The Coaster Run 5K 2015 - Race Recap

I'm back from another extremely short trip to California! About 9 months ago, my siblings and I, along with our spouses, signed up for The Coaster Run 10K. We thought it would be a fun race since the course goes through Knott's Berry Farm in Buena Park, and Knott's Berry Farm is the home of Snoopy and the Peanuts Gang, whom we love!

At the last minute, we all decided to downgrade to the 5K due to some in our group being sick and for other assorted reasons. I am glad that we did, especially since we did not factor in daylight savings time when we signed up for the race.

This was actually only my fourth 5K since I am not a big fan of paying for 5Ks that don't have something special to offer, like medals or donuts. :)



The race had a reasonable start time of 7 AM, and since we were staying within walking distance of the start line, we did not have to make our way over until 6:30 AM. Sweet!

We were assigned to the fourth corral and there were only 3 minutes between each corral. We crossed the start line at around 7:15.

We all decided to make costumes for this race.  I dressed up as Woodstock and Raisin Bread was Charlie Brown.

My siblings and their spouses also dressed up. 

Bro-in-law as Olaf (Snoopy's brother), Sister as Belle (Snoopy's sister), sis-in-law as Hobbes, Brother as Calvin

The first portion of the course led us towards the entrance to Knott's. As we entered the park and ran through Camp Snoopy, we passed by many familiar rides. As a Southern California kid and teenager, Knott's was a place that we visited numerous times. 

We ran past Montezuma's Revenge, Supreme Scream and the Log Ride. I managed to get a shot of Boomerang while still in motion. 

There was only one character stop on the 5K course, so I stopped to say hi to Lucy and Charlie Brown!

We finished out our run through the park in the Old West area before we exited the park for our last mile.

Mile 1: 11:51

Mile 2: 12:14

Mile 3: 11:20

We made our way through the finish line area, where we were treated to a slice of boysenberry pie! Knott's Berry Farm was the first place to cultivate the boysenberry in Southern California, and it is known for its boysenberry preserves, pies and shortbread cookies, among other things!

We grabbed some post-race photos with our adorable Snoopy medals on.

Overall, the race was a lot of fun! I loved that the majority of the course was through the park and the nice touches such as the medals and pie.

My biggest disappointment was the crowd support. Since the course was mainly in the park, all of the support came in the form of disinterested high school students, who seemed to be getting their community service hours. Granted, there were a few (and I mean a few) who were in good spirits and at least acted enthusiastic, but the large majority were not happy to be there.

Here is a close-up of the medal. I also love that it says "10th Anniversary" on it!

My official chip time was 35:11. Definitely not a PR!

If you are a Snoopy fan, this is a must-do race and if you happen to live in Southern California or have a reason to be in Southern California, I recommend you run The Coaster Run!