Barbara Rausch's Staging Area

First time running this race. I’m not a wine drinker, but I love a nice point to point race and great medal. This race starts at the Cuvaison Winery in Napa and finishes at the Sonoma Town Square. It’s run on totally closed roads which I loved. There was about 1800 runners which made for a great day, too. I was never alone on the course even the last few miles. There were seven aid stations. Plenty of water, Nuun, and gels and friendly volunteers.
Bussing to the start was painless. I rode the bus from the Best Western in Napa and then after the race, rode the bus back. The finish area was very congested with road closures, race participants, and tourists. The shuttle was so easy and stress free.
The medal was awesome. The shirt was nice. Finish line goodies were aplenty. I did pick up my wine glass even though I didn’t do any tastings. 😁 . All in all a great race that is pricey, but for me, it is worth the cost because of the closed course, aid stations were well stocked with water, and great medal. I will definitely run again.

I signed up for this race in 2019 for 2020. After two years of deferral, I finally ran the race. I will say that it was worth the wait.
I chose to pay for the Expo-in-the-Box to have my bib and shirt shipped to me instead of driving into Oakland. For me, it was worth the price. The box also came with extra snacks and Oak Run Co Bibboards.
I arrived early race morning and there was plenty of street parking near the race start.
Race website listed 2:45:00 and 3:00:00 pacers, but they only had pacers to 2:30:00. This was disappointing. I ended up not needing a pacer, though, because I finished in 2:44:32.
This race has a 3:00:00 time limit posted, but there were many that finished after that time.
I enjoyed the course. It was great to run on the Bay Bridge Trail. The weather was perfect and the views were gorgeous. Well placed aid station with plenty of water and sports drink. The volunteers were great.
Loved the medal with the cranes and the bridge. We received a pint glass at the finish. There were tacos, but I did not want to wait in line. We also got a can of Old Kan beer. I gave it to my husband. Lol.
This race should be run at least once.

This is a small race production with about 95 half marathoners and as many 5k runners. The race starts and finishes at the Shinzen Group Activity Area at Woodland Park in Fresno. This is the second year of this race, but my first year running. It is 150 miles from my house. If you are okay with a small race, I would definitely sign up. It was worth the drive. There is $1000 prize money to be won for the top 5 overall male/female half marathoners. They serve hot chocolate, Mexican sweet bread, and TACOS at the finish. The medal was really nice, too. The shirts were Dri Fit long sleeve.
The course was nice (from what I could see of it.) It was super foggy. The fog eventually did burn off some. I would like to run the course on a clearer day. Lots of aid stations and friendly volunteers that were happy to be out there despite the fog and cold. I will most likely run this race in 2021. Who can pass up yummy tacos?

I’ve run many many Brazen races and many races at Quarry Lakes and I always find it enjoyable. Today, I ran the half marathon today. Brazen runs a half at Western Pacific and Quarry Turkey. This course if different than those two. As always, this race has the great Brazen vibe. The aid stations are well stocked with water, sports drink, sweet and salty snacks. The medal and shirt are awesome. Great post race food and there was plenty left for this half marathon back of packer.
If you run this race (any distance) along with the New Year’s Day race (any distance), you earn the connector medal to form a Mega-Medal.

The race takes place in rural Northern California in the cities of Greenville and Taylorsville which is about two hours west of Reno, NV and three hours northeast of Sacramento. This race benefits the Mountain Family Circle Services foster kids program in the area. Runners can sign up to be Charity Runners which I did and raise extra money for the foster kids.The start/finish line is located at Goss Ranch. There is no race parking at the start/finish, so runners and spectators park about five miles away. Runners and spectators are shuttled to the start/finish. Parking is free. We drove out to the parking area the day before to see where it was located, so there would be no stress race morning.
There is a marathon, half, and 10k offered at this event. I ran the half marathon. The course is at 4000 ft. The marathon is a Boston Qualifier. Aid stations are every two to three miles. There is a contest between the aid station on theme, snacks, and spirit. They can win $1000 for their charity. It was a lot of fun to see costumes. food, and the vibe that each station was offering. The runners are the judges and vote at the finish.
The half course is basically a loop around the valley floor with a short out and back between mile seven and eight. The course is not closed, but there is virtually no traffic. The only traffic was the sag wagon driving around checking on runners and a few locals. It was a little warm on race day due to a heat wave, but there was plenty of shade from the trees and even the exposed areas were nice. The course was very pretty. Most of the half course looked out on to the valley floor and meadow. There was an early 5:30 am start for marathoners and half runners that needed extra time. The regular marathon started at 6:30 am. The half started at 7:15 am and the 10k started at 8 am. There is no time limit for the races, but if a runner is going to take longer that seven hours, it is suggested that they do the early start.
Bib pick up is the evening before and race morning. All runners receive a tech tee and a nice goodie bag filled with samples. All finishers receive a very nice medal. There was beer, water, and very light snacks at the finish. I think the snacks may have been light because all the 10k and fast half marathoners took all the snacks. They did have plenty of coolers full of waters and the aid stations were well supported, so i will forgive them for the lack of finish line food.
All in all, this is a well run race and the best part is that the race proceeds support the local foster kids. This is definitely a race that should be done at least once.

First time running this race and first time running a 12k. I have an instant PR. Although this is my first time running this particular race, I have run many races by Represent Running and they always do a great job. This 12k is a point to point that starts in Sausalito and finishes near the Aquatic Park in San Francisco. All runs must be bussed to the start. Runners coming from SF are picked up at the finish area and transported to the start-line. The pick up was quite painless. The biggest issue is just getting into San Francisco so early.
The course is enjoyable. Anytime you get to run across the Golden Gate Bridge is a win. Mother Nature was not very friendly race day. It was extremely foggy and windy running across the bridge. The sun did peek out later in the morning. There were three aid stations that were stocked with water, sports drink, and gels. The volunteers were great.
At the finish, we received our medals and there were plenty of food samples. I had a nice time. i would do this race again.

I heard a lot of good things about this race. It was a double out and back for the marathon along paved roads line with 300 foot old growth redwoods. It has a seven hour time limit and plenty of aid stations. Sounded perfect for a weekend getaway five hours from home. I could not have been more disappointed. Now, the scenery was beautiful. The trees kept the course shaded and cool from the late morning run.
The course had plenty of aid stations. Aid stations were at mile 2, 4, 6, 7, 9, 11, 14, 16.5, 17.5, 19, 22, 24, and 25.5. Most stations had fruit, Gatorade, water, and gel.
Since it’s a double out and back, runners had to reach the 13.1 mile point by 3.5 hours or you would be directed to finish as a half marathoner. Well, myself and another lady reached the 13.1 mile mark around 2:50:00 and the course monitors were trying to get us to head in as a half finisher knowing that we were marathon runners.The half marathoners were coming from the other direction. I continued on with my run and reached the 15 mile area or so and there were photographers taking pictures of the marathoners and halfers coming from the other direction. i figured, “Hey, they’ll be out there when I come back through that way.” Boy, was a wrong. They had completely packed up and left. I ended up with no on-course photos. I have two from prerace. I was very disappointed.
Throughout this race, I do have to say that on-course volunteers were great. They were cheerful and friendly. They were more than happy to fill my handheld water bottle.
I want to remind the reader here that this race has a time limit of seven (7) hours and i finished in 6:03:00. As I approached the final aid station at mile 25.5, all that was there was an empty water pitcher. They had packed up and left. No water. No Gatorade. Yes, there were ample aid stations on course, but don’t list this AS if it’s not going to be attended for runners that are well within the time limit. I was an hour within. The temperature had risen to about 80′. This part of the course was exposed and water at this point would have been nice.
When I finished the race, I received a nice medal and two bottles of warm water. There was no food left. :o(
Later that afternoon when I was checking results, I noticed that there were no finish times listed after 5:27:00. I emailed the race director about the times and she said “that is wasn’t her problem and that i needed to contact the timing company and give them Hell”. What? Really? Not her problem? She’s the race director. I emailed her back with the same “What?”. So, I emailed the timing company which is Enmotive. They were more than helpful. He told me that he was not aware of the issue and would look into it and get it taken care of. i told him there were at least 50 runners that had no times. A few hours later, I received an email stating that they had fixed the problem and that I now had an official finish time. This is what the race director should have done.
My final thoughts on this race are:
—If you run the 10k, half, or are a sub 5:15 hour marathoner, sign up for this race. You’ll get treated nicely. The aid stations will be stocked for you and will not be abandoned.
—The race should not be listed as a 7-hour time limit, if the aid stations are shut down at 6 hours and a six hour finish yields a runner with no post race refreshment.
— Before I ran the marathon, I was going to return the next year and run the half. i will not ever run this race again. You do not treat runners like this. Tighten up the time limit if you are going to run out of food and have AS shutdown.

This event takes place at Castle Rock State park at Mt Diablo in Walnut Creek. There are four races that take place. There is a 50k that has 8000 Ft of elevation, a half marathon with about 2500 ft, a 10k with 1200 ft and a 5k with about 300 ft. I chose the 5k. Previously, I have run the half marathon in 2016 and the 5k twice.
The 5k course is an out and back with an aid station that you see twice. Because of all the rain that we’ve had this season, we did have 12 stream crossings. Most were ankle deep, but there were a couple that went up to my calves and the streams were wide. There was no way to avoid them, so we all ended up with wet feet. This course is slightly technical because of the streams and the slick rocks and a couple of sections of sandstone that is slick and rutty. I do enjoy this course. Castle Rock Park is quite nice the scenery and all the trails.
Brazen Racing produces great races. All finishers get a very nice medal and shirts. There is plenty of food at the finish including an It’s it Ice Cream Sandwich.
In November, Brazen puts on the Summit Stomp which has a 30k in addition to the half, 10k, and 5k.

First race out of my state.
I ran the 5k. There is also a 10k that runs Saturday. The theme for this year’s marathon weekend is A Space Odyssey. The race is very well organized and run. The Expo is large and had a great selection of vendors selling their item. All racers received a gender specific tech tee that is white.
The race starts on LaHarpe behind the Marriot and Convention Center. The course is a big loop with 127 ft of elevation. At the finish, the announcer calls the finishers name. It’s nice considering how big the race is. There were plenty of course monitors and aid station volunteers. Aid stations had water and Gatorade.
The race had great vibe.
The finisher’s medal are race specific and very well done. The Little Rock race weekend is a definite must.

First time running the Kaiser half marathon, but this is my 35th half marathon. This event also has a 5k and 10k. The first 6.5 miles of the half course weaves through Golden Gate Park. Around mile seven, you head out onto The Great Highway which runs along the Ocean Beach/Pacific Ocean. In previous years, the weather has been nice. This year, it was not. The turn around at was at mile 10. There was a huge head wind and it was raining. The rain felt like stinging needles. On the way back, the wind lessened some until mile 12 when it kicked up again. Of course, this is not the fault of the race organization, but I wanted to let a potential runners know that the weather can be awful. This did impact my time. When I was walking back to the car, there were still runners out there that had been moved to the sidewalk, so the Highway could be reopened. At that time, the wind had really kicked up. Some were having a tough time. Although, this race is fairly flat, this was probably my hardest race weather wise. The wind was a struggle for me. With a half mile to go you make a right and head away from the ocean and the wind died down some. The last half mile is uphill, but it was nice after dealing with the wind on The Great Highway.
On the positive side, the shuttling to the start line was easy and convenient. Park at Ocean Beach and walk to the buses and it’s about a 10 minute ride. The bus fee is included in your entry. There were ample aid stations with water and Nuun, so I was able to get refills on my handheld water bottle.
At the finish line, The announce, Tony, was great. He was so enthusiastic about all the runners. When I came across the finish line, he had all the spectators chanting my name. It was so much fun. Tony needs to be invited back to be the announcer next year. Also,if you sign up earlier enough, your bib will be mailed to you.
There was water and bananas at the end. I finished in 2:45:00 and there were still snacks available. Although, my friend finished a half hour after I did and well within the time limit, they had run out of water and bananas. a lot of the vendors were packing up, too.
We got our shirts after the race. It was a long sleeve that was soft. It seemed to be techie, but it was super thin. It’s not something that you can wear out and about.
The medal was nice. It can stand and has a movable bird. I liked it.
I think this race would be great if the weather was nicer, but with the uncertainty of the weather. I’m not sure I will run again.

Last year, I ran the two-person relay. I had a bad case of FOMO (Fear of Missing Out) when my friends ran this marathon, so I was reeled in with the early bird cheap price last year. This course is a point to point and starts near the Folsom Dam and ends at the Capital Building in Sacramento. The course is a “Net Downhill”, I ran the first two legs of the relay last year, so I knew that the first 13.5 miles had rolling hills. The second half of the race was pretty much flat. There were plenty of aid stations. I carried a 16 oz hand-held bottle and was never without of water. There was Nuun drink and Clif bars and gel on course. Plenty of cheering locals from the communities.
Leading up to the race, there was good communication about the expo and race day information.
The only issue that I encountered was that our bus driver that was taking us to the start, GOT LOST TWICE!!!!! She had no idea where to go and several of the runners on the bus had to provide navigation for her. We eventually arrived at the start at 6:40am which left us 20 minutes to take care of business. It took over an hour to get to the start. The lines were long for the toilets. These bus drivers need to know where they are going. It was ridiculous.
The medal was great and I LOVED the pullover long sleeve.
Despite the bus situation, it was a fun and enjoyable experience. I even set a PR and shave 4 minutes and 9 seconds off my marathon time.

Third time running this 5k. This race takes place at beautiful Sanborn Park in Saratoga. This course include a mix of fire roads, single track, and many switchbacks. There are also a lot of exposed roots and rocks. You definitely have to pay attention during this race. This race is one big uphill of 775′ to the turnaround at the one and only aid station for the 5k. It’s then downhill to the finish. The run is mostly under tree canopy with some exposed areas, but definitely scenic and enjoyable, if you like hills.
The aid station had friendly volunteers and was well stocked with water, sports drink, gels, pretzels, candy, and fruit. The course was well marked.
Brazen Racing’s shirts and medals are always first rate and these did not disappoint.The medal and shirt were great.
Finish line food consisted of the usual pretzels, candy, bagels, pastries, fruit, chips, and It’s It ice cream sandwiches.
All runners received a cotton or tech shirt depending on which race they ran.
Maybe, I’ll give the 10k a try next year. We’ll see.

Third time running here, but first time “running” the 5k. The two previous times. I have run the half marathon.
This race takes place at Wildcat Canyon Regional Park near El Sobrante. Thanks to a concession by East Bay Waldorf School, Brazen Racing is allowed to have a staging area for the Wildcat Race. This 5k is a tough little course and is no joke, but at the top, you will be rewarded with views of San Francisco, the Golden Gate Bridge, Alcatraz, Mount Tamalpais, and the Bay. The view really is exceptional. For this course, you head up hill and then down and then you will turn around at the aid station and go right back up the hill and then downhill, Total elevation is around 850 ft over the 3.1 miles.
There is one aid station that is well stocked with water, Ultima sports drink, Gu, sweet and salty snacks, and fruit. The aid station volunteers are awesome.
All participants receive, either a cotton for 5k/10k or a tech for half marathon. The Wildcat character is well done. The medal and shirt never disappoint.
There is plenty of finish line food and don’t forget the famous it’s It ice cream sandwich.
This race in 2016 was my first trail half marathon. Maybe, in 2019, I will give the 10k a shot.

Second time running the 5k, but I volunteered the two years prior to the 5ks. All races start and end at Castle Rock Park in Walnut Creek at the base of beautiful Mount Diablo. The 5k had ten (10) water crossings. These were not water crossings that you could jump over. These were stream crossing that you had to go through. Most were ankle to shin high. The water was COLD, too. The 5k measured 3.12 miles with 558 ft of elevation. There were some technical parts of the course, but the water was the most challenging aspect.
The 5k had one aid station that we saw twice. The 5k turnaround was just past the aid station and another stream crossing. Eager volunteers were there to hand out water and sports drink. I did not stop, but Brazen AS are stocked with sweet and salty snacks, Gu, and fruit.
All runners get a race shirt. 5k/10k get cotton and half marathoners get a technical fabric tee. The 50k runners get a special 50k shirt.
Brazen Racing medals are first rate and this one did not disappoint. As you crossed the finish line, Sam, the race director, called out your name. This is always special after a tough race.
There was food and drink at the finish as well as the traditional It’s It ice cream sandwich.
A special note about this race from the Brazen Racing website:
For over 40 years, Save Mount Diablo has worked tirelessly to preserve and increase the open space on and around Mount Diablo. In that time, their efforts have taken us from 6,788 acres of open space to over 100,000 acres of open space on and around the mountain!

With distances suitable for everyone from those hitting the trails for the first time to experienced ultra-runners, the Diablo Trails Challenge was created to help celebrate and support these achievements. A portion of all entry fees will go to Save Mount Diablo to help them continue preserving open space and trails for all of us to enjoy.