10/12/2024

Gervasi Haunted Wine Run 5K

Canton, Ohio

Scott Orlando

Finish Time:  21:52

Overall Place 5th Place / 785

Division Place:  1st Place / 30

Terri Bedner

Finish Time:  26:04

Overall Place:  46th Place / 785

Division Place:  5th Place 147

Race Review By Terri Bendar:

It was a fun race and the swag was great! Got a cool medal and bought a hoodie. Would have like to see a few snacks at the finish line and the age groups were 10 year increments. The should have been every 5 years.  I would definitely do this race again.

Race Recap by Scott Orlando:

This was my first time competing in the Gervasi Haunted Wine Run 5K at Gervasi Winery in Canton, Ohio.  I have competed in other races in the past at Gervasi Winery so I knew a little bit of what to expect.  The race was sold out and I was lucky to be able to register.  I had planned on doing another race that same day but it was cancelled.  By the time I knew the first race was cancelled The Haunted Wine Run was already sold out.  I contacted the race director to see if there was a way to still register.  I was informed that race registration would re-open the morning of the race.  Luckily I was able to secure one of the remaining spots and got registered.  I really appreciated the communication with the race director who helped me.  Great service!  I ended up paying $65 for the race which is pretty high for a 5K but I can’t complain as race day registration typically is higher than pre registration.

Weather conditions for the race were very favorable with temperatures in the low 60’s with extremely calm winds.  Knowing that parking would be limited for this race and it was sold out I arrived probably way too early, but I would rather do that than arrive late and have no on site parking.  The course started behind the Crush House and made a tight right turn around it then followed the road out of the Gervasi property, and then down the street and onto nearby crushed gravel trails.  There was part of the course that made a small loop in a grass field before hoping back on the trail and retuning to Gervisi.

I started at the front of the pack not wanting to get bottlenecked at the first tight turn.  I got off to a good start and right away found myself with the top 10 runners.  It was clear to me early in the race that there were not a lot of competitive runners in the field.  This is pretty common for a themed race especially at a winery.  Several of the runners that were fast appeared to be in or near my age group so I knew there would be no slacking it today.  The fist half of the race seemed to go by quickly.  I found myself battling for 5th place with the fastest female in the race.  At times we ran together but mostly took turns leading each other.  Finally after a hilly section of the course I passed her and secured the 5th position.  Looping back into the same trail to return to the finish I encountered several hundred walkers in large groups blocking the trail.  The first half of the race the leaders were escorted by a golf cart with a clown in it cheering us on and taking pictures.  I am not sure why the escort dropped off mid race but it would have been helpful to keep it in front of us the entire race helping to keep the trail ahead clear to run on.  At first I started yelling asking them to move to the left.  I found that they weren’t listening and it was costing me energy so I was forced to run in the high grass and uneven surface of the shoulder of the trail.  Once passed that area I was able to get back on the trail, increase my pace and head for the finish.  I was happy to finish with a time of 21:52 placing 5th overall and winning my age division.  I was pretty excited to finish 5th overall in such a large race.

The race was well organized with an enjoyable course.  Participants received I’m Just Here For The Boo’s themed SWAG that included a super soft t-shirt, finisher medal that doubles as a coaster, and a wine cup filled with choice of Gervasi wine.  No where on the race SWAG does it mention the 5K race.  I would have preferred the SWAG to say on it somewhere Wine Run 5K.  The wine cups were advertised as soft and crushable.  They were neither.  I will say that they were full of wine! There was no awards ceremony so award winners picked up awards at the timing tent.  Awards were pins that are supposed to be added to the ribbon of the finisher medal.  I haven’t seen awards like this before but I liked the idea.  The pin I received was gold in color.  I will say it is hard to read and I am not sure what it actually says other than 1st place.  Age divisions for awards were every 10 year.  For a large race like this I would prefer to see them every 5 years.  I was a little disappointed that there were no post race snacks just water.   All of the food venues were open post race for participants to eat and drink.

Overall I really enjoyed the race.  It was great fun racing and hanging out with fellow Team ER member Terri Bednar who placed 5th out of 147 in her division.  If you like fall races and wine I suggest putting this race on next year’s calendar.  I will definitely do this race again!