Lake Forest Firecracker 5K Run/Walk

I LOVED this race — it may be because I grew up in Lake Forest and went to El Toro High School many moons ago, but I loved it none-​the-​less. So small and fun! I now live in Aliso Viejo, but I made the short drive over to run this race and it was so worth it. This years race was at about 1300 participants, which has steadily gone up the last few years (I did read that they anticipated 1800 people, but maybe that includes spectators and volunteers).
Race is $ 30 for adults, $ 10 for students, $ 25 early registration. I love that they promote kids to run, despite that most that sign up are in Cross County, and 99% of the people in the race will get trumped by the 16-​year-​old HS Cross County kids running the 5k in 15 – 16 minutes. You can sign up day-​of, which is awesome! Proceeds go to ETHS, hell yes!
2014 was the 20^th year of this race, which I loved too. Participants also get a nice participants shirt, which I actually liked and will gladly wear around the house. Everything about this race makes me smile!
Race starts at 7:30am. I got there about 6:55am, and parked by Ralph’s. There was plenty of parking in the lot, so nothing to really worry about. They also had plenty of volunteers holding signs showing you were to park as well, so you can’t get lost. There are no porta-​potties at the start of the race, so you have to go into Ralph’s to use their restroom if you need to go before the race.
Pre-​race there was a DJ playing tunes that will get you pumped up. They also had local students that sang the national anthem… awesome!
Race started promply at 7:30am. The course is described as flat, but after mile one, I was cursing the whole way. Who knew how many inclines and declines Lake Forest has! Mile one is pretty much a decline (which was awesome and I was feeling pretty confident during this mile), but mile two and three where intermixed with steady inclines and declines. I slowed down during these two miles, but I was able to somewhat keep my pace up with some others around me, and we were all there helping each other out to finish. I love races because of this — all about teamwork! I did hear that this race is closer to 3.25 miles as well. With the mix of inclines/​declines, and the race being a little longer than the traditional 3.1 miles, no wonder my finish time was about 2 – 3 minutes slower than what I was training at. Oh well. Overall, I loved the course and was happy with my finish time.
On a side note, this race does allow your four-​legged fur babies to race as well… I did see about five K-​9 buddies running the course as well. So sweet!
I’d consider running this race again next year! It’s a good way to start off a holiday and you support a great city and High School!
Happy running!

So cute & so good for the community!
1mi from my house but we still drive every year. Must take bake pkwy up to Toledo, make a right on Toledo, then a left onto Serrano and drive up until you see the road closure. Plenty of free street parking!
$ 30 adult registration
$ 10 student registration
Day-​of registrations taken until 7:20am!
Proceeds benefit ETHS!
There’s a DJ pumping dance tunes, a small expo of local businesses and lots of lightening fast high school kids to chase.
I loved the national anthem sung by local students, the sweet message from the Lake Forest Mayor and seeing all ages in red white and blue running for our sweet little city.
I added my run map. The green dot is the start line at Serrano — course goes down Lake Forest, U-​turn at Jeronimo, back up Lake Forest, right turn onto Toledo, u-​turn at the far end of ETHS parking lot, back down Toledo, right turn back onto Lake Forest & ends at Serrano. A little more than 5K (3.1mi) but I stopped my map at 3.1 for my own PR reference. Hehe
The course is technically pretty flat but my legs say it’s really «decline, incline, decline, incline, decline, incline, decline to the finish. Because it’s a few u-​turns, if you climb a little gradual incline you get rewarded with a little gradual decline.
If you’re in the area, want to support adorable little lake forest, and want a 5K PR. Go for it!
There are medals for top 3 finishers in each age group and lots of walkers as well. Love seeing people of all ages and fitness levels get out and support the city on the 4^th!

The 4^th of July is pretty much the biggest time of the year for Lake Forest… and the festivities start off early in the morning with the annual Lake Forest Firecracker 5K, now in its 18^th year.
It’s a fun community event that brings out the entire family. The 2012 race had 1141 participants — lots of kids, most notably middle school and high school students. The course isn’t really particularly interesting unless you like eucalyptus trees, but it mostly follows the parade route. Rows and rows of vacant lawn chairs are already set up along Toledo during the race to hold spots for the parade later that morning, which would perhaps be funny if you were from out of the area and didn’t know any better. If you’re lucky, you’ll have some early morning spectators sitting in them to cheer on the 5K. :)
The course is a T-​shape, starting at Lake Forest/​Serrano toward Lake Forest/​Jeronimo, back up Lake Forest to Toledo, up Toledo toward the high school, and back down Toledo and up Lake Forest again toward Serrano. It’s not a flat course, nor would I exactly classify it as hilly; however, both Lake Forest and Toledo have very noticeable, sustained inclines. Mile 1 is entirely downhill with an 81 ft elevation loss; Mile 2 is a long, 73 ft. uphill climb. Mile 3 is about half downhill and half uphill, with the final leg toward the finish line being uphill. The event is chip-​timed by PrimeTime. I found the mile markers on the side of the road to be very visible and accurately placed.
Generally well-​organized, though I felt that some of the tables were spread a bit far apart. Although I could have walked from my parent’s house, I wanted to do some grocery-​shopping afterward and drove to the race, parking in the Ralph’s parking lot by entering the driveway on Trabuco. Event staff were waving big «PARKING» signs in front of all the driveways so you can’t miss it. Lots of parking available. I picked up my bib and t-​shirt at 7:00 am on race morning and had plenty of time before the prompt 7:30 am race start. They held group warm-​up stretches before the race, too. Post-​race refreshments included the standard oranges, bananas, and water — and there was a lot of it! It was just located very far away from the finish line, so at first I wondered if it even existed.
The Lake Forest Firecracker 5K benefits El Toro High School, my alma mater. While the majority of us layfolk must pay $ 30 to play ($ 25 for early registration), students only pay $ 10… which I think is actually a great idea. More kids should run, walk, and be active! However, if you’re well past those torrid teenage years, be prepared to feel like a bit of a geezer/​granny when the high school cross country teams whoop everyone on the course in 16 minutes. It’s kind of amazing, really… how old I am.
Verdict: Good event. DO IT if you live nearby and are looking for a fun run or walk with friends, family, or poochie… otherwise, honestly it’s not something that I would ordinarily drive long distances in order to participate, except that it’s my hometown (and supports the public school system), so I guess it’s like my own homecoming.
P. S. I PR’ed.
GARMIN STATS
Elevation Gain: 132 ft
Elevation Loss: 132 ft
Min Elevation: 389 ft
Max Elevation: 476 ft