Hellyer Half Marathon / 10K / 5K

Courses are full of low small but frequent rollers on an otherwise fast fairly flat slightly turny organized fun course. Lot’s of portable bathrooms, good snacks if you can get to them and really cool medals and shirts. Brazen runs are organized and consistent for the most part. I recommend them.

Course description:
I participated in Brazen’s 2015 Hellyer Half Marathon as a volunteer, not as a runner/​walker. Hellyer Half Marathon starts in San Jose’s Hellyer Park, loops around a lake, and is then an out-​and-​back on the Coyote Creek Trail. It’s a fairly flat course, good for getting a PR and as in intro to trail races. I’ve done and reviewed a couple of races that use the Coyote Creek Trail, and think it’s a generally beautiful course. That I know of, Coyote Creek Trail is used by the Vibha Dream Mile, Coastal Trail Runs’ Turkey Trot, JEM Racing’s Race to the End of Summer, and Moshan Productions’ Monster Dash.
Organization & Production:
Volunteers get very different views of a race. I say «views», because parking traffic directors, check-​in & start/​finish area people, and the people at the various aid stations do and see different things. I worked at the second of three aid stations on the course. We were located a couple of tenths of a mile before the 10K turn-​around, so half marathon and 10K racers came to our station twice, but 5K racers didn’t see us at all (except for a couple of 5K racers who decided to do 10K instead of 5K — they liked the goodies).
Volunteers sign up using the same process as registering to run in a race. We were asked by e-​mail to arrive and check in at 6AM. It also informed us where we would be working (including a map to the site, supplies load/​unload point, and place for parking). I waited a bit after checking in for the rest of the team to gather, and then we loaded up our stuff — lots of water in gallon bottles (8 pounds apiece!) and lots of goodies. We — about 8 of us — then drove in several vehicles to the location, unloaded, parked, and started setting up our station. We had everything we needed, from cups for water and sports drink to bowls for goodies to knives to cut up oranges and bananas to signs and trash bags plus holders. We had everything set up and ready well before the first half marathon runners arrived. All in all it was an impressive array of sugary and salty snacks, drinks, plus all the other things the station needed!
What did I do? Nothing huge or thrilling. I maintained a steady stock of cups of sports drink ready to be handed to racers. Another guy did the same with water, and we kept an eye on the snacks to be sure everything was available.
Toward the end, we cleaned our area, making sure there was no litter from the race (picking up some litter that was not from the race), loaded up equipment, unused water and goodies, and drove back to the start/​finish area, where we unloaded.
A racer’s excellent (or poor) race experience is the sum of a very large number of small details, many of them handled by the volunteers. No matter how small a task, it is an essential detail among the many many essential details that make for excellent race experiences.
Swag & Goodies:
The race T-​shirt is blue, with an «Alice In Wonderland» White Rabbit theme. On the front the White Rabbit (wearing a formal Victorian coat!) is running left to right. On the back the White Rabbit is running toward the viewer. And the White Rabbit’s eyes … this isn’t a nervous and harried Disney-​esque White Rabbit, he looks more like DracuBunny! The finisher’s medal also features the White Rabbit, and the ribbon has rabbits and clocks.
I’ve mentioned Brazen’s finish area spread before. Salty snacks, fruit, pastries and cookies, and, of course, It’s It ice cream sandwiches. A welcoming and tasty sight after burning off 2 or 3 thousand calories!
My Results & Opinion of the Race:
What did I get from being a volunteer? Well, I received a tech-​type race T-​shirt — a very nice one, as is usual with Brazen — and will receive a «free» race. As nice as those are, far better were helping the racers, getting to know some of my fellow volunteers, and getting an inside glimpse of how well organized Brazen’s races are! Would I do it again? Absolutely, yes (addendum: I have volunteered again since writing this)! And I already have a race in mind! If it isn’t incredibly obvious, I definitely am trying to encourage others to volunteer as well. You will love it! And, yes, I would consider running/​walking in the race.

since i enjoyed this race so much last year, mainly due to the rabbit on the medal and all other race memorabilia, i decided to sign up again this year, along with several other friends.
i picked up my race packet at sports basement sunnyvale the day before the race, and upon seeing the official race shirt with a logo of the white rabbit from alice in wonderland, i immediately regretted not purchasing it at the time of registration, but was told that i could arrive early at the race and purchase one on the spot, provided they had extra shirts to sell and in my size!
upon arrival race morning, i parked and immediately headed over to the registration tent to find that they had quite a few shirts for sale, and quite a few in my size as well. i loved that they had a woman’s cut shirt, which is more fitted and flattering than the men’s cut shirt, which is just a traditional t-​shirt. the fabric was a stretchy cotton/​polyester blend which ensured a snug fit and comfort to the wearer. they also had the hi-​tech tees available for those who prefer the lighter, non-​cotton material. note that purchasing a shirt on the spot is $ 10, as opposed to just $ 5 if you opted to include a race shirt with your registration fee, but they did accept both cash and credit card which was much appreciated.
as with last year’s event, there were 3 distances to choose from, the half marathon, the 10k, and the 5k, all of which were runner and walker friendly. they even had a special hiker start for the half marathon, for those who planned to walk the entire 13.1 miles or require about 3 hours to complete this distance.
i again chose to run the 10k and since my garmin device was actually working this year, i can report that the actual distance run was 6.14 miles, pretty close to the official 6.2 miles for a 10k event. and it was the same fast course as last year, with some gentle rollers and dips thrown in along the way. the fact that it didn’t rain this year ensured that i could run a traditional race, vs a «muddy buddy» or «tough mudder» event, running through puddles, and mini rivers, and muddy patches.
volunteers were terrific as always, directing participants in the parking area, manning the aid stations along the course, handing out medals at the finish line, and restocking the refreshments at the finish pavilion post-​race.
i loved this year’s medal more than last year’s, b/​c the face of the medal bore the white rabbit, in a little blue coat, in position to run, and the lanyard holding the medal had clocks all around, as well as the name of the event. very clever, and cute idea, and my favourite brazen finisher’s medal to date!
as an added bonus, since i finished 1^st in my age group, i got to take home a 2^nd medal, one that bore a gold frame with the index finger pointing a «1.»
and now for a few negatives…
–as with last year, we had to pay $ 6 to park on hellyer park’s property, and despite the fact that i arrived almost 1 ½ hours before my event start time, i still had to wait in line to pay, and that line stretched all the way outside of the main park gates.
–none of the official park restrooms was open, so the 1000 or so runners were relegated to the porta-​potties. although there were quite a few scattered throughout the parking areas and near the start/​finish line, i felt that the lines were longer than last year since i couldn’t use the structures, which i know provide several extra stalls. i actually saw one guy with his back turned, going against a wall b/​c he just couldn’t wait! sometimes you gotta do what you gotta do, right? :)
–the refreshments area was pretty big, but for some reason, moved as slow as molasses! a majority of the 5k and 10k runners had already finished running, as well as a small handful of half marathoners, but the line barely moved… i might have walked about 5 feet toward the tables in 5 – 10 minutes, and was only able to get some water. i gave up waiting for the actual food, which included chips, cookies, cake, pretzels, and its-​its ice cream sandwiches, since i actually had to leave for another engagement after. i felt that the volunteers should have kept these lines moving faster, and i suspect the culprit was small children who needed extra time choosing or reaching for their post-​race food. this was a huge downer for me since brazen usually does a terrific job keeping the refreshments’ line moving quickly so that all runners can refuel as soon as possible after racing.
aside from these few points, i still very much enjoyed this event and will likely sign up again next year so that i can add another rabbit medal and tshirt to my collection!
thank you, sam, jasmin, and the brazen team for putting on yet another terrific event!

I am giving this race a 5 star because I placed in my age group and was stoked! This half is very flat and quick. I think I hit a PR on it for sure. This was my first Brazen race and I became a fan instantly. I love the size of the crowd they get, large enough to get the race feel, but small enough to still be intimate.
Trail runs are always nice, it’s easier on the knees in my opinion. Parking was a little lackluster, a bit confusing and the entrance to Hellyer was a tiny bit backed up when we arrived. Brazen has really cool medals and t’s.
Love the post snacks! It was an easy going run. I probably would do it again — but the views are a bit. average to me.

I had a great time at this race! Another fabulous event by Brazen Racing. Awesome course & super well organized. Full race report here: