Low key, fun race benefiting the local schools. Goes through the neighborhood (and run by the local donkeys!). They pack a lot into it, including a 1 mile race and … MORE
Low key, fun race benefiting the local schools. Goes through the neighborhood (and run by the local donkeys!). They pack a lot into it, including a 1 mile race and various kids’ races (by grade, K-5). Purely run by volunteers, so don’t expect an army of professionals, fancy A-V set-up, etc. No chip timing, but hey, this is for fun and community.
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Local classic
Low key, fun race benefiting the local schools. Goes through the neighborhood (and run by the local donkeys!). They pack a lot into it, including a 1 mile race and … MORE
Low key, fun race benefiting the local schools. Goes through the neighborhood (and run by the local donkeys!). They pack a lot into it, including a 1 mile race and various kids’ races (by grade, K-5). Purely run by volunteers, so don’t expect an army of professionals, fancy A-V set-up, etc. No chip timing, but hey, this is for fun and community.
Needs to be labeled as a "fun run"
I feel bad leaving a bad review for this race, since it's a local race supporting a good cause. However, I was looking for a 5k race as a gauge … MORE
I feel bad leaving a bad review for this race, since it’s a local race supporting a good cause. However, I was looking for a 5k race as a gauge for how my current training was going, and this race was not good for it at all. They really need to label it as a “fun run” so there is no confusion, as:
– There is no start timing mat, and I started almost 10 minutes late, which added that amount of time to my what should have been a PR
– No bag check and no aidstations – normally fine, but they should make this clear
– No directions about the distances between parking, packet pick up, and start line, which were all really far from another, hence making me really late for the first bullet point
Now to elaborate more on my race day experience:
There were absolutely no pre race instructions, and the website had almost no information (hence I had no idea about the lack of aid stations or bag check). We didn’t even get instructions on where to park, where the bib pick up was, or where the start line was – all it said was the highschool. So the morning of, I got directions to the highschool from Google, and when I got close, I followed the other cars into the parking lot. I arrived about 45 minutes before the race start, which is normally way more than enough time.
Then, there were absolutely no signs about where bib pick up was, but I saw some people walking back to their cars with their stuff, so I was able to ask. I started walking there… after about 10 minutes, I picked it up to a jog cause it was much farther than I thought and realized I was going to be late for the start. I had my Garmin running at this time, and it was almost a mile from the parking lot to the bib pick up! At least the bib pick up was quick.. but then I realized there was no bag check at all. At this point, there was only about 20 minutes before the start, and my car was a mile away. I ran back to my car to drop it off and DROVE to a residential street near the bib pick up area and parked my car there.
Now, imagine my surprise when I get back to the bib pick up area, and I don’t see a start area. (Partially my fault for not paying closer attention before, but they really should tell us these things) Had to ask around again to figure out where it was, and it happened to be another half mile away! By this time, the race had already started, so I figured I would just walk it over since I’d already been running around like a crazy person between the parking and bib pick up, just assuming that they would have a chip time in addition to the gun time.
Wrong assumption. The start line was just a chalk drawn on the ground. Ugh. And at the end.. I don’t think there was a timing mat at the finish either, as we had to give them a ticket off our bib, where they wrote something down.
As for the other items, they give you a shirt, a grocery bag, but no medal. The food at the end was the standard race food, bananas and coffee cake.
All in all, this is a nice race if you want to support a local school, but they really really need to market it as a fun run.
great local race for kids and adults
this was my first time participating in this event, and i did so for two reasons: 1. it's super close to where i live (i'm talkin' a 6 min drive!)...i … MORE
this was my first time participating in this event, and i did so for two reasons:
1. it’s super close to where i live (i’m talkin’ a 6 min drive!)…i probably could have run here as my warmup!
2. proceeds benefit 3 schools in the palo alto school system:
+barron park elementary school
+terman middle school
+gunn high school
for this particular event, there was a choice of several distances:
1. 8k (4.97 miles) – open to all
2. 1 mile – open to all
3. 1/2 mile – 3rd, 4th and 5th graders
4. 1/4 mile – K,1st and 2nd graders
5. 200 yards – pre-K
6. 100 yards – challenger and special needs
i chose to participate in both the 8k and 1 mile, with a 2 hour break in between these two events.
the pros:
-PERFECT race day conditions, low-mid 50s and cloudy at the start of the 8k @ 8.30am.
-relatively flat course that originated a few blocks from barron park elementary, looped around the barron park neighborhood of palo alto, and ended back at the school
-free and easy parking at gunn high school (5 min walk to staging area with packet pickup and bag check)
-relatively small event, so the start line and course were never crowded, and i never had to squeeze my way in between anyone
-separate start times for each of the 6 events
-large posters to mark each mile of the 8k race
-spot in terms of distance (4.97 for the 8k and 1.00 for the 1 miler)…my garmin was off by just a few 1/100’s of a mile b/c i didn’t always run the tangents
-friendly volunteers directing runners along the course, calling out splits, handing out cups of water at the aid staion, and managing refreshments at the end
-lots of neighbors, parents, friends, and other supporters cheering for us throughout each course
what you get:
*17th annual juana run? logo cotton t-shirt
*lots of post-race food & drinks, including bagels, coffee cake, bananas, fruit-flavoured water and regular water. food was plentiful throughout the entire morning, so participants in all distances had a chance to partake in post-race refreshments.
*FREE active release technique to ease any post-race tightness and pain
*FREE gait analysis for those who wish to have their running form analysed
*FREE pancake breakfast for all 8k participants (yes, hot pancakes with butter and syrup!)
the cons:
-no chip timing for this event, so finish times are based on actual gun time. must line up at the very front if you want to have an accurate time.
-no early packet pickup option. must arrive at race site early to pick up bib, t-shirt and goodie bag.
-since i ran in two events, i had to line up twice to get both bibs since they handed out the bibs in segments
BONUS:
since i placed 1st in my age group for the 1 mile event, i was awarded a juana run? duffle bag, which is very spacious, great for carrying all of my running gear, accessories, snacks and water bottle!
this was a terrific event organized by those affiliated with the three aforementioned palo alto schools. the success of the event was due to the help of parents, teachers, students, and especially, the volunteers.
definitely great for families with children since there is a distance appropriate for everyone. since it wasn’t a large, highly populated event, it definitely had that sense of “family” that i really like.