Bubba Gump Shrimp Co’s Run Forrest Run 5K Fun Run

2007: first time, all enthusiastic, 30 min run, not as annoyed by all the cheering byestanders, hella t-​shirts and free crap since it was all left over from previous years, killer bubba gump meal afterwards, enjoyed the free rides that day + made the money back from selling all the xtra Bonfonte tix i got.
2008: second time, 1.5 hours of sleep (I won’t say why), almost threw up on the fellow runners and passed out near the end, wanted to punch the cheery highschoolers who did not know that I am not a morning person, yellow shirt (wtf), no extra free crap since all the highschoolers took it :\, too– f-​ng tired to go on the rides, and didn’t sell my xtra tix. ok, so not the best experience this year, but it was not the race’s fault. The food was still decent and they hydrate you well afterwards. Good turnout = 586 ppl ran in total.
But I finished dammit and ran the whole thing! I even did better than i xpected and had a time better than 56% of the ppl who ran. I’d do it again, cuz that’s how i do.

This was my first official walk/​run of any kind ever, so wasn’t sure what to expect!
Donna Y. encouraged me to go since Julie T. signed up too. I was like alright, what the heck, how bad could it be? Aside from waking up early on Sunday morning, it actually wasn’t all that bad. I was surprised we finished our walk in about one hour or so. Read Walter’s review for the highlights.
As part of the event, we get free admission to Great America, which my SO and I took advantage of. They also gave complimentary tickets to Gilroy’s Bonfante Gardens, so I’ll try to make a visit out there.
The Bubba Gump sponsored food after is definitely nothing to Unilocal about. All in all, I had a good time excercising in the most unique way for a good cause.
Thanks Walter for organizing the Unilocal team here! Hey, I may actually sign up for it again next year.

This was my first 5K EVER! And, yes, I walked it. But, I would consider this a personal best, time-​wise.
Thank you Walter for putting this together for Team Unilocal and thank you Cobber for keeping me company on the walk, it would have been seriously boring without you.
I can’t comment on the food, since it didn’t appeal to me, I was more interested in dim sum at Fu Lam Mum, but everyone else seemed to enjoy it.
The teenagers brought in to cheer us on were in turns funny, cute, obnoxious and bored. I swear Cobber wanted to steal one of their cowbells, lol.
I’m now looking forward to the Komen Race for the Cure next weekend, with Team Unilocal

Sunday at 7:30am. Great America… Got to pick up my race packet, which consisted of my racing bib, t-​shirt, a ticket to Great America for that day, 2 tickets to Bonfonte Gardens good until November, and a yellow pages notepad.
I also hit up the mix 106.5 booth where I took a couple nail files and some sunblock =) spun the wheel and won a whole lot of nothing hehe… also entered to win some Maroon 5 tickets…
I walked, took in the sights, and refrained from throwing my water bottle at the teenagers with cow bells on the sidelines. We walked once through the park, then around the parking lot, and then back through the park. These teenagers were about every ten feet in the parking lot, loud and obnoxious… and kept telling us to RUN! and DON’T GIVE UP! honey, we’re in the walking line AND I’m not planning to or resembling someone who’s gonna give up! Geez! and enough with the cowbell…
Aside from that everything was gravy! At the end of the race they had a live band playing and the food set up cafeteria style. They ran out of hotdogs but they still had chicken caesar salad, rolls, shrimp pasta, and bbq beef. Not exactly my idea of a good time around 9am but whatever… they also had soda, dasani water, and joint juice waiting for us.
Don’t forget Forrest Gump, Spongebob, and Diego who were meandering too! and I gave my tickets up for Great America. I needed a lil nappy poo hehe.

I have decided to write this review on an amazing woman I briefly met at this 5K event.
After the entire Team Unilocal completed the race, I amazed by the major accomplishment of this woman as she crossed the finish line.
She’s 55 years old.
She’s already a grandmother.
She completed the 1K race with one leg and two crutches.
She was supported by her family and friends.
She did it.
She was joyful.
She inspired.
I had to meet this woman and her family. I was reminded that no matter what life gives you; you can still make a difference. Kudos to her!
Event Notes:
— The 5K course: Run the entire park, head to the large parking lot, and then run the entire park again to complete 5K.
— No water on the course. I was annoyed by this because there were more than a hundred teenage volunteers that could have provided water to all the runners.
— No timing chip. No clock timers. No starting line banner. No finishing line banner. Since this is a United Way charity event, I will not take away any stars.
— This is perfect for «first time» runners. There are no elite runners here. This would have been perfect for all «I really want to lose weight and get into shape «peers.
— Blue ribbons for all the finishers. This is cool. Sense of accomplishment and inspiration for a medal someday.
— Race bibs and race packets are picked up at the event. They do not mail out packets.
— Bonus: Free parking for all participants. After the race, you get a free ticket to Great America (good for that day) and two free tickets to another amusement park in Gilroy.
— Definitely great for kids!
— After the race events: Cafeteria food, bottles waters, apples, and about ten bananas… WTF!!!
— Race Results:
Team Unilocal:
Cobber, Omar, Dave, Caroline, John, Julie, Crystal, Michael, Krissy, and Forrest Gump!