probably my favourite of the peninsula run groups. not only do they run, but they throw in track…read moreworkouts, hill workouts, and core work into their group runs. group meets every mon @ 6pm, rain or shine. currently, the group is led by 2 of lululemon's running ambassadors, whom i consider experts in the realm of running. the group runs anywhere from 3-8 miles, and routes vary by week. sometimes, we run through stanford's campus loop. other times, we run to the stanford track and do track/speed workouts. on occasion, we run up through the dish for a good hill workout. i like the variety in their routes b/c it's a nice change in scenery and workout type. on average, i'd say there are 20-30 runners in this group. the fastest runners are around a 6:00 min/mile pace, and the slowest runners around a 10:00 min/mile pace. most of the runners i talk to are currently training for a race (or have a race lined up later in the year), usually a half or full marathon, with some of the elite runners being ultra-marathoners. after the run, they provide water back at the store. most of the runners stretch together after, in front of the store. what i like best about this group is that i'm always challenged by the workout of the week. whether it's to run harder, faster, longer, or climb a steeper hill, i always go home feeling like i really worked out. i've found that my race times have steadily improved as i continue running with this group.

If I could give this run group a million stars I would. I ran with them weekly for about a year…read morebefore I moved up to the city. And I drive down to PA just to meet them whenever I can. You can find lots of groups around the peninsula that get together to run once a week. Having tried several others I think this is what sets this group apart: the difficulty+togetherness of the workouts, and the attitude/orientation of the members. You will find a tremendous group of people who really love running, are nice about it, want to improve, really challenge themselves and want to support other runners in challenging themselves. Over the course of running weekly with them, particularly tempo runs and track workouts, I improved my mile time nearly a minute per mile at the half marathon distance. If you want to challenge yourself to run harder than you would alone, this is a great way to do it. The best thing about this run club: Jessica, the longtime leader. She is a great athlete and has the warmest personality. She's a fan of tough workouts, and will often lead a super core set after runs. She's so nice about it, you'll laugh at how much it hurts. There might not be another thing in the bay area I'd more emphatically recommend.

2 races ago I paid cash and they didn't have my $5 change. They asked if they could give it to me…read moreafter the race and of course I agreed. Last race there was a long line to register (they process registrations slowly). After 20 minutes of waiting, I got it the front of the line and they told me I was $5 short (fair enough) but time before the race start was running down. I asked if I could give them the extra $5 after the race. SAME EXACT GUY as the previous year refused. Made me run all the way back to my car to get $5 right before the start. That by itself is fair, but they are hypocrites to ask me to make an accommodation that they wouldn't make themselves. They have our names, address, phone number, etc. on the registration - it's not like someone who owes money can is bail on a city event. money.

Race fans: IT's flat,fast,organized and Fun!…read more medals for top three in age categories.( my son came in 10th overall his running friend came in FIRST overall about 725 runners-694 registered! Medals for all kid participants in kids run (my son won this). If you live by Cupertino I recommend Very well organized-just not one of the cheapest races around!~ It was "closed" as in full-but the race director made an exception for my 10 year old who beat all but 7 runners in the 5k then turned around and beat all the kids in the kids run 25 minutes later!~ Thanks Greg!~ It was fun!~

My first time attending the event and I gotta say it is what I hear it is. Fun, exciting, amazing…read morecostumes, awesome people. Event was suppose to start at 8 but with 8 groups it took awhile before my group got going, almost 9am. Then that's when I knew the reason why, the race was more like a parade or a walk or run. I started off pacing myself but by mile 2 I thought to myself this would be more fun to just casually stroll and spectate all the muse and excitement throughout the course from mile 1 to mile 7. Although I heard there was many restrictions but everything was still there at least that I saw. Great costumes, floats, music, weather, people and of course the nudity. Even the the residential area was throwing a party during the course. I gotta say this was my first and definitely won't be my last. Plus I forgot my costume so next year is a must. Thank you Alaska Airlines for sponsoring this years event!!!

Looooove it! It's always a nice annual fun break from the normal life. I don't really like to run…read moreso I walk/jog. Definitely worth being part of it.

Maybe it's because I don't get the opportunity to run in Northern California all that often, but…read morewhen I finally get a chance, I love it. The Quarry Turkey race is one of my new favorites and one that will become a new tradition of ours. Brazen Racing promotes some really awesome trail runs, and I am hoping to get more involved. As for the Quarry Turkey, which is held on the Saturday following Thanksgiving, when you've run Quarry after having also run the Nitro Turkey on Thanksgiving morning at Point Pinole Regional Park (in Richmond, about 40 miles northwest), you complete the "Double Turkey" challenge! While both runs offer very cool medals of their own, completing the Double Turkey allows for the connector medal. Get that, and now you've snagged the Double Turkey Mega-Medal! And you've got to get you one of those! The beautiful (and perhaps beautifully flat) course at the Quarry Lakes Regional Park meanders around the lakes and is open enough that congestion isn't much of a problem. In fact, as there is plenty of room, strollers and walkers are welcomed. (Dogs, however, are not allowed.) If possible, try to register early, as you'll have discounted prices and the assurance of of getting in without the race having sold out. Very nice T-shirts accompany your registration, ones you seriously won't mind wearing afterwards, but if you'd rather a tech shirt, for an extra fee, they'll have those available too! Have fun!

It felt so awesome to support the fine folks at Brazen Racing on Small Business Saturday with my…read morevery first Turkey Trot. I have decided that small races put on by local organizations are my faves. The route went along the picturesque Quarry Lakes were many folks were fishing while we looped around part of the regional park for the 5K. Highlights: *inexpensive fee *excellent communication via email and Facebook from Brazen *map of course given to runners *didn't have any but Krispy treats and pecan pie were offered at the aid station!!! They also provided water, electrolytes, M&Ms, oranges, bananas *hearing my name and city called as I crossed the finish line *that heavy, very cool medal(Brazen has the best!) *taking pics with the Quarry Turkey which I'll be able to download for FREE soon *food at the finish line: bagels with cream cheese, peanut butter, or Nutella, several slices of pie including apple, pumpkin, and berry, Kettle chips, pretzels, all kinds of cookies, oranges, bananas, It's It in vanilla, mint, or cappuccino *starting yet another holiday tradition with my best friend Suggestions: *we parked about a mile away in a residential neighborhood that didn't have the "please do not park here" signs. Traffic was so awful that all races were pushed back 15 minutes. The walk to/from was a good warmup/cooldown. *If you do both Brazen Turkey Trots, you get an awesome 3rd medal. Considering that for next year!

A very well organized race. Starts at the SAP Center and ends at Santana Row. The course is…read moremostly flat, you run under a few overpasses. I did enjoy running through San Jose, a good way to see the city. They were very strict with the corral starts. This was my first time doing this race, so I'm guessing the rain probably limited the crowds lining the streets. I did enjoy the 8K distance, something different. Finishing on Santana Row was cool as you could smell breakfast cooking as the restaurants were opening. The shuttles back were great, well organized, comfortable, and quick. I can see why this event is so popular!!

Registration: Super…read moreeasy. I got the $39 opening special. Email updates get a little tedious after a while and I ended up getting 2 or 3 of the same thing in the 2 weeks before the event. Packet Pick up: I really wish they had day of pick up as I live over an hours drive away and had to make the trek to San Jose twice in one weekend. That said it was really easy to get my packet, you just needed to know your bib number and they check it against your name. The TShirts are pretty cool and something I will actually wear. Course: Nice and flat. Nice addition to have the different ''miles'' (Veteran / Mariachi). The mile markers were not completely accurate though (yup.. the serious Runner in me notices these things). Mile 2 was actually 1.1mi and mile 3 was just 0.9mi. The event started right on time as planned and without any hitches however I do think that some kind of enforcement of the waves has to be done. Upon coming to the start line there was no one checking bibs. I was put in wave 1 for my sub 8 min mile pace and standing at the start with about a dozen people deep in front of me I noticed a lot of the people around me were wearing bibs marked waves 2, 3 and even 4. Once we started it was also made clear that some people placed in wave 1 really should not have been there. I had to zig zag around people that were not going the correct pace for the wave. Had I been out to PR I would have been really pissed off. Post Race: I didn't experience the ''hearding'' that people had mentioned in previous years but I guess that could have been down to the fact I was one of the first 90 people to finish. There was some walk to the end to get our bibs but nothing major. The post race food was really lame and looking at the pictures from previous years I was expecting to get more than what I did - a bottle of Water, Apple and some Fruit chews. NO BANANA! Really? That gives me the sads. It's common knowledge that Runners eat Banana's. The occasional Orange slice, yes. Apples No. Unless they're in some form of Pastry (Mmmm, Carbs). The medal is also pretty cool, it can be removed from the lanyard and used as a bottle opener and overall I am glad I can now mark this event off of my Running Bucket List but I doubt I will do it again. Way too far to come for what it is. Additional: This event is 1 or 3 of the ''Run the Bay'' series challenge where if you complete all 3 events you get an additional medal.Other 2 events are the Across The Bay (12k or 5k) in San Francisco and Let's Go 510 in Berkeley. Personal shyt: Time: 34:54 / 6:58 min mile. I intended to do a moderate 45:00 / 9 min mile and for the first half mile I was well on track but then some dude with a stroller ran past me. That's never happened to me before and I didn't like it (I now know how my poor husband feels. lol). So I had to speed up to my comfortable ''Aaah yeah, It's on!'' pace. Competitive much? Place: 90th out of 5,000+ and 18th Female. BOOM! -Crazy Runner Girl.

$20 Alcatraz and Golden Gate Bridge SF Bay tour. One hour journey was refreshing. Lovely narration!…read moreWe got to see seabirds and lovely sea lions!!! Must do!

We took the Bay tour on a beautiful Sunday and I can't imagine a better way to see the bay! The…read moreboat was clean and well appointed and the crew top notch, friendly and engaging. Special thanks to our host Nancy for offering to take pics for everyone aboard!

My first "run" ever! Total success and total fun…read more The event was really well done. Parking wasn't so bad because parking lot had plenty of space. The drive was the worse, though. The event was majority filled with kids as kids run free. Nevertheless, there were still an older crowd. Including in your $20 registration is your number and a color packet. Even before the event, colors were thrown everywhere. There's two options, Day (5pm) and Night (8pm) run. There really wasn't any difference between the times. I would suggest going the Day time because it got really hard to see as 6pm rolled. 5k went by fast. As they had a couple rest stations (water break and color stations). I was pretty excited whenever a color station was coming close. Boxes of color out free for grab! At the finish line, you are rewarded with some nice EDM music. It would be cool if they actually had a famous DJ there. Overall, good vibes everywhere. Lots and lots of kids though. Although I walked 90% of the time, still a fun race :)

I was in the SF Color Run last year, so I knew exactly what to expect at the San Jose Color Run in…read moredowntown San Jose! It was just as great, maybe even better than the one in SF! 1. Downtown streets were BLOCKED OFF especially for the this event, so tons of space for running/walking. Track was visually appealing since it was on the roads and it felt like I was also getting a tour of Downtown SJ. 2. Color Stations weren't visible, while you were going through the track so it was exciting to know it could happen any minute now. 3. Very sunny this year, so the colors were so pretty in pictures. Tons of professional photographers throughout the track to stalk for photos. 4. The crowd seems very enthusiastic. Some teams like to be themed, and I've seen mad scientist and royalty themes. For me, I just like to have a pretty tutu. Also, at the end of the run, there was a concert-like stage and crowd to do color bombing. Food trucks were there and also a stall for the partnering charity was there. This year it was the American Diabetes Association. Very glad they gave us the option to start a fundraising page JUST for donations directly for the charity. Unsure how each Color Run "partners" with other charities and distributes profit, but just go for the experience. The Color Run is definitely something to enjoy with friends and family, sober or otherwise.

+++review #2300+++…read more another 100 reviews, another race to rave about! i'd heard of this race many years, had friends and clients who raved about this event, esp for their swag, specifically, the jersey designed race tshirt. i figure i should sign up and see what all the fuss was about! the race took place at santa clara university, on a closed course, so we didn't have to deal with vehicles, pedestrians, cyclists, pets. however, the course was a bit narrow, so i remember having to bob and weave through some crowds at a few points along the course. the 5k was a single loop of the campus, and surrounding areas, the 10k was simply double the 5k. both were flat, with the slightest uphill at one section, but otherwise, flat and fast, perfect for a fast finishing time! the amenities were very nice: +free parking at santa clara university, parking garage +onsite bib pickup +light green, jersey style tshirt +heart shaped medal +extra medal for age group winners +prizes for overall winners +fig bars and water at finish line +warmup stretches pre-race, with energizing music +post-race entertainment and music since i was the first overall female, finishing the 10k in 44:42, i took home 2 medals, and a sports basement gift card...super sweet! my only criticism would be that both courses were too short. as a serious runner and run coach, i like my race distances to be exact. the 10k came out to be 5.88mi (should be 6.21) and my friends who ran the 5k got around 2.95mi (instead of 3.11), so most folks, including myself, ended up running faster than we would have had the distances been accurate. overall, a very well organized, family friendly event that i would recommend for any runner who enjoys a friendly neighborhood 5k or 10k.