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displays approximate race location · CA 91301

My Best Runs Comments

• Chip timed event. Time limit is 2:40, a 16:00 mile pace.
• USAT&F certified course (OR12007LB) is flat, fast, out and back with one hill.
• Course monitoring, support services and finish timing will stop at 11:00 am.
• Event open only to registered participants wearing a bib due to permits and insurance restrictions.
• Due to permits and traffic control, any runner or walker starting early will be disqualified and not receive a time.
• Wheelchairs and baby strollers are allowed in all events. However, animals, skateboards, bikes, skates, or other wheeled devices are not permitted.
• Awards: First male and first female receive a $250 gift certificate each. No awards for walkers.
• Restrooms are available at the YMCA, near the start/finish line, in the lower floor of the Justice building and at intervals along the course.
• Water stations are available every 2.5 miles or less.
• If you experience difficulties of any kind, please stop and go to one of the aide stations or patrol units and indicate you need assistance.

Handcrank/Trackchair/Wheelchair Division

• A special handcrank/trackchair/wheelchair division is offered.
• Special parking is provided for these athletes so contact the race directorfor details.

Chip Timed Event

• Your timing chip is affixed to the back of your race number bib. All you need to do is wear your bib on the front of your shirt. This is also important for identification purposes during the race.
• Participants must wear the race number assigned to them, run in the event signed-up for, and start at the designated time in order to receive a finish time.
• Do NOT crumple or fold your bib as this will damage the antenna resulting in no time.
• Do NOT remove the timing chip from your bib.
• You can keep or throw away your bib and chip. If you choose to recycle your chip you MUST leave it affixed to the bib thereby recycling the bib as well.
• All timing systems will be reset one minute prior to the start. Remain behind the carpets until the start so your chip does not trigger an early starting time. Your time starts when your chip crosses both carpets so no reason to crowd. The first person to cross the line is the winner in case of ties. Faster runners line-up first.

Part of a weekend-long outdoor event for Fresno called the California Classic Weekend, the California Classic Half Marathon and two-person relay is set for its 8th annual running this year, along a course that takes runners through the city’s zoo and its dining- and entertainment-themed Tower District.

The event features a half marathon for both individual runners as well as two-person relay teams, and follows an out-and-back course that will start and finish at Fresno’s Chukchansi Park, the home of minor league baseball’s Fresno Grizzlies, the AAA-level affiliate of the San Francisco Giants major league baseball team.

Once runners leave the starting line in the park, the race course then heads out into downtown Fresno, taking runners past a number of local landmarks like the Fresno City Hall, the recently renovated federal courthouse and the historic Old Fresno Water Tower, whose history dates all the way back to 1894 and which provided water for the city until the early 1960s — and today serves as a tourist visitor center for the city.

After the run through the city’s downtown, the race then heads inside the grounds of the Fresno Chaffee Zoo, which is home to more than 120 animal species — including 18 species listed on the Species Survival Plan, which works to help breed many of the planet’s rarest animals.

Runners will get the chance to run through the zoo’s park roads and past a number of animal exhibits before heading back out into the city.

Next the race takes runners past the city’s Tower District, where many of its popular clubs and restaurants are located, and then heads back over to Chukchansi Park for the race finish inside the baseball stadium — and where runners will be able to see themselves on the huge diamond vision screen as they cross the finish line.

Scheduled starting time for the half marathon and relay is 7:00 AM, and the course time limit for the half is 4 hours.

The course is an out-and-back circumnavigation of the Warm Springs Arm of Lake Sonoma. It is 86% single-track trail and 9% dirt fire roads, with the first 2.4 miles on pavement. The trail is relentlessly rolling with three significant climbs.

There is about 10,500 feet of elevation gain and an equal amount of loss over the 50 miles. Trail quality is generally good;there are very few rocks and almost no roots. However, much of the trail is seldom used and so you can expect a lot of leaves and sticks on the trail.

There are twelve creek crossings and it is likely that your feet will get wet in most – if not all – of them.