Wicked Wine Run

This event was unorganized. Not enough parking, race started late and ran out of water after the 1^st water stop, at the one mile mark. Luckily, I had water with me. There were 3 of us, 2 of us signed up for the 1k after but decided to just go to the food trucks and enjoy the entertainment. My group had a great time after and if we do it again we will only do the 1K. They need more food trucks and there is no excuse for running out of water. Everyone had to register, so they knew how many were attending. There was also no staff along the route in case someone had trouble. Most people ending up walking the 5K due to the heat and lack of water. Too bad, it has potential to be really great.

We made the best of the experience… great time to spend with sisters and friends. outside of that this was an awful experience. First off the parking was horrible, not everyone had to pay… I still want a refund… they RAN OUT OF WATER. how dangerous is that? How do run out of water? Wine was horrible… plus when you received your wine it had bugs in it… we were told to just pick them out. The DJ was good, the Food Trucks were good (not equipped for all the people). I will only run for a cause, this was definitely not a great experience. My cousin came in from St. Louis to join us for the walk/run.her first… what a horrible experience for her.

Never again. Disorganized. Parking was redirected to another lot, but had to wait until we could park. Are you kidding me? They ran out of safety pins to secure the runners’ bib on our shirts. They gave us paper clips instead. Can’t do the math apparently to figure out how many safety pins they needed to purchase. NO water until about mile 2. I guess they didn’t get the memo that it was to be a very hot day. Give away t-​shirts were inferior. Cheaply made. Mine was already unraveling, and I hadn’t worn it yet. They are terrible in replying to your email. I tried posting on their Facebook page and they were quick to delete my post. We would have been better off running around the block with a bottle of wine waiting for us in the backyard. Do not register for any wicked wine runs. Save yourself the frustration.

This event was very un organized. It started with the parking. We spent at least 15 minutes trying to park once inside the lot. We got stuck in the dirt a few times.
The race if not start on time.
They ran out of drinking water at the first water stop (1^st mile mark) that was the worst because it must of been about 85′ out.
We had a group of 6 ladies, we did not stay for the after party, we just decided to go home.
I don’t think we will do this one again. We are going to try and find another race.

Thank goodness I have a great group of friends that can make any situation fun! We had high hopes for this pricey race. Unfortunately, we didn’t read the reviews until after we already registered. The biggest issue was the disorganization. Everything from the packet pick ups, to the nightmare parking situation, to the zero water for the runners on a sweltering hot afternoon could have been avoided if they had planned better. Really?!? You run out of water at the one mile mark? The event was sold out with over 2000 runners and you can’t figure out how much water you need? Not only the race, but the winery itself (Europa Village) was a complete rip off. They were charging $ 8 per tiny little plastic cup of wine. And the one glass of wine that was waiting for us at the finish line was disgusting. Oh well, the concept was good… Never again.

This was the very worst event I have ever been too. First off, the time changed from 5:30 to 4:30, no no deal, things happen, but it is Temecula and very hot.
Parking!!! Nightmare. Long line to get in, they needed someone stopping traffic and directing the patrticipants. It was chaos. We barely made it in the lot, it was 4:24. The volunteers at the parking lot ignored people, one was even texting. Come on people!
Then the race started at 5. The problem was the organization. Clearly there were not enough volunteers or workers to get things done. Cars were parking on the course.
I was attacked by some bees and got stung by one running on the course. Two guys who were also running said they were stung also. I heard a couple people state they had family on the course that were allergic. I also came to find out that they have bee «boxes» on the course. Would have been nice to know this beforehand.
Numbers were not assigned to any runner. Why even bother with bibs?
Oh the wine… not delicious.
I would never ever sign up or run this event even if free.
Spare yourself and find another event! They are everywhere.
Negative stars.

After completing this «run» for the 2^nd time, it got even worse. They gave us free registration and «parking» for how horrible the last time was. I wish I had not bothered.
To start from the beginning, I had been e-​mailing them for several months attempting to receive my free parking only to be met with no’s and inconsideration. I come to find out from someone else running they were mailed their parking!!! Something I was told multiple times they would not do. Doesn’t matter now because I ended up with free parking due to their lack of organization. We arrived a little after 3 (thanks to massive traffic on the actual street) and the parking lot was already full! I was half way up a dirt hill when they made me U-​turn and head to the next lot which practically full as well. I ended up parking behind the food trucks and had drive amongst the grapes to even exit.
Next, the lack of planning for picking up your bibs. First of all corporate said very few people could not make it to packet pick up, which obviously was false. Secondly, they gave us paperclips to hold our bibs to our shirts! Tell me again how that was supposed to work???
The course: just as bad as the previous one (in fact we were directly next to last years location). There were fire ants and bees everywhere. The trail itself was slanted and had several steep hills. In the record heat wave we happened to have that day, running was not really an option so most people walked. Good thing, because in the 3.1 miles, there were no less than 3 water stations completely out of water! I did not actually get any water until over 2.5 miles in! This is DANGEROUS AND UNHEALTHY! We passed at least 4 people suffering from heat exhaustion and there were no race staff on the route at all! Sob no luck getting a medic. When we did see race staff, there were driving a truck on the actually race route, so be on the lookout.
Our finish line wine: it was poured while the race was beginning, so it was completely warm when received, mine also had dead bugs floating in it due to it sitting outside. Bleh. The taste of the wine itself was horrid.
Bottom line: never again will I participate in a Wicked Wine Run and I encourage everyone else to stay clear!

Pros: beautiful location and trail, the food trucks were delicious and the t-​shirts you get were really soft and cute. The live band after was really good too, I was digging the chill vibes.
Cons: they didn’t open the gate for parking until an hour before the race! Sat in traffic for an hour, finally made it into the parking lot when they told us it was full and we had to turn around. I had prepaid $ 15 for parking! They sent us to another lot which became a huge mess and nobody even checked our parking pass. It was 90 degrees out and they had no water and not a single volunteer out on the trail, not even at the turn around! Also my husband and I had planned on running this race but the majority of people walked it and it was very difficult to maneuver around people because it was crowded. Maybe in the future have the people who are running it take off in the first 2 heats?
I’ve ran many, many 5ks in the last 15 years and this was the worst organized race. I feel like I was ripped off. It’s a shame too because it had the potential to be awesome!

If there was a ZERO star I’d give that because a 1 isn’t sufficient. So yes it was hot today, 85 degrees in Temecula, but you’d expect the organizers to have ample water available at each station. Well, guess wrong, water was out at mile 1!!! Then parking was an absolute nightmare. Don’t waste your $ 40 + $ 15 for parking, these organizers could care less about your experience

Ok… I should have read the reviews on this event prior… today, 3÷14÷15, I have to write this review and I’m usually a very easy going and understanding person… I’m sorry to say that for such a beautiful winery and location, I have never seen anything so disorganized and mismanaged! NO WATER THE ENTIRE 5K IN 90 degree heat! I literally saw people on the side, needing water and no medics to be seen… no volunteers running to render aid… NOTHING, THIS IS COMPLETELY UNACCEPTABLE! (The lack of parking should have been our first sign. I felt bad for those parking attendants since I could tell this was not their fault, this is mismanagement at its finest!) I was so excited to do this with my friend and the location was perfect. When we finally got there, we took a great photo with their banner (so cute)…but that was it… beware future participants… at least I have a wine glass out of it? :-(

I was so disappointed. I read reviews from last year but seemed like, given those reviews, there would be some great changes this year. First of all, after waiting for over 45mins in bumper to bumper traffic to get to parking lot, I pull in just to be told to move to another parking lot… Then we get there and the race starts almost 30 minutes late. No one can understand a word coming from the commentators mouth! Finally, out heat takes off and we begin our run. CONS: water stations were so backed up and then ran out, trucks with the water drove and spit up tons of dirt into everyone’s face and mouths… I NEVER SAW ONE first aid tech anywhere and the station of free drinks for the DD were super hot Gatorade and water even though it was advertised as free coke and water… Super disappointed and don’t think we will be returning customers.

Never again! How in the hell are you guys going to host a run with no water! I paid money for this were not just people you can take advantage of! Better business Bureau should know about this! Whole 5k no water!

And the follow-​up: After all of the complaints and horrible experiences that were reported by participants, I thought it was nice of the them offer a free race next year.
Lo and behold, they send out the coupon codes and give only 5 DAYS to register for an event NEXT year. Needless to say our whole group missed the deadline and cannot register.
What a bunch of DB’s. Thanks again for nothing «ACTIVE».
Good Afternoon, Participants you should have received an invitation with directions on taking advantage of your free entry, for the upcoming wicked wine run. To clarify there are 3 different codes that will be used.
5k & 1k Participants– Code: (freerace)
5k Participants– Code: (Wicked)
1k Participants Code:(wine)
These are the codes that will be used. If you have not received an invitation to sign up for your free entry, please email us at
. Registration will start On October 15^th to 20^th. There will be no extensions given once the 20^th has passed.
Thank You
Wicked Wine Run Staff

$ 60 to wait in line for over 2 hours, didn’t receive anything that was listed, didn’t get to do the event because it was dark and they were out of wine. ANNND an employee of the event had the balls to make a snarky comment to me as a walked by complaining to my friend, I have every right to complain.
This event was a slap to the face, I have been running 5k events for 10 years and have never experienced such disrespect and disorganization. The fact that these people didn’t just offer refunds to people is ridiculous. Instead they offer free entry next year which they know most people won’t use cause they were too pissed off to ever want to attend again. Oh and don’t forget the absurd fee of $ 10 per car for parking. This was the most expensive event I have ever attended and it was the worst. Thanks to these jerks we didn’t get home until midnight and ruined our entire weekend.

YIKES what a mess! At best they were working with their heads up their asses at worst they cheated the runners for a larger profit. Here is the only way to handle a company like this take them to small claims for your entry fee. Running companies should not be able to keep your money if they don’t deliver what is promised!/offered.

If there was ever a moment where I can say «Zero stars» or negative stars — THIS is your event. This event was one of the most horrifically unorganized, uninformative… just an overall Horrible event. Let’s see, it all started that we got to the parking lot that the organizers insisted that we needed to park at because the event venue — Callaway Wineries (which this is NOT a review for). The Wineries and their staff were great. They had nothing to do with this event, they were just contracted to do this event and I hope that they are not negatively affected by this event.
Anyways, I digress. We had to pay $ 10 to park about 5+ miles away. Then we saw this HUGE line waiting for the shuttle. We got to the shuttle line around 5pm, thinking that we should be able to make the race, which was to start at 5:45pm. NOPE, we thought wrong. We asked the people in the front of the line — they’ve been waiting for the past 2 hours. Why? There’s only two shuttles (school buses) taking people there and coming back (which is about a 30 minute turn-​around). 11 minutes each way, and unloading passengers.
Organizers blamed the shuttle service stating that they didn’t provide enough buses and shuttles. um, sure. Place blame and point fingers.
Luckily, there were restrooms available at the parking/​shuttle line area, however the location was not contracted to provide restrooms. The employees were nice enough to open and allow us to use a restroom with lights, flushing toilets and water to wash our hands.
We get to the event at 7:15pm. Um, yes. The event and the last bus is around 9:15pm. Geez thanks. Even with someone in shape, a 5k and 1k would barely give us enough time for bag check, packet pickup, and get ready. The finish line and end line were at the same point. There were arrows — but to go where? I wished the organizers told people that it was steep hills, and that trail shoes should be worn. I almost fell from the dry soil (hello, we’re in a drought). This was just chaotic and unorganized. We gave up on doing the 5k because we were told the 1k was going to stop serving wine at 8:30p — once again WRONG information, because the chardonnay guy was packing up around 7:45p
There were glasses for each race — 5k and 1k. It was the same glass (wow!) but no organization. People were confused on which glass they should take. The 5k people were given a glass with a drink ticket — where you had to wait about an hour to get a pour. The 1k had 4 tastings along the road — chardonnay, rose, cabernet, and muscat (sweet).
I’ve never seen so many people confused. Confused at the event, confused at the packet pickup, confused at the start line, confused everywhere — where to go, where to start, etc.
We heard (later) there were goodie bags. Thanks, we didn’t get one. And even if we did, it was filled with men’s products like deodorant, body wash, etc.
NOTE — The Temecula organizer emailed all the participants that their registration will be free next year. Um. NO, I’d like a refund for my event, for my parking, and the time spent over there. You know that saying, fool me once — shame on you, fool me twice — shame on me!
I’ll be contacting my credit card company and disputing this — this was all fraud!
Oh, the top everything off, the organizers had started deleting negative posts and complaints off their Facebook, as well as not allowing people to post anything on their walls.
Yeah, I’ll definitely do this race again (rolls eyes)