Runner Safety Considerations
The Wildflower Run has been a safe, fun, family friendly event for 40 years! Safety guidelines and procedures for runners fall into the following three areas:
1) Parking Lot Safety
The parking lots WILL fill up. What should you do?
- Arrive Early. (Parking opens at 7:15.)
- Minimize Parking Requirements
- Carpool or get dropped off or walk or bicycle
- Follow all directional signs and traffic / parking volunteer directions. While it is tempting to pull into an open spot, your following of volunteer directions will efficiently maximize parking capacity. Thank you for your patience and adherence.
Locations – See Map
- Drop off is via the circular drive through at the FRONT of the school (Do not enter the parking lot for drop off.)
- Runner parking is on the WEST side of the school.
- Overflow runner parking is on the EAST side of the school.
- Additional parking may be available on Half Road BEHIND the Live Oak baseball field. From there you can walk through campus to the start/registration area
- For safety reasons, there is no parking in front of the winery across from the school
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Timing Considerations
- The main runner parking (west side) opens at 7:15 and closes at 8:50. There is then no exit until 9:30. (If you are here just for the Kids’ 2K Run, instead of waiting for the parking to open, head across the grass fields to the Finish Fest. The kids’ crafts and science activities will be a fun way to pass the time until the parking opens.)
- If parking in the overflow runner parking (east side of school), you must not leave until the final 5K/10K runners return (close to 11:00).
- Runners should stay out of the parking lot until 10 minutes before their event starts, as cars will still be parking,
- 10K start is 9:00; line up starts at 8:50
- 5K start is 9:15; line up starts at 9:05
- Timing strips will be removed promptly after each event starts
2) Course Safety
Kids’ 2K Run and All Age 2K
These events are held on the Live Oak High School track and consist of 5 loops of the track. An EMT will be available at the track.
5K and 10K
These routes are on country roads open to traffic. NEW: We are adding more cones along the routes, better defining designated runner corridors. Follow course marshal directions and stay on the right shoulder, inside the cones. Stay alert to traffic and follow directions of police officers and course volunteers, particularly when crossing streets.
Additional safety precautions include:
- Police officers at key locations along the routes
- CERT (Community Emergency Response Team) course marshals
- Up to 40 AAUW and community volunteer course marshals along the routes
- Dedicated volunteer crossing guard in front of the school as the 10K route makes its final left turn into the school
3) Live Oak School Site Safety
AAUW, the event organizer, works closely each year with the City of Morgan Hill and the Morgan Hill Police Department to maximize the safety of our Wildflower Run participants. Most of a runner’s time is spent participating in their event (and course safety precautions are described above).
A significant contributor to site safety at the Wildflower Run is organized parking. Please arrive early and follow the instructions of the parking and course volunteers.
Runner and spectator time on the Live Oak campus is spent entirely out of doors, mostly in the Finish Fest area. Please use common sense as you would in any crowded area, remaining aware of your surroundings. There will be two EMTs in the finish area. In the case of a medical emergency, contact one of them. For any other serious emergency, please contact the police (911).