Washington’s Evergreen Trail Runs and their kickoff event – the 2017 Blast from the Past Half (and half-half)

While the majority of our content falls within Oregon and SW Washington, we do like to cover events from all over the country. We have written race reviews from Idaho, California, Utah, Arizona, and even North Carolina. It only seems fitting that we should showcase races in our northern neighbor – the great state of Washington. We complete a variety of Washington-based previews and reviews around the Evergreen State, and we want to add Evergreen Trail Runs to the mix.

Each year, Evergreen Trail Runs hosts about 15 events, ranging all around Washington. Follow them on Facebook to stay up to date on their events.

• Jan 28 – Blast from the Past
• Feb 19 – Lord Hill
• Mar 04 – Lake Sammamish Half
• Mar 25 – Dash Point
• Apr 08 – Squak Mountain
• Apr 22 – Grand Ridge
• May 27 – Soaring Eagle
• Jun 11 – Echo Valley
• Jun 24 – Taylor Mountain
• Jul 08 – Lakewood SummerFEST
• Sep 02 – Dash Point
• Sep 23 – Tehaleh
• Oct 14 – Ft. Steilacoom
• Nov 04 – Lake Washington Half
• Nov 18 – Grand Ridge

Their Evergreen Trail Runs Series, sponsored by Altra and Suunto, gives runners points depending on their finishes in their first 11 events. The best 6 races will be accumulated and tallied, and awards are given great prizes. If you sign up for multiple races, you can get a discount of 5% for 2 races, 10% for 3, or 15% for 4 or more.

Their first race of the season is coming up on Saturday, January 28^th. The 2017 Blast from the Past, which features a half and a “half-half”, is held at Taylor Mountain – 25 minutes from Bellevue. This 70’s and 80’s themed event (costumes encouraged) takes to the trails that offer forests, streams, and even views of Mt. Rainier. The counter-clockwise loop is broken down to about 70% singletrack trails and 30% fire road, and features about 800 feet of vertical climbing (but a nice downhill to the finish). Half marathon runners will complete 2.5 loops of this loop.

Blast from the Past (Taylor Mountain, WA)
When: Saturday, January 28, 2017; Half at 10am, Half-Half at 1030am
Where: Taylor Mountain (Issaquah)
Register: Online here; $46 for half, $36 for half-half; Add $5 2-weeks prior to race day (Jan 14)