It's not uncommon to find races that run through local amusement parks and certainly Zoos. This is just another example of a 5K that operates entirely on the property of … MORE
It’s not uncommon to find races that run through local amusement parks and certainly Zoos. This is just another example of a 5K that operates entirely on the property of one of these locations and benefits the Zoo itself.
The year I ran the race it had been advertised very heavily on the local radio in Nashville for weeks. As a result they had several thousand people come out to run this simple race.
The production itself was fairly simple and offered little fanfare. Although, the process was fairly crisp and registration moved well. The only swag for the event was a nice non-technical long-sleeve t-shirt with the race logo. I still have it and regularly wear it when I need a long sleeve shirt (admittedly not too often anymore as I now live in Las Vegas).
The course was not difficult and did a good job of giving the runners a tour of the Zoo property. It’s a different kind of scenery than most races, but it was kind of neat to run through the Zoo and see various animals out grazing. The course was a combination of paved portions and some light small gravel. While there were many people that ran the race, the majority were walkers. Fortunately, before starting the race they allowed all the runners to move towards the front. There were still some walkers that felt the need to push too far forward, and thus made the initial portion a cluster as people found their paces and started to stretch out. I wouldn’t expect a PR on this course as a result.
The only knock on the run was some of the construction that was occurring. Unfortunately, inside the Zoo there was a fair amount of work being done and many of the major areas were closed (the course was modified that year accordingly and ran us through some of the more boring maintenance sections to fill in the missing distance). Also, there was noteworthy construction happening on the road leading to the Zoo, which impacted people’s ability to get there on time. I met several people that weren’t able to get there in time and had to start 10-15 minutes late.
So would I run it again?
Probably not. It wasn’t a bad race though, and I’m glad I went. There just wasn’t enough that made it special to feel the need to repeat this event.
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Standard fare for Zoo races
It's not uncommon to find races that run through local amusement parks and certainly Zoos. This is just another example of a 5K that operates entirely on the property of … MORE
It’s not uncommon to find races that run through local amusement parks and certainly Zoos. This is just another example of a 5K that operates entirely on the property of one of these locations and benefits the Zoo itself.
The year I ran the race it had been advertised very heavily on the local radio in Nashville for weeks. As a result they had several thousand people come out to run this simple race.
The production itself was fairly simple and offered little fanfare. Although, the process was fairly crisp and registration moved well. The only swag for the event was a nice non-technical long-sleeve t-shirt with the race logo. I still have it and regularly wear it when I need a long sleeve shirt (admittedly not too often anymore as I now live in Las Vegas).
The course was not difficult and did a good job of giving the runners a tour of the Zoo property. It’s a different kind of scenery than most races, but it was kind of neat to run through the Zoo and see various animals out grazing. The course was a combination of paved portions and some light small gravel. While there were many people that ran the race, the majority were walkers. Fortunately, before starting the race they allowed all the runners to move towards the front. There were still some walkers that felt the need to push too far forward, and thus made the initial portion a cluster as people found their paces and started to stretch out. I wouldn’t expect a PR on this course as a result.
The only knock on the run was some of the construction that was occurring. Unfortunately, inside the Zoo there was a fair amount of work being done and many of the major areas were closed (the course was modified that year accordingly and ran us through some of the more boring maintenance sections to fill in the missing distance). Also, there was noteworthy construction happening on the road leading to the Zoo, which impacted people’s ability to get there on time. I met several people that weren’t able to get there in time and had to start 10-15 minutes late.
So would I run it again?
Probably not. It wasn’t a bad race though, and I’m glad I went. There just wasn’t enough that made it special to feel the need to repeat this event.