Race to the Flagpole

Course Description:
The course for the Race to the Flagpole half marathon is about 45% an out-and-back, which only runners of the half did, and about 45% the 10K course. The start and finish areas are in Livermore’s Independence Park, and all runners do the same first and last 3/4 mile or so.

On leaving Independence Park runners follow a trail that takes them to Sycamore Grove Park. 10K runners enter it for their run, while half marathon runners pass it by, taking trails paralleling various roads through hundreds of acres of vineyards, up into the hills east of Livermore. The trail is twofold – paved trail paralleled by packed dirt trail (used by horses, so watch for equine “landmines”). “Up into hills” means climbing. None are super steep, but it’s 2-3 miles of mostly uphill, with some short flat or downhill stretches between individual hills. And then back down again, turning into Sycamore Grove Park to do the 10K course.

The 10K course is an elongated figure-8 using Sycamore Grove Park trails. These run past vineyards, through oak, eucalyptus, and (surprise!) sycamore groves, past an olive orchard, alongside and over a creek. For my taste, this part of the half marathon – the 10K course – was the more beautiful part of a generally beautiful course. Most of the trail was access road for park rangers, with perhaps 3/4 of a mile of paved trail (much of which had a packed dirt shoulder). The terrain is mostly gently rolling, with one short hill well worth calling a hill.

Organization & Production:
* Overall, race organization and production were very well done. There were aspects that could be improved, and aspects that were nicer than I expected from a small, local, charity race (two Livermore area high schools’ athletic programs).

* Easy registration with no service fee tacked onto the registration price; this fee doesn’t bother me, as the registration site is providing a service and earns a reasonable fee, but it is nice for budget planning.

* Speaking of budget, the $45 registration fee is really low!

* This was the first race I’ve been in (more than 30) that did not send a race instructions email. Much of what is typically in such emails – parking, check-in – was on the mail-in registration form, but I registered online. I didn’t find it until the day before the race. Race instructions can be an email or a webpage, but if the latter, it should be easy to find.

* The course maps are a bit klutzy, a map of the out-and-back section of half marathon, and a map for the 10K, with text showing where half runners go onto the 10K course. Not very user-friendly. There were no elevation profile charts.

* Come race day … parking was free. The lot got pretty full half or a full hour before start time.

* Packet pick-up was race day only, and getting bibs and T-shirts were separate steps. Both were quick for me, and I didn’t see a line for either.

* There was a color guard from the local VFW post and a singer who led the “Star Spangled Banner”.

* Both start and finish were chip-timed.

* Course marking was OK. There were quite a few stationary course monitors, and quite a few, very helpful, monitors on bicycle. Going astray required being inattentive (which I was at one point; I was corrected within 20 yards by a nearby monitor). A few chalk markings or traffic cones to indicate, “Don’t go this way,” would be good in future runnings of this race.

* Aid stations were water only, and there were quite a few. I probably passed water stations 8 times (some twice). I think I heard some sloshing sounds as I walked, somewhere around mile 10 or 11.

* I was the last to finish the half, and when I did there were no food tables or food. On the other hand, well-laden food tables had been in the area before race start, and I had availed myself of some. Having food available to the very end would have been nice, but it was a small race, with only 54 doing the half marathon. So I have no problem with the lack of food tables at the very end.

* By the time I finished they had also run out of finisher’s medals. The person in charge apologized profusely, explained, and got my bib number. I was told to expect a medal in the mail in 2-3 weeks. The reason they ran out was that they had received MANY more late and race day registrations than they had anticipated. I have no problem AT ALL with this consequence of a community supporting a charity race beyond the expectations of the race planners!

Swag & Goodies:

T-shirt: Light gray cotton T with the race logo (runners approaching a sycamore tree with an American flag in the background, very attractive), race name, year, and distances on the front, and sponsors’ logos on the back.

Finisher’s medal: I looked at the finisher’s medal, briefly, before race start. It’s an off-the-shelf medallion with laurel leaves circling a center with a printed insert.

Goodies: Before race start I saw coffee, bottled water, cut up bagels with cream cheese, muffins, fruit strips, cereal bars, cut up oranges, and uncut Fuji apples, that I can recall.

My Results & Opinion of the Race:

Because there were no elevation profiles and I’m not familiar with the area I did not prepare for this race as I might have had I known it was fairly hilly. Just past mile 1 I saw far enough ahead to adjust how I was going to do the race. I throttled back a little and finished with a time that had me satisfied and appropriately tired.

The 2015 Race to the Flagpole was mostly well-organized and had a beautiful course. My 4-shoe rating is well earned. For what it is, a smallish charity race, with better course maps, adding elevation profiles, and a little better course marking, I might rate it 5 shoes.

I would consider doing the Race to the Flagpole again, and I would recommend it to friends. The 10K especially is a good intro to trail racing.