DMACC 5K
Ankeny, IA
- 5K
- Road (Paved)
- Official race website
Please join us for our annual DMACC 5K Walk / Run hosted by the DMACC Alumni Association. $30 registration through September 12 for guaranteed race shirt and goodie bag. Registrations will be accepted up to and including the day of the event. Breakfast by DMACC’s Iowa Culinary Institute for all registrants … MORE
Local Historical Weather (Sep 30):
| 2023 | 2022 | 2021 | 2020 | 2019 | |
| H (°F) | 91 | 72 | 82 | 68 | 88 |
| L (°F) | 68 | 43 | 66 | 54 | 68 |
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Great race with one major issue
This had probably the best pre/post race amenities of any 5k I have participated in. DJ was there an hour before the race and constantly gave updates and details all … MORE
This had probably the best pre/post race amenities of any 5k I have participated in. DJ was there an hour before the race and constantly gave updates and details all the way until the start. There was a large covered area with tables and seating. After the race, there was water/juice/bananas and even hot burritos. A couple of the sponsors had tents set up. There were multiple volunteers taking pictures at various points in the race, and those will be publicly available which is another plus.
Parking was plentiful and right next to the start. One of the campus buildings was open for restroom access.
Race details and map were very well laid out on their website. A week before the race, an email was sent out with tons of details which was very much appreciated. The way the race was set up and ran could not have been better.
The race looped around DMACC campus roads and onto a trail going around a lake, and the start and finish were in a massive parking lot. There was a couple gradual ups and downs, nothing crazy, but I wouldn’t consider this course flat either. The map was very clear where the race went and the intersections had some signs but I feel like there could have been a couple people at a couple intersections where the trail forked as it could have been slightly confusing if you didn’t get a look at the map beforehand. Because the race is pretty out in the open and there was a lead bike, I don’t think anyone realistically would make a wrong turn but better to be safe than sorry.
Swag was actually very good. a draw-string bag (albeit cheap), shirt, towel and a couple small other things were given. The t-shirt is above average for race shirts so that was a plus.
And now to the only issue with this race. It is about 0.06 miles too long. This was apparent as the race map even says 3.18 miles and mapping it out gives the same thing. My watch GPS even confirmed it after the race. The funny thing is this race is USATF certified and you can look that up online. What I came to realize is the map we were given and the course that was ran had 1 small change. There are multiple entrances/exits to the parking lot. The USATF map (albeit not very clearly) shows you exit the earliest exit and do a U turn at the start. The race map shows you take the next exit and do a U turn, adding the additional 0.06 miles. As someone who pushed for PR’s every race, it is a little disheartening when you know your time should have been faster by ~20 seconds if the race was mapped correctly. If this was easily realized by myself, the race director should definitely realize this. I hope that they figure that out and change it as that was the only gripe about this event.
Other than that the race overall was great. The competition was decent for the size (~200 ppl, though less than 100 were timed, im guessing a decent amount of people didn’t get a timing chip for whatever reason). I plan on doing this next year despite the long length as it is run so well and there aren’t that many races this late in the year.