Almond Blossom 8k

There aren't many 8k races around so when I heard about the Almond Blossom Run in Ripon I had to sign up. There was a one mile race as well, both of which were part of the Annual Almond Blossom Festival. Entry fee was a reasonable $20 and included a long sleeve t-shirt. Only pre-registered participants got the shirt. The race's start and finish was at Mavis Stouffer Park which had public restrooms. There was limited parking in the park, most participants parked along the nearby residential streets. Bib pick-up was well organized and race timing was provided by way of a disposable timing chip atached to each bib. The one mile race started at 8:30am and took the racers along Manley Road and Spring Creek Drive and then back. The 8k race started promptly at 9am and also took the racers onto Manley Road and then onto Spring Creek Drive. The course continued to wind through residential streets before taking us along some almond fields with yup, you guessed it, almond blossoms! There were chalked mile markers for the first few miles and after about 3 miles we came across the one water station. More residential streets led us back to the park for the finish. The entire race was on fairly flat paved roads. Streets were not closed but the course was well marked and there were plenty of race volunteers keeping us on course. Once back at the park there was post race snacks such as water, orange juice, bagels and muffins. Race results were posted quickly saving people from having to stay until the awards to find out how they did. The weather forecast had predicted possible rain during race time but luckily it was completely dry. It was incredibly cold, but dry. The race was well organized and provided a rare opportunity to run an 8k race.

Race Results