ORRC Introduces Half Marathon Series, Starting in January

Oregon Road Runners Club has been around for more than 40 years, and I’ve been involved personally as a member, board member, and editor of the club’s magazine, but even I was surprised when the club announced a brand-new race series built around their half marathons.

Over the past two years, middle distances at some events have morphed into a half marathon (at Y2K, the Champoeg Park Runs, and the Blue Lake Runs), and one race added the half marathon distance (Garlic Festival). Add those to the club’s long-standing Vernonia Half Marathon, and you have five well-run events priced relatively low when compared to most half marathons in the region.

For the 2018 Series, ORRC is offering a one-time registration to sign up for all five of those half marathons. Members pay $200 and non-members pay $240. It would be smartest to join the club for $45 and then register for the Series, as it’s just $5 more and membership includes discounts to other ORRC races, the option to join their unique 1200 Club, and the quarterly magazine. (It will also score you a free fleece jacket … keep reading) At $40/race, that’s a pretty good deal if you enjoy running half marathons. Click here to go to the ORRC Half Marathon Series page, or click on the race names below for more information about a specific event:

• Y2K Half Marathon: Run in Forest Grove on Saturday, January 6
• Champoeg Park Runs Half Marathon: Run at Champoeg Park on Saturday, March 3
• Vernonia Half Marathon: Run on the Banks-Vernonia Trail from Stubb Stewart State Park to Vernonia on Sunday, April 15
• Garlic Festival Half Marathon: Run in North Plains on Saturday, August 11
• Blue Lake Half Marathon: Run in Fairview (Blue Lake Park) on Saturday, October 13

Please note that if you are also considering the ORRC 10k Series, you will need to choose. Three of the above-mentioned races are also part of that Series, so you wouldn’t be able to do both in the same calendar year.

Member registration for the Half Marathon Series includes a fleece jacket with the races listed on the back, as shown to the left. Non-members signing up for the series can get the jacket for $25 (but, as noted above, if you join the club before registering for the series, the jacket is free).

If this looks good to you, you’ll want to sign up before the first race on January 6, 2018! The ORRC Half Marathon Series is also capped: only the first 250 to register will get in.