Event & Course Description: The Wildflower Run benefits the American Association of University Women. It was run in northern Morgan Hill, in 10K and 5K distances, the 39th running and … MORE
Event & Course Description: The Wildflower Run benefits the American Association of University Women. It was run in northern Morgan Hill, in 10K and 5K distances, the 39th running and after a 2 year Covid break. I won’t try to trace the course in detail (I did the 10K distance), but will instead say that the area in which we ran is semi-rural, on the edge of the city, so we saw open fields, orchards, a vineyard, a new housing development, some larger “estates” (the best word I know to describe such homes), and some more ordinary suburban neighborhoods. The event started in the student parking lot at Live Oak High School, and finished at the other side of the campus, near faculty parking.
Organization & Production: As mentioned above, this was the 39th running, so the AAUW people doing the organizing have considerable practice. From checking out their website through leaving after finishing, the Wildflower Run is a register-and-run event. It’s fairly no-frills – no finisher’s medal, water-only aid stations – but what there is is done well. The course marshals along the course and aid station volunteers were consistently friendly and encouraging.
Bib: The bibs were fairly plain, blue for 10K, yellow for 5K, with the race name and bib numbers. The event is chip timed.
T-Shirt: Maybe I’m spoiled or not fully rational, but this was a sore spot for me. I “get” that charities need to use their funds carefully (it would be disturbing if they did not). So I dial back my expectations: cotton instead of tech-type is fine with me; I don’t expect amazing creativity or even a different design every year. When I picked up my bib and Tee early on race day, I was asked if a blue shirt instead of a red one would be OK. Thinking the difference was just color, I was OK with that, and left the shirt in my car (I usually don’t wear race shirts on the day of the race). I looked at my shirt after finishing, and saw it had the date “2020”. It’s a good quality cotton Tee, with a fairly interesting design, and obviously cost the charity money, but I wish the organizers had informed runners that some might receive shirts left over from previous years.
Finish & Recovery Area: I was tired enough that I didn’t check out what was in the area. In passing through it, I did notice cups with pretzel sticks and a lady handing out pieces of cantaloupe.
My Results & Opinion of the Race: Maybe I’ll get over it (or grow up) but what I mentioned above was disappointing. The Wildflower run was well organized, with friendly volunteers, and the scenery was more pleasant than many street/road events I’ve done.
Pleasant Event
Event & Course Description: The Wildflower Run benefits the American Association of University Women. It was run in northern Morgan Hill, in 10K and 5K distances, the 39th running and … MORE
Event & Course Description: The Wildflower Run benefits the American Association of University Women. It was run in northern Morgan Hill, in 10K and 5K distances, the 39th running and after a 2 year Covid break. I won’t try to trace the course in detail (I did the 10K distance), but will instead say that the area in which we ran is semi-rural, on the edge of the city, so we saw open fields, orchards, a vineyard, a new housing development, some larger “estates” (the best word I know to describe such homes), and some more ordinary suburban neighborhoods. The event started in the student parking lot at Live Oak High School, and finished at the other side of the campus, near faculty parking.
Organization & Production: As mentioned above, this was the 39th running, so the AAUW people doing the organizing have considerable practice. From checking out their website through leaving after finishing, the Wildflower Run is a register-and-run event. It’s fairly no-frills – no finisher’s medal, water-only aid stations – but what there is is done well. The course marshals along the course and aid station volunteers were consistently friendly and encouraging.
Bib: The bibs were fairly plain, blue for 10K, yellow for 5K, with the race name and bib numbers. The event is chip timed.
T-Shirt: Maybe I’m spoiled or not fully rational, but this was a sore spot for me. I “get” that charities need to use their funds carefully (it would be disturbing if they did not). So I dial back my expectations: cotton instead of tech-type is fine with me; I don’t expect amazing creativity or even a different design every year. When I picked up my bib and Tee early on race day, I was asked if a blue shirt instead of a red one would be OK. Thinking the difference was just color, I was OK with that, and left the shirt in my car (I usually don’t wear race shirts on the day of the race). I looked at my shirt after finishing, and saw it had the date “2020”. It’s a good quality cotton Tee, with a fairly interesting design, and obviously cost the charity money, but I wish the organizers had informed runners that some might receive shirts left over from previous years.
Finish & Recovery Area: I was tired enough that I didn’t check out what was in the area. In passing through it, I did notice cups with pretzel sticks and a lady handing out pieces of cantaloupe.
My Results & Opinion of the Race: Maybe I’ll get over it (or grow up) but what I mentioned above was disappointing. The Wildflower run was well organized, with friendly volunteers, and the scenery was more pleasant than many street/road events I’ve done.