The Shamrock 5k took place during the Dublin St. Patty's Day weekend celebrations. It was…read morewell-organized, even though it rained the day of the event. Runners gathered on Dublin Blvd. and took off down a course winding through the streets of Dublin and back onto running trails. After the run, participants were able to enjoy live music and other St. Patty's Day fun. Free snacks and drinks were available, and many booths were set up for the festival later in the day. Runners were given shirts and ribbons for finishing. I would definitely be a part of this event next year. Fingers crossed for better weather!

Organized and fun! Locally popular .Dig the cooler weather time of the year and know some of the…read morerunners. It's not too crowded,marked and organized well.....a lot like the Humbug 5k road race up the street sort of speak......well,in the same neck of the bay anyway.Fun race and will do it again to improve PR as well! I recommend.!

This was my first trail run... big mistake. This course kicked my butt!…read more The race consists of a 5k and a half marathon; you can sign up on active.com beforehand (very reasonable fee-- $35 early registration for the half) with a quick bib pick up on site right before the 8am start. I knew the course was hilly-- I grew up in CV-- but I didn't know that the majority of the race was on hills, and not flat. Whoops, I guess my normal road running did not train me properly. Organization: Fairly well organized, quick bib pick up, start near the marina with the 5k and half marathon running separate directions. Several water stops (cold water and Gatorade, and super nice volunteers), but no mile markers until mile 9. Course: long uphills mostly in the first half of the half (before 6.7mi); consider walking a few of these! Many shaded areas-- and was thankful that it was foggy today but could potentially see heat-stroke potential in normal June weather. Paved in the first mile and last couple miles for a strong finish. Dirt roads in the middle 75% of the course. Would suggest bringing your own water. Also many people with dogs, bikers, and some pedestrians. No timing markers; time yourself. Time limit: 3 hours. It seemed that most finished around the 2 hour mark (impressive!). Parking: free on the street (Lake Chabot road), or $5 park entrance fee. Post-race: plenty of lawn areas to lay out and stretch. Bountiful free bagels, cream cheese, chunky pb, bananas, apples, water, and oranges. You could plan on bbq'ing here afterwards (although I personally went home to shower!). Well-- I'm sure sore now, so I consider this race a success!

This year, the 26th annual Lake Chabot Trail Challenge is presented by the Castro Valley Track…read moreClub. The past 25 years, Golden Bay Runners organized this race. I don't know the reason for this switch but just wanted to point it out. The race consists of a 5k and Half Marathon. I registered for the Half Marathon and didn't know what to expect as I've never been to Lake Chabot before. Only description from their website is, "A very challenging, hilly loop on mostly dirt fire roads 3-hour time limit. Three aid stations." I arrived early and there was still free parking on Lake Chabot Road. Lake Chabot also has their own parking lot which requires a $5 parking fee. I also noticed there is a $2 dog fee. Like most race events, the starting area was active. Runners were picking up their bibs as well as their goodie bag. There was also boxes of donuts, coffee, and water. This was probably my most grueling race of the year. There are several steep inclines and never-ending rolling hills. Flat terrain were few and far between. Besides the race runners, there were also random bikers, hikers, and dogs on the trail. I actually ran with a little dog for awhile till he beat me up a hill. :( This race was nicely organized and included post-race food at the end such as bagels, cream cheese, apples, bananas, oranges, water, and soda. They also had a raffle so even if you didn't win a trophy, you still have a chance to win something. Somehow I won a Castro Valley Track Club runners bag. Other folks won a $50 gift certificate to Fleetsports, cherry and apricot pies, water bottle, and running caps. Overall a nice scenic race, just be prepared to run up challenging hills.

+ Easy sign up + Part of ''Run the Bay'' where you get an…read moreextra medal for completing all 3 events + Medals and T-Shirts for finishers + Bib mailing option available Neutral - Nice enough course, terrain was not the greatest but views were nice. - Bib was only received the day before the event. Despite $10 fee still have to collect shirts before the race. - Post Run food: Lara Bars, Banana's, Oranges, Chips and a very long wait for It's It Ice Cream. No Bagels, Donuts, Cake.. or Carbs of any kind like you migt expect. Running a 10k the day after Ragnar (200 mile relay) I sometimes question my sanity... #WillRunForBling EDIT: Jan 2018: Use code ''REPRESENTEB'' for discount.

This run combines both the 5k and 10k runners at the start, with the 10k runners looping to do…read moreanother lap. From end to end, starting at Lululemon, it goes up to Civic St. down S. Broadway (past Broadway Plaza), back up S. Broadway, finishing next to Nordstroms. Flat and smooth contour road running with no hills. The start time began at 8am, only everyone should be ready and at the starting line at 7:15am. This was my first time running it, so I'm not sure if attendance was up or down this year. The end results showed close to 800 participants. Regardless, everyone seemed enthused and encouraged. All the kids seemed cheerful and excited, as this definitely was a "run for education". A special run that raises money for Walnut Creek schools. So, I'm proud to have ran and contributed. In my personal opinion, it's an excellent 5k run for families and pets. Yes, some people ran with their dogs, which I thought was cool, but it got kids out and runnin'! There was even an award ceremony where kids, and all age groups, received a medal. First through third place (per age group) receive medals only, and they even went up on a podium. Pretty cool! My only complaint would be 'packet pick up day'; It's only available during the "pm" hours only. They didn't accommodate for people that work during the night. So, whoever sponsors this, please add an "am" pick up time. I don't want to sign up on race day :) Oh, and on race day, I had no issues finding parking. Other than that, I enjoyed this run and I plan to beat my time next year. That's another reason why I liked running this event; They post your times on how you did, and where you ranked. I encourage others to get out there, and sign up for this run next year!

10k and 5k runs in downtown Walnut Creek benefitting education. Choose which school you'd like…read moreyour $35 entrance fee allocated to. 2012 is the 75th anniversary of the Walnut Festival Association. The Run originally started in the early 1950's. Start is at 1201 Main Street, which is completely closed for the event. Electronic timing services provided by On Your Mark Events, using B-tag devices. For the 10k, aid stations are at miles 1.8 and 4.5 near Whole Foods Market. Sponsors include Dirito Brothers, WC Orthopedics, Mechanics Bank, Luluemon, Sports Basement, WC Sports & Fitness Club, Wenzel Coaching, Forward Motion Sports, Athletic Outpost, High Tech Web Services and Whole Foods Market. Net proceeds distributed to individual public or private Walnut Creek schools. School percentages based on designation at sign up by participants.

A super lighthearted, carefree fun run inspired by Holi, the festival of colors. Everyone goofs…read morearound while meandering 5k (3.1 miles). Be sure to wear eye protection - sunglasses or goggles - so you're not worried about getting paint in your eyes. I also recommend a fun/crazy outfit - we wore rainbow tutus. They'll provide a white Color Run shirt, which is fun for the colors. If it's cold, I'd try to find some cheap white pants and white shirt so you can get colored up! My only complaint was how early in the morning it was. :( But if you come with the right attitude and good friends, you can't help but have fun!

Start clean. Finish…read moredirty. Do you like getting doused with colored powder? dancing to house music at the afterparty? getting free schwag? being surrounded by fun people of all ages (there were a lot of kids running with their parents!) I'm not much of a runner and neither was my friend, but we both loved the idea of getting dirrttyy and dancing our butts off afterwards. That alone was worth it for the $40 price tag! (steep for a 5k, but it was my first! so splurge!) The race was organized well: tons of volunteers at water and color stations, free Zico water, kind bars, fresh lemonade and food trucks to feed hungry mouths. Signs were clearly marked and parking was easy breezy for our 1PM run. It was a sunny 70 degrees at Candlestick park with views of the bay! I was pretty spoiled on my first ever 5K. I'd do it all over again... but not sure if my bathroom would be so excited. My shower looked like a unicorn shitted rainbows in it. ;-)

The Pride Run is a small 5K / 10K event put on by the San Francisco FrontRunners every year at the…read moreend of Pride Week. I ran it this year because I was looking for a 10K in that time frame that wasn't too far from home, and it was tons of fun! Reasonably priced ($30-35), easy parking, pretty age group awards, a lovely tech shirt, and a great course through GG park -- hard to ask for more than that. Did I mention they feed you brunch after? :) ** Read my race report here - http://roadwarriorrunning.tumblr.com/post/6919135692/race-report-sf-priderun-5k-10

The Pride Run is one of the best events of Pride -- and one of its best kept secrets. This 5k/10k…read morethrough the western end of Golden Gate Park is beautiful and challenging. You run up one of San Francisco's longest hills once for the 5k and twice for the 10k. But with a positive crowd, great sideline support, and such beautiful surroundings, I promise you you won't mind. And they serve you breakfast after the race!

this was a great local, pre-thanksgiving, hometown event, suitable for competitive runners,…read morerun-walkers, walkers, kids, and those in strollers. my friend told me about this event a few weeks ago and i thought, huh, a pre-thanksgiving day 5k turkey trot...perfect, i'll start my calorie burning earlier this year to earn my pumpkin pie! first, registration was only $10!!! you can't find a race for $10 in this day and age, unless you know about the city of south san francisco's annual thanksgiving run. you could register online until 3d before the race, or register onsite on race morning, cash or check only, but still $10 (most race organizers will increase the price if you register on the day of). parking: free and plentiful at the stripe parking garage, thank you to stripe for opening their lot to the public for half a day on saturday! parking was just a couple blocks from the starting line, and right across the street from the finish arch, super convenient! restrooms: several oyster pt/bay trail public restrooms available to the public, but we had to be careful of the marina/dock owners only restrooms that were only accessible via card key. i was actually really concerned that there weren't enough restrooms since each restroom i saw had only two stalls (at least for the women), but i never had an issue using the restroom, it was at most one person waiting in front of me. refreshments: i was quite impressed by the post-race amenities, water, coffee, tea, croissants, scones, yogurt, bananas and oranges were available for the runners. this is quite luxurious for a 5k! while there was only one food tent (which had a long line after most runners finished the race), i really appreciated that they had water containers scattered throughout the finishers' village. course: what i would have thought to be a flat course, it hugged the bay, just like the bay trail in areas south (san mateo, redwood shores, mountain view), but no, there were 3 significant hills added to this course which made it quite challenging! good thing i managed my effort properly and used the subsequent downhills to pick up a bit of speed. there were also many turns along this course, so we had to be careful and watch how we stepped and not get too close to the runners in front or to the side. in lieu of medals and finisher's tshirts, the organizers gave blue ribbons to every finisher. special plaques were given to the top male and female finishers, and colored medals (gold/silver/bronze) were given to the top male and female age group finishers. my only minor criticism is that the start line did not have a timing mat, so only the runners at the front had a "true" finish time. all other runners were penalized however long it took them to cross the start, since the finish line timer started right when the gun went off (and thus the first runner crossed the starting arch). also, there was some miscommunication between the start and finish line monitors, so everyone's time was inflated by 30 seconds. overall, a great family-friendly event, and a fun, healthy way to kick off the start of the thanksgiving week.

This was my first year participating and I thought it was very well organized. I definitely…read moreenjoyed this run more than my past runs in the Bay Area (i.e. Pleasanton Spirit Run and Bear Creek Trail Run). Everything that the past Yelpers said were all true - participants get a nice long sleeve t-shirt, a Christmas tree ornament for the finishers, lots of food and ice cream. Although it was freezing, it didn't stop Cat N. and me from enjoying our ice cream. It was a well deserved treat. =) The course was a flat, paved route around the Bishop Ranch area (think of a big figure 8) and the volunteers at each mile marker would call out your time. Only downfall on this race was that there were no water stops. Nevertheless, I would totally sign up again. P.S. We got free water bottles from Fleet Feet (one of the sponsors).

Fun! It was well organized and attended. Snacks, drinks and coffee before and after. People…read morecalled out time at each mile. There was one drink station, that was enough. I like my shirt and ornament. Nice way to spend the morning. Kids in strollers and dogs on leash are welcome.