Wente Hook & Ladder 5k & 10k run

A great, fun day for the whole family!
Came from Phoenix and ran with nieces and nephews. It was one of the best organized short races I have attended, the goodies in the humongous event tent were constantly replenished, opulent portable rest rooms, easy parking, plenty of volunteers, plenty of water just everything was well done.
It was one of my nieces first races and the 5k course was perfect for her skill level, mostly flat, well marked, hydration station just a little over halfway. A couple things about the start though (my only negative thought)…
1. It was crowded and a rough surface, large gravel and rock very tight maneuvering. They had mentioned pace corrals but I did not see the signs and of course run/​walkers were in front of runners.
2. Need better control of the strollers and move them to the back. Unbelievably a mother had her 7 year old on his bike in the middle of the crowd. Dangerous for the kid and the runners around him.
The kids Mile Run was awesome and started with a helicopter flyover and ended with great swag bags and ice cream. It was across a field so our socks did collect some burrs but at the turnaround was a beautiful Brush Truck with it’s lights rotating so the kids knew exactly where to run and we got a great group picture. The photographers did a great job of isolating the kids as much as possible as they ran resulting in some very nice action photos of the kids enjoying themselves.
The event pictures were free! More races should do this or charge a more reasonable fee, especially for a family friendly event like this.
The firefighters were all very personable and had great senses of humor.
I think this may make for a great annual family reunion venue!
Thanks Pleasanton/​Livermore Firefighters for all you do and for sharing this important event with all of us!

***4.5 stars***
i don’t normally trek all the way out to east bay to run races, especially an event that is 40+ miles away from home, but since i was going with a group of friends and we planned to make it an all day event in livermore’s wine country, with running, brunching, and wine tasting, i said «why the heck not?»
also, the proceeds from this event benefit the livermore-​pleasanton firefighters foundation, which supports injured and fallen firefighters, burn foundation and local charities in the tri valley area. definitely a worthy case to run/​walk for!
for this particular event, there was a choice of 2 distances:
1. 10k (6.2 miles)
2. 5k (3.1 miles)
i originally planned to run the 10k, but later downgraded to the 5k b/​c i didn’t want to tire myself out for the rest of the day’s festivities. note that i was able to change distances simply by calling the phone number for on your mark events, the official race organizer, and telling someone what change i wished to make. easy peasy!
the pros:
–VERY REASONABLE race fees, $ 30 for the 5k and $ 35 for the 10k if you register during the early bird period
–takes place at WENTE VINEYARDS in livermore, a beautiful vineyard with lots of scenery, definitely a unique venue for a race
–CLEAR MILE MARKERS for each race distance, in different colours so that participants could differentiate the 5k vs 10k
–ACCURATELY MEASURED DISTANCE, as my garmin read 3.12 miles upon crossing the finish line which is pretty much spot on with the official 5k race distance of 3.1 miles. my friends who ran the 10k informed me that they calculated exactly 6.2 miles, which again, is spot on with the official race distance.
–FORGIVING TERRAIN as most of the course took place on crushed dirt, gravel, or grass, which is easier on the joints!
–FRIENDLY VOLUNTEERS directing runners in the parking area, manning aid stations along the course, and keeping the refreshments’ tables well stocked after the race. i especially appreciated that every volunteer i asked a question to knew the answer, so they prepped well for race day!
–FREE and EASY PARKING just inside the main gates of the vineyard and along the street
–SWANKY, CLEAN PORTA-​POTTIES near the parking and start/​finish areas. OMG, i’ve never experienced such nice porta-​toilets before! these individual stalls had very secure locks on the doors, FLUSHABLE toilets, liquid soap, clean running water, and paper towels. i was very impressed by the quality of these portable restrooms supplied for us runners!
–COMPLIMENTARY BAG CHECK at the finish area tent (a couple minutes away from the parking and start/​finish line) with volunteers to guard your bags until after the race
what you get:
*choice of PACKET PICKUP @ fleet feet sports in pleasanton the two days prior to the race or on site pick up the morning of. since my friends and i live in south bay, all of us arrived early for on site pickup and experienced no wait.
*white, cotton, FINISHER’S SHIRT with a colourful hook & ladder race logo
*GOODIE BAG filled with race schwag, a chap stick, pin, id holder, pen, key ring, discounts to local retailers. the actual bag was a reusable safeway organics bag which was very pretty.
*several AID STATIONS with volunteers handing out cups of water
*TONS of POST-​RACE FOOD & DRINKS, including chocolate chip and oatmeal raisin cookies, mini clif bars, bags of salted pretzels, assorted muffins, jelly beans, apples, bananas, zico coconut water, coffee, and water
*COMPLIMENTARY CHAIR MASSAGE, compliments of massage envy, underneath the finisher’s tent (in the shade!) although i didn’t have time to take advantage of this, it was definitely a nice perk!
bonuses for top finishers:
*a white, dri-​fit shirt for the first 20 men and 20 women to cross the finish line in each distance (this is based on order of finish, not chip time)
*customized finishers’ medals for the top 3 men and top 3 women in each age group
*a bottle of wine for the winner in each male/​female age group
the cons:
–it was a HOT day in the tri-​valley wine country, already well over 60 when the gun went off and nearly 70 when most of us finished, without a cloud in the sky or even a gentle breeze to keep us cool
–the 5k course had quite a few sharp turns, with some portions on tall, thick grass, which made it difficult to accelerate
–this course was also not very scenic. although we ran through sycamore park, we didn’t actually see much other than trees and grass.
although i was dying from the heat, i still managed to finish with a pretty good 5k time, my second best ever, placing 7^th overall female, and earning the bonus dri-​fit shirt, and second in my age group, earning a customized event medal. i was definitely a happy camper heading home!
thank you, to on your mark events, for putting on this terrific event!

I was quite pleased when i crossed the finish line to this 10k! it was a warm Sunday in Livermore already for 8am when the race was to begin… so when the race didn’t start on time, i was a bit concerned!
driving here sucked… it’s a one lane road that backed up well before Wente, so I was relieved to have given myself ample time to get there (i knew this would happen!!) so if you do this run, make sure to give yourself lots of time to get parked and race ready. luckily i picked up my packet the friday before the race at Fleet Feet in Downtown PTon, so that helped.
i can’t speak to the 5k route, but the 10k was a bit of a beast. they described the course as being mostly flat with one steep hill. cha, it was more like 3 hills. thankfully, a large portion of the race is shaded which made it tolerable. i wish there had been one more refueling station along the route… being so warm, i needed water bad!
i felt like the race day itself could’ve been more organized instead of aimlessly wandering on my own trying to figure it out (where to line up, etc.) also, as i was jogging right in the beginning, all of a sudden a sign comes out of nowhere showing to go left for 5k, right for 10k. So i break right really quick and find some kid realizing the same thing for the 5k… he almost barrelled me over but with my cat like speed and reflexes, i stiff armed the kid in the chest to keep him from running into me and catastrophe was avoided. however, i felt EXTREMELY bad for the chest hit… and felt it could’ve EASILY been avoided had they organized the start better (like maybe starting the 5k first !?) or just having more signs re: 5/​10k routes. oh well.
might run it again!

Summary
Great race, lots of fun, lots of booths to look at, free samples, and free race day photos
Description
This is an exciting and fun run. Lots of things to check out, such as fire trucks, ambulances, fly overs from helicopters, it’s just plain awesome. Oh ya, and the run goes through a beautiful park area and you are surrounded by beautiful wine vineyards all around. Lots of free samples to pick up from the venders too.

I enjoyed this local race. We did the 10k and it was my first and only trail run. The course is not through the wineries as I initially expected, but through the trails near Wente Vineyards. Though the website says the course is fairly flat, there are a couple of steep hills, so steep you have to walk. And judging by the top finisher’s times, it is not the easiest course. I remember wanting to quit after mile 3 and asking myself why was I doing this.
This race benefits the firefighters of Livermore, and there were plenty of firefighter volunteers and racers. Now there’s a perk for you single running ladies, come out and take pleasure in some eye candy! It’s a fairly small race, probably just a few hundred. The aid stations, and post race food were good. Also, each racer is given a raffle ticket at the finish line so your chance of winning something is pretty good. My brother in law ended up winning a free round of golf for two at Wente golf course. This race isn’t chipped timed which I didn’t like but a well organized event and I would do again in the future.