Having some mixed feeling about this event. Some people are saying they had a horrible experience with the shuttles running a few hours late. Thankfully I didn’t traffic and was able to get from my house to the event in a little more than half an hour. I had no issues on the street and was able to get parking right away in the big structure. I figured I would have to pay parking so I wasn’t too upset about it but I wish I would’ve known it would be $10! (Wish they would’ve discounted it for the runners) I had to pay $10 yesterday for the expo too so that’s $20 in just parking. ( I stuck around and hung out at the City Walk after the expo to make up for the cost of the parking ) Now, as far as the race goes, I liked the course, it was a nice flat course with a lot of great entertainment along the way. I loved the cop blasting music, the drummers and the rock band. The finish line was great because it wasn’t crowded or dis-organized. I wasn’t too impressed with the finish line expo though. Not much to see or do and very few samples. I expected some music, maybe some celebs taking pics ( I didn’t see any out there, but I’m sure they were there:/ ) or some food trucks, freebies, something. My biggest complaint is about the kid run. I still think the kid run was extremely too early in the morning. My Jr. Runner is only 2 so 6:30 was just too early for her. She ended up not wanting to run and got pushed along by my Mom most of the way. I was still running. I finished up with enough time to find my Mom towards the end of the race and run across with my kid so I was happy about that. I hated the fact that the finish line for the kid run was the same as for the rest of the runners. I doubt the runners enjoyed having to slow down for a bunch of little ones running in and that wasn’t safe for the little ones either. I’ve never before seen a kid run blend in to the adult run. My Mom said the course for the kid run wasn’t very nice. It didn’t sound like it was the way it was announced at all and I’m still extremely upset at having to miss out on the majority of the race with my girl because of the start time. When I registered the start time showed 8:00am and then it was switched to 6:30. I spent weeks asking why with no official response. To top it all off, I have no clue what the kid run medal was supposed to be because my girl never got hers. I don’t understand how she could have ended up without her kid medal because the race supposedly capped at 100 kids. When she crossed they handed me a 5k medal and I gave them back and told them I needed the kid run. The volunteer told me to ask another volunteer, who sent me to another volunteer who then asked another volunteer about the kids medals. After a few awkward moments and a very anxious 2 year old, The 4th of the volunteers handed the 3rd volunteer a medal which they gave my little one. I stood there a little shocked at the fact that it was not the kid run I was expecting at all but at this point the medal was around her neck and taking it away would’ve been horrible for her. I’m happy with our beautiful medals but I really wish she would’ve gotten the right medal. I’m not sure if I will be returning next year but if I do, I think I’m steering clear of the very poorly organized kid run and instead will run it alone or push the stroller along. As far as my run goes, I give it a B+,… The kid run gets a D from me. Guess, I’ll have to wait and see what the cost is like for next year to see if it’s worth a repeat run. Good job on the course, it was a nice easy run and a lot of great entertainment, just hope it gets even better next year. Definitely change the kid run to a later time and don’t have the finish lines be the same. Sorry about the venting but I had to get it out. Other than that, I had a great time at my race, they just need to fix the kid run and make it later in the day. Also, a better finish expo wouldn’t hurt. Not sure if I’ll be back yet. 🙂
