2010 RnR San Jose Half Marathon Review.

Event:
2010 RnR San Jose Half Marathon
San Jose, CA
October 3, 2010

Going In.

1. My October calendar is too busy for me to pushed like a mad person on my 1st event for the month.  So, I wanted an easy and relaxed run.
2. I signed up for this event during last year's expo before I ran it for the 1st time last year.  It was a deal at $65 with a very nice goodie bag as a bonus.
3. My bro and a couple of friends were doing the event also.  They don't run regularly.

Expo.

San Jose Convention Center.

Where is everyone?

This year's expo was considerably smaller than last year's.  Those who are claustrophobic or who want more personalized service from the sales reps will probably be much happier, however.  I finally met Joelle, one of my FB friends, who also does long distance events.  She did last year's event and also felt that this year's expo was much smaller.

The expo did not offer any seminars or speakers.

The only appearance at the expo was by Meb, winner of last year's New York Marathon and RnR San Jose 1/2.  He appeared at the Sony booth and eventually went on to win the event again, this time finishing in 1 hour, 1 minute and 45 seconds.

Meet Meb.

2010 Brooks Participant Tech T.  Now, I am all set for St. Patty's Day.

The 2010 RnR San Jose 1/2 Marathon and 5th Anniversary bling.

Race Day.
Started off with too much drama.

Where is my contact lense?

After I put in my contacts, I noticed one side had blurry vision.  I checked in a mirror and sure enough, one of my lenses was not in.

Well, where did it go?

I frantically looked in the living room, the bathroom, the sink and even in a few pieces of napkins I had tossed into a garbage can.

I got more and more panicked, thinking I will have to complete an event blurry visioned in one eye.  I even checked underneath my slippers, thinking I might have crushed it while walking around looking for it.

To my relief, I found it on the floor dusty but unsmashed.

Pre-race Amenities.

1. Bottles of Cytomax available.  Last year, they would only give me a sample in a cup and not give away the whole bottle.
2. Arrowhead water. - Thanks Arrowhead for sponsoring the event.
3. Bananas.

Overcrowded Corrals.
I literally could not get into my corral again.  Just like last year, the corrals were already jammed packed with people, leaving a number of folks standing outside, trying to get in.

The corrals eventually moved forward and those of us once outside were able to get in.  But, it was miserable. Clueless people in the corrals were waving their arms around while talking to their friends.  I got bumped into numerous of times.  Only one person said, "Excuse me," after they had bumped into me.

As the corrals moved forward, a woman outside the corral screamed loudly into my ear as I was going by her.  She was cheering for a lady standing next to me.  :(

Then, some one behind me stepped on the heels of my shoe not 1x, not 2x but 3x, as we moved toward The Start.

The Start.
I tried to put away the misery of the corral and looked towards the event.

Heading towards The Start.

Often, it's crowded during the 1st mile and things would let up.  But, it did not.

During Mile 1:  Very crowded.

At Mile 1, it is still crowded.

San Jose isn't exactly a very scenic city to run thru compared to many other places.

So, they spruced up the skyline with a giant Sony Headset balloon.

 The event did seemed to have more of a local flavor instead.

Cheer squad from Los Gatos High School with the Shark Tank in the background.

Cheer squad ringing bell from Bellarmine Prep School.

lululemon cheer squad.

The event started off in the downtown area and then headed into some neighborhoods before returning downtown.

In the neighborhoods, it was pretty quiet.  Occasionally, you would see a few folks here and there sitting on some chairs, cheering on runners and walkers.

We eventually passed by this house that was all dressed up for Halloween.

A house all decked out for Halloween.

It felt like an eternity before I headed towards The Finish.  Eventually, I got there.

The Last Turn.  I am almost there.

Heading Towards The Finish.

Finished:

Chip:  2:53:12
Garmin:  2:53:24 @ 13.35 miles.

Due to my busy October calendar, I wanted an easy and relaxed run, and I got it.


Post-race Amenities.

1. Bling.
2. Bottle of Water.
3. Ice water soaked towel.
4. Water spraying to cool off in.
5. Bottle of Cytomax.
6. Small bagel.
7. Odwalla bar.
8. A bag of wheat thins, I believe.
9. There were orange slices littered on the floor as I went thru the post race area.  There were no orange slices for me when I went thru however.
10. A banana. - My bro and his friends finished after me, and they did not get any bananas.
11. Those 21 years of age or older with ID, gets 1 Miller 64.  Extra drinks can be purchased for $5 per cup.

Post race Concert:  Blues Traveler.
My bro's friends who did the race really wanted to catch the free post race concert, so we stayed for a while afterwards.  It is great to just hang out with friends and relatives.

Blues Traveler post race concert.  View from the front.

Side view.

Odds and Ends.

1. Along the route, there was an roped off section of damaged trees and cars.  I found out later from the news that someone had drove into a bunch of parked vehicles, flipped their vehicle and died at the scene.  Sad for the driver but felt spooked that the course ran near it.  It was witnessed by a police officer preparing for the RnR San Jose.
2. The race had almost been canceled.  There was a large diesel spill from a building downtown that got into their sewer system.  A porta potty section reeked of diesel fumes.  A news article mentioned that if the spill had been a tad bit larger, the race would have been canceled.

What I thought of the event?

Pros:

1. Local event.
2. Flat.
3. Fairly good running weather for Oct.
4. Awesome volunteers.

 Cons:

1. Very congested at certain parts.  Those in the back might want to consider another event for PR seeking instead.
2. Not as scenic compared to many other places.

Overall:
This event isn't high on my list to do.  I can take it.  Or, leave it.  But, it's always nice to do a local event and get to hang out with friends and relatives.