A very well organized race. Starts at the SAP Center and ends at Santana Row. The course is…read moremostly flat, you run under a few overpasses. I did enjoy running through San Jose, a good way to see the city. They were very strict with the corral starts. This was my first time doing this race, so I'm guessing the rain probably limited the crowds lining the streets. I did enjoy the 8K distance, something different. Finishing on Santana Row was cool as you could smell breakfast cooking as the restaurants were opening. The shuttles back were great, well organized, comfortable, and quick. I can see why this event is so popular!!

Registration: Super…read moreeasy. I got the $39 opening special. Email updates get a little tedious after a while and I ended up getting 2 or 3 of the same thing in the 2 weeks before the event. Packet Pick up: I really wish they had day of pick up as I live over an hours drive away and had to make the trek to San Jose twice in one weekend. That said it was really easy to get my packet, you just needed to know your bib number and they check it against your name. The TShirts are pretty cool and something I will actually wear. Course: Nice and flat. Nice addition to have the different ''miles'' (Veteran / Mariachi). The mile markers were not completely accurate though (yup.. the serious Runner in me notices these things). Mile 2 was actually 1.1mi and mile 3 was just 0.9mi. The event started right on time as planned and without any hitches however I do think that some kind of enforcement of the waves has to be done. Upon coming to the start line there was no one checking bibs. I was put in wave 1 for my sub 8 min mile pace and standing at the start with about a dozen people deep in front of me I noticed a lot of the people around me were wearing bibs marked waves 2, 3 and even 4. Once we started it was also made clear that some people placed in wave 1 really should not have been there. I had to zig zag around people that were not going the correct pace for the wave. Had I been out to PR I would have been really pissed off. Post Race: I didn't experience the ''hearding'' that people had mentioned in previous years but I guess that could have been down to the fact I was one of the first 90 people to finish. There was some walk to the end to get our bibs but nothing major. The post race food was really lame and looking at the pictures from previous years I was expecting to get more than what I did - a bottle of Water, Apple and some Fruit chews. NO BANANA! Really? That gives me the sads. It's common knowledge that Runners eat Banana's. The occasional Orange slice, yes. Apples No. Unless they're in some form of Pastry (Mmmm, Carbs). The medal is also pretty cool, it can be removed from the lanyard and used as a bottle opener and overall I am glad I can now mark this event off of my Running Bucket List but I doubt I will do it again. Way too far to come for what it is. Additional: This event is 1 or 3 of the ''Run the Bay'' series challenge where if you complete all 3 events you get an additional medal.Other 2 events are the Across The Bay (12k or 5k) in San Francisco and Let's Go 510 in Berkeley. Personal shyt: Time: 34:54 / 6:58 min mile. I intended to do a moderate 45:00 / 9 min mile and for the first half mile I was well on track but then some dude with a stroller ran past me. That's never happened to me before and I didn't like it (I now know how my poor husband feels. lol). So I had to speed up to my comfortable ''Aaah yeah, It's on!'' pace. Competitive much? Place: 90th out of 5,000+ and 18th Female. BOOM! -Crazy Runner Girl.

Fun, big venue. Don't park closest to the field. It was a whopping 40 bucks for parking. Park…read morefurther away. I went during FC women's match. First time I've watched soccer and saw it from the huge stadium. People were friendly, lots of adults, and kid friendly. Food trucks some were good some were meh. I liked the truck that sold big bang for dinero of yummy lemonade. Huge drink. Tart, and juicy. Another truck had coffee drinks. I got the cold one with whipped cream. Very good. Not worth it: the burger truck. It was plain and expensive. Like you know cafeteria school burger. It was an ick. I regretted it.

First time visiting and first Quakes game. My review does not factor the quality (or lack thereof)…read moreof the game. Pros: Clean, modern stadium. Parking, entering and exiting were relatively easy. Staff is friendly. Cons: Food concessions were horrible! We went to buy dinner BEFORE THE MATCH STARTED. First place we went to offered 3 items. They were sold out of 2 and the cashier didn't even know it. Another employee informed her. (Come to think of it, I didn't ask about the 3rd item so maybe they were out of that as well.) We instead went to the new, heavily-promoted chicken place. They were nearly out of everything and we were told they weren't making any more. Again, this was BEFORE THE MATCH STARTED. We did get a few items and they were quite bad. My tenders and tots were dry and flavorless. I didn't finish them. If we go again, we'll try the food trucks instead. Signage is poor. We managed to get there fine between GPS and traffic flow but it was never clear what lane we should/could be in. Same with leaving. Maybe I was spoiled by recently watching the World Cup on TV, but I was shocked by the complete lack of information and statistics given to the crowd either by PA or onscreen. The scoreboard (half of which usually showed ads) occasionally showed replays and displayed the score, but that was it. It struck me that a hearing impaired person would literally only know the score. I kind of liked how the PA didn't talk much, but, if that's the case, there needs to be information displayed somewhere. We sat near the corner and the view and sight lines were actually decent but I found it odd that the seats weren't angled towards the field. We either had to sit diagonally in our seats or sit with our heads turned. My neck was sore by halftime.

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.

I decided to do this run(first time in 12 +) . My goal was…read moreto run the entire race and not have to stop during the uphills... I wasn't the fastest, but i ran the entire race. The biggest disappointment was that I paid extra money for a shirt, only to find out after the race that they didn't have my size or the next size smaller... If I paid for a shirt my size, how do they run out of it. I don't plan on doing this race again.

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!

I wouldn't recommend going to Moreland Pumpkin Patch if you're planning on doing the family walk…read more It was quite expensive at $15 per person, even for my 2yo. We lined up at our 730pm check-in time and waited 35 minutes in the cold and were only halfway through the line. We left because it would have been another 25-35 more minutes to get through the line. However, the staff was great and the carnival games were fun. Nice to have all of the thoughtful decorations as well, our child loved playing with all of the pumpkins.

This patch is cute…read more The haunted trail costs $15 per person and there are scheduled appointment times to go in, however the line backs up and you have to wait at least 30 minutes past your appointment time before entering. We did not enter the trail until 720pm, and that is after getting in line at 640pm. Just be aware. Which is fine, my family had fun and the actors inside are funny and well rehearsed. However, since we waited so long, we got out of the trail around 750pm. My kid wanted to play the carnival games, which close at 8pm, so we bought some tickets to play, and were out to the carnival by 752pm, they had already taken everything down and had only a few simple games still up. My kid was bummed, but I figured since there were no refunds, I could go back and get a snack instead with my tickets. I was denied and told to come back next week to redeem the tickets. I know this is all for a good cause and it really isn't too big of a deal, but it is silly that I literally bought the tickets within a minute and then walked back after the carnival being closed and then denied to even use the tickets on anything else and then told to come back next week. They were told not to sell any tickets since they were closing up the carnival early, but I guess it wasn't communicated well. I guess we will be back to use up the tickets next weekend...?

Santa Clara Pal BMX is such a great place and program designed to bring friends and families…read moretogether. Three days a week, racing takes place here in a safe and fun environment. The race track is top notch... it is rated as one of the nicest tracks in the nation. What is even better than having this local gem of a race track so close is all of the great people involved. The track operators have such a love for their people , the families , the track and the sport in general. What they provide for the kids who come out here every week is huge! This sport, track , program and all of the families are all so welcoming and positive. The sense of accomplishment, fun, discipline and camaraderie you get from BMX racing and Santa Clara Pal is very tough to replicate. Even if you are not into competing on two wheels, you should go out to this track and check it out...Tuesday, Friday and Sundays. It's always free to spectate and enjoy all of the fun and excitement.

I have to give Nick and crew 5 stars for the excellent job running and Managing the track. For the…read morepast several race seasons they have gone above and beyond to make all the events go smoothly and treat everyone as family. This track is a 5 star plus facility and no one will be disappointed. I highly recommend!

+++review #2200+++…read more this was my first in person race for the year, and the first time this was was held in person since 2019! the beneficiary for this race was the stanford center for inherited cardiovascular disease, an organization that raises awareness and does research for i.c.d. i had the pleasure of meeting terra, the race director, when i volunteered at the race packet pickup the day before the race. as a long-time runner, i love to be able to give back by volunteering at race festivities and meeting the other runners. packet pickup was hosted by sports basement and went quite smoothly. race day weather was near perfect, parking was free & easy (stanford track parking lot, about a block and a half from the start line). there were restrooms at the track house as well as portapotties near the start line...fortunately i never had to wait very long (or at all) to use the facilities! the race started a few minutes late since they were waiting for officials to confirm the course was clear and safe for us runners...nbd, i just spent a few more minutes stretching and mentally preparing myself. i had actually trained hard for the 10k, but clearly didn't run enough hills b/c there were plenty in the first half, especially miles 2 & 3, and i definitely slowed down with each passing hill. fortunately, the second half was mostly downhill so i was able to pick up speed and pass many runners here. unfortunately, the 10k & 5k courses merged around 4 1/2 miles in, so i was forced to come to an abrupt stop, which was a bit frustrating since i was cruising and wanting to finish strong. i kept yelling out, passing, 10k runner coming thru, hoping that the slower folks, walkers, strollers, kids would move aside for those of us running. as i approached the finish, i noticed on my timing device that the course was short, as i had only run 5.85mi instead of 6.2mi (10k), so this was a bit disappointing. i heard that the 5k course was very close to 3.1mi so that was encouraging to hear. after crossing the finish line, i grabbed my finisher's medal and continued to walk for a few minutes so that i could catch my breath and let my heart rate come down. upon entering the finish area, i was able to grab a bottle of water and a pack of fig bars. i guess they were tight on resources since each runner could only have exactly 1 bottle of water and 1 pack of fig bars. there were no other refreshments post race. there were quite a few vendors & sponsors on site which was great to see..i always like to learn about who supports a race, and this was such a great cause to raise funds for and race for. for the future, i'd love to see the course marked accurately to a true 10k (6.2mi) and some more refreshments at the end. but otherwise, this was a great event and i had lots of fun participating with my friends.

Review for the 2025 version. Compared to christmas in the park's version of the drive thru lights,…read morethis was 100x better. Well organized with signs directing you where to go. The lights were much longer to drive thru so it just felt more worth it to check out. Compared to previous years, it looks like there are some newer sections. Always a classic

After hearing about this event, I'm glad I got to experience it!…read more My family and I walked through with some friends, and we all had an enjoyable time. I personally would not want to drive through this experience, as it was really fun to immerse ourselves in the colorful lights and fresh air. There are many food trucks, and there are lots of tables to eat at. There was also a juggler for kids entertainment. Another pro: there was a diaper and nursing station for parents. Only suggestion for improving is to have clearer communication regarding shuttle from the park to Netflix (the spot for arrival is different than that for departure). Also, the shuttle line takes quite a while. It is worth reconsidering the shuttle if you go in the evening with small children that have bedtime curfews.