My vote is for the Angels 5K, Anaheim, CA, which I ran on April 22.

* Race course loops around Angel Stadium, with part of the route inside the stadium. Since I'm a diehard baseball fan (as you can probably guess from the avatar, lol) that was a dream course. Also a high percentage of the racers were baseball fans, so good company.

* Course was flat and fast, with only a few turns and no hairpins. Per Garmin, total elevation gain/loss was under 20 ft.

* High quality tech T-shirt. Many other races in the LA area still provide cotton because it's cheaper. For those of us who like to train and race in race shirts, getting tech is a nice touch.

* A real awards ceremony for age group medals - we actually got called up to the stage at the expo. Many other races just hand them out at a table. Not this one. And the medals were large and attractively designed.

* Angel Stadium does a pre-game expo which is normally open only to ticket holders for that day's game. However, our race bibs got us into the expo for free. Nice.

* And finally...race registration included a ticket to a future Angels game. We had a choice of several. I picked a June game vs. the Giants, who eventually won the World Series.

Needless to say, I will definitely be looking for this race next year.

Carol

I have two this year, 1st every year is the MCM I just love everything about the race it's all ways very close to my birthday (1 Nov) so it reminds me how lucky I am!  Both my wife and daughter go also and run the 10K, it just a great weekend!  #2 was the Outer Banks Half I ran it with my wife so she could run a PR it was a easy run for me but just a great time running with her and two other friends!

2 cents and worth about that.

Back in the 90's before I stopped running did the SF Giants "Run to Home Plate" at Candlestick.  It was a 5K and since I love baseball the game after was fun too.

That has morphed into the "Giants Race" a 1/2 marathon, 10K and 5K.  Haven't done the one at AT&T, but have taken my boys to run the bases at AT&T and done tours of the park - I'm not biased or anything, but running in SF down around the water front is always fun.  I see that Boston has a "Run to Home Plate" run, so depending on how far you want to go, check your local team's events to see if they have a run as well.  Giants have been doing a run for around 20 years now and might be one of the older ones.

I always enjoyed the SF Marathon - nothing quite like running over the Golden Gate Bridge.  They have a couple of 1/2 marathons with it, but the first 1/2 is the one you want and the one that sells out the quickest (takes you over the bridge starting from the water front near the ferry building).  They have more bands and music these days and my wife and son love it.  The course is hilly so don't expect a PR.  My wife signed me up for the full this year...

For me personally this year, I'd say the "Other Half" was fun and also over the GG Bridge.  Course is fairly hilly, but gorgeous.  Most of the race is through the Marina district and Presidio.  It was fun, but my very first 1/2 and I wasn't prepared.

Favorite race for the year was Dolphin South End club's 1/2 marathon around Lake Merced.  For SF a relatively flat course.  No frills, but cost was $10 with late day registration.  No chip timing and small group but fast.  Weather was awsome for late summer ~50F at start of race, ~53F at finish.  Of, course that's hard to predict, but in the summer SF is almost always cooler then the rest of California.  Lots of food at end of race and volunteers were mostly club members and very friendly.  We talked to a gentelman and his wife probably in their 70s who run the Humboldt marathon every year. 

I love running in SF, so you can take all of this with a grain of salt.  I spend a lot of time in the south bay and a lot of the races I did this year were near SF Bay.  It's a big bay with lots of races near by.

Ray

Great thread Mkay!

I would have to pick two races from last year.  First was the 2012 Crazylegs Classic in Madison, WI.  It's an 8k put on by UW Athletics.  If memory serves, there were 12,000 runners and walkers last year.  It starts at the state capitol with Badger players and coaches at the start and ends inside Camp Randall at the 50 yard line with live music.  The weather didn't really cooporate but running into Camp Randall was excellent.

Second would be the Wrut-N-Run at a local ski hill, it's the most physical run I do.  This year was three laps up and down the hill.  It was the second consecutive year that I ran it.  My goal was to beat the previous years time; I smashed that time and ended up finishing first for my age group.  Even surprised myself.

Cheers.

I've been thinking about this since you posted the question.  The Marine Corps Marathon is my sentimental favorite and I've been running it for 20 years, with one miss and a dnf due to injury. 

This year, though, I think my favorite was the Back on My Feet Midnight Madness.  It's an 8.46 mile loop of the two river drives in Philly, which starts at midnight in the middle of July.  The weather always sucks (warm and humid), it's dark (headlights strongly recommended), but everybody is lit up and in a festive mood.  It's great to be able to run through downtown Philly in the middle of the night without worry.  There's a 24-hour ultra that runs at the same time in the opposite direction, so we cheer for them along the way.  Back on My Feet is a great charitable organization (started in Philly) and is well worth running to support..  http://www.backonmyfeet.org/

Honorable mention goes to the Caesar Rodney Half Marathon in Wilmington Delaware.  Wilmington turns out to be a surprisingly hilly town and this race has challenged me for quite a few years.

Len

mkayc - The races are a little pricy, but in my opinion, they are worth it! Especially if someone has never ran a Disney World Race! Now I have only run the half, but a friend of mine has run both the half and full (at different dates) and she feels the half is one of mer favorite race she's ever done!