The 3rd Annual Polar Run and dunk - 2014. A 5k Run around Eagle Lakes resort followed by a ''dunk''…read morein the lake. What a fun way to start the New Year! Included in the registration is a T-Shirt and post race party complete with Champagne toast and various other Hot Drinks, Bonfire to warm up and party with Music and awards ceremony. * Personal experience: * Woohooo! First Runner over the finishing line! Uh yeah... rocked it. Coming off a severe Knee injury I am pretty darn pleased with my result, a long way off my PR but 3 months of no Running really damages your time. The event was fun. For the most part the course was well marked out with the exception of one part where I went off track and had to double back on myself. Thanx to the guy behind me that shouted me in the right direction! The course was gravel and mud with a few inclines and declines but nothing major and the views of the lakes was beautiful. Shame my Asthma was playing up and I was concentrating too hard on my breathing to appreciate it more. This was a timed event but there seemed to be a few problems with timing as instead of chips on the back of each bib it was all done by stopwatch and the ''official'' times given did not match what my Garmin told me. Hubby who was waiting for me at the finishing line said that one of the stopwatches broke meaning time was added. Boo. Post race there was Champagne, Cider, Tea and Coffee with Cookies and Orange slices for Runners and a bonfire to warm up after the optional lake ''dunk''. Happy 2014 everybody!

#1 for a reason Absolutely the very best in the business…read moreLeading Edge makes the difference in your results

If you wanna party in the fast lane, this is the place. They will make your engine so fast you…read moremight bend the steering wheel backwards.

4.5 / 5 Great…read moreevent!! Tony and the Fleet Feet crew really did a great event with this event from responding to emails right down to giving me an extra medal for Run buddy and my Running Club VIP tent access. + Nice swag bags with color specific tech shirts for Male / Female + Medals for all finishers + Awards + 2 Wine pours for each finisher + VIP tent with unlimited pours and extra snacks. + Punctual start + Pacers from the Tri Valley Running Club (another I am a member off and almost paced the the event myself) The run itself was a bit of an odd one for me.. the course was all road which I was totally unprepared for but made it great for a new PR. The first mile I had a few wardrobe malfunctions - My hydration vest was bouncing about so I had to re-adjust it and then my Pandora kept cutting out every 60 seconds so I spent a good 10-12 minutes playing with that trying to fix it. I swear the Runners behind me must have thought I was already on the Wine because I was I all over the place! Once adjusted thought and found my ''happy pace'' all was good and I spent about 6 miles right behind another members of Mountain House Running Club. The course marshals and volunteers at the Aid Station were great and full of energy encouraging us all as we paced though. I'm not sure if he was a volunteer but right around the 12:75 mile mark there was one guy who really encouraging me as I sped down the home straight.. not going to lie, I was really feeling the many miles of asphalt (trail runner here) and getting pretty tired so his enthusiastic cheers gave me that last little push I needed to get across that Finish Line. I really am not a road Runner but overall this event was great and I will likely do again.. The whole experience was made better by the fact that I was here with an awesome group of supportive people.

This was my first ever mud run which I signed up for months ago and read all of the tips beforehand…read moreso I knew to print out the waiver prior to arriving which definitely helped speed things up for me. My 'wave' was at 10:15 and I arrived at 9:15 which gave me plenty of time to find parking, get my bib, watch some of the other waves begin, and stock up on food and water. Wow was it hot! The very first obstacle was hilarious! Everyone was laughing hysterically as they hit the mud and crawled through the chilly mess. A welcome relief from the heat. Next up was the spider net, tires, and slide. I wish the slide was higher with a bigger puddle at the end. The hurdles were definitely a challenge. I am not a 'little' person by stretching anyone's imagination so it was quite difficult heaving myself over three five foot walls. Then we hit the cargo climb. Eeek! There was a slight delay here which only added to my fear of falling. I barely suppressed a panic attack at the top. The guys manning this obstacle were very encouraging and kept the pace moving. Finally, we get some water at the half way mark. A complete waste as we immediately hit the 'Ditch of Death' next. Yep, this was a mud slurry cocktail sucking at your shoes. Much like a really thick shake of mud with no safe place to step. Here was where many people literally 'ate it' myself included. Now I really needed water to wash out my mouth. I made it through the remaining obstacles, including monkey bars, hay bales, cargo net, and stairs to reach the final insult! Corrugated pipes ending in another mud pit! I am too tall so I pretty much just had to slither through like a snake going head first into the drink! I had more fun with this than I've had since I was a child. The entire route I heard mostly only squeals of joy and laughter. I think people who started later in the day probably had less fun due to the crowds that eventually piled up. Funny moment at the showers. A young man just finished cleaning up and promptly fell in the mud pit created by the showers. The entire crowded loved it! Pros: Employees very encouraging, obstacles fantastic, fun group of people to run with. I believe I was caught up in the middle of the 10:00 - 10:30 waves. Very competitive fun group helping push each other into the mud and then helping to pull them out again. Cars on the freeway honking encouragement! Cons: Shower lines too long! Cranky people in long shower lines complaining nonstop. Needs at least one more water station along the route. I am hooked and looking forward to next years event with excitement. Somehow, even though my bib and timer was coated in mud, my time was reported correctly. Oh yeah, only took one hour to complete the entire course and I did every obstacle. Yeah me!

Poorly executed event. The coarse was narrow and the obstacles were poorly engineered. The…read moreregistration booth, t-shirt pick up, race finishers meet was so spread out and was really inconvenient to get to. It was not in order and you had to walk far to go to each one. The waves started really close and it caused bottle necks in a lot of the obstacles. There was a few courses that required you to wait in a single file line to get through. Very annoying especially if your someone like me that wants to smash the course. The water station only had one guy pouring water and he was not keeping up with demand. One of my main concerns is the safety of the course. I know I filled out a waiver, but the event has to do its part to consider the safety of the racers. There was a lot of narrow obstacles (i.e. first mud crawl and small cargo ladder) and they did not control the flow of participants. To me actually dangerous. Since they started the races so close there was such a mess in bottle necking. The mud crawl was packed with people like sardines. I seen a lot of people scream because at the end of some mud slides your foot will get stuck and other people will slide into them when they were stuck. I slide head first every time! At the end of the race, the race finishers were not greeted with medal givers and congratulators. You had to pick up your medal from a table in plastic wrap and put it on yourself. Now, I can care less about this, but if this is your first type of event, you would want to feel a little more accomplished rather than, "whoopee you finished now get your medal yourself." The impression the left was no one cared that you finished. The volunteers were more into not getting dirty so they were really not committed to the job. This event used the chip system stuck on the number bibs rather than one you can tie on your shoe. Probably cuz its cheaper, but I seen too many bibs ripped off and laying on the ground of the course. It will take a beating from the obstacles. They lacked photographers. Only photo opt was at the end. I didn't see any photographers on the course. The wash off/showers was really far from the finish line and it was an obstacle itself. I waited at least an hour to get washed off. Instead of having a few showers with low pressure nozzles, have a fire hose wash off the crowd. A lot of frustrated event goers just broke off the nozzle hose to increase the pressure of the water. I have done other mud or obstacle coarse events, but this was the weakest and most expensive of all 5K events I have done. I was really disappointed. I felt that this event was more about making money rather than the experience. They cut corners on safety and service (as mentioned, lack of course photographers). This is what I propose in the next event. -Have the race times start further apart or have less racers in a group. My best bet is that this is not going to change cuz this event needs to "Make its money" -Create more lanes in the mud obstacles and put a little more thought into it as well. -Have a water shower right after the finish line. -Have the volunteers have more enthusiasm and congratulate the finishers If this event can convince me to make some changes in the future, then I will consider to join again. So far, this is the first and last time I will be doing this event. **I added a picture of what of the bottlenecks look like in one of the mud obstacles.** Update - I left some constructive criticism on their Facebook page. But my comments have been deleted and now I am not able to post on their page. If anyone is reading my review please know how they are treating me as a paying patron with an honest opinion.

Yay. My first ''race'' since I completely jacked my Knee up 4 months ago! Ok, so it wasn't my usual…read moreHalf Marathon but still fun nonetheless and a great event to celebrate my Birthday. The event organizers did a really good job and setting this event up and getting the word out with lot's of residents of Mountain House getting involved with delivering flyers, myself included. Packet pick up the Friday before was a breeze and with entry we also got ourselves a nice Tech shirt. Sadly the shirts come up huge. I went for the smallest Woman's size possible (a Small) and It's so big I could fit two of me in it. I usually go for XXS or XS so it would be nice to have those sizes as option for future years. Race day was well organized if a little behind schedule. The turnout was pretty impressive with around 250 people taking part with people coming from all over the East Bay to take part, lot's of which were ''serious'' Runners like myself. The course was a great choice of location - on my beloved Mountain House Creek Trail and was marked out with arrows. However, at the end of the trail around mile 1.80 was a little confusing as there were two sets of arrows and I went following the wrong ones, going off course and having to double back on myself (Boo. Lost some time there). One Aid station was placed along the course along with 2 groups of singers at various points to encourage people and singing Christmas Carols. Post race had lot's going on - Refreshments supplied by some of the local businesses (Hot Chocolate, Coffee, Fruit and Bagels), someone dressed as Santa on hand for photo ops and a couple of the sponsors. Home Team Pest Defense were giving out Water Bottles for finishers and lollipop rings and Prime Nutrition giving out goodies in return for Burpees / Push Up Combos - 15 got you a water bottle and 25 got you a T-Shirt. Naturally I carried on my workout and did 25 for the T-Shirt. All finishers also got a medal and additional ones given to age group winners, which most of the age groups were a whopping 10years! * Personal experience * After jacking up my Knee 4 months ago and being in Therapy and resting since then I wasn't all that confident in Running but with a Taped and Braced Knee I went for it as an early Birthday present to myself. The race went really quickly and I placed 1st in my age group and 2nd out of all the Women. Woohoo! I missed out on 1st Woman by like 5 seconds but kudos to the lady that beat me, she put up a good race. This injured oldie just isn't as fast anymore. This was the first ever Jingle All The Way Run for Mountain House and really was a great start to what I hope will be a yearly tradition. It was great to get out and meet the community as well as a few of the people from the Mountain House Running Club I recently became part of. Happy Holidays!

This run is a nonprofit event that benefits local schools. Approximately 180 people ran in 2015,…read moremaking it a great race to focus on running instead of the logistical headaches that larger events bring. The course starts at Central Park with a northerly departure down Central Parkway. The course makes an abrupt U-turn into a sidewalk bottleneck that prevents passing. The course then opens up as it follows the creek and its surrounding open area uphill to the southwest. The grade is slight but after a quick start, holding pace through the third kilometer is a challenge. The race finishes with a descent down the grade on the opposite side of the creek for an easy finish. Information on the race (e.g., map, start location) was difficult to find in advance, doubly so as someone else registered me. The event website wouldn't take my safety waiver and I was unable to generate a barcode for my daughter. This created some concern that was alleviated the next day, as the race is small enough that one can simply pick everything up in the morning. I'll be running this again next year. BELOW is a URL to 2015 times: http://app.lap.io/event/2015-jingle-all-the-way/results

Event Date: 03/30/2008 This small hometown half marathon was…read morea perfect training ground for my upcoming Santa Cruz run. The course consisted of 13.1 miles of residential streets and valley roads with several rolling hills. The start and finish line was at the San Ramon Dougherty Community Center and organized by the city and local residents. This was its second annual half marathon with nearly 1,000 participants making it a perfect start for first timers and heavyweights like me. This was cool because I was able to work on my pace and breathing without being distracted by elite runners. I was able to stay focus and really concentrate - getting into the zone and testing my limits. I did really well the first six miles. My past injuries didn't resurface. My momentum stayed consistent. And my thoughts of the Santa Cruz Half Marathon were in motion. Once I reached the ninth mile, I started to run out of gas. The fear of fatiguing out was upon me. I took a short pause, fueled up (gel pack), and finished up at 2:35. Not bad considering that this had several tough hills. After crossing the finish line, I was totally surprised that they had finisher medals! OMG! I totally stoked! Moments after the adrenaline faded away I fatigued out and felt a sharp pain on the arch of my right foot. I suffered a minor injury that's going to take my off my feet for three days. Now I got two weeks left before Santa Cruz and a bottle of Motrin to ease the pain. Thanks Omar T. for joining me at this event. This was his first half marathon and he kicked ass. Onward to Santa Cruz my brotha!!! Notes: All flat course. No. Inclines ranged from 15-25. Running shoes: Merrell Overdrive Continuum Timing chips: No Restrooms: There was only one portable at the seven mile marker Water stations: Two. Will do this event again next year? Yes. It's a great warm up to future events, but wear long compressions (spandex). It's cold as hell when you "Run Like the Wind" in San Ramon.

I was very disappointed! This time they were not organized at all! They started late; Parking was…read morehorrible, there were bunch of obnoxious people leading before the race started. And worse of all, I didn't get the T-shirt size that I wanted. I look forward to this event every year. But unfortunately, this year, it wasn't what I was hoping for, at all! And this is not going to stop me from participating next year! Thank you!

This is my very first Brazen Race and trail 1/2 marathon. It was awesome!…read more Brazen did a great job organizing the event from registration to the post race celebration. All the details were thought out. The 5K was entirely on paved trails, while the 10K and half marathon were about 50% paved trails and 50% fire trails. The 5K and 10K were out and back courses, while the half marathon for 2011 looped Lake Chabot. The half marathon was not for the faint of hearts. My GPS showed elevation climbs over 2,500ft! Every mile of the 1/2 marathon was a challenge. Especially mile 3 on the Live Oak trail. Intense incline for over a mile! Mile 8 was almost a free fall with a vertical descent for over a 1/4 mile. And finally, Mile 9 which ran along the dry river bed single track. After an intense course, it was nice to finish with great recovery food (fruits, bagels, pastries, IT-IT's ice cream and cheesecake!) Love the well designed dry-fit tee and finishers' metal. I will wear both proudly!

Despite having run in several races (10k, 10mi, and half marathon) over the past 18 months, I…read moredecided to try my first 5k at the Bad Bass. Brazen Racing has become my favorite race company, since they put on such organized races with great swag. This one was no different. Everything is on time and well-marked. As with any race, I'd suggest getting here early, that way you have time to park, get your packet, etc. The 5k had probably the fewest number of people who signed up, compared to the 10k and half marathon distances. Just so you know, the 10k and 5k distances were "just over" 6.2 & 3.1 miles (call them "ultra" 10k and 5k, if you will, haha). Once again, post-race refreshments were great, with bagels, granola, candy, all types of fruit, etc.

What happened to the Los Gatos Dammit run? This used to be a regular run of mine every year back…read morein high school. Let's bring it back!!

A fun, challenging run that benefits the local high school…read more I'm pretty surprised to see I'm the first person to rate this run. The Los Gatos Dammit run is a great local run and it has been going on for 37 years. It's a favorite with local runners - it starts at Los Gatos High School on the track and you run up and down the Lexington Dam along the Lost Gatos creek trail. Between miles 2 and 3 it is an intense climb but then it is a fun downhill from there. A few reasons why I like this race. For one, it benefits the upkeep of the Los Gatos High School track, I know a lot of local runners use the track for training so this is a good way to give back. The trail is fun, scenic and challenging. The race is very well organized and clearly marked so no chance of getting lost on the trail. They also give a lot of awards, 5 different age divisions for men and women and a finishers ribbon for all. Good, basic snack of fruit, cookies and bagels at the end. I like that the tshirt is optional, you can choose not to get a shirt with registration or pay the extra $20 to get a shirt.

***4.5 stars*** i…read moredon't normally trek all the way out to east bay to run races, especially an event that is 40+ miles away from home, but since i was going with a group of friends and we planned to make it an all day event in livermore's wine country, with running, brunching, and wine tasting, i said "why the heck not?" also, the proceeds from this event benefit the livermore-pleasanton firefighters foundation, which supports injured and fallen firefighters, burn foundation and local charities in the tri valley area. definitely a worthy case to run/walk for! for this particular event, there was a choice of 2 distances: 1. 10k (6.2 miles) 2. 5k (3.1 miles) i originally planned to run the 10k, but later downgraded to the 5k b/c i didn't want to tire myself out for the rest of the day's festivities. note that i was able to change distances simply by calling the phone number for on your mark events, the official race organizer, and telling someone what change i wished to make. easy peasy! the pros: -VERY REASONABLE race fees, $30 for the 5k and $35 for the 10k if you register during the early bird period -takes place at WENTE VINEYARDS in livermore, a beautiful vineyard with lots of scenery, definitely a unique venue for a race -CLEAR MILE MARKERS for each race distance, in different colours so that participants could differentiate the 5k vs 10k -ACCURATELY MEASURED DISTANCE, as my garmin read 3.12 miles upon crossing the finish line which is pretty much spot on with the official 5k race distance of 3.1 miles. my friends who ran the 10k informed me that they calculated exactly 6.2 miles, which again, is spot on with the official race distance. -FORGIVING TERRAIN as most of the course took place on crushed dirt, gravel, or grass, which is easier on the joints! -FRIENDLY VOLUNTEERS directing runners in the parking area, manning aid stations along the course, and keeping the refreshments' tables well stocked after the race. i especially appreciated that every volunteer i asked a question to knew the answer, so they prepped well for race day! -FREE and EASY PARKING just inside the main gates of the vineyard and along the street -SWANKY, CLEAN PORTA-POTTIES near the parking and start/finish areas. OMG, i've never experienced such nice porta-toilets before! these individual stalls had very secure locks on the doors, FLUSHABLE toilets, liquid soap, clean running water, and paper towels. i was very impressed by the quality of these portable restrooms supplied for us runners! -COMPLIMENTARY BAG CHECK at the finish area tent (a couple minutes away from the parking and start/finish line) with volunteers to guard your bags until after the race what you get: *choice of PACKET PICKUP @ fleet feet sports in pleasanton the two days prior to the race or on site pick up the morning of. since my friends and i live in south bay, all of us arrived early for on site pickup and experienced no wait. *white, cotton, FINISHER'S SHIRT with a colourful hook & ladder race logo *GOODIE BAG filled with race schwag, a chap stick, pin, id holder, pen, key ring, discounts to local retailers. the actual bag was a reusable safeway organics bag which was very pretty. *several AID STATIONS with volunteers handing out cups of water *TONS of POST-RACE FOOD & DRINKS, including chocolate chip and oatmeal raisin cookies, mini clif bars, bags of salted pretzels, assorted muffins, jelly beans, apples, bananas, zico coconut water, coffee, and water *COMPLIMENTARY CHAIR MASSAGE, compliments of massage envy, underneath the finisher's tent (in the shade!) although i didn't have time to take advantage of this, it was definitely a nice perk! bonuses for top finishers: *a white, dri-fit shirt for the first 20 men and 20 women to cross the finish line in each distance (this is based on order of finish, not chip time) *customized finishers' medals for the top 3 men and top 3 women in each age group *a bottle of wine for the winner in each male/female age group the cons: -it was a HOT day in the tri-valley wine country, already well over 60 when the gun went off and nearly 70 when most of us finished, without a cloud in the sky or even a gentle breeze to keep us cool -the 5k course had quite a few sharp turns, with some portions on tall, thick grass, which made it difficult to accelerate -this course was also not very scenic. although we ran through sycamore park, we didn't actually see much other than trees and grass. although i was dying from the heat, i still managed to finish with a pretty good 5k time, my second best ever, placing 7th overall female, and earning the bonus dri-fit shirt, and second in my age group, earning a customized event medal. i was definitely a happy camper heading home! thank you, to on your mark events, for putting on this terrific event!

I enjoyed this local race. We did the 10k and it was my first and only trail run. The course is not…read morethrough the wineries as I initially expected, but through the trails near Wente Vineyards. Though the website says the course is fairly flat, there are a couple of steep hills, so steep you have to walk. And judging by the top finisher's times, it is not the easiest course. I remember wanting to quit after mile 3 and asking myself why was I doing this. This race benefits the firefighters of Livermore, and there were plenty of firefighter volunteers and racers. Now there's a perk for you single running ladies, come out and take pleasure in some eye candy! It's a fairly small race, probably just a few hundred. The aid stations, and post race food were good. Also, each racer is given a raffle ticket at the finish line so your chance of winning something is pretty good. My brother in law ended up winning a free round of golf for two at Wente golf course. This race isn't chipped timed which I didn't like but a well organized event and I would do again in the future.