Running Journal - 2025-11-27 (Run to Feed the Hungry 2025)

Run to Feed the Hungry 2025 unofficial Finisher Certificate (accessed 11/28/2025)

Time: 8:15-9:30 a.m. (75 minutes)
Resting heart rate (wake-up): 59 bpm
Weight (running clothes): N/A
Body Mass Index (BMI; note criticisms of BMI): N/A
Resting Metabolic Rate (RMR): N/A
Distance (running): 10.00 km (6.22 mi)
Cumulative distance (2024; ignores XT days): ?
Calories burned: 819 kcal
Average heart rate: 132 bpm
Max heart rate: 154 bpm
Weather at start: Overcast & slightly misty ☁️ 7° C (45° F), Humidity ?% Wind: calm km/h
Terrain: 46 ft elevation gain
Avg Pace: 12'05" /mile
Best pace: 11'43" /mile
Stinkiness air level (0=No smell; 10=☣️): 0/10 (not stinky)
Comments: We ran the Run to Feed the Hungry 2025 10K race this year, in Sacramento, California ✅ Weather was cool and just barely misty. Once running it was OK. This was the 32nd annual race. Organizers held the inaugural race in 1994. 

Pre-race

Race cold-weather gear laid out the day before

Packing checklist: Gloves; Hoodie; Turkey hat; running pants; Socks; Shoes; Shorts; Shirt; Headband; Nipeaze; Body glide; Phone & charging cable; Watch & charging cable; Clif Bars

Room 417 view at noon on a misty Thanksgiving day: hotel parking & wall murals

We overnighted at AC Hotel Sacramento, by Marriott, room 417. The hotel opened in June 2025, and everything looked new. Checked-in via mobile app. Arrived, got key cards from the front desk, no problems, all handled professionally (if a bit cooly). The mobile app also supports phone-based room access. Parking was in an adjacent, underground garage. Turning was very tight and our car cameras helped negotiate without incident. Payment was $25 via QR code and good for in-and-out access for 24 hours. 

Packet pickup at 6:00 p.m. night before the race

This year we picked-up our packets the night before. Construction along Highway 50 still impacted by the Fix50 project. Due to congestion, missed getting into the rightmost lanes, so stuck on the left "express" lanes with a concrete barrier preventing me from exiting as I wished. Succeeded in exiting at the next exit, circled back after a few more turns, and made it to parking, which was plentiful. Pickup went smoothly, we collected our turkey gear: new gloves, a hat, & socks. 

Dinner this year was delivery from Chicago Fire pizza: a small Veggatouille Deep-dish, a personal thin-crust (tavern-style) pizza with kalamata olives & Italian beef, and a small Garlic Cheesy Bread. The deep-dish pizza was OK and the best of the order; the rest was mediocre. I had high hopes for the tavern-style pizza, but the crust tasted too "flour-y" to me. Not bad, but not the tavern-style I had hoped for. We were completely stuffed.

Race Day

Awoke at 6:00 a.m. for the 8:15 a.m. 10K race. Skipped showers. Shared a cup of hotel-room coffee via the in-room coffee maker. It was fine. The hotel claimed to have breakfast, but we didn't see anything other than the restaurant as we stepped off the elevators. Instead we got our car and headed to Temple Coffee, ordered coffees, a vegetable scone, and a pumpkin-chocolate loaf. All was excellent. 

Temple Coffee, Sacramento, Thanksgiving Day 2025, 7:05 a.m.

Weather was cool and slightly misty. We saw our breath at times (mid-40's F), but layered clothing, hat, gloves kept the chill away. The drive to Sac State on U.S. 50 was uncrowded. Parked in surface Lot C at the opposite side of campus with everyone else. The walk to the start was not crowded.

Giant inflatable turkey near the starting line

The giant inflated turkey was in the same spot as 2024. For people who signed-up as a member of a team, a special surface-lot area was reserved and had hot beverages & other perks. A photographer asked Dawn's permission to take her photo, which she granted.

10K runners had the option of timed & untimed bibs. We had chosen timed so had gated access to a spot closer to the starting line. 

Amplifiers played standards like Sweet Caroline by Neil Diamond. A quad-copter drone hovered above us, recording. 

Starting line for 10K runners at 7:51 a.m., outside the timed-bib area

 

The timed area was slow to fill up, which gave us a few minutes to relax. Announcers on an American-flag decorated scissor-lift said a few words, followed by an unnecessarily religious but thankfully short invocation by a priest. We listened to a decent performance of the American anthem, then the countdown began, and we were off.

We crossed the start after about 40 seconds. We had decided to run without walk breaks for the first 1-2 miles, depending on how we felt. This went pretty well. A few days earlier, we had run 8 miles without incident. The 10K race was much less crowded than the 5K start, which was congested with no way to run freely. Spectators turned out and cheered us on. In the Fab 40's, a number of spectators had small gatherings on their lawns next to propane heaters or fire pits. The fall foliage was very colorful. Live bands performed. It was moderately crowded the entire race. 

Mimosa stations--we must have passed at least six tables offering free booze to runners 🍹 😅

Musicians this year covered a variety of songs. One covered The Race is On, another covered a song by The Cure on their ukulele. A handful of the Sacramento Philharmonic brass section appeared early on. An electric guitar & drum kit duo endlessly played several bars of AC/DC's Back in Black.

Pumpkin pie friendship bracelet

Toward the end, Dawn accepted a friendship bracelet spelling the words "Pumpkin Pie" from a woman spectator handing them out.

Refreshment area snacks & water

As we crossed the finish line, we both felt tired but pretty good. We walked to the refreshment area, where they had Krispy Kreme glazed donuts (I had 2), bananas, small oranges, Nature's Valley Crunchy Granola bars, and waters. We took a few photos near the giant inflatable turkey, then headed back across CSUS campus to our car.

 

Any irregular feelings, aches, pains, heart rate, and so forth?: None
Foods eaten today:  

Running Journal - 2024-11-28 (Run to Feed the Hungry 2024)

Run to Feed the Hungry 2024 unofficial Finisher Certificate (accessed 12/01/2024)

Time: 9:00-9:35 a.m. (35 minutes)
Resting heart rate (wake-up): 47 bpm
Weight (running clothes): N/A
Body Mass Index (BMI; note criticisms of BMI): N/A
Resting Metabolic Rate (RMR): N/A
Distance (running): 5.10 km (3.17 mi)
Cumulative distance (2024; ignores XT days): 1,514.52 km (941.08 mi)
Calories burned: 418 kcal
Average heart rate: 134 bpm
Max heart rate: 157 bpm
Weather at start: Sunny ☀️ 8° C (46.4° F), Humidity 76% Wind: 7 km/h
Terrain: 30 ft elevation gain
Avg Pace: 11'13" /mile
Best pace: 11'13" /mile
Stinkiness air level (0=No smell; 10=☣️): 0/10 (not stinky)
Comments: We ran the Run to Feed the Hungry 2024 5K race this year, in Sacramento, California ✅ Weather was cold ❄️ Once running it was OK. This was the 31st annual race. Organizers held the inaugural race in 1994. 

Pre-race

Race cold-weather gear laid out the day before

Packing checklist: Ear buds & charging case; Wallet; Keys; Socks; Shoes; Shorts; Shirt; Headband; Heart rate monitor; Nipeaze; Body glide; Sunblock; Laptop & bag; Phone & charging cable; Watch & charging cable; Clif bars.

Hot tub, stained-glass window, and fireplace - The Inn & Spa at Parkside Happiness Loft

We splurged and stayed two nights at The Inn & Spa at Parkside, Sacramento, in the Happiness Loft: "Inhabiting the third floor attic space of the Historic Fong Mansion, this loft-style room is delightfully spacious and features a king bed, spa bath, and two fireplaces." This was a place we had noticed with interest years ago. Unfortunately, we never had the opportunity (or budget) for it. Our Thanksgiving holiday stay was pleasant and quiet. Due to the holiday, we only interacted with staff via text messaging. We accessed the hotel front door & room via keypad codes. On Wednesday, we arrived from out-of-town well after the front desk closed at 7:00 p.m. Staff had Thursday off per Thanksgiving. On Friday, we left before staff arrived, so we might have an early breakfast with a friend. The building was mostly empty. On Wednesday night, we heard a few people watching TV and talking in their rooms as we passed by in the hallway. On Thursday (Thanksgiving) the hotel seemed quieter; it was unclear if we were completely alone. We initially planned to stay one night, but hotel staff offered us a 2nd night stay at a 25% discount 🙂 The mansion seems clean and in good repair, with lots of wood and carpeted stairs. The bottom floor has a parlor, a small bar, and a small dining area. A keypad-secured wine cabinet allows guests to purchase reds or whites through 8:00 p.m. A nearby Ring camera seems to represent the way the night innkeeper may provide wine cabinet keypad codes after 7:00 p.m., when the office closes. The fall foliage was perfect. 🍁🍂 The Happiness Loft was accessed via a wooden spiral staircase behind a 2nd-floor door. This door has a chain door fastener for added security. It was a tight fit hauling luggage up the spiral stairs. Per the sharply-angled loft ceilings, we adjusted to bending and ducking as we moved. I remember thinking: if I was a kid--i.e., half my height--I would have loved this. The loft had two SimpliFire fireplaces: 1) By the bed; and 2) By the hot tub. A remote control let us choose the fireplace flame color (blue) and ember bed color (purple). The hot tub also had a button to cycle through LED colors. The water was relaxing despite its weak jets, even on high. Its faucet dispensed water quickly, and got scalding hot. The walk-in shower had a square copper rainfall shower head. Above the hot tub was a very large semi-circle stained-glass window in lavender and blue. Lavender bath salts were provided. The room had a pod coffee maker with complimentary coffee, tea, and hot chocolate. It had a microwave, mini fridge, and safe. The bed area has 10 large semi-opaque LED ceiling panels in lieu of windows. A wall-mounted control by the staircase allows for various ceiling panel lighting options. We settled on a softly transitioning color scheme. We did not use the TV.

We purchased Clif Bars from Target on Wednesday night just in case we got hungry on Thanksgiving night and did not have leftovers. While at Target, we also purchased gloves & a thicker outer layer for the cold weather in the morning. For dinner we ordered-in from nearby Petra Greek restaurant.

Race Day

Awoke around 6:30 a.m. for our 9:00 a.m. race. Skipped showers. Wiped off condensation from the car windows. Weather was cold enough to see our breath (high 30's-low 40's F). The drive to Sac State on U.S. 50 was uncrowded. Enjoyed the easy access from the hotel to the nearby on-ramp. At the off-ramp to Sac State we encountered some traffic delays as drivers queued at stop lights. Once they turned green, traffic flowed quickly. We parked in the surface lots, then followed others through campus to the start. It was cold despite our layers. 🥶 The 10K race had started at 8:15 a.m., and we arrived at the starting line slightly after that. 

People pose by the giant inflatable turkey near the starting line

There was a giant inflated turkey, starting corrals, police, and volunteers with large "Ask me" signs. There was a homemade larger-than-life shopping cart with an engine on the bottom shelf. For people who signed-up as a member of a team, a special surface-lot area was reserved and had hot beverages & other perks.

Packet pickup at 8:16 a.m. in local gymnasium (1 block from starting line)

Packet pickup was in a church gymnasium about a block from the start. When we arrived around 8:15 a.m., the line was so short we walked through the lobby doors and into the gym, with only had one or two turns in the roped line. We collected our bibs from a friendly woman with a tablet computer who scanned our QR code and wrote down our details on the timed bibs. We proceeded to pickup our shirts, turkey hat, and turkey tutu add-ons from the other tables. My shirt was XL, so I brought it to the shirt exchange and was successful in getting a large shirt. As we exited, we noticed the line outside had grown enormously, now snaking outside the exterior doors and to the street. 

Pre-race selfie

 

Starting line for timed 5K runners at 8:46 a.m., near the 12-minute/mile sign

We walked to the starting corrals and made our way through the crowd, then past the metal barricade to the 12-minute/mile sign. Volunteers stand at the metal barricades to only allow timed runners through. The timed area was slow to fill up, which gave us a few minutes to relax. A news helicopter circled above. Announcers on an American-flag decorated scissor-lift directed us to wave at the helicopter. Various VIPs briefly talked, interspersed with amplified music. We stood for the American anthem, then the countdown began, and we were off.

It took us about a minute to reach the starting line. I don't have a strong memory of the first mile, but Dawn and I ran around lots of people. There was no way to run freely. However, running was pleasant. Spectators turned out and cheered us on. As we wound our way through the Fabulous 40's, one racer remarked that the rich people had come out to cheer on "the poor's" (i.e., us). A number of spectators had small gatherings on their lawns next to propane heaters or fire pits. Around the halfway point, at a water break, my Garmin watch paused as we stopped. I pressed the right-side button to resume, but I'm not sure what happened, and it stopped, so I pressed it again, and it turned green again. This was a bit odd, but later in Strava I noticed the run was only recorded as distance = 1.85 miles (Garmin was OK)🤔 We resumed and went at a comfortable pace. The fall foliage was very colorful. Live bands performed. It was crowded the entire race. 

As we crossed the finish line, we both felt tired but pretty good. We walked to the refreshment area, where they had Krispy Kreme glazed donuts, bananas, oranges, Nature's Valley Crunchy Granola bars, and waters. We took a few photos near the giant inflatable turkey, then headed back across CSUS campus to our car.

Post-race snacks & swag

2nd-floor nook - The Inn & Spa at Parkside Happiness Loft

Any irregular feelings, aches, pains, heart rate, and so forth?: None
Foods eaten today: Keurig pod coffee maker - Starbucks Pike Place Roast (8 oz), Clif Bar - Chocolate Brownie,