Latest reviews by Caroline Wilde

(2019)
"Good holiday fun"
Overall
T-Shirts/SWAG
Aid Stations
Course Scenery
Expo Quality
Elevation Difficulty
Parking/Access
Race Management

This race was fun! I live in Seattle, and drove down for this race because I wanted a fun half to do before year’s end, since I had to defer Marine Corps due to an injury. A way to get over my marathon FOMO, if you will. I chose this race honestly because I had never run in Portland and the shirt was really cute.

Packet pickup at Foot Traffic was crowded, but everybody was in such a good mood and so happy, it didn’t even matter. Parking was easy and the pickup process was easy and fast. The race shirt was very cute and fit well, and they had cute gear for purchase as well (I bought a hoodie because the design is so cute 😃).

On race day, there was quite a bit of traffic due to road closures, but if you plan for it, it really isn’t bad. I’d say give yourself an extra 15 minutes and you’ll have plenty of time. The start line was very festive with a high school band performing Christmas carols, and there was free coffee (yay!) and heaters outside, and then plenty of room to stay warm inside before the race. It was fun to people watch with some groups decked out in costumes, and really just such a festive mood.

The course itself was nice. It is an out and back course with a pretty significant hill for the first mile, but that made for a nice fast downhill finish. It goes through the St Johns neighborhood of Portland with the occasional nice river/bridge view, but mostly just a nice neighborhood run. There were water stations roughly every 3 miles, with cookies as well. Crowd support was nice with carolers, and just people in the neighborhood supporting the runners. Besides that first hill, the course had steady mild inclines/declines, but nothing too challenging.

The finish was great. The downhill finish made for a nice negative split, and again the mood of this race is just festive and fun, with groups of friends and families, and beer and chili at the finish.

Overall, this was a great holiday race, with a very cute shirt, and medal, and just good holiday fun.

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