OC Heart Walk

This year, 2015, Orange County’s Heart & Stroke Walk/​Run was held at Angel Stadium in Anaheim.
The 5K Walk registration was free, while the 5K timed-​run registration – this being the first year that a run was offered – was $ 35. There were plenty of runners on-​hand, running alone, with friends, and even with their dogs. For those finishing, American Heart Association medallions shone brightly hanging around the runners’ necks. (I love to see people getting active and healthy!)
All funding aids research and initiatives promoting the prevention, treatment, and better patient care in the areas of cardiovascular disease, the leading killer in the United States. The American Heart Association is the nation’s largest voluntary health organization dedicated to building healthier lives, free of heart disease and stroke.
Needless to say, this is a great event for an even greater cause. One of our district’s amazing schools – in the name of fundraising – rallied up groups of students, teachers, and administrators alike in order to take part in this fun-​filled walk in and around the Stadium. We began at the two, giant Angels caps, strolled under the big A, and then headed toward the field, the highlight of our trek: wrapping around the mezzanine, walking along the perimeter of the field near home plate – our cool selves shone upon the Jumbotron, and then sliding past third base before exiting! The kids had a great time, and it really is a wonderful way to experience the Stadium itself.

Did this heart walk this year at Angels Stadium March 8 2014 and really enjoyed it.
Had some survivors and a dog in our group of 7 and everyone enjoyed the thrill of the celebration of health and the fun, free stuff that the expo offered.
Parking was free and I got my blood pressure checked, an airbrushed tattoo and a few free samples of goodies from greek yogurt to granola bites.
I was a little disappointed with the route.
I understand its hard to make up 5K in a parking lot/​stadium but there was a section of the race where the stream of runners passed through each other in a figure-​8 like shape and it just made no sense and ended up in a poorly orchestrated cluster-​fluff. Please do not make that a part of the route in the future.
Also, I want to emphasize that this is a WALK.
If you’re coming to run or even power-​walk I suggest you adjust your agenda. There were several points throughout the route where the crowd was brought to a stand still for unknown circumstances… not the end of the world but just be warned. You’re not running and if you do, you’re just asking for someone to clothesline you.
Otherwise, a good day out in the sun.

I’m basing this review on my personal experience of the OC Heart Walk and what it means to me… not necessarily the OC Unilocal Team or lack of it, but luckily I was on two teams… and Team Heart Throb was in full effect this year raising a little over $ 3100…but that was all due to generous contributions and crazy sales of all sorts (from rummage sale to eggroll sales to bake sales to recycling) Not as much as last year, but hey in this bad economy, I was pleased just to meet our goal.
My family has been directly affected by Heart Disease from my mom to my uncle. This year I was walking in support of Zeela D.‘s mother who had a heart attack this past July, she had to have a triple by-​pass and is now in recovery.
Why I give this event 5 stars:
* It is for a good cause.
* It’s a free event! No registration fees
* It’s a great event for the family (even your furry family — dog friendly)
* There’s a children’s area, all free
* The balloon ride and carousel ride is free
* The Laker girls were there signing for free (my little cousins got a kick out of that)
* There is a pet zone, with water and treats for the dogs
* Free «healthy» snacks and water
* Freebies all over the place
* Live music and local talent all throughout the walk itself!
* And everyone must remember… it all goes to a great cause, the American Heart Association!
We had fun!
As for the Unilocal team… hmmm…we still represented:
But I’m thinking that perhaps they will make it up to the people who raised money… Also, if you did raise $ 100, you’ll get an OC Heart Walk t-​shirt which is given after October, since you can still raise money till mid-October…they should be either mailed to you or given to the team leader. So you will get your t-​shirts, I know it’s backwards, but that’s how they do it here… because it’s Orange County!

I’m not going to regurgitate anything because Trina D’s review says it all.
My personal experience was not good at all. I was looking forward to this event and jumped on the opportunity to join the Team because I’m all about doing things for a good cause.
But there’s NO excuse for poor planning, which includes having a backup plan. Above all, there’s NO excuse for being rude and acting like total a-​holes.
I understand people were volunteering at the Unilocal booth, but volunteering doesn’t give you a pass to be rude and not do anything. [Edit: So, I heard the people running the booth were PAID interns, not volunteers. This makes it even worse! To the girl at the booth: Thanks for rolling your eyes and making the guy working there look like a total ass. Sorry, sweetheart. You’re the only one who was an ass, but an ass****. I hope Unilocal fires your butt because you were so extremely rude. And maybe your rudeness wasn’t directed to me, but it doesn’t matter. You DON’T treat people that way. You might think your the sh** because you are an intern for Unilocal.But guess what homegirl — What goes around, comes around. You should be ashamed of yourself, and most of all, Unilocal should be ASHAMED OF YOU!]
And yes, it’s great that money was raised by Team Unilocal,etc., but wow, what a way to alienate people from not only participating in a good cause, but participating in a site that I personally loved — until today.
If I ran Unilocal,then I sure as hell wouldn’t want this event or the volunteers to be representative of the company.

This event was poorly planned and poorly executed. The volunteers at the Registration Booth didn’t have a list to check people off. The free schwag and food was given away before the start of the 5K, when it should have been given after the run/​walk to the participants. I don’t know about you but eating before a race is not ideal. It’s better to fill up after you’ve expended any amount of energy. The mile markers for the course were not in the right spots. I passed mile marker 3 assuming that the finish line was in sight but it turns out mile marker 3 was around 2 miles. People who are training for races, pace themselves by the mile markers! By the time I reached the finish line, my running app told me that the course wasn’t even a full 3.1 miles; it was short at 2.9 miles. Also, giving out full 16 oz bottles of water along a race route is a bad idea because the runners end up holding onto a heavy bottle. They should have giving out cups of water along the course and bottles at the finish line only.
Because the registration began at 7 am and the ceremonies at 8 am, the race started at 9 am. By 9:15 am, the sun came out behind the clouds and the whole place started to heat up. It was not fun having to run with the sun beating down on you. I’ve been to run/​walks that start earlier and they do all the free food/​schwag afterward for the participants. It is better that way because it’s cooler earlier in the morning. For an event that has gone on for 31 years or so (we saw a sign that said 31^st annual event) this one was by far the most unorganized event I’ve ever participated in. I know it was free to participate but I raised $ 125 and qualified for a Heart Walk t-​shirt but was told that the shirt would be mailed to me. I may never see it but I’m ok with that.
Oh for those of you on Team Unilocal,who showed up and raised enough money for a shirt, sorry if you didn’t get one, they were given out to people who came and said they were on the team «first come, first serve» regardless of them meeting fundraising requirements. Elise and Andy didn’t have a list because Hazel was out sick.

Awareness is key when the number 1 killer of Americans is heart disease according to the AHA. That’s pretty scary. I’m hoping the money I donated money will help find a cure for stroke and heart disease.
I found out about the walk through Unilocal and had joined the OC Unilocal team.
The event goal — $ 1,500,000
Total Raised so far — $ 1,197,258
Team Unilocal OC raised: $ 1,696.00
Shout outs to team members who raised money.
The walk started shortly after 9am and as the groups of people walked past the main stage, the name of their team (or company) was called out loud as a recognition of who was walking and a Thank You for participating.
A sea of people started to move through the Orange County Great Park. There were a marching band playing music, cheerleaders and volunteers offering supportive cheers for all the walkers. For the survivors, there is a one mile route. There were three water stations that provided full bottles of water for the walkers and runners.
I walked for Unilocaler Mary C and Unilocaler Zeela’s mother, both survivors
After the walk, there really wasn’t much else to do other than trying to get in a long line to ride the Great Park Balloon, carousel or paying a visit to the Orange County Great Park Farmer’s Market. There was a kids station for arts and crafts and also an area for dogs and VIP.
The minus one star was for the restrooms and the minimum amount requested to donate was $ 25 using the website. It was difficult locating the restroom at venue. And as for the minimum amount, although it doesn’t seem much, it is for some of the folks who wanted to donate less than the minimum using the website because of the $ 25 minimum. I lost donations due to folks not being able to donate through the website.
Special thanks to Lily A’s company for offering shirts to myself and others who had our shirts given away to other people. We donated enough to earn a shirt and some of us prepared by under dressing expecting we were going to don our team shirt.
**This event review is only for the Heart Walk, not for Unilocal OC Team– what happens in the Orange curtain stays the behind the Orange curtain.**