Texas Med Fun Run

This is a 2015 update from my below post (be sure to read that for all the details. I don’t want to repeat).
I downgraded one star (from four stars to three stars) this year based upon some changes in the race organization. In particular, packet pick up required before the race. For those of us that live out of town, it is near impossible (and certainly not desirable) to trek downtown on a weekday to pick up a race packet. This after paying $ 30 or more to run. I highly recommend expanding the volunteer workforce on the morning of the race OR even offering mailed packets. I would pay $ 5 to not spend 2 hours driving in and out of town, finding parking, etc. This year I was on vacation during packet pick up and despite stating there were no race day pickup (and no exceptions), they were able to pass them out (and I was appreciative, but this was still a hassle). If you read my review last year, there were issues with race day pickup, but this wasn’t a good fix.
Also disappointed that Live Oak brewery wasn’t out, instead they had some beer, but a one 8 oz can limit per runner. I know sponsorships are a two way street so this had no bearing on my star rating, but not as good.
Also, change in parking, they used to offer free parking in a nearby garage, now you have to pay to park on race day (as a regular visitor to the hospital). We were early and found some free street parking, but this is another step back this year.
Also a bit of a downer, no team competition this year.
Neutral things: The route changed from previous year, but was more or less the same roads. Awards for age groups were not announced at the event and will be mailed, again, since I didn’t win, this wasn’t a big deal, might be for some. Overall Men’s and Women’s, overall and Masters Top 3 were announced with awards passed out.
On the positive side, the pre-​race tents and post-​race party were MUCH better location (right near the start/​finish). It was also on pavement instead of grass, leading to much less mud due to rains and lack of evaporation prevalent this time of year.
Also Unilocal HAD A TENT THERE!!! Thanks to Rosa and Christine for coming out with lots of SWAG. I hope they consider tents in future years, I saw a lot of people stopping by and checking in to the event due to their presence. GOOD MOVE Unilocal!!!
I may or may not do the race next year, depends on the packet pick up situation.

This was my first year running the Texas Med Walk/​Run. Some friends and I elected to shoot for the 10K. This course took me through parts of the med center I didn’t even know existed! They did a good job with the race all in all even though there wasn’t much information on the website and I started to worry that it might be kind of haphazardly done.
The money raised goes to a good purpose — vaccinations for the very young and very old so that’s the focus. You won’t get a ton of swag running this race like you would if you did your typical 5K, 13.1, or 26.2, but you will get a free cotton T shirt with your registration, or you can pay an extra 5 bucks for a tech tee showing the same logo.
To my surprise there was a decent amount of food, drinks, snacks before and after the race. They had some sponsors like Chick Fil A, Nosa yogurt (yumm), and Kolache factory among others.
There were 87 people running the 10K this year, but hundreds of people who did the 5K. There’s also a 1K for kids so fun for everyone!