I will start off by saying I’m not a huge fan of smaller races. I’m a fan of the marathon. This is the only 10K I’ve ever run, so my opinion may be biased. That’s my disclaimer.
Pre-race check in was very hectic and unorganized. There was no events or anything going on, just a lot of people trying to check in and get their bibs on race morning and many people’s bibs were mixed up.
Race course – I knew it was going to be on dirt, but this dirt that we ran through for a good portion of the race was more like sand. It was very loose dirt and hard to get traction. I guess trail running shoes would have been more appropriate but dirt was really not an accurate description of the terrain. It was definitely loose, loose dirt. The 10K started first and then the 5K started a few minutes later, but as it was an out and back course, the 10K participants ran into all the 5K walkers on the way back. I had to weave in and out of everyone walking and most people didn’t pay much attention to trying to get out of the way. The finish was a huge uphill climb. That didn’t really bother me, as I guess I saved up plenty of energy when I was weaving in and out trying to dodge the 5K walkers. This is definitely not the type of course you want to plan on going out to race all out.
Post race – There is wine tasting after and that is it. So if you’re into a little tiny taste of wine, it’s cool, but otherwise there is nothing going on. It’s a small town race so I guess you can’t really expect too much, but I would never race it again. You get no medals or tshirts for participation. Only the top finishers get medals.