This week the realization sunk in - I have to do 11 more of these!!!! What was I thinking......
And then I realized that for my next event, I actually have 2 within 7 days, now I really wonder what I was thinking.
Coming up at the end of May is the second annual Half Corked Marathon, last year this event was 17 km long, and this year's course has yet to be made public, the race organizers are saying something between 17 and 21. Organized by Jack Wessel and sponsored by SOWA (South Okanagan Wineries Association) this event if the Okanagan's answer to Medoc. The inaugural event last year had about 250 participants run 17 km through the Golden Mile area of Oliver, through vineyards and finishing up at a winery for a fantastic gourmet lunch. The registration good bag included a bottle of wine from one of the sponsoring wineries, the pasta dinner included wine tasting, as did the course itself. On course we were able to sample wine from Oliver Twist, Stone Boat, Tinhorn Creek, Burrowing Owl, Dessert Hills and finally Black Sage vineyards - now that is a half marathon. Many of the participants last year got into the spirit and ran in costume (including Bacchus and his bevy of Greek Goddesses). If you are interested in participating in this event you will have to wait for next year, registration sold out within a matter of days.
While the event itself doesn't have an associated charity, a charity of note in the area is the Burrowing Owl Conservation Society, check out their web page for the burrow cam and more.
A mere six days after the half corked is the inaugural Whistler Half Marathon. The course winds through the Whistler Valley, it promises to be scenic and challenging, the altitude difference between Vancouver and Whistler can be noticeable. Unlike many events, this one is being held on a Saturday, leaving the rest of the weekend to relax and enjoy the surroundings.
The Whistler half have chosen the Chrohn's and Colitis Foundation of Canada as their fund-raising partner, $5 from every registration will be heading to the foundation.
This event is also sold out, but if you want to participate they are still looking for volunteers :)
Friday 6 May 2011
Monday 2 May 2011
1 down 11 to go
Well the first one is done! Eugene half marathon, May 1st, 2011 with a PB to boot, 2:12:50 (previous PB was 2:14:03)
The weekend was great, we headed down to Eugene on Friday, spent Saturday at the run expo and exploring the Eugene market, next time we will definitely stay downtown. The downtown area seemed to have just a little more character than the burbs did - although the mall across the parking lot was very convenient.
Saturday evening was a lovely dinner at Ambrosia restaurant with our Alma running room friends, I think we had a total of 20 people there although at four different tables. Then back to our hotel to see the Canucks not quite win game 2 against Nashville. You can't say we weren't prepared though, the Pearce family had their jerseys on towel at the ready.
Sunday morning came early, at 5:45 we were all outside to catch our very convenient shuttle to the start line. We got to the start line in no time, had a chance to check our bags, and were very thankful for the U of Oregon opening up the law building to keep us warm while we waited. The sun was out but it was a little chilly out there. Shortly after 7:00 off we went. The half and full marathoners started together and followed the same course for the first 10 miles. Karen Walker and I were the only half marathoners in the group, we started just behind the 4:30 marathon pace leader and stuck together for the entire race. The first 8 miles of the race have a few ups and downs, we were anticipating a major hill around 4:00 miles, which was much less than expected and followed by a wonderful downhill stretch, the second major hill was just around 8 miles, this is were we caught and passed the 4:30 bunny. Around 10 miles the half course split from the full, and we finished off our last three miles without the marathoners. I was very happy to finish off with a PB of 2:12:50, and to finish before the first marathoner came in :) Even happier that my foot was fine for the race and after, and the PB was not expected at all, perhaps it was a combination of perfect weather, a beautiful course, great spectators, and finishing in Hayward field.
Karen and I then had the pleasure of sitting in the stands and cheering in all of our marathoners, Michael made it to the stadium in time to see Dave come in. Thanks so much to Suzana and Angie for hanging out with Michael and getting him out to see his Dad run his first marathon. Dave finished in a great time of 4:09:56, I'm very proud of him for successfully completing his first marathon of what I'm sure will be many more.
Sunday afternoon was a pretty lazy event, and Monday morning we were headed home, but not without a couple stops: the Bread and Ink Cafe in Portland for a wonderful brunch, and then Moonstruck truffles for some beautiful and yummy critter truffles.
Next up is the Oliver Half Corked on May 29th and the Whistler half on June 4th, a new challenge, two half's in seven days.... eeek......stay tuned.
Oops almost forgot - as far as the Ed.D. goes, my registration has been completed for the directed readings course, time to get going on annotating those 50 articles, that's 5 a week for the next 10 weeks, sigh....
The weekend was great, we headed down to Eugene on Friday, spent Saturday at the run expo and exploring the Eugene market, next time we will definitely stay downtown. The downtown area seemed to have just a little more character than the burbs did - although the mall across the parking lot was very convenient.
Saturday evening was a lovely dinner at Ambrosia restaurant with our Alma running room friends, I think we had a total of 20 people there although at four different tables. Then back to our hotel to see the Canucks not quite win game 2 against Nashville. You can't say we weren't prepared though, the Pearce family had their jerseys on towel at the ready.
Sunday morning came early, at 5:45 we were all outside to catch our very convenient shuttle to the start line. We got to the start line in no time, had a chance to check our bags, and were very thankful for the U of Oregon opening up the law building to keep us warm while we waited. The sun was out but it was a little chilly out there. Shortly after 7:00 off we went. The half and full marathoners started together and followed the same course for the first 10 miles. Karen Walker and I were the only half marathoners in the group, we started just behind the 4:30 marathon pace leader and stuck together for the entire race. The first 8 miles of the race have a few ups and downs, we were anticipating a major hill around 4:00 miles, which was much less than expected and followed by a wonderful downhill stretch, the second major hill was just around 8 miles, this is were we caught and passed the 4:30 bunny. Around 10 miles the half course split from the full, and we finished off our last three miles without the marathoners. I was very happy to finish off with a PB of 2:12:50, and to finish before the first marathoner came in :) Even happier that my foot was fine for the race and after, and the PB was not expected at all, perhaps it was a combination of perfect weather, a beautiful course, great spectators, and finishing in Hayward field.
Karen and I then had the pleasure of sitting in the stands and cheering in all of our marathoners, Michael made it to the stadium in time to see Dave come in. Thanks so much to Suzana and Angie for hanging out with Michael and getting him out to see his Dad run his first marathon. Dave finished in a great time of 4:09:56, I'm very proud of him for successfully completing his first marathon of what I'm sure will be many more.
Sunday afternoon was a pretty lazy event, and Monday morning we were headed home, but not without a couple stops: the Bread and Ink Cafe in Portland for a wonderful brunch, and then Moonstruck truffles for some beautiful and yummy critter truffles.
Next up is the Oliver Half Corked on May 29th and the Whistler half on June 4th, a new challenge, two half's in seven days.... eeek......stay tuned.
Oops almost forgot - as far as the Ed.D. goes, my registration has been completed for the directed readings course, time to get going on annotating those 50 articles, that's 5 a week for the next 10 weeks, sigh....
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)