Is the angels 5k an actual 5k? Likely not, and the consensus was it was 3 miles. If you’re a baseball fan, you probably won’t want to miss the exclusive opportunity to run. The race runs around the stadium, inside the stadium, back out, and around the warning lane! Since it goes inside the stadium, you lose GPS, so we don’t know precisely how long it was. Anyway, it was a lot of fun but also very chaotic.
Before the Angels 5k:
I arrived in Anaheim the night before. I relaxed and fell asleep early. It’s been a common theme for me lately, as I’ve found myself exhausted by the end of the work week. The previous week was incredibly exhausting, and I didn’t sleep well the night before. In Anaheim, I picked up my bib, got something to eat, and then fell asleep. I woke up around 5 am the next day. I didn’t realize I had *forgotten* my breakfast, but luckily, there was a Starbucks nearby, and I grabbed a bagel. It was about a 10-minute drive to the Angels stadium, and I arrived by 7 am. I did a 3-mile warmup and headed to the race start.
Angels 5k Race:
I wish I started further up in the Angels 5k. I jumped behind a pack of people, which played a role in the first half to even a full mile. I was weaving around people, and there were a lot of tight turns. I slowed down because there were slower runners in front. With themed raced (like this or Phillies 5k), they draw a lot of people who don’t run much and don’t realize they probably shouldn’t start near the front. I ran a 6:30 first mile, which was surprising considering all of the weaving and tight turns.
The next mile of the Angels 5k went into the stadium, and we lost GPS. I didn’t realize we went up into the stadium, and there was a small “hill” as we climbed the ramp. I passed two women during that time, and I never looked back. From there, we ran inside. I hugged the inside to run as close to the tangent as possible. Per my watch, I hit mile 2 of the Angels 5k at around 13:10. My eye said I hit mile 2 a minute later.
The last mile of the Angels 5k went back into the parking lot and into the field. It was fantastic to run around the warning track (as opposed to Phillies 5k). I sprinted as I saw the clock well under 20 because I thought maybe this was the time I was under 20 minutes. Once I finished, I realized the course was short by about one-tenth of a mile. Talking to other runners confirmed that.
Angels 5k Thoughts:
I’m happy with my effort in the Angels 5k, although it’s tough to say how fast I was. I hate not having a “real-time” for the day, but many more 5ks in the summer of fast 5ks. It was fantastic to be third overall. Plus, the Angels 5k is not a fast course, there are so many tight turns. Course-wise, I can’t say outside the stadium was my favorite, but running inside a stadium was cool (even if we lost GPS).
You can see Strava here and more race recaps here.
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Questions for you:
Have you run the Angels 5k?
When was the last short 5k you did?
measuring courses is always a challenge…even now with GPS, just where it’s measured makes a difference. I just worked at a 15K race, and had an interesting conversation with someone that was angry because her watch said she ran 15.5K…..that’s why some like the NYC marathon with lay down a line on the course to show where the measurement were made for that exact distance