Temecula Valley

I used this race as a precursor to the half marathon I was scheduled to do the next day. Luckily I only did the 5K.
I had 2 race packet pick ups this day and it took me almost 2 hours for my round-​trip from North County to Temecula. I took the back roads, which made the commute a bit easier but Monte De Oro was still about 5 – 6 miles after exiting.
Packet pick up was a breeze and it only took me 5 mins. No expo, just basically picking up your number and packet.
Pros:
–Free duffel bag
–Free long sleeve tech T
–Medal (Half and 5K)
Great incentives especially if this is considered your «fun» or «warm-​up» run.
Race day was crazy. Parking was full at the winery so others had to park along the highway and up the road. Not a bad walk, but a 5 mins walking distance to the start line.
It was raining, freezing and it sucked. I truly felt sorry for those running in the half marathon.
The 30 mins I was out in the rain, it mostly drizzled hard. We ran on the main road, which wasn’t closed off. All runners were running in the bike lane essentially, which created a huge bottleneck since everyone was running in a single file line! You were either running next to the cones or in the mud.
I wasn’t able to stay for the ceremonies, unfortunately as I had another engagement to attend. If the weather fared, it would have probably have been a better race.