St. Patrick’s Day 10k Run

«It is often that a person’s mouth broke his nose.» — Irish Saying.
This is Unilocal,and if I walk away with a broken nose, it was worth it. Lol.
PROS
+ Easy trail
+ People were festive — green tutus, leprechaun hats, kilts, ginger beards.
+ For those who care, there was a beer garden. I don’t drink beer, however, being a «St. Patrick’s Day run» it’s pretty much expected. And sorry, I cannot tell you if the beer was green or not.
+ PIZZA at the end of your race. I was a fatass, and had 2. Or maybe 3. In my defense, they were just giving them away towards the end! lol.
+ Deodorant giveaway. Subtle way to tell us we stink. Lol.
+ MEDAL! It was not advertised, so I was a little worried. Us runners are vain like that, so luckily they did. Lol.
CONS
— 4 milers and 10K had different finishing areas
— 4 mile finisher area looked cheap
— 4 milers had minimal cheer support when compared to the 10Kers upon finish.
— Volunteers took the time to don 10K runners with medals versus just handing them out to the 4 milers.
— Why bother have a 2 – 4 miler if the 10K gets more attention anyways. 4 miles is just 2 less miles in a 10K.
— Kathy Loper Events hosts the race, and does not mention anything about the St. Patrick’s Day race on their webpage or facebook. Unfortunately, I think they focus more on their international ($$$) races.
— Somewhere in internet space, there is a website, and facebook page dedicated to the race. It isn’t easy to find, not very informative, and not necessarily easy to navigate through. Why do you have to make the world so difficult, Kathy Loper Events?
Kathy Loper Facebook Page:
St. Patrick’s Day 10K Run, 4 & 2 Mile Fun Run:
If you participated in this race, and participate in the St. Patrick’s Day Half Marathon/​5K in El Cajon (
) the next day, you will earn yourself an exclusive Leprechaun Challenge finisher’s medal. Kathy Loper Events and the folks behind the Half Marathon/​5K must be real secretive because I could not find a photo of the Leprechaun Challenge finisher’s medal on their websites or facebooks. I guess they are not into promoting their blings.
St. Patrick’s Day Half Marathon:

Although the price went up to $ 41 (up $ 7 from last year), I signed up anyway. It’s been a year since I started participating in races and this being the first one I started out with, I thought it’d be fitting I complete it again to show that I hadn’t quit running.
This race is fairly organized for a small race. They get you in and out really quickly, which is much appreciated. Nothing about this race has really changed. I really liked the medal this year. Last year’s was fairly plain and since I mainly run for the bling and that endorphin high, I was happy this year’s medal was much more decorative. With your registration fee, you still get a nice flat path to run around, a mystery Sport Chalet gift card (at bib pick up) a medal, Domino’s pizza, coconut water, and some naked juice.
All in all, the race is a nice one. I may just keep doing this one since it’s the first one I ever ran and it’s near and dear to my heart, but if the price keeps going up, I may have to just pass.

–fun run, fun costumes
–flat course around mission bay
–lots of pizza and beer after the run
–free bottles of coconut water and honest tea

Love.
Love.
Love this race.
Perfect weather. Great friends. Easy parking.
And oh yeah, best beer garden ever.
A 10k that isn’t $ 70 bucks and well organized like this is a winner to me.
See you next year.

Fun, flat 10k race by the water (Mission Bay). People wear costumes making the run entertaining.

this run will always have a special place in my heart.
it’s the first 10k i ever ran. back in 06.
sh*t. it was my first run over three miles.
but why does it always have to be so cold.
in fact. it was cold. and it rained this year.
it’s mostly flat. no hills.
just little bumps here. and there.
yet i find it rather difficult.
i think it’s haunted.
and the view. one would think it would be nice considering it’s by the bay.
it’s not.
but the proceeds benefit radys childrens hospital.
^one star for that.
they have pizza in the end.
and a beer garden.
oh. and they encourage costumes.
anways. i was sixteen minutes faster this year. in comparison to my first run here.
on general principle. i will probably do this run again.

Our running group was sponsored to participate in this run to support Children’s Hospital. 5 stars for the kids!!!
Race packet pickup was slow. I’m thankful for the volunteers, but move it along people! There was so much bottleneck that it just created havoc.
Race morning, it rained. I was unsure if I wanted to run a 10k in the rain, but did it anyways. Parking was a little crazy, but plentiful if you don’t mind the walk. There were no corrals, so basically you line up according to what you think your pace is. Luckily, I was near the front, but still got stuck behind some walkers and slower runners. After a couple of miles, it was wide open.
The route included Fiesta Island, and because it was raining, wasn’t very pretty. There was a slight incline and when you run around the bend, you get the rain and wind against you. Definitely reflected in your time. The poor volunteers were out at the mile markers calling out times.
There were a couple of water stations, which I bypassed. What bothered me a bit was the fact that some onlookers/​patrons were a little miffed that the racers were on the sidewalk heading back to the finish. Whatever…
At the finish, there were booths for pizza, drinks, samples, etc… Beer garden was packed, but popular. The booths were too claustrophobic. All the lines were running into one another.
You receive a tiny medal. A surprise to me since it wasn’t advertised. It was my first 10K and I did it for the kids. YAY!
========================================================
STATS:
Gun: 55:30
Chip: 55:03
Division: ⁵¹⁄₂₂₁

I’ve done this for the last 4 years and this year was one of my favorites. The weather was a little cooler and wet than usual, but it made for great conditions. You have a choice between 2 mile, 4 mile and 10K, so plenty of choices.
The course is a nice layout and at the end you get a medal (any race you participate in). Usually there is pizza, other food vendors, drink vendors and a beer garden (which now has a 2 beer max so don’t waste your pick). All in all, nice rice.

Well, if you’re going to start off your St. Paddy’s Day with excessive drinking, why not run a couple miles beforehand? …Right? Anyway, this is one of the more entertaining races in SD county, as it features a costume contest, raffle, and a beer garden at the end (although I think they limit the number of beers you can have; I’ve never stayed long enough or drank enough to find out). In the spirit of the holiday, this race beats out all other races in San Diego for the amount of green spandex and references to drinking-​induced vomiting on people’s t-​shirts that you’ll see during your run! But seriously, it is a very fun race. Someone always runs the race in a full spandex bodysuit, and that is truly a sight to behold.
I’ve done both the 10K and the 4 mile fun run. The 10K is a little boring as it goes around Fiesta Island (more like SIESTA ISLAND, AMIRITE?), but the 4 mile distance is just the right distance to assuage the guilt of chugging beer and chowing down on Domino’s pizza at the end, without having to deal with running around smelly old Fiesta Island. You only get chip timing on the 10K though, and the 2 – 4 mile finish line poorly marked and offset from the 10K finish. Whatever, the 2 – 4 miler is a fun run anyway.
Be warned that if you run the 10K, unless you run a 35 minute 10K (which I surely do not), the beer garden and pizza line will be outrageous by the time you finish… which is pretty much the main reason I only run the 4 miler, I’ll admit it.
The tech shirt is a nice step up from the cotton t-​shirts they offered in the past, and it was a pleasant surprise this year. I’m also happy that they still allow race day packet pick-​up, as the Expo was held on a Wednesday evening this year, ending at 6pm.

Flat course, fantastic weather, family friendly, fun and festive!
The tech shirt is something I still use every week while running. The only downside is finding time on a Friday to drive out to the Expo to pick up your bib. Luckily, one of our friends nearby were able to pick it up. If you aren’t able to make the trek, I would suggest getting your bib mailed to you instead of having to wake up at an ungodly hour to get your bib on race day.

This was between a 2 and 3 star for me. I gave 3 stars for the location. Its a great run around mission bay and fiesta island. There are numerous distances, but this was my personal best time for the 10k! The downsides of this run… not enough water stations, some high school kids with little voices giving mile marker times, fiesta island was still open to other runners and bikers to avoid, and not much for entertainment after the race. The raffle actually started about an hour after the first race started which meant most folks were somewhere out on fiesta island completing their 10k. But don’t forget your shirt, pizza, and the beer garden!

To date, this is one of the better courses that I’ve ran. Beginning on E. Mission Bay Drive, this 10k run proceeded by leading us in a complete tour around Fiesta Island and then looped back by guiding us through Mission Bay Park to the finish. The scenery was gorgeous, and the terrain was a runner’s dream — flat! The 10k commenced at approximately 7:40am, about 10 minutes after the 2 and 4-​mile runners and walkers began their event. There was a fairly thick marine layer, thereby causing the temperature to remain in the high 50’s. It was perfect, really; one of the most comfortable runs I’ve participated in.
After the finish, we were all treated to beer and complimentary pizza from Domino’s. I’m not a beer drinker, but it looked like everyone really enjoyed the beer garden because it was teeming with activity! There were also the typical muffin and energy drink stations availabe, too.
The event was fairly organized, although the parking was a bit chaotic. T-​shirts were only available AFTER the race was completed. It’s a cool shirt that sports a fun, festive Irish graphic.
I loved this course so much that I am thinking about driving down from N. County every now and then to run it. It was a race that I will certainly participate in again next year.