Sophia Soohoo's Staging Area

This was my first time doing a timed race. I really enjoyed the experience. There is a parking lot for the park, so you have to trek your stuff up a slight uphill about a 1/4 mile from the parking. We used a wagon and that helped a lot. The park is dirt and grass, which makes it perfect if you want to bring a tent or awning and some chairs (we did use regular camping stakes, but it wasn’t that windy). You can set up your tent along the start area of the race along either side. We got there an hour early and were able to get a spot about 30 feet from the start. There is plenty of space. It was hot, so I suggest a covering of some sort as opposed to just a chair and to bring a cooler with your food or drinks if you don’t want to use those provided by the race. There are porta potties by the start and some park provided restrooms (vault toilets – 2 of them) along the loop. Most of the route is wider, but there is one very short single track section towards the back. For the entire race, I didn’t see anyone other than races on the course. The volunteers were great, and there is an aid station at the start and also in the back of the course (about 1.7 miles from the start), so you don’t need to bring a hydration pack. The aid stations are well staffed. They had limited ice, so I would suggest bringing your own. For lunch they had Costco pizza and some prepared lunch (which I didn’t try and I don’t recall if there was a vegetarian option or not). They had the regular snacks (ice cream sandwiches!, cookies, chips, tons of fruit, every snack you could imagine) and there was so much of it, you don’t need to bring snacks. I liked having the 5k loop, but my only complaint about the course itself is right by the start/finish, there are a number of holes in the grassy area, so you need to watch your feet. Also, the start and finish become a little confusing when the 6 hour race ends, so be careful which lane you run into, so you don’t end your race before you want to. If you wish to drop before the time cutoff (which I did at 8 hours), then you can simply tell the person announcing and he will provide you with your medal. There is a tv screen by the start/finish area (inside a tent as far as I remember) where you can see your standing and how many loops you have completed.

For swag, I liked the cotton shirt that I got, but I wish instead of a hoodie (which doesn’t make sense for summer anyways), that we could get a wind breaker or thin jacket instead. The hoodie is really big and heavy, and not really something I would wear. The medal was fantastic!