End of Summer 4-Mile Run: Recap

At the beginning of this year, I decided I wanted to run some type of organized run every month.  I tend to focus & train better when I'm signed up for a run and I can't lie-- I really like the medals. 
By the second week of August, I realized I didn't have a run scheduled, so after a short internet search, I stumbled upon the End of Summer 4 Mile Run, which would take me from La Jolla to Pacific Beach. After a few keyboard clicks, I was officially signed up.

Packet Pick-Up at the Backyard Kitchen & Tap, Pacific Beach

Packet pick-up took place on the Saturday before the race at a the Backyard Kitchen & Tap in PB.  Although I'm not a fan of the parking (or lack of) in PB, I made my way down there about an hour into the pick-up.  It was easy to find, clearly set-up and quick-- my favorite kind of packet pick-up.  A big thank you to the volunteers who made that happen.

I woke up the next morning ready to run.  I did all my pre-race rituals and drove to La Jolla to find the start line. I didn't anticipate finding parking as easily as I did and found myself with extra time after I arrived.  I walked around a bit, then hung out close to the starting line, waiting for the run to begin.  I was impressed with the organization of the start line-- from reminding runners about final gear check times to trying to find the runners who lost their D-Tags, everything was on-point.

Race Shirt and Medal

The race itself was just another 4-mile run.  It wasn't bad yet their wasn't anything spectacular about it.  Here are my Pros and Cons for the run:

Pros:

• I really like to colors of the race shirt - not your typical race shirt color scheme and it's one I would actually wear.
• The spectators on the course-- parts of the run went through residential areas and it's always fun to have people out there cheering us on.  I appreciate anyone who will wake up early on a Sunday to cheer on people they don't know.
• The volunteers-- I appreciate the volunteers even more than the spectators.  I hope they know how much every runner appreciates them.
• The other runners-- at the beginning of the race, one runner fell down. Not a minor fall, a "fell face first, flat on her face" fall.  Everyone around her stopped and helped.  Kudos to their energy and willingness to help another runner.  And kudos to the runner who fell who got back up and kept running.  
• The medal

And it's a bottle opener!

Cons

• The sudden stop at the end-- once you crossed the finish line, you were directed into a corral to give them your bib tag and collect your medal.  This brought you to a sudden stop.  If there had been more volunteers for this, it would have gone more smoothly and allowed us to keep moving.
• The after race festivities were a little unorganized-- I saw people standing in line who had no idea what they were in line for and vendors tearing down their booths, even though the event had barely started.  I also saw runners comment on Facebook about the lack of the promised shuttle.  I was lucky to find the shuttle back to the start line, but only because I followed the crowd.  It wasn't posted and it wasn't easy to find.

Overall, it's a run I'd do again.  It definitely has the potential to be a great race and I can't wait to see if it grows next year.

Thanks for reading.  Until next time, happy running!

Jenn13.1