LA Galaxy 5K
Sep. 12th, 2014 02:50 pmWhen: August 24, 2014.
Where: The StubHub Center in Carson, on the campus of Cal State Dominguez Hills.
Course access: Several Metro lines run along Avalon and Victoria near Cal State. Luckily, the 9am start time made commuting by mass transit possible!
Why: LA Galaxy's community programs.
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Number of Participants: 254 participants in the 5K.
Pre-race: Packet Pickup on race day was seamless; volunteers were friendly.
Course: The course wound around the StubHub Center, going through both parking lots and field areas. There was no running on the field, but the course did start and end in the soccer stadium. The course was well-marked and there were numerous water stops with ice-cold water, which was appreciated on a hot day.
Post-Race: LA Galaxy players cheered everyone on at the finish line and actually handed out the finishers' medals, then stuck around for autographs. Several key players were present, as was Chris Klein (who actually ran the 5K!), the Galaxy veteran and bigwig. The players were uniformly friendly and cheerful - considering they'd had to come in on a day off, that was especially nice of them. Cozmo was also on hand to take photos and interact with runners before, during and after the race.
Chip timing: Shoe tags. Clocks at start and finish line.
Shirt: A deep blue, generously cut tank top with Cozmo, the LA Galaxy's alien mascot.
Swag: WOW. Christmas in August, can we say? The medal was beautiful. The goodie bags, wisely given out at the race finish, included a full sized soccer ball, a water bottle, sunglasses, an LA Galaxy rally towel, and more. The race entry also came with tickets to both a night LA Galaxy game and the Galaxy II match that happened a few hours after the 5K . An artist was also on hand to do free sketches of participants. The generosity of LA Galaxy was amazing.
Would I Run this Race Again: Yes!
