Anaheim Hills Firecracker July 4th Run

This year was a big step backwards from the year before. Where do I begin. .
— There was no timing strip at the start. Therefore everyone is measured by the gun time. This is a first in my limited racing experience and delegitimizes this race. This was a departure from the year before.
— No National Anthem — for a 4^th of July event? Seriously? This was also a departure from the year before. I believe most were caught off guard when the gun went off. I know I was and had to scramble to get ready.
— This is an out-​and-​back course and there was no lane set aside for the runners coming back. Again, seriously??? For the faster runners of the 5k, they were coming back against most of the runners still going out, like being on the wrong side of the freeway. I’m surprised there weren’t any collisions. It was horrible and completely inexcusable.
— Of course the medal was a dog tag which was meh. This WAS consistent from last year. But they downgraded from a tech T to a regular T.
— The post race food and drinks were very limited. I only saw water and baked goods from Corner Bakery.
For the boys and I, it was over $ 100. We’ll not be back next year.

The race itself was poorly organized, no National Anthem on the 4^th of July and timing was not accurately kept. It cost $ 140 to register a family of 4 and there was no charity tied to the event! It seems excesssive.