Christine Roosa's Staging Area

I’ve thought about my experience and the race itself quite a bit over the last 10 days. I’m really hot/cold about it, but overall it did leave a positive impression in my mind.

Race Communication: This was really well done. Bordered on too much communication. When I had to look up the address or info on the race, I had the emails that said it. Well done.

Expo/Packet-pickup: They give the option for mailed out packets for $20. I should have done this but decided not to. This is a great option and I’m please to see it. They also have an option to pay for race day pick-up. Also a great option and happy to see it be a pay option so that not everyone is waiting in line day of to get their packet. For the rest of us who went to the Moxy to get our packets, it was only so-so. I wasn’t greeted well. I had to guess where to go. There were only a couple vendors and nothing drew me to their tables. The hotel lobby was small and just kind of “meh.” There was a lot of focus on all the weekend activities and the whole party vibe; but for those of us who don’t do the party thing, there was nothing for me. Parking by the hotel was non-existent. And downtown Oakland, with empty lots and graffiti, I’m glad that I had the option to be dropped off and picked up and didn’t have to park my car.

SWAG: I thought that there was an option for free A’s tickets. I guess I was wrong. They had discount tickets to a soccer game. But that wouldn’t interest me. Other than that, the only SWAG was the tech shirt. The shirt is one of the best fitting shirts I’ve received as SWAG in a long time, so that’s a bonus. But for the price we paid, I would hope for more SWAG.

Race day parking: Um … no. I was not going to park my car in West Oakland to be unattended. BART wasn’t an option, so again, I had my husband drop me off. In the future, I’d like to have the option of paid/attended parking that the race organizes. Maybe something within the closed streets set aside for the starting line. OR … start the race 20 minutes later so BART is an option.

Gear Check: Grateful for gear check. But it wasn’t well marked. But it did exactly what it was supposed to do.

Porta-potties: Plenty of them. Long line right before the start, but that’s not unusual.

Pre-Start/Staring Line: The announcing was good. Could hear him well everywhere. He made a few smarmy comments about men liking the men:woman ratio. Probably in poor taste.

There was a pre-race warm-up. I didn’t do it. But for people who like that sort of thing, it was there.

There were no clear markings on paces. Everyone just kind of got in a big group. The pacers were all at the starting line, which just doesn’t work well. I know this was a small-ish race, but they still should have been somewhat spaced out with the slower paces in back.

The race started on time. Which is a huge plus in my book.

Course: This is why I signed up for this race. The scenery. I am captivated by the water and the bridge and even the cranes/port. It’s unfortunate that in order to get to the bridge one has to run through West Oakland. Between the graffiti, homeless encampments, destroyed cars, and I-880, the first and last 4 miles were ugly. There were very few spectators. Spectators make or break a race for me. So to not have anyone cheering us along is hard. I was super grateful for OPD and their hard work in directing traffic. That was greatly appreciated.

The bay bridge is awesome. This is the first time I’ve run on it and I’m wondering why I’ve not made the trek out there before. There is great scenery both directions of the bridge.

Water stops: except for the 3 mile stretch on the bridge, the water stops were spaced pretty well. I took my own hydration pack so I didn’t need the water stops, but I noticed them and did take an electrolyte drink. The last water stop before the bridge (or first after the bridge returning) could be closer to the bridge to shorten that span.

Race Day Pics: Free pics! This is great. I hate paying $150 for a race to only shell out $50 for some crappy photos. I love that races are starting to include free race day pics. However, since I’m a slower runner in the last half of the pack, there was only one photographer who was facing me when I ran past him. I saw one guy get up and start packing up before I approached him. On the bridge they were all facing the returning runners. I was bummed to only see one still there was I was on my return trip. There were no pictures of me finishing the race either, which makes me sad.

Finish Line: I love the announcing the runners as they cross. One benefit of being at the back of the pack is being alone when I cross the finish line and having the ability to have my name called out. It’s encouraging.

Post-Race Party: There was a lot of confusion over where to get the Tacos and what the tickets where for. And confusion on where the beer was. I only found it because I just wandered around. The tacos were pretty good, although very small. The beer was awesome! Great taste and fun that it was a specialty brew for the race. I would have liked to see some more chairs or even stand up tables at the party. it was hard to eat my taco and carry my stuff. (Although I should have picked up my gear first, that’s on me.) I appreciated that the band was removed from the finish line. I’ve been to races where the band and the finish line PA were competing that it was all just noise; so it was good to have those feel like separate things.

This race showcased West Oakland. West Oakland is rough. I’m a suburban-ite so that was hard. The race was well organized and the Oak Run Co is a great group that I will continue to do things with.