Wildcat 10K Recap

One of my favorite races in the Bay Area is the Wildcat Half-marathon, 10k, and 5K that is organized by Brazen Racing.  As with everything Brazen does, it is a first class event.  Last year, I ran my first trail 10k on this course.  It is beautiful with rolling hills and breathtaking views of the Bay Area, from the Golden Gate, to Napa, and across to the foreboding Mt. Diablo.  It boasts a little over 2K feet of elevation gain including two nice climbs.

Brazen Racing Photographer

This was a pretty neat race to run this year.  My 10 year old daughter would be running this with me while my wife would be running the 5K with my 5 year old son and 8 year old daughter.

Photo: Brazen Racing Photographer

At the start of the race you are faced with the first climb, followed by a long down hill where we found the first aid station.  This is where the 5K turns ground and goes back up.  After the drop back down into the valley, there is a long stretch of rolling gentle hills. Before the next, and greatest climb we found the second rest area.  I made Emma stock up on gummy bears, soda, and water (all the good things in life).  We began the climb and she was such a trooper.  Towards the top we were passed by one of the elite half marathon runners who gave Emma a good pep talk before continuing on.  I really appreciated that as well as her. Once at the top, there were again a series of rolling hills, and then the final drop into the finish line.

Photo: Brazen Racing Photographer

As we were descending we caught up with Beth and Myles.  She had a "wonderful" time with our five year old; who says he wants to "run" the race but hasn't figured out that it requires actual running.  When we got back to the finish line, Sophie, our 8 year old was waiting for us.  She had completed the course by herself with a respectable 1:01:00.

Photo: Brazen Racing Photographer

What made this race so special is that my daughter Emma ran it with me. As you may have seen in past posts, I typically run all my races with my wife, and these are definitely our time to really take on and overcome a challenge together.  It has really drawn us closer.  However, it was fun, in this brief  moment, when I can keep up with her, that we were able to do this race together.

I am proud of my family for taking on this race.  I look forward to doing it again!!!