We ran the Workday Devil Mountain 5k race in Danville. There was also a 10k distance. The race benefits the Oakland Childrens Hospital and Research Center. Race registration was $32 and included a cotton t-shirt, race timing and post race goodies. For those who registered ahead of time the race bib and timing chip was mailed but the t-shirt had to be picked up on race day. There was also an option to purchase a Poly-Dri wicking shirt for $25. The event took place on Railroad Avenue near the Museum of the San Ramon Valley in Danville. Event parking was clearly marked and was a few blocks away from the start/finish. As we walked towards the start we saw several booths set up in a large parking lot between the museum and the neighboring grocery store. Same day registration was available and shirt pick up was availble before and after the race. We decided to save a trip to the car and pick up our shirts after the race. There were several portapotties as well. It was a mass start for the 5k and 10k races, both lining up on Railroad Avenue. The 5k racers lined up on the north side of the road and the 10k racers on the south side since the two routes split soon after the start. The race started on time at 8am and just a short distance past the start the 10k racers split to the right while the rest of us headed left onto Hartz Avenue. We passed the Forward Motion Sports store, one of the race sponsors, and then continued onto the slightly downhill Hartz Avenue. At about 1.5 miles we turned left onto Wayne Avenue which climbed until we reached Iron Horse Trail. Turning left onto Iron Horse Trail we passed a water station and continued on the paved trail. Just before reaching the museum we crossed the finish line which was on Iron Horse Trail itself. There were mile markers at every mile and streets were closed along the race route. Just behind the finish and across a small street was the large parking lot with the booths we saw before the race. There we picked up some much needed water and our t-shirts. There were several booths giving out goodies like fruit, muffins, Snapple drinks and chocolate milk. We made our way around and found a booth giving out free bags that we used to put or goodies in. There was a kids dash at 9:30am and since we knew a couple of the participants we hung around until then. There was even a free bounce house for the children to enjoy before their run. The kids dash was well organized and they had several heats for the various age groups. All finishers received a t-shirt, ribbon and goodie bag. Shortly after the kids dash they began posting race results so we checked on those. Age division awards were handed out at a booth so winners did not have to wait for all winners to be announced. There was a race photographer that was seen taking pictures at the finish and at the post race festivities but not on the race course itself. This race was well organized and with the good route we would do it again.
We were able to catch a stage of the Amgen Tour of California this year. Stage 4 started in downtown Livermore and ended in San Jose. The route was 131.6km long and included a climb up Mount Hamilton and a hilltop finish on Sierra Road. We were lucky enough to see the team cars and some riders like Levi Leipheimer prior to the start. We had a close view of the finish line and it was amazing to see Chris Horner climb up the hill to the finish well ahead of all the other riders. Levi Leipheimer finished a minute and fifteen seconds after him in fourth.
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