Heart Breaker Half, 10k and 5k run/walk by EmMotive Oregon was a huge success in my opinion! It wasn’t the race I thought it would be, but I was not disappointed. Heart-breaker Half promised hills and I came prepared to run them. What I didn’t expect was the whole 13.1 miles were hills! It was a challenging route. I remember thinking (over and over again) “this is surely it, it’s going to flatten out now.” But then, another hill! There were times of smaller rolling hills, but seriously, it was a hill half!
The half started and ended on the track at Liberty High School (21945 NW Wagon Way, Hillsboro) on February 17th. It was a nice 34 degrees out (perfect race weather). Just before 8:00a we lined up for the half. The race director announced that the course was slightly different than the year before. He said, there is more hills this year. I just laughed in my head. I had arrived about 45 minutes early. This gave me more than enough time to do a mile warm up, check out where the start was, use the port-a-potties and go into the school and check in my bag. I had picked up my race bib and race shirt the day before at Foot Traffic in Portland. I did see that there were a few people picking up bibs that morning. You could pay a few extra dollars to arrange for morning of pick-up. This was a nice add for those coming from out of town.
As we took off that morning, we turned off to the right, leaving the track, heading for some beautiful countryside. We did three loops. The hills felt very easy the first three miles. I was cruising. Mile four hit me hard but I continued to run, knowing that at the top of a hill, we all get to run down. That thought kept me running for the whole race. I loved the challenge and beauty of this course. I do train on hills, making this race do-able, but it was a hard race. We ran down one big hill after a hard climb up heading down under a huge railroad trestle. It was a favorite moment, breathtaking Oregon beauty. Another favorite was going by the old country white church as people turned in to addend church service that morning. This little country church, still meeting in this rural area was very comforting.
I continued on those hills and felt a bit of relief around mile eight or nine. The steep hills, seemed to even out slightly into gently rolling hills. I was able to pick up some speed and it felt good. I decided it was time to start passing people and give this race a strong finish. I was able to hang on well for those last four miles. As I turned to to back onto the track for my big finish, I felt very accomplished. It was a bigger accomplished feeling than I typically get from finishing a half marathon. The harder the race is, the better that finish feels. I was able to check my live results on-line right away.
Although that “perfect” 34 degrees was perfect “race” weather, it was very cold just standing. I went into the heated school, got my bag back from bag check and easily found a spot to sit at the many tables set up for runners to relax, eat and wait for awards in this wonderful heated building. There was hot coco, a warm egg/hashbrown dish and cinnamon rolls. There was also some fruit cups. It was a nice environment and I saw some other running friends. We waited for awards. Hearing the top finisher ran a 5:28 pace blew my mind. 323 people ran the half on the 17th. I would expect this race to grow in the coming years. It was well organized, beautiful and a great challenge.
You can look at the race website here!
2020’s date will be Sunday February 16th at Liberty High School (21945 NW Wagon Way, Hillsboro) Mart that calendar now! They will have a half marathon, 10k 5k and kids dash available.
If you want the early-bird pricing act now!*
- Half Marathon $49
- 10k $44
- 5k $29
- Kids dash (2-10) $15
*price increase on March 10th
I was very impressed with photos for Heart Breaker Half. I was sent an e-mail only 2 hours and 40 minutes after I crossed the finish line with my free race photos included with registration. Well done EnMotive!
