#45 Foothills B&O Half Marathon (7/26/14) - This race was around my old stomping grounds. I grew up in the Buckley/Enumclaw area. I was so excited when I signed up for this race months ago, and it did not disappoint me. I spent Friday night at my parents' house and walked to the start of the race Saturday morning. The race was from Buckley to Orting mostly on an old railroad grade that was turned into a bike path. The bike path is not yet completely connected so there was a section of unpaved trail. The weather was beautiful, I brought Hero along for the run, and my family came out to support me along the way and at the finish! Even my sister was on the course as it passed through South Prairie. I wish I had gotten a picture with her. We ran over some of the coolest old railroad trestles. I want to go back with my camera soon. I'll add the pictures of the trestles then.
Here is a picture of the trail section. I copied it from the Foothills B&O facebook page. There were some racers ahead of me trying to tip toe around the edges. I just ran down the middle with my dog and passed them all. It's just mud, and it'll wash off!
Here is one of the trestles that has been rebuilt. The original one was removed in 1983. I also copied this picture from the Foothills B&O facebook page.
At the same time that I was starting my race, my daughter was running the 5K in Enumclaw.
That's my girl! (with Dad guarding her right flank)
#46 Chuckanut Mountain Half Marathon (7/27/14) - I drove to Bellingham Saturday night to attend a "Drinks on the Deck" party that my best friend from college, C A, was having (really, I call her C A). The food was so good, as usual! I made sure I fueled up for the race the next morning. I decided not to drink any alcohol but it was fun to watch everyone else get a little tipsy. The race on Sunday morning didn't start until 10am so I had a leisure morning. C A made pancakes with fresh blueberries for breakfast.
This was a challenging course with 2,000 ft of elevation gain, but it was so worth it for the views! It started on the Interurban Trail where I had run the Wind Horse just the week before. Then, the course started to climb, and climb, and climb. There was a point during the race that I was running along the top of a ridge with a view of Mt Baker to the east and Chuckanut Bay to the West. Then, the course dropped down to Fragrance Lake and then down further to the finish at Larrabee State Park. Some parts of the trail where pretty technical with lots of roots and rocks and switchbacks but it was all worth it!
This was a challenging course with 2,000 ft of elevation gain, but it was so worth it for the views! It started on the Interurban Trail where I had run the Wind Horse just the week before. Then, the course started to climb, and climb, and climb. There was a point during the race that I was running along the top of a ridge with a view of Mt Baker to the east and Chuckanut Bay to the West. Then, the course dropped down to Fragrance Lake and then down further to the finish at Larrabee State Park. Some parts of the trail where pretty technical with lots of roots and rocks and switchbacks but it was all worth it!
Interurban Trail
Mt Baker to the east
Chuckanut Bay to the west
Fragrance Lake. I wanted so much to stop and go for a swim!
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