Saturday, March 26, 2011

Knowing When to Fold: 2011 Oakland Running Festival. March 26, 2011

I made a trek to the Oakland Running Festival (aka Oakland Marathon) Fitness and Health Expo today. The Rock 'n' Roll Marathon (RnR) folks were at the expo, and I wanted to register for an event, taking advantage of their $10 discount and get a promo T.

When I arrived, there was a long line of people waiting outside the expo hall, trying to get in.  They were trying to register for 1 of a variety of Oakland Running Festival events, including Marathon, Half Marathon or 5k.  Only the Team Relay was sold out.

I went inside the expo and looked briefly around before making a beeline to the RnR booth.  I filled out the registration form for the RnR San Jose Half Marathon, getting a $10 discount and a promo T.
2011 RnR San Jose Half Marathon promo T

I walked around a bit more before ending up at 1 of the registration tables near the front.
The temptation:  registration forms

My legs had recovered enough from last weekend's LA Marathon.  They are ready to run another Half Marathon tomorrow.  My hand was itching and wanted to reach inside my bag for a pen to fill in the registration form when, lo and behold, I saw the following sign:
The stop sign

The price of $110 for the Half Marathon was too much for me.  It made me put my wallet away quickly.

I then milled around the expo some more.  It's a pretty small expo.  At one point, a volunteer thought I was a race participant and attempted to hand me a goody bag.  I declined.
Goodie bags.  The angel in me declined.  The devil in me says, "Yes, take one."

I got a pic of a couple Oakland Raiderettes.

Oakland Raiderettes were in the house!!!

I also got a pic of some running super heroes.
Dane Rauschenberg (left), Epinephrine Pup and Endorphin Dude

Some of the memorable vendors included the following:  Pasadena Marathon, Giants Race, GEICO, Urban Cow Half Marathon, GU, Rock 'n' Roll Marathon and Half Marathon Series, FRS, Go for It Sports, Power Balance, Oakland Raiders and Sprint.

I had fun at this year's expo.  Sometimes, you just got to know when to fold.  Perhaps another year, I'll run in an Oakland Running Festival event.

Good luck to those running!!!

No comments:

Post a Comment