Tiki Beach 5K & 10K
Huntington Beach, CA
- 10K, 5K, Kids Run
- Road (Paved)
- Official race website
The annual Tiki Beach 5K is Polynesian themed. Every participant gets a Hawaiian style race shirt and CUSTOM CAST FINISHER MEDAL! CAREN WARE EVENTS are RFID CHIP Timed by ITZ ABOUT TIME and have very cool age division awards and overall finisher trophies. EVERYONE gets a time, even the pack … MORE
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The Tiki Tiki Tiki Run
I do not run a lot of 5k and 10k races, but the Tiki theme sparked my interest. I love dressing up and took this opportunity to dress as Moana … MORE
I do not run a lot of 5k and 10k races, but the Tiki theme sparked my interest. I love dressing up and took this opportunity to dress as Moana while my friend dressed as Te Fiti.
The event offered free race morning packet pick-up, which always makes me happy. The participant shirt was cotton and unisex, which was a little disappointing because the shirts from their Pirate Run last month were dri fit. There was the option to pay extra and receive a unisex cotton tank.
My friend’s bib was likely accidently given to another runner in error. It created a lot of hassle and confusion on the part of the volunteers/staff to get them to assign her a new bib number. The volunteers were not checking IDs to make sure the names matched the bib numbers they gave out.
The pre-race entertainment was significantly better than their Pirate Run. They had two Polynesian dancers followed by a fire dancer. Both dance routines were accompanied by drummers. The race director Caren was on stage giving out prizes including leis and Anaheim Angels sunhats.
The course was an easy (but dull) out-and-back along the Huntington Beach bike path. Just after the 1 mile mark, a band was playing, which was a fun surprise. The Pirate Run did not have a band. It became rather congested as we approached the 5k turnaround point. My friend and I are “middle of the pack runners” and ran the 10K. The post-race refreshments included water and bananas. When my friend and I finished, the bananas were completely gone. Counting the empty trays, it looks like they only brought 7 small trays. Lame, since there were still plenty of runners behind us. Noosa yoghurt sponsored a tent at the race and they still had plenty of their yoghurt to give out. There was also the option to purchase “Polynesian” pancakes, 2 for $4. The “Polynesian” toppings included crushed pineapple and shredded coconut. The website advertised banana toppings, but I suspect they ran out prior to my finish. Included in the purchase of pancakes were beverage choices of coffee and hot chocolate.
The medal was a puzzle piece which is designed to fit with the Cinco de Mayo Run medal from May and the Pirate Run medal from July. If you collected all 3 medals, you received a 4th puzzle piece to complete the image (spoiler alert, it was a shark). I did not run the Cinco de Mayo race and was not interested in spending the money to run it as a virtual race just to get the medal. I think the connecting puzzle piece medals are a really cool idea, but would have preferred a non-puzzle piece Tiki medal since I did not planning on completing the set. Like the Pirate Run, there was no official event photographer. Overall, the event was cute but I probably won’t run it again… unless they have a really cool medal next year. Priorities.
Tiki Time
This run is another fine production from Caren Ware. Her races just keep getting better and better. Last year this run and the similar Pirate Run were held in Long … MORE
This run is another fine production from Caren Ware. Her races just keep getting better and better.
Last year this run and the similar Pirate Run were held in Long Beach coinciding with Tiki and Pirate festivals. Apparently these runs were too big now to hold there so they have been moved to Bold Chica – a popular spot for these types of runs.
Parking for this run could be free if you grab one of the spots at the smaller parking lots right behind jack in the box. I started waiting nearby at 6:25am for the gate opening up at 6:50am. You may also park at the lot across PCH free or pay for the beach parking right at the location.
Not alot in the way of vendors at the expo but they did offer an inexpensive pancake breakfast.