Course Description:
The Big Bunny Fun Run started and finished at the Cupertino Civic Center and loops around some nice residential neighborhoods and next to two parks. The surface is city street, pretty much flat, with a water station near mile 2.
Organization & Production:
The race information on the website is useful and complete. Signing up online was easy. I went to the Friday pre-race packet pick-up, and they had started early - the process was simple and smooth. Race day parking was free, and even an hour and a half before start time there were signs directing participants to the parking garage.
Both the start and finish were timed. I self-corralled mid-pack (there were 4 signs with average paces to help the process). The start/finish arch seemed a bit narrow to me, but it didn't end up being a bottleneck.
The course was well-marked, with numerous volunteers, sheriff's deputies, barricades, and cones all along the course. Vehicles were mostly kept out, except for residents along the course (who were not a problem). Course maps were provided, but one would have had to try very hard to go off-course.
The finish area was the civic center plaza, and there were pavilions for the various sponsors. There was bottled water a bit past the finish arch, and I remember seeing oranges, bananas, and some snack bars. One of the sponsors was a coffee company, who had coffee available before, during, and after the race. Part of every race bib was a tear-off ticket for a finisher's medal, and these were distributed at a table 10 or 20 yards from the finish arch. When I finished, the line seemed long, but it only took 2 or 3 minutes. The volunteers were fast!
Swag & Goodies:
Bib: The bib has a broad light blue center stripe, with white upper and lower borders. Across the top is "2016 BIG BUNNY 5K" in pink, with blue bunnies on the sides. On the blue stripe are the bib number and runner's family name in white. Across the bottom are logos of the sponsors, the City of Cupertino, and the charity beneficiary.
T-Shirt: The race T-shirt is very bright pink cotton, has a drawing of a bunny's face, is very bright pink, has "2016 BIG BUNNY 5K" below the bunny, and is very bright pink. Oh! Did I mention ... the T-shirt is very bright pink? It's very bright pink. Seriously, this very bright pink T-shirt is pretty nice ... and ...
Finisher's Medal: The finisher's medal is semi-custom off-the-shelf. The round medallion is gold colored, with stars around the edge. In the center is a printed sticker with a smiling bunny, the race name above the bunny, the distance between the bunny's ears, and "2016" below the bunny, all on a bright light blue background. The ribbon is bright medium blue. For a local charity race, it's very attractive.
My Results & Opinion of the Race:
My finish time was a PR, so I'm pretty happy with how I did. All in all, the Big Bunny Fun Run was a really well done local charity race. The organizational details were pretty much flawless. The race also attracted some pretty fast runners, so only the mascot was fluffy. Very family friendly! I would definitely consider running the Big Bunny again. read more