For as much as I love traveling and running in new places, there is something pretty awesome about a race in your own backyard. Maybe it’s the fact that you can sleep in a little longer. Maybe it’s knowing where you’re going before the starting gun even goes off. Or maybe there’s just a little extra sense of familiarity and pride that comes with an event taking place in your own city.
I live in the Salem area, and I’ve spent plenty of miles running through Riverfront Park, Wallace Marine Park, and the famous Minto-Brown Island Park. When I used to work downtown, Riverfront and Wallace Marine were regular parts of my running routes three or four times a week. Minto-Brown remains one of my go-to spots when I want to get some longer miles in on pavement.
I could probably run through these places with my eyes closed.
So, when the Cherry City Half Marathon has a course that essentially links all of these familiar running spots, it felt a little like racing at home.
The event features a 5K, 10K and half marathon, and selling out at nearly 1,000 runners in only its second year is a pretty good indication that the event has found a place in Salem’s running community. It also speaks to the growing number of local running groups and the general interest in getting outside and moving around the city.
If you missed it this year, I’d put this one on your calendar for next September.
The race starts within the grounds of Salem’s relatively new amphitheater, which makes for a pretty great starting and finishing area. There is plenty of green space to stretch, warm up or just hang out before the race. And if you’re bringing the family along, there’s a playground, carousel and plenty of open space to explore. In other words, your family doesn’t necessarily have to stand around watching the clock for two hours waiting for you to finish.
The first few miles take runners north through Riverfront Park before crossing the Union Street Pedestrian Bridge. The bridge itself is a fun little piece of Salem history, having originally been a railroad bridge before being converted for pedestrian use. From there, the course loops through Wallace Marine Park in West Salem before bringing runners back across the bridge and toward the area where the race started.
Then begins the true highlight of the course: the crossing the Peter Courtney Minto Island Bridge — or, as plenty of locals call it, the “taco bridge” — and heading into Minto-Brown Island Park.
If you haven’t spent much time running in Minto-Brown, the park alone is worth a visit. There are wide, well-maintained paved trails, along with flatter dirt and gravel options, all winding through tree cover with farmland, river and slough views mixed in along the way.
It’s one of those places where you can get a surprisingly scenic run without having to drive into the mountains or climb anything resembling a mountain. And the Cherry City Half takes full advantage of it.
Runners spend roughly 10 miles of the half marathon within the boundaries of the park system, which also makes for a pretty friendly course from a racing standpoint. The paved paths are wide enough to accommodate runners moving at a variety of paces, even with the faster half marathoners occasionally mixing in with the slower 5K and 10K participants.
There was also solid hydration support throughout the course. The biggest stretch without an aid station was roughly between miles 7 and 11, but otherwise there were opportunities to grab water or refuel about every couple of miles.
Another nice thing about this course is that it can handle the somewhat unpredictable nature of September weather in Oregon. If the sun comes out and things get warm, there are plenty of sections underneath the trees. If it rains, most of the course is paved and drains reasonably well.
There is, however, one exception.
Around mile 10, there is a section that is very frequently — and I mean very frequently — a few inch high, 20-foot long, puddle if there has been any meaningful rain. A shallow, swampy slough runs alongside the trail, and water has a tendency to find its way onto the path. Heck, it may be flooding at this current moment just because I’m talking about it!
There had been a little rain the day before the race, so as soon as I got close to that section, I knew what was coming. Fortunately, it was at about mile 10, meaning wet socks and shoes only had to be tolerated for the final few miles. At that point in a half marathon, you’re generally willing to accept a little discomfort anyway.
Eventually, the course brings you back toward Riverfront Park and the finish line, where the race transitions pretty quickly from running event into community gathering. There was a lot going on after the race, including food trucks, free beer from Ratchet Brewing, free wine from Willamette Valley Vineyards and a variety of local businesses with booths and giveaways.
And despite getting a decent dose of rain about 90 minutes before the start, there were still plenty of people hanging around afterward with happy faces.
I’ve run all of these parks before. I’ve run these bridges. I’ve run many of these same trails countless times. But putting them together as a race gave me a slightly different appreciation for a part of Salem that I already knew pretty well.
For me, that’s part of what makes a hometown race special. You don’t necessarily need a destination course or a new city to have a memorable running experience. Sometimes it’s pretty cool to line up somewhere familiar, see your normal running routes from a different perspective and finish the morning surrounded by the local running community.
Cherry City is only two years old, but it already feels like it belongs on Salem’s – and maybe your – annual running calendar.
