Keep All Your Racing Stats In One Place With Athlinks

Disclaimer: I reviewed Athlinks as part of being a BibRave Pro. Learn more about becoming a BibRave Pro (ambassador), and check out BibRave.com to review find and write race reviews!”

After one of my races last year, I got an email asking me to claim my race results. I thought, what’s this? So, I clicked on it and it took me to the Athlinks website. Once there I created an account and to my surprise, Athlinks already had the results of several of my previous races. I did some weeding through the results as not all the results listed were mine. From what I can tell, when you run a chipped race the results automatically show up in Athlinks within a couple of days. Races that are not chipped will require you to upload your results manually.

Why would you want to use Athlinks?

Well, I like that Athlinks keeps track of my personal record (PR) for each distance. I do a lot of races and I often forget what time I’m trying to beat. Athlinks keeps all this information together for me in one spot.
It also shows me the upcoming races of my friends. It’s a reminder to cheer them on and encourage them to do their best.
It’s free!
If you’re really competitive, you can see who else is running the same race. If it’s a friend of yours, they will show up as a rival. Athlinks will keep track of your time and your friend’s time and keep a win or lose point system. You can see that RunStrongRun, a fellow BibRavePro ran the Hot Chocolate 15K with me in San Francisco and I have 1 loss to her. By clicking on the arrow on the bottom right, I am able to see the next screen which contains the exact time difference.I’ll undoubtedly have other races this year with RunStrongRun and I always reference back to our wins and losses by logging into Athlinks. She’s a better runner than I am, so it will probably mean more losses for me, but that’s okay.

Race Review: Sedona Marathon

“Disclaimer: I received free entry to the Sedona Marathon race as part of being a BibRave Pro. Learn more about becoming a BibRave Pro (ambassador), and check out BibRave.com to review find and write race reviews!”

Expo
The expo was in a big open location under a tent. I appreciated that it was open until 8 pm on Friday before the race, however, it would have been nice to know ahead of time that you can pick-up your bib on race day. I flew in on Friday and almost didn’t make it to the pick-up. A stressful experience that could have been easily avoided.

There were a handful of vendors selling everything from Sedona socks and t-shirts to runner specific gear like recovery sandals and hydration packs.

Swag
Swag included a t-shirt, bib, and finishers medal. I learned that the medal we received is actually part of a 4 piece set. So, I will definitely need to come next year to claim the next piece of the puzzle.
Course

The 10K course was not too hard. There were some hills, but they were doable. I just made a point to go faster downhill and take my time going uphill. The course was on a paved road the entire time.

Sedona is at a high elevation, so the air is thin with no humidity. I actually got very dehydrated after the race. I know now to drink more water. The scenery is the best part, it’s breathtaking! I kept looking around as I ran and being amazed.

Aid Stations
I felt like there were plenty of aid stations throughout the course with both electrolytes and regular water. There were also many volunteers along the race cheering runners on with both handmade signs and cowbells.

There were a lot of portapotties. No long lines waiting to use the restroom, like in other races!

Atmosphere
Everyone was so nice! It was a friendly environment. Many tourists came in that weekend just for the race. The locals were very kind and welcoming.

Friends

I met up with two other fellow BibRave Pros, @rundeweyrun and @azsungoddess. Dewey did the full marathon, Emily did the half, and I did the 10K. BibRave was well represented that day. It’s always nice to meet and connect with Pros in-person.

Post-race
There was a beer garden available. I’m not a beer drinker, but there were many people enjoying having a cold beer after the race. There were vendor food trucks available, for those that had worked up an appetite. Some food options that I saw available were pizza, loaded fries, and pork sandwiches.

After the race was done there was plenty to do, since Sedona has been rated as one of the top 10 most beautiful locations in the U.S. There’s a lot of opportunities for sightseeing before or after the race and even if you don’t have the time for that, you will love just looking around at the beautiful red rocks that surround the town.

Run-cation

I made this race a weekend trip. I flew with Jim and Chiquita, our 4-year-old chihuahua to Phoenix. We then rented a car and drove to Sedona. We stayed at the Sedona Rouge, which is a pet-friendly hotel. There was a potty area for her right outside our room, which was very convenient. Chiquita stayed in the room during the race but was otherwise with us. The stores and some restaurants in town were pet-friendly, so it made it easy for all of us to walk around town.

Chiquita has her own Instagram account. Click here to take a look.

Be A Safe Runner With Brilliant Reflective, Plus Giveaway!

Disclaimer: I received Brilliant Reflective as part of being a BibRave Pro. Learn more about becoming a BibRave Pro (ambassador), and check out BibRave.com to review find and write race reviews!

BibRave is celebrating Safety Month and our friends at Brilliant Reflective have authorized me to give 1 lucky winner a pack of both their iron-on and stick-on strips. Open to U.S. residents only.

Some of the best safety tips will be shared on social, so stay tuned!

Code ” BRP25″ saves 25% off of all Multi/Assortment Packs.

How to Apply Brilliant Reflective Strips

Brilliant Reflective Giveaway

Product Review: Brilliant Reflective

Disclaimer: I received Brilliant Reflective to review as part of being a BibRave Pro. All opinions are my own. Learn more about becoming a BibRave Pro (ambassador), and check out BibRave.com to review find and write race reviews!”

Let’s start with what it is. Brilliant Reflective is an adhesive and reflective product that comes in both iron-on or stick. It is used to make surfaces more visible and reflective. Brilliant Reflective comes in a variety of colors so you can match the surface that you are attaching it to or contrast with it to make it more interesting.

I received two packs of both the iron-on and the stick-on options. The iron-on is used for surfaces like t-shirts, jackets, etc. Anything you could apply an iron-on to without having it melt. ha! The stick-on also has a strong adhesive, but it is meant for more things like helmets, bikes, water bottles, etc.

This product makes it easier to customize your equipment. You don’t have to depend on the one or two reflective strips on an expensive running jacket, you can attach as many strips as you feel are necessary.

Each packet opens outward, as pictured below.

The instructions are printed on the cardboard packaging. The strips come in various widths and lengths, and you can also cut them with scissors to the size and shape of your preference.

I used the iron-on strips on my running hoodie and the stick-on on my sneakers, dog hoodie, and harness. The strips on the sides of my sneakers did peel off, but the strips on the back of my sneakers did stay on. Truthfully, it was probably a difficult surface to stick something to. All the other strips that I applied have so far stayed on.

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Carb DM 5K Review

Expo:
This was a small race of about 130 people, so there was no expo. It was clear that the intention of the race was to come out and enjoy time with loved ones, support the cause and exercise.

Swag:
The swag was a t-shirt and a bib. No medals were handed out. There was no goodie bag or samples. Typically, fun runs are like this, so it wasn’t a surprise.

Course:
The course was a 5K in Coyote Point Recreation Center in San Mateo. It was mainly a flat rate, but it has a hill that put you right above the ocean. The views were ever changing as you passed one mile to the next. It passed by a marina where you could see sailboats to your right, so it wasn’t your average park run.

Aid Stations:
This race promotes diabetes awareness, so it wasn’t surprising to find two aid stations named “low stations” with both insulin and juice bags. There was one water station on the course about half-way through. However, there were plenty of snacks before and after the race.

Atmosphere:
Many people were there as a family or with other runners. It was a friendly environment where people were out to have fun and get exercise.

First Congregational Church of Palo Alto Christmas Pageant 2017

Post-race:
Once I passed the finish line, a person ripped off the bottom half of our bib, since it was our first time doing this race, we didn’t know what was that for. There were no chips on the bib. The time was manually kept for the top runners and posted on a board by the finish line. I didn’t stay for long after finishing the race. Based on the photos of the event, it seems like there were prizes raffled out. I thought prizes at the end meant that they were going to hand out medals to the top finishers. Had I known that it was raffle prizes, I might have stayed longer.

There were many tables set-up, but as in many races, the volunteers didn’t know what they were supposed to be doing. A recommendation for next year would be to have someone oversee the volunteers to ensure a smoother process.

There was plenty of parking spaces. You did have to pay $6 to park, but it was announced via email ahead of time and the organizers encouraged people to carpool to save on the parking fee.

I would be happy to do it again next year.

No More Pins With BibBoards

Disclaimer: I received BibBoards to review as part of being a BibRave Pro. Learn more about becoming a BibRave Pro (ambassador), and check out BibRave.com to review find and write race reviews! All opinions are my own.

If you’re a runner, you’re very familiar with using safety pins to attach your bib to your shirt for a race. You also probably know that using pins means getting poked and puncturing multiple holes in your race shirt. I’ve tried other alternatives to pins, like magnets, and they just were too heavy and were a pain to put on correctly and to take off.

BibBoards makes it so much easier. They are made of plastic. I originally thought that it was too light to do much, but I was wrong. I recently tested them out on a 5K race with my husband. We were both wearing BibBoards. His had a 13.1 on it because we’re doing the runDisney Dark Side Half Marathon in April and mine say I love to Run. They have other designs to choose from and you can even customize your own design. So, if you have a run group or something similar and want to have your own custom BibBoards made, you can! I’ve been authorized to share with you promo code “#BibChat” for 20% off.

Check out my YouTube video below were Jim explains some tips on wearing BibBoards and what we learned from trying them out.

Bay Area Running Streakers

During my New Year’s Eve race in Fremont, I noticed that one of the racers had the word “streaker” printed on her bib. I asked her about it and then spent the next 20 minutes talking about it.

Brazen Racing has something that I think is unique. Runners that completes all the Brazen Racing races for the calendar year is named a streaker. This person gets a special number, a special t-shirt with the number, a framed case for all the medals won in the year and a special ceremony. The number the streaker is assigned is not given out again to another runner. Even if the runner only “streaks” for one year, they get to keep their number forever.

What’s the challenge?

Well, Brazen Racing has 27 races scheduled for 2018. That’s a little over 2 races a month. In order to streak, you have to participate in all 27 races. This would be a show stopper for me. I travel a lot and I also participate in other races like Hot Chocolate, Rock N Roll, and runDisney, to name a few. Running just Brazen races would severely limit my racing calendar to just local races, which is fine for some people, but not for me.
You can choose what distance you want to do. If you’re not ready for half or full marathons, that’s fine, just do the distance that meets your strengths and goals.
All races are trail races and the elevation gain is significant in some of the races. If you’re not willing to do hilly runs, you’ll have a hard time getting to streak.

So, what do you think? Are you a streaker in the making?