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Course
Post-race
Submitted by kjensen16
May 6, 2013
Review
Like others said, I hate to write such a horrible review. I just feel like some of the errors made for this race were inexcusable .
Pre Race: We got there very early since we saw ahead of time that there was very little parking at the event. When I went to check in they were very unorganized. This is expected since this is there first event. We were given a neat reusable bag with the Tacos&Beer 5k logo on it, which was cool. Inside was the shirt. Out of all the things that I had a problem with this was the worst. I love that they honored Boston on the back of the shirt, but why on earth did they think it was ok to put a restaurants logo above it with a skull. It didn’t look right and I heard a lot of people saying how disrespectful that was.
The race was started 30 minutes late. Right before we took off my parents, who were spectating, noticed 20+ golf balls ON the course right from the start line. They ran out on the course picked these up before the race started. This could have led to many people twisting their ankles.
Course: The course was changed from what they had on their website. I saw that it was a “trail run” on their site and I thought that would be cool. The course bottle necked right off the bat causing everyone to walk for the first .25 miles. It also did this several times through out the course. The “trail” wasn’t in the best condition. If they do this again I do NOT recommend bringing strollers even though they said it was a stroller friendly course. I saw a lot of people struggling with their strollers.
The course was short by .35 miles. Someone should have walked the course before hand and pushed back the water station to make it 3.1 miles.
Post Race: GREAT medal! I loved that it was a bottle opener. This was by far the best thing about this race. The lines for the beer when I got there were not intolerable. Bud Light Lime was not my preference in beer, but it was the only “free” beer. The others that they had on tap cost extra. The taco line had at least a couple hundred people in it and I was not about to wait in line for 1 taco.
I understand this was their first race and I can’t imagine how hard it is to set up an event like this. The medal was awesome and the even was below par.
Overall
Pre-race
Course
Post-race
Submitted by kjensen16
May 6, 2013
Review
Like others said, I hate to write such a horrible review. I just feel like some of the errors made for this race were inexcusable .
Pre Race: We got there very early since we saw ahead of time that there was very little parking at the event. When I went to check in they were very unorganized. This is expected since this is there first event. We were given a neat reusable bag with the Tacos&Beer 5k logo on it, which was cool. Inside was the shirt. Out of all the things that I had a problem with this was the worst. I love that they honored Boston on the back of the shirt, but why on earth did they think it was ok to put a restaurants logo above it with a skull. It didn’t look right and I heard a lot of people saying how disrespectful that was.
The race was started 30 minutes late. Right before we took off my parents, who were spectating, noticed 20+ golf balls ON the course right from the start line. They ran out on the course picked these up before the race started. This could have led to many people twisting their ankles.
Course: The course was changed from what they had on their website. I saw that it was a “trail run” on their site and I thought that would be cool. The course bottle necked right off the bat causing everyone to walk for the first .25 miles. It also did this several times through out the course. The “trail” wasn’t in the best condition. If they do this again I do NOT recommend bringing strollers even though they said it was a stroller friendly course. I saw a lot of people struggling with their strollers.
The course was short by .35 miles. Someone should have walked the course before hand and pushed back the water station to make it 3.1 miles.
Post Race: GREAT medal! I loved that it was a bottle opener. This was by far the best thing about this race. The lines for the beer when I got there were not intolerable. Bud Light Lime was not my preference in beer, but it was the only “free” beer. The others that they had on tap cost extra. The taco line had at least a couple hundred people in it and I was not about to wait in line for 1 taco.
I understand this was their first race and I can’t imagine how hard it is to set up an event like this. The medal was awesome and the even was below par.
Overall
Pre-race
Course
Post-race
Submitted by Matthew Lovil
May 6, 2013
Review
Wow, where to begin. It was marketed as a 5k fun run or whatever but running was the last component they thought of in my opinion. I arrived early, got my bib and t-shirt, no more mediums they said, commenting that “the guy with the mediums hasn’t shown up yet”. People milled around the driving range for awhile, close to 9a.m. when the race was to begin they had a man on the mic trying to stir up some psuedo-energy but most people weren’t having it. We got to the start line at 9 only to be told there were literally 100’s of people still registering. I looked to verify this for myself, um, I counted about 5 people getting their bibs still. The organizers at this moment were still fencing off the course so I guess they needed reasons to delay. Finally, mercifully at 9:30 they let us run and for this I was not prepared. The course was just a dirt track, full of potholes, too small for two people, barking dogs, tire ruts, mud, hay, rocks, you name it. My running shoes are still filthy. It was not advertised as a trail run but it was exclusively a trail run. I feel worst for those who this was their first 5k. Most of them couldn’t run in these conditions and gave up and walked. The only plus was a medal but I can’t even celebrate in that, who cares. What a crummy race, crummy course, and the worst race organization I’ve ever witnessed.
Overall
Pre-race
Course
Post-race
Submitted by proudmonkeymama
May 6, 2013
Review
I hate to write negative review, but for this one I can’t resist.
1. Pre-race: Check in was horrible. No t-shirts, no signs indicating where to check in, no bags, volunteers who didn’t know anything. First we were told the t-shirts would be given to us at the end of the race, then another person said they didn’t know anything about the t-shirts. We were given numbered bibs but I don’t know why – they were handed out randomly and not compared with any list. We were never directed to sign our name on any list or anything at all! They also did not have safety pins for their bibs. We didn’t do the Zumba warmup class, but it wouldn’t have made a difference since the race started very late.
2. Race course was not as advertised. On their website, the course is clearly going AROUND the golf course. We still have not received an explanation of why the course changed but it was changed to a horse trail – full of deep muddy tractor tracks, broken bottles, thigh-high weeds, rocks, litter, old tires and a very narrow path. I understand that it was a trail run but still feel they should’ve cleared some of the debris.
3. Post race: One taco truck is not acceptable for the amount of people here. I heard it was over a 45 minute wait. The beer line was long as well but at least there were 2 lines for that. All they had was Bud Lite (yuk) but for free beer I’m not expecting much. Again, there were no signs telling you anything. Some of vendor booths were still not set up at the end of the race. There was supposed to be entertainment but there was only a DJ playing and the announcer still announcing runners coming in. Other than waiting in line for getting your picture taken or for your taco & beer, there was literally nothing to do after the race.
Overall: this gets an F. Even the cool medal is not enough to have me come back.
The cute concept of a free taco & beer on Cinco De Mayo weekend is convinced me to pay the high price ($50) for a 5K. Pity it was poorly organized.
Overall
Pre-race
Course
Post-race
Submitted by Mariaeo
May 6, 2013
Review
I know a lot of things went wrong for this new race, but there were some good things about it. The pre-race was ok. I had no problem parking at the blue line metro station as suggested and walked over to the venue. Once there was able to check in relatively easy. Was disappointed that at 8am they only had XL tees left, but I did getone so it wasn’t a total loss. The Zumba warm up was really good. The music was also really great. The emcee was energized and tried to get the crowd into it which was pretty well done.
Then there was the race. First they started 30 minutes late at 9:30. I didn’t understand why the need to wait for more participants given the race ended up not having a timed component at all…which was also disappointing since it was advertised as having a first wave that would be timed. Then the path that you ran on was just that…a dirt path which at some points only one runner at a time could get through. The path was also very bumpy, littered and had fresh horse droppings which made looking up nearly impossible. I wish they had at least raked some of that away before the race started. I then saw some other runners comment that the distance wasn’t even actually a 5K. People with distance watches said it ended up being only 2.77 miles…which made me feel bad when I realized my time wasn’t quite what I thought it was.
The end of the race was ok. The medal was fantastic the line for tacos was too long so I can’t comment on that. I did get my beer though, and there was a bit of a line fo rthat but no worse than at other events in my opinion. I also took the souvenir poto for $5. That was pretty cool and made a nice take away.
The race has posted several times on facebook that they hear the issues loud and clear and will make changes for next year. I would give them a second chance just becaus ethey understood the complaints and didn’t try and deny it. I will see how next year goes…if year two doesn’t look better then they will be done.
Overall
Pre-race
Course
Post-race
Submitted by Michelle Giangrande
May 5, 2013
Review
This race was advertised as having an early wave start, with chip timing for an additional fee. There was a late start wave that was more of a “fun run”, anything goes. When I showed up for bib pick up, 45 minutes before the race started, they had no goody bags, and no tee shirts. We were told they were at the finish. No big. I grabbed my bib finally (I was told to form a line for cell phone confirmation by one man, who had some young girl behind him trying to tell us there was no third line) and headed out to the field. I was surprised to see only 3 porta potties and one taco truck. I got in the line for the bathroom, warmed up, and hung out for awhile. At 8:55 A.M. the start line wasn’t even set up. We got an announcement we were going to wait a few minutes. Then a few minutes more. Then a few minutes longer. By almost 10AM the crowd was only getting bigger, and this course is on a trail intended for a GOLF CART. By this time I had to use the restroom again, and I said screw it and I left and went to my car. I ended up at the gym running my own 5K on the treadmill. Should have saved the time/gas/energy! Looks like the people who stuck around for the madness experienced excessive lines (40 minutes in line for a post-race taco?!). Never racing a “small” race like this again that isn’t put on a by a real racing company!
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