Evergreen Half Marathon was a great race to kick off the summer with beautiful weather on a fantastic course that offered beautiful views and an easy, runner friendly route.
Parking took place near a city park and you needed to get there early to find street parking in the small town. Once parked, you were able to do same day packet pick up which was great since Snohomish Running doesn't do the but expo. There was a great inflatable for pictures and lots of porta potties for pre-run prep. Once that was taken care is there were buses to take runners to the start. The half and five mile races has different start locations and times. The bus ride was about ten minutes through the town to the start where there were more porta potties as well as a truck for gear check.
They started runners in two waves and let you choose your wave. Because this race has a cap, it doesn't get too crowded and the self placement worked well.
The route uses the Centennial Trail in Snohomish, a paved trail through rolling farmland with lush greenery and trees. It's beautiful and flat and we even saw a bear in the drive in! The trail is very well maintained and safe for runners being that it is smooth, and away from road traffic. This point to point course is so nice with no turnaround!
There were aid station every two miles with plenty of water and Nuun and while I carried my own fuel I noticed gels available every few stations. There were porta potties every few miles and I did stop and didn't have to wait in line. While the aid stations were small, the volunteers were super friendly and enthusiastic!
The miles were flat and easy until mile 11 when there was an unexpected and long mile climb into town. It was a nice challenge and I didn't find it slowed me down that much. The finish was back at the park with a big inflatable and announcer callinf our finishers. Runners earned a beautiful, big medal and there was plenty of Nuun, water and fruit at the finish. Even better was yummy strawberry shortcake! I love that they always have a coffee cart at the finish too! This PacNW girl loves a cappuccino to cap off a great race!
I was super happy with my time and came so close to a PR is I hadn't stopped for that potty break! I was excited to see so many friends there and even got to see a friend complete his first half marathon! Even though it took him over three hours, they had everything still available.
I will definitely be back down this race next year!