See Jane Run 1/2 Marathon and 5K

I think it should be a requirement for runners to volunteer at a water stop before actually participating. I don't think it will kill them to run a couple more steps to throw away their water cups. I never realized how annoying (and maybe a bit inconsiderate) to see cups on the ground when there's a trash can next to it until I started volunteering for running events. Okay, so that's my rant... Now about the run.

Cat N. and I both thought it was a pretty good event with lots of major sponsors. I came to realize this after crossing the finish line and being handed a Smart Water and not Arrowhead or Kirkland, wow! There were also free Jamba Juice, Pop Chips, Honest Tea, Bear Naked and many more! And of course, free chocolate and champagne! Definitely loads of freebies. You also get a medal and champagne glass for finishing, and my favorite, ALL participants get tech shirts. It's very different since most running events only give out regular T-shirts for 5K runners and save the dri-fit shirts for half and full marathoners. But just FYI, the shirts run a little small and short. I'm regularly a small, but I got a medium. Cat N. is usually a medium, but got a large. We both agreed that this will be an annual thing for us.

And BTW, it's not only for women, but men are eligible to participate as well.

I'm from Alameda and the starting line is less than a 10 minute drive from my house so I may be biased about this race since I didn't have to wake up at an ungodly hour to run like I do for most races.

I've only gotten an opportunity to do the 5K but I'm really hoping to do the half-marathon one day (it always coincides with the San Diego Rock & Roll, though, and SD is typically where I am in the early summer). But the 5K was great, weather was sunny (which I don't mind for a 5K but for a half, that could be a problem), and the course was extremely flat. The cause is great and as a woman, it's always empowering and nice to run these types of races! It's also nice that it's a small race too--registration is relatively cheap and you don't feel too overwhelmed by the crowds.

The only downside for me was that not a lot of people were cheering. More neighborhood spirit please, Alameda!

I really enjoyed this race! It was my first time doing the See Jane Run event and with a slogan I run for chocolate and champagne I had to join in on the fun.

I definitely over dressed for this race- since it rained the night before I figured I would layer up, wear long pants, etc. Nope didn't need any of that.

My boyfriend dropped me off in the morning so I didn't deal with the parking situation- I know that it was $5 in Washington Square park and it was limited so it might have been difficult. Saw more street parking further down.

There was a half marathon that started at 8am and 5k that started at 8:15am.

Got dropped off at 7:20am and was able to:
- pick up my race packet- yay for same day bib pickup (I couldn't make it for the pre race expo which I heard was a bit disorganized but it was their first time doing it)
- Picked up timing chip- yay for eco friendly timing chips!
- Went to the bathroom
- Stretched
Then had 10 minutes to spare before the race.

They were playing fun music 80/90s music like Mickey!

This is a loop race so you see some of the same scenery twice- but this makes it convenient because you end up where you parked.

For the half marathon their was probably about 1000 people? Mostly women but a few men as well. These races are so fun because you see women of all ages and shapes and sizes and everyone is happy and cheering each other on.

The course was all paved and went along Harbor Bay, the Alameda businesses, some trails along the water and looped back.

I loved that they had nice mile markers along the way and had water, gatorade, and gu every couple miles. They didn't run out at all too! So important since I didn't wear a fuel belt.

The best part of the race has go to be the post expo with all the goodies you get! There was so many sponsors at the event and lots of free goodies. Some of the things I indulged in:
- Cute finisher medal that you can engrave- not sure how much it was to do that
- Champagne glass with ultimated Barefoot champagne
- bagel
- Free Lunar bars
- Pop Chips
- FRS drinks
- Metromint Water
- Barefoot products
- Free chocolate
- Degree Deodorant and a place to take a picture where they print out for you!
- Purple Technical Tee with a nifty gift bag

I did this race by myself and had a great time. I can only imagine if I knew some people doing it.

I am definitely signing up next year and remember to look for discounts because they definitely spring up for being 5-10 bucks off.

Good pricing, flat, great company, and goodies!

Who doesn't want champagne and chocolate??

This was my 2nd year in a row running the 5k. Parking was at a premium(I found street parking over a half a mile away) but I made it in time for the fun 80s pre-race workout. I had to weave around trios of walkers(please keep to the right, ladies) but otherwise it was a quick race under gray skies(my favorite running weather). I didn't pick up any champagne for the 2nd year in a row since I ran the race alone and didn't want to drink and drive. But I did grab some Chili and Lime Pop Chips.
I got a last-minute deal on Zozi but hope to make this race an annual tradition. It has a fun girlpower vibe without being excessively frou-frou. And I'd love for my daughter to do the Kids run next year.

***This review is strictly coming from a first time participant who in no way whatsoever is interested in finishing first nor was I trying to run for time. I did this race out of fun, for myself and my babies (who were riding comfotably in the stroller). And YES, it was FUN. My next 5K will be at the Stinkin Roses in Gilroy. See you at the finish line***

This was my first half marathon, and I ran it in 2014 (there are other reviewers from previous years, too!).

All in all, I thought it was really well organized and has a good course. It looks like they fixed the 2014 course to avoid the dirt path between the beach and the foot bridge, which is really good. I've run that path before on training runs, and it's only wide enough for one person, so I'm glad they changed the path to avoid it!

That said, though, there was one (I thought) unnecessary course-lengthening portion on the Bay Farm part of the course right after the golf course... Like another reviewer stated, my GPS measured 13.33 miles, and without that little out-and-back bit right after the golf course, I think it would have been 13.1 miles. It was also right at this point that my GPS stopped being in sync with the posted race mile markers (for example, my GPS was pretty close to the posted mile markers up until that point; afterwards, my GPS would signal a mile ~0.2 miles BEFORE the sign was posted).

The one terrible thing about this race is that PARKING SUCKSSSSSSS. The start and finish lines aren't exactly close to each other, and you'll likely have to find street parking, so good luck with that!

I plan to run this race next year, and hopefully the weather will be just as great.

See Jane Run 1/2 Marathon, June 3, 2012 at Crown Memorial State Beach.

This was my second 1/2 marathon and I loved it!

Well organized event, morning motivation from the stage area, use of bullhorn by speaker made it easier to hear, pre-race warm up, nice scenic course, enough water/fuel stations, more then expected bathrooms enroute, great finish line reception, cool finishers medal, cool champagne glass trophy, great after race activities.

Met 'Jane' I mean Gloria along the way and we became race route friends as we finished that mother strong as we ran the last 1/4 mile to the finish line together. She was my pacer and I was her motivator.

Great send off and reception by my babygirl.

Overall I was impressed with the See Jane Run 1/2 marathon.
It started with some very energetic ladies leading the group in a warm-up and stretch, which was pretty entertaining if you weren't participating yourself.
The actual run was partly through neighborhoods where folks cheered you on as you ran past. The other part of the run was just on the water and was pretty- at one point you had a view of the city, and at another a view of Oakland. Granted it was pretty overcast and muggy but you get the picture.
The after-race was really great! Champagne, beer, and lots of food. These people knew what women runners want after a long run!
I was very pleased with my beverages and snacks as my friend and I sat and watched all the others finish.
The run was a bit on the spendy side but it was definitely worth doing.

Pros:
The energy overall was very positive and I enjoyed the high energy warm up

Nice tech shirt

The course was lovely. My only issue with it were the residential streets we had to share with the cars. The road curved down to the curb and that really trashed my calves. Couldn't even move to the sidewalks due to all the driveway dips.

The Saturday expo was well organized

Cons:
The Champagne glasses ran out. I blame the runners. Ladies: didn't your Mother teach you manners? The volunteers reported that many runners were taking 3-4 glasses each. Do not tell me you were "getting some for friends". There were runners (myself included) that didn't get champagne or a champagne glass. Yeah, this rude behavior is why we can't have nice things.

The Scott's Seafood buffet was gone before the back of the pack runners got in.Either there wasn't enough food or the front of pack gals ate all the food before the back of pack gals got in. I know this was a big selling point for me and after a hard race, instead of seafood I got a bag of Lays.

If you are going to advertise that all runners will receive the following then they should be provided to all runners, not just the fast ones:
NEW! Catered runners lunch from Scott's Seafood
Finisher medals for all runners including kids
Technical T for half marathon/cotton for 5K and Kids
Reusable See Jane Run tote bag
Commemorative champagne glass
Chocolate Race goody bag or virtual race bag

I have no idea what a Chocolate Race goody bag is. I never saw that either. I got a piece of the organic chocolate but that was it.

The medals were tiny. They reminded me more of the size of the 5k medal at the SF Marathon. For a half marathon, I expected a larger medal.

I think if I do this race in the future, I will do the 5k so I can have a better change of actually enjoying the cool perks that were advertised.

To be completely honest, I was looking to do my first half marathon ever and I chose See Jane Run simply because it had the lowest registration fee (I found a deal on Zozi). In the end, I couldn't have asked for a better first half marathon despite the record breaking heat this year!

This is a great beginner's half marathon or for someone going for a new PR:
- extremely flat course (except for a slight incline on the bridge everyone has to cross at Mile 3 and again at Mile 10)
- gorgeous view of the water between Miles 6-10(ish)
- plenty of bathrooms along the route
- Clear mile markers starting at Mile 4 and onwards
- water, Gatorade, and GU gels (yes, even GU gels!) every 2 miles! No need to wear an extra fuel belt. :)
- Free goodie bags, fitted tech tee, champagne glass, See's chocolate, and finisher's medal (One of the few races I've participated in where even 5K finishers receive medals. But no worries to those who chose to do the half; the 5K and Half Marathon medals are different.)
- separate finish lines for the 5K and half marathon
- packet pick-up all week long and the morning of the race
- plenty of communication prior to the race
- pacers to help make sure you finish at the time you want!
- course is open for 4 hours

A few drawbacks:
- Very limited parking. Get there early to find neighborhood street parking.
- Although it didn't bother me too much since I was listening to my music the whole time anyway, this might be something to consider. There are very few people along the sidelines to cheer you on.
- There was a small section around Mile 6 where we all just run a loop through the parking lots of a business area.
- The majority of participants actually do the 5K. But the route really sucks in my opinion. You start at Washington Park, run 1.5 miles along the water (sorta), and then make a sharp U-turn and run back. I personally prefer loop routes whether it be a half marathon, 10K, or 5K.

Two years ago I did my first 5K, and I couldn't even run a quarter mile without stopping. I sincerely enjoyed this race so much. I loved all the female support and energy. I'm tearing up as I write this because this event was so life changing for me. The feeling of running alongside all these other Jane's of different age, shape, and size reinforced the idea that anyone could be a runner...even me!

Thanks to those at See Jane Run for putting together an event with everything I needed to accomplish my once ambitious goal of finishing a half marathon! See you next year!