Tracy Bean Run

The Tracy Bean Run took place again this year for the second year in a row although the race location was different than the year prior. The Bean Run used to be an annual event years ago and is now well on it's way to becoming a well established annual event again. The run is named for the Tracy Dry Bean Festival that happens annually in downtown. There was both a 5k and a 10k. I ran the 5k. Last year the race began and ended by the city's Chamber of Commerce. This year the start and finish took place a few miles from downtown in front of the Tracy Public Library. There is a very small parking lot at the library and part of it was closed off for the event so we parked on the street close by. There was plenty of street parking. Bib pick up was quick for pre-registered runners but there was a line for same day registration. Race t-shirt pick up was easy but there were limited sizes, Large or XLarge. The flyer for the race did state that there were no guarantee of shirt sizes but I didn't think it would be this limited. Hopefully this will change for next year. There were goodie bags as well. There were some breakfast bars available before the start which was nice. No timing chips for this race though, maybe next year. It was a mass start with the 5k and 10k runners starting together at about 8am. The street in front of the library was blocked off but that proved to be the only part of the race course that was closed. We started by heading east on Eaton, passing a church and school before heading north on Parker Avenue into a residential area. We turned west then south through neighborhoods before getting close to completing our loop. The course was marked with construction cones and chalk markings on the streets but there were very few volunteers to help guide the way. This is another thing that could be improved upon before next years' event. They did have a one mile marker that was misplaced but no other mile markers that I saw. As I approached the finish line I did notice that my gps showed that the course was a bit short. Having passed the finish line I quickly grabbed some ice cold water that was nearby since it was really starting to warm up. I started making my way back toward the library parking lot and realized that in order to get there I had to cross the course, all the finishers would have to. This was not a huge deal in a small local event but should be avoided if possible, maybe next year. Post race goodies included fruit, water and breakfast bars. Race awards began at about 10am and I was glad it wasn't any later in the day because it was hot, hot, hot! Although there is still room for improvement, I look forward to participating in the race again next year.

5k Results
10k Results