Run This Way

Overview: A small, friendly race in its second year, the UCLA True Bruin 5K is finding its stride.

When: March 8, 2015

Where: The UCLA campus in Westwood.

Course access:  UCLA is very well hooked up to mass transit, with the Big Blue Bus lines 1, 2, 3, 4, 8 and 12, the Culver CityBus 6 and Rapid 6, and Metro 2, 20 and 720 passing close to the school.

Why: Sponsored and run by the UCLA Staff Assembly, the race is intended to encourage UCLA students, staff and community members ot get out and exercise.

Number of Participants: 466 finishers. The runners included many UCLA students and staff members, but there were a lot of community members, too.

Pre-race: Packet pickup was available on Friday at UCLA, on Saturday at a running goods store in Santa Monica, and on race morning. Everything seemed smooth, simple and well run.

Course:  The course was an out and back through the bucolic UCLA campus, with several hills. One water stop was offered at the turnaround point.

Post-Race:  The race suffered from the same condition that seems to be affecting a lot of events lately: an inability to feed the runners. Friendly volunteers handed out water and Clif bars, but that was all. I am never in favor of Clif bars simply because they have soy, peanuts and chocolate and are therefore are not feasible for all runners. I much prefer when races offer fruit. Some runners still might be allergic to fruit, but they are probably fewer than those with soy or peanut sensitivities.

Chip timing: Yes, by Gemini Timing, with chips on the bib. There was one clock, at the finish line.

Shirt:  A black cotton T-shirt with the UCLA Bear and a disco ball.

Swag: A cute medal and a drawstring bag, both with the same UCLA Bear logo.

Would I Run this Race Again: Absolutely. This was a very friendly, accessible race.

Overview: Kickin' Cancer is a smaller-scale community 5K run/walk benefiting the Lynne Cohen Foundation for Ovarian Cancer Research.

When: September 29, 2013.

Where: San Vicente Boulevard in Brentwood, adjacent to the West LA Veterans complex, near Santa Monica.

Course Access: Since San Vicente was closed off for the race, the nearest access to public transportation, from what I saw, was on nearby Wilshire Boulevard. The Big Blue Bus #1 and #3 stopped there, as did Metro #20 and #720. From there it was about a 15 minute walk to the course.
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Pre-Race: Packet pickup was available on Saturday the 28th at the nearby Frontrunners store, but was also available on race day. There were no issues. The Expo was already in full swing before the race and many took advantage of it.

Course: Out and back on San Vicente. The course was totally flat and very nice; the scenery wasn't much (just the local houses and businesses). The course included two water stops - three, counting the nice folks from Brentwood Whole Foods who handed out bottles of water and snacks to runners and walkers! :)

Post-Race: My one beef with this race: it was billed as a "walk/run" and there were tons and tons of walkers. When I finished there were hundreds of people behind me. Why, then, was all the post-race food and drink already picked (nearly) clean? Before the race we saw that there was a huge spread with Gatorade, energy bars, and more. After the race only a few things were left. Either they didn't have enough, or they allowed the early finishers to take more than one of each item. Either way, it resulted in a lot of runners and walkers sadly walking around the concessions table trying to find the bottles of water left in the ice buckets and the few food items left.

Also, the folks at the photo station were kind of rude- and never sent me my photo. Boo.

Chip Timing: None. There were overall awards for men and women (three deep), based on the gun time. There were mile markers and a clock at the finish line.

Shirt: A lovely teal shirt.




Swag: None. The race used one of those miserable, totally useless "virtual gift bags." Honestly, folks, just don't offer a gift bag. These virtual bags are nothing but crap and nobody likes them.

Expo: The expo made up for the lack of goodie bags: there were lots of freebies from L.A. Galaxy, Ralph's, USC, and others.




Would I Run This Race Again: Sure. It didn't' knock my socks off but it was a nice course and pleasant experience.

www.lacancerchallenge.com

Overview: One of the largest 5K/10K events in Los Angeles is also, thankfully, one of the friendliest and best organized. It's hard not to have fun at this race.

When: October 30, 2011

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.
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Number of Participants: 1963 in the 5K; 508 in the 10K.

Pre-race: Packet pickup was at the VA the day before the race. This made it easy to do a "dry run" and make sure I knew how to get to the course. Everyone was friendly and they seemed to have the bib and T-shirt pickup stations organized well.

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.

Runners ran the gamut from serious runners to families with children who did a leisurely stroll through the course. Since the race was held just before Halloween, there were a lot of participants--both adults and children--who came in costume, but there were also a lot of folks dressed in regular running garb. In addition, there were also a lot of fundraising/memorial teams with banners who participated. Everyone was fairly laid back, and despite the huge crowds, politeness was the order of the day.

Chip timing: Yes, with a standard shoe tag. Split times were given.

Shirt: White with the LA Cancer Challenge logo in the corner. They had both men's and women's cut shirts, and they were made out of a wicking fabric. I liked my shirt enough to wear it at the race.

Swag: All finishers were given adorable pumpkin medals on purple ribbons. The LACC had what was possibly one of the nicest gift bags I'd ever seen, too. It was a reusable bag filled with all sorts of goodies, including Under-Armor wristbands, snack bars and hair gel.

Expo: Lots of freebies and fun activities from companies ranging from Coca-Cola to the LA Kings.

Would I Run this Race Again: Yes, hands-down.