Thanks to growing up in Central Washington, I am immediately interested in anything that relates to apples. And thanks to being a runner in Portland Metro, I am also quickly interested in any events put on my Why Racing Events. Double the interest means double the sign-up for this girl every September with the Appletree 5K & Half Marathon.
First up is the Sunset 5K, a Saturday evening 5K that started at 6pm with the temperatures finally getting below 80 degrees. I walk the event due to a half marathon starting line coming up the next morning. And this year I convinced my husband to join in as company.
Most participants in the Sunset 5K are in groups with very few solo runners or walkers to be seen. It is always so much fun to see the littles start running with gusto at the start, and sometimes being carried by grown-up’s by the end. No matter what, they are super proud of those shiny medals.
The course is a combination of out-and-back with an extended loop on the way back around the fort. This leads to a bit of congestion on the overpass so folks all have to be a bit more patient and kind (looking at you speedy runners!). The aid station at the mid-point and cheering volunteers were great help along the way. I especially want to shout out the volunteer at the top of the final hill who was genuinely so excited for all of us making it.
After the finish line was a picnic in the park, complete with pulled pork sandwiches, coleslaw, chips, and cookies. The grown-ups could enjoy the beer garden. And a band was playing for everyone who stuck around in the cooling evening. This participant headed home pretty quick after the finish thanks to an early alarm clock.
To paraphrase SpongeBob SquarePants: 12 hours later…
I was on my own for the half marathon start on Sunday morning. And I mean that quite literally. Due to a forgotten bib in the car (parked a half mile away), I got to the start line a few minutes after my fellow half marathoners had started. One of the volunteers cheerfully reminded us stragglers that the race started when we did and they would all be there when we got back.
The first mile of the half marathon looped into Vancouver. I’ve done this event enough times that I am pretty familiar with the breakdown with the course, yet get to enjoy new construction or changes to the city each year. After the short city portion, we head out for an out-and-back that will get us to about 11 miles. The out-and-back includes sections on the water front, sidewalks by industrial buildings, a park, more waterfront, and another park before turning around. There were plenty of aid stations, plus I brough along a bottle to fill in case those promised clouds ditched us (they did!).
After the out-and-back, participants looped around the fort like the 5K event from the night before. Then we had the longest out-and-back mile ever. It is just down and back one (relatively flat) street, yet something about being mile 11 is just cruel. I just want to go to the finish line! And eventually I get to do just that, via the same darn hill as yesterday. I was so glad to see the same awesome volunteer there too.
This time I stuck around for the picnic and listening to some of the finisher awards. I picked up my Beast magnet for two events in one weekend, and then headed home for a very long nap. Thanks to Appletree and Why Racing, I had earned it.
