Racing Hearts 5K/10K

***4.5 stars***
today was the 2^nd inaugural stanford health care racing hearts 5k/​10k run and i had the pleasure of volunteering for pre-​race activities and participating in the 10k (6.2 miles) on race day.
the day before the race, i met with a team of volunteers and together, we marked the 5k and 10k courses with arrows using flour. i’d actually never done this before but it was a lot of fun and i met some great people and also learned more about the reason for this event. this event was created last year to raise awareness for cardiovascular diseases and ensure that schools in palo alto would all have aed (automated external defibrillator) units readily accessible in the event of an emergency.
on race day, it was unfortunately sprinkling a bit and the skies were quite gray, but just before the gun went off, the rain stopped and it appeared that the sun was going to come out. it never fully revealed itself, but we had a mostly dry race, except for the last few minutes of running toward the finish line when it started drizzling again.
what i liked about the race:
+the staff, organizers, and volunteers were some of the nicest folks i’ve ever met and i’d work with them again in a heartbeat!
+tons of FREE parking in the varsity lot, right next to the start/​finish area, and in the lot by the track house
+porta-​potties at the start/​finish area as well as several campus restrooms nearby
+official cotton, race t-​shirt with racing hearts logo and all of their sponsors
+no sun = no sun in my eyes while running!
+scenic course around stanford university’s campus with some gentle rolling hills and inclines
+staggered start times for the 10k and 5k, as well as separate starting locations to avoid congestion
+signs to mark each mile for each race distance
+clear signage with arrows to distinguish the 10k and 5k routes (which had minimal overlap)
+separate finishers’ chute for 10k and 5k runners which was much appreciated since the finish line area was quite narrow
+extremely accurate measurements, at least for the 10k, as my garmin read 6.21 once i crossed the finish line… you cannot get more accurate than this!
+friendly volunteers directing runners (with pom poms!) and manning aid stations along the course, handing out medals at the finish line
+handmade medal in the shape of a heart, befitting for this event!
+several local vendors at the finisher’s village, including an organic granola/​muesli company
+photo booth, with option to keep a hard copy of the photo and an electronic copy sent to email or facebook accounts
+combined participation for both races was capped at 600 so i never felt that the course was overcrowded nor did i get «stuck» behind some slower runners/​walkers
+age group awards for the top 3 finishers in each age group. i finished 2^nd in my age group and took home a bag of surf city organic granola! i’ll have a healthy breakfast everyday for 2 weeks! my friend finished 1^st in our age group and got a $ 15 gift certificate to zombie runner in palo alto. appreciate the support from our sponsors who are all local bay area businesses!
the cons:
–no pre-​race bib and packet pickup, so everyone had to arrive a bit earlier to pick up their bibs and tshirts
–no chip timing available, only gun timing, so if you didn’t line up at the very front of the pack, then you would lose valuable seconds
–i didn’t feel that 8 porta-​potties was enough for the volunteers, staff, and 600 runners plus their friends/​family who came to spectate
–post-​race food was just ok, as they had some apples, oranges, bananas, chips, protein bars, bagels (no cream cheese/​peanut butter), coffee, tea, and water. when i went to the refreshments area a second time, they had already run out of bananas, much to my dismay. bananas are one of the top foods that a runner reaches for after an endurance event since they are a great source of potassium and carbohydrates, so i guess i’m not surprised that they ran out, but for next year, i think the organizers should order more bananas. there were still plenty of apples and oranges available.
overall, i think the organizers did a terrific job and i would definitely sign up for this event next year.