This event was my first ever half-marathon back in 2012, with this year's edition being my third and the first for Wifey! We signed up several months ago at the super early pricing so got a pretty good deal. Also, this year the course has changed so that it begins from the Redmond Town Centre (with ample parking and facilities) before heading through Marymoor Park and then onto the Lake Sammamish trail. This is a huge improvement logistically that also eliminates the insanely annoying switchbacks through the parking lot of Lake Sammamish State Park that were needed in previous years to supplement the course to 13.1 miles.

We picked up our packets on race day and waited just 5-10 minutes as we got there plenty early - about 45 minutes before start time. There was also a gear drop that we took advantage of so that we would have some dry clothes and jackets at the finish in case of adverse weather. Gear drop was chaotic and too small but packet pickup was fine. There was also an option to pick up packets the day before at RoadRunner in Bellevue, but anyone that has been to that store knows it is in a horrendous location, with practically no parking, made even worse on a Friday afternoon. Same day pickup in the spacious Town Centre is by far the better option!

Overall, I was feeling good heading into this race - this was essentially my half-marathon tune up race in preperation for the Salt Lake City marathon in April. The race hosts a field of around 1,800 so it is a pretty decent sized event and there are no other distances offered. We had no issues of any kind prior to the race start and even the weather was cooperating with the heavy rain having just held off and temps in the high 40’s.

This course is wonderfully flat and scenic allowing runners to settle into a fast stride once the field spreads out after the first mile or so. The race is ran almost entirely on a 12′ wide trail – mostly paved, with some gravel and packed dirt sections. It was crowded in the first mile as we made our way through the Marymoor Park connector trail but once we reached the lake trail, there was plenty of room to run and being boxed in and held back was not an issue.

Despite the perfect conditions and awesome course, it wasn’t long before I was feeling that this was not going to be a PR type of day. The first mile I was a little behind my target pace as the crowd was packed, but I quickly made up time in the second mile, splitting at 7:33. That was going to be way too fast too early so I backed off to my just under 8:00 target pace for miles 3 and 4, but it was becoming ever increasingly difficult requiring too much effort to maintain my tempo.

By mile 8 or 9, I decided to just go with my target marathon pace the rest of the way and enjoy the scenic beauty of this race…and the very flat course! Late in the race, the 1:50 pacers passed me to add to my annoyance. I found some kick in the final couple miles to cross in 1:52:27 at an average pace of 8:38.

I have nothing bad to say about this race. It is a decent mid-size half-marathon. Flat, scenic, and fast. The "expo" for this race is held at the finish where there are a few booths that would be typically found - local race events, a running shoe sponsor, cliff bars, Nuun, Zico coconut milk etc. There was some food, but the line was too long as it was also filled with families and friends that didn't actually run the race. Shuttles took us back to Redmond to head back to the car.

My full race report with some commentary on my actual run and a few more pictures is also available on my website at: http://www.50in50marathonquest.com/lake-sammamish-half-marathon-recap/

If you are looking for a decent half-marathon in the Seattle/Eastside area for early spring, this one is definitely worth considering.