that and had expected one at 1.5 miles. The second aid station was really close to the first one so they could have been planned a little better…..and I should have checked where the aid stations were before the race :-). Otherwise it was a good time like it always is – good energy, fun design on the shirt, nice medal. The race ends at Santana Row and you need to bus (provided), uber/lyft, or run back to the start. Weather cooperated this year and rain didn’t come until race was finished! And yay I got a new course PR!

Brazen always puts on a good race in terms of production, and this one was no exception. Plenty of parking, fee covered by Brazen at Quarry Lakes park. The scenery is OK – better than a concrete jungle, but not pretty enough to distract :-). The course is mostly flat, but parts are on trail which has some slight inclines. The course was well marked, and had volunteers directing the racers of various distances. Overall, this was a fun way to get in a final race of 2018. Just wish I had performed better! I had some heavy legs after a killer Lagree workout the day before. Next time!!

This is a low key & fun race. Lots of families out raising funds for the local schools. It is unique in that they serve pizza at the end of the race in the morning, but it looks to be a popular post race snack. Lots of other goodies too like power bars, cold brew coffee, bananas, etc. Cool vintage firetruck is on display. Medal if you place overall or in your age group.

I love the scenery at this race – along what is arguably one of the most beautiful areas of the California coast. This year there was some haze from the forest fires, but still gorgeous. I didn’t go out planning to run my fastest as I was planning to run the Monterey Bay Half the next day, which was sadly cancelled due to poor air quality from all of the forest fires. Hopefully I can run the half next year. Nice expo – manageable size, great location. One tip – be sure to make a dinner reservation if you plan to stay in town to do the half marathon the next day – everything gets booked!

This was the third race in Represent Running’s “Run the Bay Challenge” which includes 3 races around the bay area. I ran the 5K last year, and this year I ran the 10K. The 10K course is definitely nicer as it heads out to the bay for part of the run so the views are nice. The course is flat for the most part. Race was well organized, the shirt and medal were nice. There was an extra medal for completing the challenge.

I really enjoyed this race. There were not a lot of 10K runners so no need to weave and dodge other runners on the course. The sun was coming up just as we crossed the Bob Kerrey Pedestrian bridge – very pretty. Weather was absolutely perfect. Race was well organized, friendly volunteers and the medal was nice. Thumbs up – I would do this one again if I’m in Omaha at the right time.

I love this race for a variety of reasons:
1. Brazen Racing – always a good production, well organized
2. Easy and FREE parking
3. Pretty scenery along the bay.
4. Race morning bib pickup is allowed 🙂
5. Cool medals – and custom medals for age group wins
6. Flat and fast course
7. Great food after the race

This is the same course as the “Bay Breeze” race in February. I’ll be doing that one too!

This race is basically a “fun run” unless you are an elite runner or possibly in the first corral. There were more walkers than I have ever seen at a race before. This is great that there is so much participation, but there was definitely a bottleneck for about the first mile, and an obstacle course to get around the walkers for the entire course. There were corrals, but I don’t think most people paid attention to their corral numbers. I would have appreciated if the walkers had been in the last corral because this definitely slowed runners down. The course was nice. Lots of very pretty views and a combination of flat road and small hills. Lots of locals cheering the runners along, and several bands providing music. There was a definite lack of race etiquette along the course, with walkers blocking the entire width of the road at points, and lots of people not paying attention to runners around them and either stopping right in front of them or cutting them off. Having said that, this is an iconic Nor Cal run, and I’m really glad I participated for the first time this year. If I repeat this race, I will definitely try to get in the front corral, and I will park my car in Capitola and take a ride-share to the start line in Santa Cruz so that I don’t have to wait for the bus after the race to get back to my car. This was about a 30 minute wait just to get on the bus, and then with traffic it took about another 30 minutes to get back to parking lot at the start. Overall, a great experience, but expect it to be a long day. No race medal but a very cool shirt for finishers and a goody bag full of treats such as power bar, apple juice, trail mix.

There were lots of runners at this race so great energy. Very well organized from the gear check to the post race goodies. I really enjoyed this race – the course was mostly flat, and there were plenty of aid stations along the route. The weather was perfect – not too hot, and not humid. For me it was fun to run in a new city – I was visiting schools in Boston with my daughter and we did the race together. I hope to have the opportunity to do this one again in the future!

This was a fun race, part of the Giant Race series that takes place in several venues (Scottsdale, Sacramento, San Jose and San Francisco). This is the first time I have participated. Lots of Giants fans at the race, so great spirit at the start line. Course was flat and not the most scenic, but it did take you through parts of Happy Hollow park which for me brought back some fun memories. Cute medal shaped like a Giants jersey. I’ll probably do the San Francisco one for fun as well.

This was my very first 10K race so I was a little nervous but it turned out to be great. The course was mostly flat – just a couple of hills on an overpass. The scenery was suprisingly nice considering it was in downtown San Jose. This race was very well organized and the course was lined with volunteers cheering you along and keeping you on course. There was also music at a couple of spots along the way. I enjoyed this much more than the 5K the day before which was in the afternoon so really hot. This was perfect with an 8AM start. I enjoyed this race, and the 10K distance so I will definitely do it again!

This local race takes you from the SCU campus to Avaya Stadium and back. Scenery not the best, but the race is well managed and there is lots of food at the end of the race. I always appreciate a race close to home, so I am a fan of this one and will run again in the future.

I wanted to run this race because of the ocean side course. It was stunning – perfect weather and my best running buddy (my daughter) made for a standout race. Course was flat, it was not too crowded, and the cute surfboard medal doubles as a bottle opener :-).

My favorite thing about this run was the views. Also very organized with buses, bag check, etc. The only thing that I didn’t like was the bottleneck at the start of the race – the narrow wooden paths meant I had to walk at the beginning for awhile which was a bummer for my time. Fun race anyway with great weather.

This race supports families of fallen officers. All bay area runners should consider participating in this race – it’s family friendly and they have a police helicoptor land at the end, and mounted police on their horses. It’s really fun and different. The course through the park is nice, mostly trail. I actually got an age group win here which was fun :-).