Race to the End of Summer

Course description:
The Race to the End of Summer uses Embedded Way, by the Silver Creek Sportsplex, a southeast San Jose cul-de-sac street, for its start/finish area. The half marathon course is a double-legged out-and-back. From Embedded Way, all runners go out onto Hellyer Avenue, turn onto Fontanoso Way, onto Silver Creek Valley Road, and then to the Coyote Creek Trail. This is approximately 1 mile, and is also the final mile of all distances. All runners then turn right onto the asphalt paved Coyote Creek Trail, toward Hellyer Park. The 5K turn-around is in about half a mile, and the 10K turn-around is about a mile and a half beyond that, almost to Hellyer Park. The 5K and 10K are single-leg out-and-back. Runners doing the half go into Hellyer Park and circle the lake instead of a turn-around. The half then goes back, past the trail entry point, and proceeds on the second out-and-back leg, turning around close to Metcalf Road and going back to the trail entry point and Embedded Way.

The Coyote Creek Trail is generally pleasant, though not as beautiful as many trail courses in parks farther from urban-suburban areas. On the other hand, I find it a lot more beautiful than the street courses of the several races run in San Jose. The trail isn’t flat, but there aren’t any “real” hills. Parts of the trail have trees, the creek, and hills on either side, some have the creek on one side and modern industrial buildings on the other. Parts of the course are near and even go under US Highway 101. Traffic noise can be quite noticeable, so I recommend music and ear buds for races on this trail. This year, 2015, has been a drought year. The lake in Hellyer Park was almost dry, with several large puddles (and a few wading egrets). I did a Turkey Trot that started/finished in Hellyer Park, and the lake is very pretty when it has water in it. I also saw along parts of the course a fair number of small trees that were dead. While not plentiful enough to spoil the appearance of those parts of the course, they were noticeable. Needless to say, JEMS Racing cannot control the weather. If Winter 2015-2016 is as wet as some hope, the lake may be full in 2016 (and, consequently, would be very pretty), and the course much greener.

Organization & Production:
Online registration was quite smooth, and pre-race instructions came by email early in the week of the race. There was no race-day packet pick-up, but there were three pick-up days pre-race: Thursday (which I did) and Friday pick-up at the M8trix Casino near where US Highway 101 and First Street cross, and Saturday at the Silver Creek Sportsplex. Access from and getting back onto freeways (I-880 is nearby) were easy. Pick-up was in a small banquet room, with separate tables for getting one’s bib, T-shirt, and swag bag. It was smooth and quick, maybe 20 minutes from riding the elevator up to the room to getting back into my car.

On race day there was free parking at two nearby businesses. The walk from where I parked to the start/finish area was maybe a quarter mile. I arrived before the volunteers were out to direct traffic (they weren’t late, I was early), but there were signs in place indicating where to park.

The start/finish area was simple and functional. There were 18 porta-cans at the end of the cul-de-sac (2 of them handicap accessible), plus two hand-washing stations. These were also easily accessible from the course, being passed twice by all runners. Between the 7AM start for the half marathon and my slow pace, I can’t say whether the 18 porta-cans were adequate at peak usage times. The start/finish area was bounded by barriers and tables for the timing station and various vendors.

Besides sensing runners’ start and finish times, there were timed splits near the 10K turn-around and half-marathoners’ turn-around. There were a LOT of aid stations! They were basic – water and sports drink – for 10K and 5K runners; some stations along the half-marathon out-and-back leg also had GU gel packets. This is more basic than some SF Bay Area trail races, but is similar to aid stations at large street races. There were mile markers for every mile.

I was among the last to finish. So most of the people in the finish area by then were volunteers, but they were very encouraging. After receiving the finisher’s medal another volunteer handed me a chilled bottle of water. As best I could tell, all (or almost all) the finish area goodies were still available, and the chiropractic people were still available.

It seemed like volunteers were EVERYWHERE! The course was well marked, but there were volunteers along the course to cheer on runners and keep them on-course. Some were very cheery (especially two young ladies near Hellyer Park), some were possibly a bit out of their comfort zone. But all were helpful and encouraging, especially those at aid stations.

Swag & Goodies:
The T-shirt is attractive, if not spectacular. It’s cherry red, tech type, with the JEMS Racing logo and race name on the front. The back has the name of the race and the usual sponsors’ logos … but no date. According to the website, all runners received the same T-shirt; this is nice, as many races reserve tech-type T-shirts for half and full marathon runners. While the bibs are not personalized, the half marathon bibs were different from those of the 10K and 5K.

Finishers of all distances received finishers’ medals. I didn’t see the medals received by 10K and 5K runners, but the half marathon finisher’s medal specifies the distance. The medal is a heavy polished rectangular bottle-opener type, with a spinner with the JEMS Racing logo. The name of the race is above the spinner, and the date and distance are below the spinner. Very impressive!

As mentioned above, aid stations were basic – water and sports drink on the first out-and-back leg used by all distances, and GU gel at some aid stations on the second out-and-back leg (used only by half marathon runners). Finish area food was not as varied as many trail races, but was as or more so than some large road races. I noticed bananas and oranges, blueberry coffee cake, quinoa chips (a race sponsor), and bagels with cream cheese or peanut butter for spreads. Besides the water given at the finish line, there were also chocolate milk and a chocolate-flavored coconut water beverage. And as I mentioned, there was still plenty when the last finishers crossed.

My Results & Opinion of the Race:
I had strained a calf muscle a week and a half before, so I wasn’t sure I’d be able to finish. I started carefully, realized 3 or 4 miles in that I was doing fine, and settled into a brisk but not aggressive walk. I finished a little over 3:40, slower than my usual for that sort of course, but at the start I wondered if I could finish under 4 hours.

All in all the Race to the End of Summer was a very pleasant, well-organized and run race. It’s family friendly (I saw an 8 or 10 year-old young lady doing the 10K) and “accessible” to runners new to races or who do races very occasionally. There are some very good race organizers in the SF Bay Area, and while the Race to the End of Summer is toward the upper end in registration fee, it is among the simpler in its aid stations, though a little more varied in finish area goodies. I should mention, however, that part of race proceeds benefit the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society.

What improvements might be done at low-moderate expense? Adding the race date to the T-shirt would be good (assuming the omission was not accidental). Offering GU gel (or a similar product) near the 10K turn-around would be good, and appropriate for the distance and (usually) warm weather. GU is not a sponsor, but Sports Basement is, so perhaps this could be arranged with them. Another pleasant addition that would not be too expensive might be to offer trail mix, chips, and some sort of candy (e.g. peanut M & Ms or Skittles) at half marathon aid stations (and maybe at the 10K turn-around). Having these in the finish area would be a not too expensive upgrade, perhaps with one or two varieties of cookie as well.

One thing I think would be good to add to JEMS’ Race Info page for the Race to the End of Summer and to the pre-race instructions is a strongly emphasized request that racers not drop empty cups, gel packets, etc. along the course other than trash container near-misses. Trail runners are typically much more careful not to litter, but while not extreme, I saw more empty gel packets and cups along the course (and picked up several) than I’ve seen in other trail races. This could improve runners’ race experience as well as JEMS’ relationship with the parks organization that maintains the trail. Another thing JEMS could do is ask aid station volunteers to go, late in the race, 50-100 yards on either side of their station and pick up litter they see, even if it isn’t from their race.

The bottom line question, would I do the Race to the End of Summer again? Yes. I would, and am considering doing it again next year. Most of the race organizers in the SF focus on challenging hill trail races, though two have a few races on flatter trails (including the Coyote Creek Trail). While hill trail races have more beautiful courses, they are challenging, not very “accessible” to new and occasional racers or to road/street runners. JEMS’ races – three races, currently – fit in a not very full niche. While their Mardi Gras Madness 5K has San Jose streets for its course, the other two use the Coyote Creek Trail (but are not identical), in the three common distances.