Event & Course Description: As the title indicates, this even was a benefit for Gardner Health Services, which helps low income people find healthcare services. The 5K and 10K distances … MORE
Event & Course Description: As the title indicates, this even was a benefit for Gardner Health Services, which helps low income people find healthcare services. The 5K and 10K distances were out-and-back, starting and finishing near Gardner’s facility in Alviso, using the Guadalupe River Trail. One side of the course is the river, reasonably pleasant. The other side mostly overlooks industrial facilities and yards, plus some apartment or condo complexes. The trail is paved and flat, except for where the trail goes under a few streets.
Organization & Production: The online and email information for the event is basically register-and-run. It’ll get you registered, to the event, and home again. In my opinion, the webpage and email undersells the event, by not mentioning information frequent runners would find attractive. The information not included was that it was chip timed (SVETiming!), the event T-shirt is tech-type, bibs could have the runner’s name, and that there would be a finisher’s medal.
The event was pretty well organized (although it started 10 or 15 minutes late). There were pre-race coffee and post-race goodies. There were several health and education-related booths (no hospice organization). Some dignitaries spoke and a Catholic priest did a brief ceremony and prayer (for Dia de los Muertos). A high school mariachi band participated before and during the start. The course was well marked (going off-course would have taken effort), and there were water-only aid stations at the 5K and 10K turn-arounds. There was some bunching of runners for the first half mile or slow.
Bib: The bibs had an orange background color, race logo (a decorated skull) and name, the bib number, and the runner’s name. Definitely, Very. Nice.
T-Shirt: The shirt is bright lime green. The event logo is on the front, a decorated skull with the organization’s name, the year, on a purple circle. Around that circle is the event name, in orange, dark green, and fuchsia. It’s a really nice shirt, the nicest I’ve gotten in quite a few months.
Finisher’s Medal: The medallion is a decorated skull, grinning, not scary. The ribbon is purple, with the race name in white letters with several large orange and yellow flowers. The medallion is a bit smaller than is common (in the SF Bay Area, at least), but as a whole the medal is among the nicest I’ve received.
Finish & Recovery Area: I was the DLF of the 10K (not a surprise or disappointment to me), and while quite a few people had already left or were packing up, there was no lack of goodies and bottles of water. There was some seating nearby, though I just leaned against a fence to catch my breath and headed home.
My Results & Opinion of the Race: It sounds weird to me to say this, but I think the early bunching of runners for the first half mile or so probably affected my time by a couple of minutes, but not really materially (I still would have been DLF). This was a very well organized event, benefited a charitable organization, had very nice swag (did I mention that the swag bag included a packet of Lysol wipes and a Covid test?), and was on a trail I had not been on before (nice enough as long as I looked toward the river). There was a lot to like and I will consider doing the event in 2024.
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Health Provider's Dia de los Muertos Run
Event & Course Description: As the title indicates, this even was a benefit for Gardner Health Services, which helps low income people find healthcare services. The 5K and 10K distances … MORE
Event & Course Description: As the title indicates, this even was a benefit for Gardner Health Services, which helps low income people find healthcare services. The 5K and 10K distances were out-and-back, starting and finishing near Gardner’s facility in Alviso, using the Guadalupe River Trail. One side of the course is the river, reasonably pleasant. The other side mostly overlooks industrial facilities and yards, plus some apartment or condo complexes. The trail is paved and flat, except for where the trail goes under a few streets.
Organization & Production: The online and email information for the event is basically register-and-run. It’ll get you registered, to the event, and home again. In my opinion, the webpage and email undersells the event, by not mentioning information frequent runners would find attractive. The information not included was that it was chip timed (SVETiming!), the event T-shirt is tech-type, bibs could have the runner’s name, and that there would be a finisher’s medal.
The event was pretty well organized (although it started 10 or 15 minutes late). There were pre-race coffee and post-race goodies. There were several health and education-related booths (no hospice organization). Some dignitaries spoke and a Catholic priest did a brief ceremony and prayer (for Dia de los Muertos). A high school mariachi band participated before and during the start. The course was well marked (going off-course would have taken effort), and there were water-only aid stations at the 5K and 10K turn-arounds. There was some bunching of runners for the first half mile or slow.
Bib: The bibs had an orange background color, race logo (a decorated skull) and name, the bib number, and the runner’s name. Definitely, Very. Nice.
T-Shirt: The shirt is bright lime green. The event logo is on the front, a decorated skull with the organization’s name, the year, on a purple circle. Around that circle is the event name, in orange, dark green, and fuchsia. It’s a really nice shirt, the nicest I’ve gotten in quite a few months.
Finisher’s Medal: The medallion is a decorated skull, grinning, not scary. The ribbon is purple, with the race name in white letters with several large orange and yellow flowers. The medallion is a bit smaller than is common (in the SF Bay Area, at least), but as a whole the medal is among the nicest I’ve received.
Finish & Recovery Area: I was the DLF of the 10K (not a surprise or disappointment to me), and while quite a few people had already left or were packing up, there was no lack of goodies and bottles of water. There was some seating nearby, though I just leaned against a fence to catch my breath and headed home.
My Results & Opinion of the Race: It sounds weird to me to say this, but I think the early bunching of runners for the first half mile or so probably affected my time by a couple of minutes, but not really materially (I still would have been DLF). This was a very well organized event, benefited a charitable organization, had very nice swag (did I mention that the swag bag included a packet of Lysol wipes and a Covid test?), and was on a trail I had not been on before (nice enough as long as I looked toward the river). There was a lot to like and I will consider doing the event in 2024.