This is my review on my run!…read more Hmm...driving to pick up my bid and packet the day before the event was useless. WHatda waste of gas! Next year, if I do the race, I will just pick up my packet the day of. There was practically no one picking up their packet the day of. Just be there about 15 minutes early, and you will save yourself the drive to pick up the bid. Yea, no water stations or mile marker. I like how the run took place in Great America for the first .75 miles, but I thought the entire run should've take place in GA. We ran the 2.25 miles around the parking lot. That part was definitely not fun! =( At the end of the race, they passed out medal and water bottle. Bagels, and banana, fruit snacks, and oranges were served. Not too bad! $25 (family pack) goes directly to charity and they feed you, give you a medal, freebies (playing cards, and pens/pencil), water bottles (which they sell at great America for $4), a shirt, free parking, and a ticket to go into GA to bond with your friends and family. Can't ask for more=)

This is the first time I've done a run at Great America. Though it was fun to run inside the park,…read moreonce we got outside it was rather quite boring as all we were doing was running in the parking lot. Two thirds of the run was in the parking lot and it was easy to cut the corners in the parking lot, so in the end the distance didn't even end up being close to 3.1 miles. They only had one mile marker at mile one, and it was at least 1/3 mile off, and there were no water stations. Packet pick-up was the day before at one end of the Key Point Credit Union. There was only one sign to direct people to where that location is. My friend picked up his packet in the morning shorty after 9am, and he said they were completely disorganized. They were still stuffing the bags when he got there. By the time I got there they had gotten their act together. Unfortunately the only "goodies" I got in my bag were just flyers, which I ended up throwing in the recycling bin. The only thing worth keeping was the 10% off sports basement coupon. I did like that entrance into Great America was included in our registration as well as free parking before 7:30am. We got a finisher's medal after crossing the finish line. They gave us a bottle of water at the end of the run, but it wasn't even cold. There was slices of oranges, bananas and bagels available for us at the end, but no napkins. This is only the second year Mission City has done this run, so hopefully it will get better as the years go on.

This is the 2019 run on a super wet day. Rain just let up a minute ago. It's a comin' back!…read more I almost didn't come, but decided I'd could always back out if Mother Nature proved too playful with the category 2 storm today. A small but enthusiastic crowd is here today. I think I'm one of the most heavily clothed participant here. I come from a family that fully believes in layers. We are like onions in that respect. The layers of shirts and sweaters are unending.

i had heard of this event in the past, and even coached a friend for the 5k, but never had a chance…read moreto participate myself since i always had a conflicting race or training run on super bowl sunday. i cleared my schedule this year since i had heard good things about this race and wanted to run this portion of the lower guadalupe river trail. for this particular event, there was a choice of 2 distances: 1. 10k (6.2 miles) 2. 5k (3.1 miles) i signed up for the 10k so that i could burn more calories, since i knew that i'd be pigging out at a super bowl party later that afternoon! the pros: -REASONABLE race fees, $40 for the 5k and $45 for the 10k if you register during the early bird period -takes place at ARENA GREEN, just outside downtown san jose, next to the lower guadalupe river trailhead and just off highway 87. -CLEAR MILE MARKERS for both both 5k & 10k, as well as marker & volunteer at the respective turnaround points (to ensure you don't run further than you signed up for!) -ACCURATELY MEASURED DISTANCE, as my garmin read 6.22 miles immediately after crossing the finish line which is pretty much spot on with the official 10k race distance of 6.2 miles. -FRIENDLY VOLUNTEERS assisting at the registration/information booths, handing out water at aid stations along the course, and handing out snacks at the refreshments' tables post-race. -FREE and EASY PARKING in multiple parking areas, all within a 1/2 mile from the start/finish area. i actually got lucky and found street parking a block from the start! -PORTA-POTTIES at the start/finish area, along with portable hand washing stations with soap, water and paper towels. -COMPLIMENTARY BAG CHECK at the finish area with volunteers to guard your bags until after the race -VERY FAMILY FRIENDLY, perfect for families, small children, and strollers what you get: *choice of PACKET PICKUP @ the guadalupe river park conservancy, wednesday-friday prior to the race, or on site pick up the morning of. *green, technical FINISHER'S SHIRT *several AID STATIONS with volunteers handing out cups of water *POST-RACE FOOD & DRINKS, including tortilla chips, guacamole, clementines and water *custom FINISHER MEDAL for each participant *official RESULTS posted online the afternoon following the race *RACE PHOTOS posted online within 48 hrs of the race bonuses for top finishers: *customized guadalupe conservancy beer glasses for the top 3 men and top 3 women in each age group for both distances. since i was 2nd in my age group, i got to take home one of these beer glasses and partake in the post-race awards ceremony. the cons: -both 5k & 10k courses were out and back, and had a slight uphill on the return trip as well as strong headwind. not the race organizer's fault, but this definitely made for a tougher finish (and difficulty in negative-splitting) for all runners. -this course was not very scenic since we ran next to san jose airport for most of the race. only a small portion was in the guadalupe river park, but there wasn't anything interesting to see. -i ran the 10k, and was one of the earliest finishers, but by the time i got to the refreshments' table, they had run out of tortilla chips! tons of guacamole left, but no tortilla chips!?!?! -wish they had more carbs available, maybe bagels or muffins or granola bars, since those who ran the 10k would need a bit more sustenance after a longer effort. thank you, to on your mark events, for putting on this terrific event, and to the guadalupe river park conservancy for being the title sponsor!

I was online researching protein bars. I used to live off of those and it kind of scared me at the…read morethought of consuming one but the ones from 1st Phorm looked so delicious to me. As I was about to make my purchase I saw an ad pop up for this marathon. On a whim I registered. I ended up not buying the protein bars. I was then excited for this half marathon instead. I do not run. I am a little on the heavier side based on my height. I also have a lung condition due to the smoke inhalation from the house-fire. The run is 7 days away. Doing a half marathon was always something I wanted to try and do. I figured since I will turn 37 in 2 weeks why not just do it? I can run, jog, and walk. As long as I show up and finish... Received my bib, backpack, and fleece sweater the day before. The process went very smoothly. Kudos to all the volunteers and event coordinators! On the day of the event you do not need to come as early as I did. I saw "check in" at 6-6:30 and decided to get there around 5:45. If you need to check your belongings otherwise getting to the area 30 min. prior to the start is plenty. I don't care if the run is scenic or not. I just want to hurry up and finish. The first mile was painful but my 2nd mile to the 9th was relatively easy. Everything after my 10th mile started to become "oh my god"... but I finished and received my medal at the end. I loved the community-feel to this because we were all cheering for one another. Everyone. I did not drink any water or refuel w/ electrolytes during my run but great job to the folks handing them out and for cleaning the mess after. I had a blast!!! I worked out the next day and even got into running on Wednesday.. just 3 days after completing 13.1 miles. I am very happy that I did it and cannot wait to do another one again!!!

I didn't run the marathon but my husband did. It was his first ever full marathon and he enjoyed it…read morevery much. The course was fairly easy he said. My review is for the staff. See... I misplaced the shirt my husband got after registering and because it had sentimental value I contacted the site asking if there was any way I could purchase the shirt for him. I got an email response from Scott literally 2 minutes after I sent the email. He was kind enough to ship me a new shirt for free! All I had to do was send a self addressed envelope to the address he gave me in SF. I got the shirt right before Christmas :) Thanks again Scott!

Fun, fun, fun for the puzzle-solver in you…read more DASH (Different Area--Same Hunt) is a puzzle hunt that takes place in several cities across the U.S. at the same time once a year. If you live in the Bay Area, you usually have a few nearby cities to choose from. I took part in the April 24, 2010 event in Santa Rosa, which featured 59 teams at that city. The event involves solving puzzles that are fairly intellectually challenging and take usually a half hour to an hour to solve. You do need to get from location to location to solve the puzzles, though this time does not count as part of your total time, so there is no benefit to being physically fit--you can even take a break and get lunch! Two of my friends and I took part and had a great time doing it. The theme this year was TV shows, and one activity had us looking through these dossiers containing outlines of murdered Disney movie characters. There were then rebuses which you had to figure out who killed that particular Disney character. Example: picture of Jeff Bridges + a pirate's speech bubble is Jeff+Arrr or Jafar. After figuring all of that out, if you ordered all the murders together by linking the characters who belonged in the same movie, and then realized that there was a number in the description of the murders, you would take that number letter of the murderer's name to spell out the final solution (e.g. if the puzzle said there were nine slashes, you would take the ninth letter of the murderer's name). All in all, a great time. If you get stuck on a puzzle, you can always take hints (there is a penalty for taking hints). Our team was resilient, taking no hints ever. We finished 40th out of 59 teams, which was not bad for our first time doing one of these. Having a smart phone helps some, but fairly minimally. The first puzzle involved listening to these songs, and identifying the name of each song. The last word in the name of the song could be strung together to form a sentence you could then solve. When they started this puzzle, a lot of people got out their iPhone's to use the app which can recognize songs being played on the radio. However, the game organizers recognized this and actually sped up all the song sections they played. The name of the puzzle was Alvin and the Chipmunks to justify the high-pitch of the voices. At another puzzle, one of my friends used his Android phone to take a picture of one of the albums on the piece of paper and the phone was able to figure out that it was a Queen album. Technology is crazy these days.

I recently ran my 14th Half-Marathon, my first with Zoom Running Events. I'm familiar with Quarry…read moreLakes but I've only ever run a 5k there. Needless to say, those 13.1 miles made me work. It was a mix of park, trails, both paved and gravel, from the 84 out to the 880 and back. There were several hundred of us runners. The marathon and half-marathon started together but we spread out quickly. I traveled with my fellow slow joggers so I never felt totally alone. This was helpful near the underpasses which were slightly spooky. The Zoom volunteers were cheerful and encouraging. Each aid stop, approximately every 2.5 miles, supplied us with water, electrolyte mix, orange slices, trail mix, pretzels, chips, and salt tablets(!).

WONDERFUL EXPERIENCE. a fun, festive race to kickstart ur holiday szn. love that it's not as packed…read moreas the thanksgiving turkey trot. ROUTE IS OUT AND BACK, two lil road hills but mostly flat. u get a view of downtown sj and then it ends with christmas in the park. i'm doing this every year no doubt. U GET FINISHER MEDAL AND TOP 3 gets a placers medal. make sure to place urself in the front at the beginning bc race can go out slow. lots of snack, drink, advertising booths at the end. goods, stickers, sunglasses.

My son won the Santa Run race today After Came in 2nd in…read morethe Turkey Trot three weeks ago! Congratulations my son. You are a true champion today! Train hard. Win easy! Run ‍ https://youtu.be/w9vuc-VGM08 On the news!

This is the second year of the Sharks Fitness Faceoff, which included a kids race, 5k, 10k, and…read morebike ride. There are plenty of options for everyone so bring the whole family. It was my first time running this race and I signed up for the 10k. Packet pick up took place at the SAP Center. I was initially worried about parking in this area as I was driving over but there were plenty of free parking spaces left and the packet pick up was a breeze. The race itself was nothing scenic since you pretty much run in a square shaped route and started and ended at the SAP Center. Over 2,600 registered but only the first 2,500 get their shirt and medal. Participants received a cool tech shirt which was a major improvement over last year's cotton shirt. The medal had no date printed so I'm guessing you could use the same design again in the future. The highlight of the race was of course seeing SJ Sharkie at the start and finish. Don't forget to get a picture with Sharkie after the race! :)

It's a work in progress, but this first year athletic event showed a lot of promise, and I can…read moredefinitely see the event grow into a very popular event within the very near future. The event, the newest annual fundraiser for the Sharks Foundation, the non profit program begun by the San Jose Sharks professional hockey team in 1994 with a mission statement of enhancing the lives of Santa Clara County youth and families in need through education, health, safety and character development, combines two non-competitive bicycling events with a competitive10K run, a 5K run and a series of children's races. Although not mandatory, registered participants are encouraged to collect monetary donations in exchange for a series of cool and unique San Jose Sharks-related prizes. I registered for the 5K several months in advance but developed a serious leg injury which ended up changing my plans for participation in this event. Instead of running I walked (hobbled) the 3.1 mile course instead, and I had just as much fun doing so while meeting some super friendly people along the way. Since I live and work in the San Francisco area I couldn't take advantage of the packet pick-up sessions offered in the three days leading up to the event day so I arrived in San Jose very early on the day of the event, and I took advantage of the early morning packet pick-up session, avoiding the crowds and enjoying the warm sunshine of Guadalupe River Park (aka Arena Green) located adjacent to HP Pavilion (soon SAP Center), home of the San Jose Sharks. Packet pick-up was a breeze aided by some very enthusiastic and helpful volunteers. As many of the sponsors were still setting up I brought along a camera to capture some images of the morning and observed other athletes as they prepared for their events. I'll post a handful of those pics in the photos section. Dan Rusanowsky, the television and radio voice of the San Jose Sharks, provided superb emcee duties. S.J. Sharkie eventually joined in on the fun, and former San Jose Sharks captain Owen Nolan, who participated in the 50 mile bike ride, provided photo ops and free autographs to fans just for the asking. It was also announced that current San Jose Sharks defenseman Brent Burns was among the crowd of bicyclists out for the 50 mile ride. All of the events seemed to take off without a problem as I watched the separate starts of the 50 mile bike ride, the 20 mile bike ride and the 10K run within the hour before our 5K start. Since I knew I was in for a very slow walk I started in the very back of the pack and once our event got started I just let my feet take over. The downtown course was very well marked, and San Jose police officers were stationed at every turn. Event signage was highly visible, but the course lacked mile markers which might have totally p___d me off had I been running since I use those to monitor my race pace. There was one aid station along the route which offered water and warm Gatorade ... blech! About 1/8th of a mile before the finish line we were joined by 10K run finishers and bike ride participants all coming in from different streets. Since the running races are chip timed the finish line was easy breezy. I surprised myself by limping through the course in sub-14 minute miles. After the race the distribution of the very cool finisher medals (http://www.yelp.com/biz_photos/san-jose-sharks-fitness-faceoff-san-jose?select=3idhLMHcVoi9aqtNL7YSRg#3idhLMHcVoi9aqtNL7YSRg) was conducted in a very orderly manner as was entry into the post race expo where participants could help themselves to fresh fruit, pastries and bagels, water, coconut water and Pop Chips. Aside from a few minor tweaks here and there this was an awesome inaugural event, and I look forward to returning next year when I can actually run in the race.

1st time to do this race and I really enjoyed it. Great organization at the beginning and ending…read more The only part that needs improvement is the t-shirts. Upon picking up the bibs, we were not given a t-shirt. The race, there's a 5K and a 5 mile. Of course at the finish, the 5K runners got first dibs on t-shirts. I did the 5 mile and was able to get my t-shirt, but my friend wasn't able to get her t-shirt size, they ran out. She was pissed. I recommend either 2 things to avoid having upset or angry runners. 1- give the t-shirt on the day they pick up their bib 2 - have 2 different t-shirts, one for 5K runners and one for 5 mile runners. These shirts should be given at the finish in exchnage for a bottom section of the bib. This will ensure runners receive the correct shirt, correct size, and only One. Just a thought......

This is the 2nd year that I've ran the San Jose Giants Race. I ran in 2012 and 2013, both 5 mile…read morerace. I plan to run this race again in coming years. Overall, I like this race route and the race is well organized. The last quarter mile is running into the San Jose Giants stadium. At the end of the race, you get your race dri-fit shirt and race medal, plus the usual post-run snacks and drinks. Exiting the stadium there was a line to take a picture with the 2010 and 2012 San Francisco Giants World Series trophies. A++