Suzanne Hurrey's Staging Area

Big hill to climb, then to run back down. And towards the end, there’s a lot of turns. Otherwise, a nice course with a well run production.

From downtown street to parks and county lanes next to vineyards, this run has a beautiful course. I was pleasantly surprised at the amount of wine (2 per winery from about 10) and there was beer too (they were pouring basically full glasses). You quickly get over the fact your drinking immediately after running and it’s only 10 in the morning! And then you are still in the nice Livermore downtown to enjoy lunch. Definitely one I’ll do again!

A very nice small race in a gorgeous spot! The 5k distance is mostly flat along the paved trail around part of the lake, with plenty of nice views. The 10k and 1/2 get hiller though! I loved the later start time, giving us plenty of time to get up, eat, and get to the race. Each race started with a guided dynamic warm-up! As for SWAG, I was lucky to get on the massage list early, and had the most amazing experience as they took their time, but the list was long and I’m sure many people didn’t get theirs. The yogurt was a nice touch, and though it felt weird having a beer at 10:30am after having just gone for a run, having lots of other folks doing the same made it work (turns out a stout on an almost empty stomach goes a LONG way)! This was a kid friendly event, my 8 year old did great, but they don’t have kid size shirts. This is a very popular area, so there were a lot of other folks using the trails, and most were very considerate. Unfortunately, it will take at least a day to get my official time and there’s no info on what qualifies as winners or what they might get.

Brazen always puts on an amazingly well organized event. The energy from the other runners is addictive. This is my personal fav Brazen race as it’s basically my backyard. Amazingly challenging courses, but beautiful scenery, and the efforts makes the reward feel all that much better. And the food after never disappoints!