Run This Way

Overview: The L.A. Cancer Challenge is a huge, albeit consistently friendly and fun, race.

When: October 27, 2013

Where: The Veterans Administration grounds near Westwood and Wilshire (West Side).

Course access: the VA grounds are very easy to access. The Big Blue Bus 2, 3 and 4 stop on or near the VA on Wilshire and Bonsall; so do Metro 20 and Metro Rapid 720. It's only a five minute walk or so from the bus stop to the start/finish line.

Why: LA Cancer Challenge raises money for the Hirschberg Foundation for Pancreatic Cancer.
_____________

Pre-race: Packet pickup was at the VA the day before the race, or on race morning. Everyone was friendly and they seemed to have the bib and T-shirt pickup stations organized well.

However, the race this year had some serious crowding issues. Some of the lawns were blocked off and there were a lot of bottlenecks. It was extremely tough to get through the throng to the start line. The course also seemed a lot more crowded, too, and remained as such all the way through.

Course: Winding loop around the VA grounds. There were some interesting old buildings; otherwise, it was leafy, cool and pleasant. The course had one stop for traffic; otherwise, it was clear all the way through. There were a few hills, a lot of curves and some stretches of flat, open road. A band played near Mile 3.

Post-Race: My gripe with the post-race is the same with the pre-race...the crowding. It was almost impossible to get through the crowds by the finish line.

Runners: About 2000 in the 5K.

Chip timing: Yes, with a chronotrack tag on the bib.

Shirt: Unisex purple cotton shirts; very pretty.


Swag: Reusable bags filled with goodies; a finisher medal with a smiling pumpkin. Very cute.

Expo: Small, but had some great booths, including Coca-Cola and Yelp.

Would I Run this Race Again: Yes.

Overview: The Disneyland 5K is the kick-off event for Disneyland Half-Marathon Weekend. This year's race was themed to Alice in Wonderland.

If you're curious about Disney races, you want to try a 5K for the first time or you simply love Disneyland, there isn't a better option than the Disneyland 5K. It's billed as a "fun run," is untimed, and is very low-key.

When: August 31, 2013. The race started at 5:30 am.

Where: The Disneyland Resort in Anaheim, Orange County.

Why: Well...I didn't see any beneficiaries listed on the RunDisney website for this race.

Course Access: There's a lot of mass transit to Disneyland (the OCTA bus 43, Metro 460, etc.) but unfortunately none of it is going to get you to Disneyland at 5:30 am (and runners were asked to be in the corral by 5). The only way to work this was to drive or to come in the night before and stay over.
______
Pre-Race: The packet pickup was at the Expo at the Disneyland hotel. Unfortunately, you had to do this on Friday, since there was no day-of packet pickup.

The Expo was a bit of a diaster this year. About 10,000 runners from the 5K , 10K and Kids' Races needed to pick up their bibs and t-shirts on Friday, and by some reports, lines were as long as three hours. In addition, there was disappointment when race-related Disney merchandise sold out by the end of the day on Friday - only to appear promptly on eBay. It appears that many eBayers and other secondary market sellers hit up the Expo and got to the merch before the runners did.

The pre-race festivities on race morning included a DJ and commentary from the White Rabbit. It was a very hot day and Disney ensured that water was available before the run.

Course: The course began near the Mickey and Friends parking structure, went backstge and then onstage at Disney California Adventure, crossed the esplanade, went down Main Street and near the Castle in Disneyland, wove through Disneyland and Downtown Disney, and made its way to the Disneyland Hotel.

The course itself was almost entirely flat, but had a lot of corners and winding paths. There were announcements made over the PA to warn runners any time the course changed directions or narrowed.

What made the course special this year were the spectators at Downtown Disney (including the famous and beloved Peggy, who shows up to every race on both coasts to cheer on the runners!), the cast members who lined the course to cheer the runners on, and the large number of character photo ops.

Runners: At a Disney 5K you will find runners who run the gamut from serious athletes (some use the 5K as a warmup for the half-marathon) to first-time participants. Some wore costumes; some didn't. The course was so crowded that it was more of a power walk than a race, but almost everyone was polite. After the serious runners broke away at the beginning of the first wave, most people just meandered along.

Chip Timing: None. This was strictly a fun run.Technically, a 16-minute mile pace was required, whether you were running or walking. However, given the huge numbers of people at the race, given that the pace requirement didn't start until the last runner had crossed the start line, and given that the last wave started almost a half hour after the first, I think that one would have needed to fall way, way behind to get swept. I wouldn't have pushed it, though...getting swept from a race at the Happiest Place on Earth would have been a bummer, to say the very least.

Shirt: A lovely baby-blue t-shirt with an Alice in Wonderland theme.

Swag: Everyone received a gorgeous finisher medal: a full color vinyl medallion made to look like a pocket watch on a blue satin ribbon with the race name and date. Some people complained because the Disney 5K races get these vinyl "medallions" instead of medals made out of metal, but I was not in that camp. I thought the medallion was beautiful, well crafted and a wonderful finishing prize.


Disney unfortunately uses those useless "virtual gift bags" so the only thing in the gear check sack was a Clif bar.

Post-Race: The post-race process was very organized - I wouldn't expect less from Disney. Runners were given water, Powerade, bananas and a cardboard lunch box filled with a variety of snacks. Some people kvetched about the boxes; I personally liked them.

Would I Do This Race Again: YES!

Overview: The Firefly is a night race, with a "glow in the dark" sort of theme. It's one of a growing number of themed night races. Firefly wasn't just a gimmick, though: beyond the neon and day-glo, this was an organized, well done event.

When: May 31, 2013.

Where: The Home Depot Center in Carson, on the campus of Cal State - Dominguez Hills.

Why:  The race benefitted the American Red Cross.

Course access: A few Metro and Torrance Transit lines went to or near the Home Depot Center, and it was relatively close to the Artesia Transit Hub. However, by the time the race ended there wasn't very much transit available.

_________
Number of Participants: About 5,000.

Pre-race: Packet pickup was on the day of the race. The one bummer was that pickup officially ended at 7:30 and the race did not begin until 8:30, so there was a lot of time to kill. There were food trucks, but they were expensive.

Another peeve would be that the kiosks were not clearly labeled - the t-shirt and bib pickup areas were separate, but there was nothing on the booths to indicate that.

Runners: Lots of serious runners; lots of non-serious runners; lots of walkers; lots of college kids just having fun. There were two waves, so the more serious runners had a chance to get ahead of the pack. Most people were dressed for the occasion: even if they didn't wear a costume, they'd decked themselves out in neon and glow accessories.

Course: Around the Home Depot Center and the campus. Runners went through the soccer stadium, which was illuminated, around the tennis stadium, and on the practice track/soccer field. There was great music, and many areas had innovative lighting. However, there was also an entire section that went along a very narrow dirt path with sprinklers. This area was a huge bottleneck.

Chip Timing: Optional. Prime Time handled chip timing, but it was $5 extra with registration, so many opted not to do it.

Shirt: A gray tech tee. I really liked the shirt a lot. For one thing, it wasn't splattered with advertising logos! In fact there weren't any sponsor logos on the shirt at all. :) 



Swag: Two bracelets with LED lights. The batteries on these are replaceable, and they will come in handy for anyone who walks or runs at night. Runners were also promised a glow in the dark finishers' bracelet, and these did not materialize - uncool, there.

Expo: None really to speak of.

Would I Run this Race Again? Sure.

http://www.lamarathon.com/event/la-5k/Would I Run This Race Again: Sure. Now that I've done the race twice I don't think I have an interest in repeating it, but it's a perfectly good course and a lot of fun.

Overview:  A night race through Downtown Los Angeles, the New Year's Race featured a half-marathon, a 5K, and various children's races. Presented by Jive Live, who also put on the Venice Christmas Run and the LA Marathon, this was a well designed, enjoyable event with dedicated, friendly volunteers. Participants had a rare opportunity to run through the streets of DTLA without cars.

What is also impressive about this race: the race directors have followed up on feedback left on Facebook and have promised specific improvements for next year's event. No excuses, no explanations - just promises to do better. It's refreshing! 

When: January 5, 2013.

Where: Downtown Los Angeles, starting at 7th and Grand and ending at Pico and 11th, by the L.A. Live complex and the Staples Center.

Course access: Downtown L.A. is probably the best-connected area in the city, and public transportation was a breeze. The buses were re-routed due to the street closures, but the trains, which run underground at that point, were absolutely fine. The course start was right by the 7th Street Metro Center station for the Expo and Blue line trains; the finish line was a five minute walk to the Pico station (again, Expo and Blue lines). I heard through the grapevine that traffic was a nightmare for those who chose to come by car.

Why: Officially, none, but A Place Called Home had some involvement with the race.
_____________

Number of Participants: About 1350 in the 5K; about 4500 in the half-marathon.

Pre-race: Packet pickup was at the Expo at the Millennium Biltmore Hotel. This was one of my few complaints about this race. While the Biltmore setup was fine, packet pickup closed at 5pm on Saturday. Race time wasn't until 9. That meant that if you wanted to pick up your packet on race day, you had to kill four hours. It would have been nicer to have the expo time extended to, say, 7 or 8pm. This is one of the things the RDs have promised to try to fix for 2014.

Course: The 5K went through Downtown LA, mostly along Broadway (near the historic cinemas) and 11th Street (past Santee Alley). Many of the historic theaters on Broadway, including the Los Angeles, were all lit up. Some of the other areas, such as 11th Street, were totally deserted, which made for an eerie run. There was sizable police presence along the route, so it never felt unsafe.

After the race, there were a number of complaints on the NYR Facebook page. A few Downtown residents were angered by the race and the street closures. However, again, most, if not all, of the race course went down commercial streets that were closed for the night, so I am not sure where the residents are coming from with this. Also, another DTLA resident pointed out that Jive Live had sent notices about street closures and detours to all of the residential buildings well in advance of the race, so nobody should have been ambushed by the course.

Another complaint: some 5Kers claimed they didn't see signage, got lost and ended up on the half-marathon course. Others said that they ran an extra mile.

I'm sorry, I have zero sympathy for that. I have absolutely no trouble roasting race directors when I feel they've dropped the ball - my  blog pulls no punches there - but in this case the race directors did everything short of assigning each runner a personal guide to lead them by the hand. They had SO much detailed information out there before the race, they had the course totally marked off and cordoned off, and they had cops and race volunteers on just about every corner.

When there was a split in the course, and the 5K and half-marathon runners had to go in different directions, they had huge, well-illuminated signs. There was also a guy with a megaphone standing at the fork in the road, and there were volunteers repeatedly telling people which side to take for the 5K, just in case you didn't understand the signs with arrows. I was in one of the last corrals so I can vouch for the fact that there were still people on the course giving directions to the stragglers and slow runners/walkers.

Also, they had the race course online for months before the race. If these runners had taken five seconds to look at it - and the course is always online specifically so you can study it - they'd have known in an instant they were off-course. It showed where all of the turnaround points were. Another thing: why didn't they check their watches? You usually know how long it takes you to do each mile, more or less. Now, a first time 5Ker might not know about personal timekeeping, but the people complaining were claiming that they were experienced runners...um, no, honey.

Chip timing: Yes, by Gemini, with a chronotrack tag on the bib.

Shirt: A black tech t-shirt with the race logo. Really nice.

Swag: A backpack with a few freebies, including Clif bars and magnets. The race medal was also lovely. The 5K and the half-marathon medals had the same basic design, but different ribbons and sizes.

Expo: At the Millennium Biltmore. It was fairly small and light on the freebies but overall, it was fine. I was disappointed that there weren't any vendors selling glow sticks/other night accessories.

Would I Run this Race Again: Yes!