Avenue of the Vines 5k

I ran the Avenue of the Vines 5k at Woodbridge Winery in Lodi for the second year in a row. There was a Half Marathon distance as well. Rain was in the forecast but luckily it paused for the 5th annual event. BIb and t-shirt pick up was indoors for fear of the rain. Entry fee for the 5k was $35 but Kaiser Permanente employees and members could receive a $5 discount. The entry fee included chip timing, a cotton tshirt, wine glass, goodie bag, limited snacks and post race wine tasting. Half Marathon participants received a technical t-shirt instead of cotton and also received a finishers medal. Getting there early allowed me a close parking spot in a nearby lot. People who arrived after the lot was full were able to park on the street.  The Half Marathon started at 7am with the 5k starting 15 minutes later. The 5k race route was an out and back on flat streets through grapevines. The route for the Half Marathon was a loop course on flat streets through grapevines and mustard seed field.There was a water station just before the turnaround point for the 5k and a mile marker at one mile. There was water and a sports drink available after the race. Heading back indoors there were several booths set-up by the race sponsors. After picking up my wine glass I went around the booths for the usual freebies-bags and candies. Post race food was not available until later and consisted of fruits and chicken or veggie wraps. There were some race pictures available for purchase onsite for $10 each. There was also a booth where I entered my bib number and was supposed to find out my official time and ranking but it was inaccurate at first. The timing company did eventually fix it. Age division winners won large wine bottles but there was no award for the overall 5k winners. Aside from the timing glitch, the race was well organized, I would definitely run it a third time.

Race Results
Race Website