Great Pumpkin Race 5K/10K

Down and dirty - love this one!

From the race site:
4th Annual Great Pumpkin Run at Venetucci Farm - October 2nd, 8:30 a.m. - Registration opens at 7:00 a.m. Race shirts and Running Bibs, for the 4th Annual Great Pumpkin Run at Venetucci Farm, are now available for pick up at Runners Roost, 121 North Tejon. If you registered online or via mail, you can pick up your packet through 6:00 p.m. on Friday, 10/1.
Race Limited to 600 runners - $30.00 - Register at Runner's Roost until 6:00 p.m. Friday, October 1stSaturday, October 2nd - Registration opens at 7:00 a.m. (t-shirts not guaranteed for racers after 600)


I signed up for this race probably close to 5 minutes before online registration closed. My PT doc had been talking about it and then I got an email so it was one of those, why not!
Expo: There wasn’t really one. Packet pickup was at one of the local running stores. In and out, nice, quick and easy.

Start Line: This race was on a pumpkin farm! The starting line had all of six porta-potties (I will get to those in a minute), Harley – the monster pig, a bunch of pumpkins, and a hand of runners! There were six porta-potties with a cap of 600 runners. The race was held off until all the potty people were lined up ready to race.

Course: Keeping in mind it is Colorado, this course was pretty much flat. Ok, Colorado flat. We were warned about animals (and the fact we weren’t supposed to ride them to the finish line), cow pies (hello, farm!) and holes. The course had some pretty narrow areas, but it was a very peaceful run. It was 99% dirt (I think I stole about five pounds of it in my shoes), there was a short section of cement and about two feet of asphalt (ok, it was more than two feet, but whatever!).

Course Support: There was only one water stop (10K hit it twice), there were multiple volunteers along the course making sure we didn’t take the scenic route (I heard one lady did). They were all very friendly and cheering everyone on. It was great!

Finish Line: Was well marked, the last .2 miles passed some horses, Harley and I think some chickens. The two shoots were VERY vibrantly marked.

Overall: This race was run. I was using it as a training run and enjoyed every step of it. I PRed (but then again, I have only done two 10Ks and the last one was up a mountain). I would highly recommend trying to be one of the first 200 to register, the tech shirts looked a lot better than the t-shirts. For a small local race, it was perfect!

San Diego Rock and Roll Marathon

I have been looking forward to participating in the San Diego Rock and Roll Marathon (http://san-diego.competitor.com/)%20for) for over a year. I am one of those racers who plan vacations around races! I mean San Diego, what could better than running a marathon in San Diego?

Expo: The location was easy to get to (even for an out of towner). The expo was set up in such a way that packet pick-up was completed before really entering the vendor area. There was also a carnival type set up (that my kids personally liked). Yes, it was crowed, but with that many runners what do you expect?

Start Line: The start area was a nice big park, plenty of space. There could have been more port-a-potties, but I think that could be said about every race! The Marine Corp Band matching by prior to the start was perfect! The start was a little chaotic, but manageable.

Course: The course started off going through Balboa Park which was very nice, then the marathon section went through downtown San Diego, through Petco Park and ended up on the highway. Mile 6 – 7 was enjoyable since we went by the USS Midway. I understand that the race directors have no control over the weather, but they do have control over the course. I have to say the number of miles that were on highway (or something similar) or through neighborhoods with NOTHING to see seriously out numbered the miles with scenery. The course finally got to the water (miles 18 – 21), unfortunately there was no shade and it was uncomfortably hot. The last 5 miles were around Fiesta Island, not sure why it is called “Fiesta” Island but having any part of the race on the island was the worst decision of the entire race. I would have to say over all, this was the worst course I have even done.

Course Support: The people running the water stops along the course were great, the cheer squads were great, the spectators who were handing out peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, liquorish, pretzels and other things were fantastic, they were truly angles!

Finish Line: Sadly, there is not much to say. It was a finish line, no bells or whistles, no water until well after the finish line.

Overall This course had more hype than it deserved. San Diego would be a perfect place to have a race, sadly the course director either was unable to have a better course or just didn't plan it out very well. I was very disappointed by this course and do not plan on doing it again.