Have wanted to do a wine/vineyard run for a while. I have to say that I am very disappointed with…read morethis one! 1. Signed up for this event at an expo in SoCal. 2. Was led to belief it was partly in a vineyard, by the rep. 3. 10k medals on display were larger than 5k medals. In reality this year they were the same small size. 4. Runner's on Saturday were treated like second class citizens compared to Sunday's runners. The Sunday runners had a lot more at the end of the race related to snacks. They also had fresh strawberries and blueberries with their pancakes. I almost feel this was a bait and switch by the guy who sold us on this event. **** And no response from them after sending an email about the above listed issues. ****

I completed the 5K on Saturday and the half marathon on Sunday. For this two day event, runners…read morereceive a "Woodstock Challenge" medal in addition to the 5K and 1/2 marathon medals. I drove up from southern CA on Friday and was able to get my race packets the night before. The participant shirt for the 5K and zip up long sleeved hoodie for the 1/2 marathon were both super cute with Peanuts characters on them. The race organizers have updated their policies and you can choose to have your bib mailed out or you can become a VIP and pick up your race packet on race day. The race was well organized and a nice course that traveled through Santa Rosa's Old Courthouse area and along a Greenway with plenty of shade. You also get a free bottle of wine with your 1/2 or full marathon entry at the expo pick up at Deloach Winery.

Have wanted to do a wine/vineyard run for a while. I have to say that I am very disappointed with…read morethis one! 1. Signed up for this event at an expo in SoCal. 2. Was led to belief it was partly in a vineyard, by the rep. 3. 10k medals on display were larger than 5k medals. In reality this year they were the same small size. 4. Runner's on Saturday were treated like second class citizens compared to Sunday's runners. The Sunday runners had a lot more at the end of the race related to snacks. They also had fresh strawberries and blueberries with their pancakes. I almost feel this was a bait and switch by the guy who sold us on this event.

This has to be my most favorite half marathon, I'm falling in love with Santa Rosa even more, and…read morethis running event has increased that loving feeling! Whoa that loving feeling! Thanks to the event organizers for putting on the most well organized running events that I've ever participated in, from the Pre-race Expo to the Post-race Expo. It's a smaller race (~2,000 runners), with the staggered starts-Full Marathon (6AM); Half Marathon (6:30AM); and 5K Downtown Run (7:15AM). Early starts, but necessary given how hot it can get in the area during summertime. Here are my Top 10 reasons to run: 1) Pre-race Expo at DeLoach Winery, one of the major sponsors. Enjoy free tasting too, and all Full Marathon participants get a bottle of wine with their Expo schwag. 2) Expo Schwag - All Men get a Lululemon bag of schwag and Women get a Macy's drawstring backpack of schwag that includes healthy foods and coupons. 3) Nice running jacket for all Half and Full Marathon participants; tshirt for 5Kers. 4) Cool spinner medal for all Half and Full Marathon participants. 5) Beautiful Course - Starting/ending in downtown, the course is so scenic as you pass through the wine vineyards and creeks, and underneath the trestle bridges. It's a flat, fast course, with road markers to help navigate. 6) Volunteers & Spectators - from parking attendants to the helpers passing out the water and gatorade, to the family and friends along the course. Such positive and motivating energy, especially when nearing the finish line. I saw one marathoner fall so close to the finish line, and the claps and cheers got even louder for him, willing and encouraging him to get up and finish! 7) Boston Qualifying event - Some serious runners here who run Fulls at 3 hours! 8) Plenty of porta-potties - From near the start/finish line and all throughout the course. Waits no more than 5 people deep, and no longer than a few minutes. 9) Post-race Expo at Julliard Park. Participants get free beer, coffee, and pancakes,oh and refreshing watermelon, too! Aside from the vendors like Zico coconut water and PowerBar, there's live music and even bounce houses for the kids. Special bonus seeing Snoopy and Charlie there for a short time, and got a pic with my beloved Snoopy too! I was a tired, yet happy camper! 10) Sponsored by Blood Centers of Pacific, the Marathon partners with some amazing local organizations from Open Table (providing outreach and services to the community's homeless), as well as the Weight Loss for Warriors in partnership with the Navy SEAL foundation, and One Team One Fight in honor of the 31 heroes that died August 6th, 2011 when their Chinook helicopter was shot down in the Wardak Province of Afghanistan. There were 31 runners wearing t-shirts in honor of each of those who had fallen, and funds raised will go to programs that support surviving families of all military heroes that have been killed. A few other tips -- Register early as the it sells out. This is becoming an increasingly popular running event! Also, be sure to book hotels early! This year's marathon happened to be on the same weekend as the Mensona Kennel Club Dog Show. All hotels in Santa Rosa were fully booked, and even in neighboring city of Rohnert Park. Thanks Santa Rosa Half! I'll definitely be back! Cheers and go get your run on!

Ahhh, Harmony Fest - you are definitely an experience…read more Winged men women and children. People with tails galore. Dirty, loving hippies. Free samples of Honestea and chocolate. Bins set up for Compost, Landfill and Recycling (although I think most of the compost heap wasn't actually compostable...oh well) The smell of weed, nagchampa and people at every turn. Awesome art, fun vendors, crazy-one-of-a-kind clothing and jewelry. My only complaint is that for a Festival that supposedly boasts loving the environment, being sustainable, and being host to people who are eco-friendly and emotionally evolved - there sure is a lot of trash everywhere. Can't people pick up after themselves if they love the earth so much? There are trash bins everywhere...walk your barefooted self over to one and voila...done and done. This year Lauryn Hill was the driving force for me to come and I have to say...she was late and did her mic-check and volume levels for the first 10 minutes of the show... mmm not impressive. She sang some old school stuff at a very fast pace, probably to get through her set, which as stated before - was late. I was hoping I'd get to hear more from her vocally... you know, like super wailing some of her emotional, righteous sh*t... All in all though - Good Festival. I'd def go again.

2010 - the lineup was not so great. But still fun. 2009 -…read moreAMAZING lineup!! I have been to several Harmony Fest's and all have been fun. Some better than others due to lineup's. But all in all, nice to have such a fun Fest in Santa Rosa.

Taken to Nirto to celebrate my birthday, I had a blast! All we did was drive the go karts, but that…read morewas plenty. 45 MPH feels reallyy fast when you're only 6" above the pavement. The track and cars are well maintained. There is a good selection of helmets. There is a training video and individual instruction if, like me, this is your first time visiting. Everyone on the staff was friendly and helpful, and my brother and I had a great time racing. I can't wait to do it again!

so we did the axe throwing. The setup is nice could really use some minor tweaks to make the…read moretargets more visible as most of the games are un usable at the current visibility level. The staff the day I was there were exceptionally bad. I walked up to on young lady explained we had a reservations and she directed me to the other end of the desk to another young lady. Waited for 15 minutes or so for another group to get through who was having issues only to be told we just needed to use the kiosks to register and sign the waivers, why couldn't the first staff member tell me this I don't know. I did explain that we had one minor with us and he was already added to my registration but should be on his mothers. I was told it was no problem don't worry about it. once we got to the axe throwing we were then called back an told we had two people that didn't have waivers signed, myself and the minor, they did not tell me who until I was back at the desk causing us to go back and forth figuring it out for them even though they had the names. Turns out I did have my waiver signed and the minor with us that "didn't have a signed waiver" was the one registered under me who this same staff member told me not to worry about because he was registered and had his waiver under his mother. We finally get started and as mentioned above targets are difficult to see leaving us with only one or two games we could realistically play, a little light blocking and/or light paint on the boards would go a long way. in the middle of our time there another staff member needed to get across us to grab a remote for the projectors, then instead of working on the projector he was supposed to he shut ours off and the app on the ipad controlling it no longer was working. I would also like to mention this place was not packed at the time only two of the lanes were currently being used and maybe one group racing. I got some drinks from the concession stand and the cola tasted like raspberry or strawberry had been mixed in, so either they didn't clean it right or something was hooked up wrong. we paid over a $100.00 for 1 hour and unacceptable staff competence. I wanted to give this at least a 3 because the axe throwing setup is honestly the best I've seen near by but it doesn't matter if I can't see the targets or get to use the facility because of bad staffing.

Updating my review since the venue change to the Sonoma County Fairgrounds: as I mentioned I have…read morebeen attending this event every year since 2011! I really like the larger Sonoma County Fairgrounds space (and appreciate that parking is included), which is airy and has plenty of room for all of the vendors. I bring my own plate and stemmed wine glass every year so I can quickly pile up the cheese and enjoy it while walking around planning what I want to try next. All of the vendors are so kind and truly enjoy talking about their products. Some of my favorite cheese vendors are Beehive, Laura Chenel, and Marin French. Some of my favorite alcohol vendors are Barber Lee, Griffo Distillery, and Gowan Cider. This year I was excited that my favorite ice cream place De la Creamery was there, and I loved pairing my Mexican Chocolate ice cream with bourbon from Barber Lee.

I love cheese..... love it ... love it .... Love it ... When…read moreI saw this festival happening I made a plan to visit from LA with my husband. He loves cheese as well so we thought to make it a weekend trip to Sonoma and Santa Rosa and attend these events. The food pairing with wine at Kendal Jackson was amazing, the cheese crawl was somewhat enjoyable at the Barlow but the marketplace on Sunday was a disaster. For over an hourwe were there the lines at the cheese stations were packed. You couldn't move around or enjoy anything cause there were so many people. To have a tiny slice of cheese you had to wait at least 10 mins in line. One line after another.... Most places didn't offer any crackers or bread so imagine eating pieces of cheese without any pairings. After a few stops I was feeling nausea already. I couldn't enjoy anything so my husband and I left very disappointed. I did purchase a few cheeses, jams, honey and spices. Probably that was the best part about this event. Maybe I had very high expectations reading about the festival and getting too excited for it. But seriously it was not worth taking a trip from LA. At least we were able to enjoy our time at the wineries and a short hike at Armstrong Redwood Park.

July 15, 2012 I…read moreparticipated in my first Ironman 70.3 this past weekend and it was one of the most amazing experiences in my life. I was very impressed how the event was organized and executed. Since this was my first 70.3 Ironman distance, I did not know what to expect but with the pre-race emails and website communications, nothing was left uncovered. The volunteers with packet pick up the day before the race were really on it and all the volunteers on race day were so supportive along the course. If you've ever considered doing a 70.3 Ironman event...this is the one to do. The 1.2 Mile Swim along the Russian River was amazing! Water temps were in the low 70's which I was a bit concerned about - I didn't want to overheat but didn't end up being a problem. While parts of the swim were rather shallow, if you have short arms like myself, it didn't prove to be a problem at all. For those who fear the water, this is the race to do. If you panic...all you have to do is stand up. Thankfully, I was properly trained so I swam the entire distance. ; ) The 56 Mile Bike ride throughout wine country is nothing short of breathe taking. There are a few challenging climbs but if you're trained and prepared for the course, it will actually be easier than what you trained on. This was at least the case for me (luckily). With the gorgeous scenery, the ride goes by really fast. Parts of the road are a bit rough - saw lots of peeps fixing flats. The 13.1 Mile Run was hilly but not impossible. This was the new run course and it wasn't as horrible as I thought. It was challenging after the 1.2 mile swim and 56 mile bike ride but it was doable. Miles 5-9 were the pits. I disliked Laughin Road but the change of scenery around the La Crema Winery (6-7) were nice. Each aid station during the run was well stocked, although, the one at the 11th mile marker ran out of water. Otherwise, was very impressed with the support throughout the course. A few constructive criticisms: 1). Ran out of sizes for jersey's, and race day souvenirs early. We got to the expo a few hours after it opened and they were already out of the smaller sizes. The rest of the inventory was slim picking as well. Cannot order on their website until August. Boo! 2). Credit card machines did not work so they were only accepting cash at one point. Luckily, I was carrying enough to cover my purchase. 3). Post race food. If serving pasta, let athletes pick their sauce, if they wanted any at all. The sauce didn't sit well with me so all I had was a piece of their chicken. Also, let athletes take their food out so they can be with their loved ones. There is no reason why they couldn't let us take our food out of the athlete area. 4). Post race fuel. While the milk and drinks were great, having a gatorade recovery shake would've been ideal. http://www.gatorade.com/default.aspx#gseries?s=gseries-recover-shake Thankfully, I had my husband carry one in his small cooler just in case the finish line food was lacking. ...not so much of a criticism but a sassy comment. What's up with the long T2 entry and exit?! Could it have been any longer? LoL Overall a great race. I had SO MUCH fun and I look forward to doing this race again in the near future. Go TEAM! -Ironman 70.3 Finisher. Woot Woot!