today is the official (or unofficial) start of another exciting holiday season! since i expect to…read morechow down heartily this evening, i wanted to get a hard workout in this morning so that i can say i earned my turkey, mashed potatoes, and pumpkin pie. LOL!
i appreciate this annual turkey trot, since it is a smaller-scale local event in san jose whose proceeds benefit the bret harte middle school booster club.
participants had a choice of two events to either run, walk or "trot:": 5k or 10k. i chose the 10k so that i could have a more intense workout.
the pros:
-choice of bib and packet pickup the day before or the morning of (the latter was helpful for me since i live a bit far from this event).
-perfect race day conditions, mid 40s and sunny at the start, low-mid 50s at the end. although it felt chilly when i first arrived, i warmed up quickly under the sun.
-mostly flat course that touched los alamitos creek trail and some of the school's neighboring streets. beautiful foliage at this time of year!
-correctly measured course, which is much appreciated given the number of short/long races out there. i got 6.23 miles on my garmin which is very close to the official 6.2 miles for a 10k.
-free and easy parking in the school's parking lot which was also right next to the start/finish area. participants could also park along the residential streets next to the school.
-race started next to leland high school's track, so we were able to warmup and cooldown before and after the race
-restroooms available at both the track house and main school building
-flags to mark each mile in the race, which were pretty accurate
-friendly volunteers directing runners along the course and handing out water
-low registration fee of $15 per adult (early-bird registration) or $20 (standard) or $25 (day of registration). cost does not include a t-shirt, which is an additional $10. i appreciated having the option of purchasing a t-shirt to save some money on the registration fee.
the cons:
-while it was a nice course, i did not appreciate that the second half of the 10k shared the same course as the second half of the 5k. by the time the faster 10k'ers (like myself) got to the halfway point, we had to share the very narrow trail with the 5k walkers, strollers, pets, and small children which was very frustrating since it was hard to maneuver around them and move ahead. even though i was constantly shouting "on your left, runner behind you" most of the walkers simply ignored me. it would be nice if walkers could be educated about this bit of running etiquette for the future to allow less congestion on a shared trail.
-for the 10k course, there was a section that was unclear and not marked properly, so the runners in my pack were uncertain whether that was the turnaround for us or whether to continue. even though there was a volunteer standing on the course, it would have been easier, better if that volunteer had a sign that we could see from a distance to avoid confusion and stopping to ask for directions. i heard that some thought this was the turnaround point and ended up only running 5.7 miles vs the full 6.2 miles. this created some confusion and difficulty in sorting out the official results and race winners.
-there weren't many refreshments at the end, just some water, coffee, and pre-cut bagels. as a frequent participant in local area races, i'm accustomed to seeing some fruit, electrolyte drink, and wider variety of post-race refreshments
this was definitely a good race for families and individuals alike. it was nice to see a lot of runners dressed like turkeys or wearing turkey hats, as well as the school mascot on the course.
my biggest recommendation for next year would be to split the 10k and 5k courses into completely separate courses so that the 10k runners aren't forced to slow down behind the 5k walkers in the 2nd half.
