Badger Cove Half Marathon, 10K & 5K

Event & Course Description: Trail races are probably affected by weather more than street and road races, plus or minus rain-or-shine policies. Brazen Racing’s 2017 Badger Cove illustrates this. 2017 Badger Cove was probably scheduled with the park at Lake Del Valle 6-9 months in advance. Well, California’s drought was broken, in a wet and dramatic way in late 2016 and early 2017. Between damage to trails and to facilities, it was recognized 2 or 3 (?) weeks before the race that the Lake Del Valle course and facilities would not be ready, and an alternate venue selected and courses mapped out.

2017 Badger Cove was run in Wildcat Canyon Regional Park, where Brazen Racing does a race in May (“Wild Cat”), but using a course somewhat different from Wild Cat. Where the half Marathon course for Wild Cat is a figure-8, with an out-and-back tail off one of the loops, 2017 Badger Cove was a straightforward out-and-back course, with different turn-around points for each distance. BadgerCat, being one of Brazen’s Ultra Half series races, featured three fairly steep climbs, the shortest being .85 miles – not for the faint of feet. BadgerCat, like Wild Cat, paid off those who manage to do the work with 180-degree to 360-degree panoramic overlook views of the San Pablo and San Francisco Bay area.

Organization & Production: It’s a Brazen Racing event. That means that from registration through leaving after finishing, “all” a runner need worry about is getting there (pretty easy) and running the race (much less easy). The course was well marked with color-coded ribbons and a course marshal at a key turning point.

Aid stations were well spaced and stocked, with the three aid stations also being the turn-around points for the three distances. Street and road runners accustomed to aid stations with just water and sports drink at each aid station and maybe GU at selected stations will find Brazen’s aid stations’ offerings much more elaborate. In addition to those three items at each aid station, Brazen also offers Coca Cola and a wide variety of sweet and salty snacks. The finish area has even more goodies!

Swag & Goodies:
Bib: The bib features a green-clad, determined-looking, fist-pumping Leprebadger (St. Patrick’s Day!), the usual race and bib number information, and the runner’s name. All on a dark brown wood grain background.

T-Shirt: The tech-type race T-shirt is medium-dark green, with the name of the race and the year on the front. On the back is the Leprebadger, a rainbow and pot of gold, the race name, and the race information and sponsors’ logos.

Finisher’s Medal: The gold-colored medallion features the fist-pumping Leprebadger breaking a finish line tape, a rainbow behind him with, and a pot of gold at the end of the rainbow. The race details are cross the tape, on the rainbow apex, and on the side of the pot.

My Results & Opinion of the Race: Sigh … it’s been a frustrating year for me, health-wise. “Courtesy” of gout flairs in both feet, I had not been able to do any more than normal walking for three weeks, and then still didn’t do any for the week leading up to the race. I didn’t want to overdo and re-inflame the affected joints. After 4 weeks of almost nothing but normal, part of daily life, walking, I was very unprepared, and had to turn around somewhere between mile 4.5 and 5, returning to aid station 2. After helping serve out water to runners for a while, I was driven back to the start/finish area. Since I had completed a little more than 10K (completing 5K would have been handled the same), I did receive a finisher’s medal.

Added comments: Brazen has some really caring runners! Even had I been “aware” enough to try, I could not have counted how many people encouraged me and asked how I was doing. One kind lady stayed with me last last half mile or so before I turned around, making sure I was OK. Brazen runners and volunteers communicate about struggling runners. People who passed me told the volunteers at the next aid station about me, including my bib number. Had I made it to that aid station I would have been fully and caringly quizzed as to how I was doing. As things happened, that quizzing happened at the aid station to which I returned. At Brazen races, word of a struggling runner gets communicated to people who need to know, and appropriate action is taken. Similarly, when I reached the aid station to which I returned, they communicated that I was safe and needed a ride back to the finish area. No one wants to need assistance, but Brazen is prepared (and has handled more serious situations). My thanks to to Brazen – the company, the volunteers, and the runners.

What can I say? It’s a Brazen Racing race. That means well organized and a first-class experience. Brazen has many repeat runners who know each other, which makes for a family-like atmosphere. With the caveat of checking out the maps and elevation profiles, I’d recommend trying a Brazen race to anyone not familiar with Brazen. Would I do a Brazen race again? I’ll be volunteering at one next week. Would I do Badger Cove again? Probably, but I’d try to be better prepared!

Course description:
Badger Cove is a challenging hill trail race set along and above the southern half of the east shore of Lake Del Valle (near Livermore, CA). Starting at the East Beach picnic area, the 2015 course had a short southward out-and back leg, and then the half marathon followed a long, more or less out and back, leg northward that included going up and down a steep hill twice – outbound and inbound – and a loop around the southern peninsula of Badger Cove.

I had fairly high expectations for how pleasant the views would be, expectations met and exceeded. The rolling and steep hills were covered with green grasses, sometimes with groves of trees, sometimes dotted with large lone trees. There were beautiful hilltop overlooks with vistas of Lake Del Valle and of the surrounding hills. The views of the lake from the Badger Cove peninsula were gorgeous!

Organization & Production:
I’ve said in other reviews of their races that I think Brazen is the best organizer of small-medium sized races at their price point in the SF Bay Area. From online information and registration through finish line goodies and activities, Brazen does it right! Quite a few racers and volunteers have participated in multiple Brazen races and have become friends. Together with Brazen’s people they create a friendly, family-picnic-like atmosphere. 2015 Badger Cove was no exception.

All the many individual details that create a total race experience were up to Brazen’s usual high standard. Set-up began while still dark (I had arrived early, and almost walked into a picnic bench while looking for the porta-cans), and race day check-in was running by 6:45, well before sunrise. The early “Hikers” start was delayed 15 minutes, for safety. By the time I reached the first aid station it was fully set up. Course marking and monitoring was excellent. I was among the very last to complete the race, so I saw that the aid stations had plenty of drinks and snacks to the very end.

Badger Cove Half Marathon 2015 did not use the course ordinarily used for the race, due to a key trail section having been closed. This forced a near complete re-routing, within the same area of the park but using perhaps just 2-3 miles of the usual course. The resulting course was a bit more difficult than the usual one. I mention this: to point out that I did not experience the usual course (more on this later); to highlight Brazen’s flexibility. I do not know how much notice Brazen had – probably not long – but they plotted a new, equivalent, course, marked and monitored as well as in any Brazen race. Had I not known the course was different and Brazen had not used it before, I would not have known from the organization and marking.

Swag & Goodies:
Brazen’s race swag – T-shirt, bib, and finisher’s medal – are normally excellent. The 2015 Badger Cove T-shirt was green, in honor of St. Patrick’s Day, with a “Leprebadger” theme front and back. The bib featured a fairly real-looking badger. The finisher’s medal depicted the Leprebadger dancing in front of his pot of gold (at the end of a rainbow, of course); the St. Patrick’s Day themed ribbon gave the name of the race, and featured shamrocks and the Leprebadger running the race. Whether on race day or at early packet pick-up, those who registered 3 weeks before race day or earlier receive their race T-shirt with their bib. I believe late registrants (up to race day unless sold out) receive their T-shirts before the race on a first-come-first-served basis. This works better for slower runners/walkers like me than giving out T-shirts at the finish on a first-finished-first-served basis.

Finish area goodies … the goodies were the same as usual, excellent. Brazen is consistent, which means few surprises – not all surprises are good. So, It’s It ice cream sandwiches in several flavors, pastries, cookies, cake, bananas, oranges … more than I can easily recall.

My Results & Opinion of the Race:
How did I do? This was the first race in quite a while when I had done all my personal prep without forgetting anything (full meal, sunscreen, water, etc.). And I did not make errors like being overly or under aggressive. The course was the most difficult I’ve ever done – I knew it would be, even the regular course – and it was a warm day (mid 70s in the shade when I finished). Badger Cove is not Brazen’s most difficult race, but on that day my just under 5 hours finish time was what I could do. It wasn’t what I wished to do, but I’m working on being as happy with that finish time as I should be. Four years ago a 5K on flat streets would have been a challenge for me.

Would I do Badger Cove again? I’m an older guy, and Badger Cove is at or near my physical limits. I’m working on that. That aside, based on the race experience – Brazen, the volunteers, the participants, and the Badger Cove course – I would do Badger Cove again.

Do I think this review will be useful for others interested in this race, given the somewhat different course? I look at races as a whole experience, from learning about it and signing up through leaving the parking lot after the race. The race information, registration, and total race organization were Brazen’s excellent norm. The race was set in the same area of the same park, with the same or similar trails and views. The new course was a little more difficult, but as a whole I think my total race experience was the same as it would have been and this review is as valid and useful as if the regular course had been used.