On Sunday I ran my 40th race of 2014, the Energy Events Champoeg Half Marathon! I had a really tough time due to the heat, and ran slower that I'd planned, but it's really a nicely done event and it was nice to run somewhere new.  Can't complain about the beer or sweet medal either! Check out the official race recap on the Energy Events Blog!

Northwest Personal Training's 8th Annual Girlfriends Run for a Cure is LESS THAN ONE MONTH AWAY! This will be my fourth year participating in this wonderful and inspiring event, and I have to say that it's truly one of my favorites. Over the past seven years, they have raised over $300,000 dollars and inspired thousands of women. I am so excited that they've added some really neat things to this year's event :D

Race name: Girlfriends Run for a Cure

Date and time: Sunday, October 12th, 2014 @ 9:00am

Events and price:
Half or quarter marathon (women-only) $80
Pink Brigade Guys--one of 50 philanthropic men who agree to pay, sponsor someone or raise a minimum of $500 to register and run Girlfriends Run for a Cure
Kids marathon $30 

Location: Northwest Personal Training; 1011 Broadway; Vancouver, WA

Number of runners: Capped at 3000 

Beneficiary: Susan G Komen for the Cure; The Children's Center

Swag: Women's-cut tech shirts; a necklace placed on you by a fireman; chocolate; cupcakes; massages; post-race food, beverages; goodie bags; AND MORE!

Course: A 6.55 mile (Quarter Marathon) or 13.1 mile (Half Marathon) mostly flat and scenic course traveling along historic Officer’s Row, Fort Vancouver, the Columbian Riverfront and more.

If you're interested in volunteering, please contact cindys@nwpersonaltraining.com

Lastly, I want to add that Coach Ron Homer is a Pink Brigade Guy raising money for Susan G Komen for the Cure! I'm so proud of him for doing this. If you are one of the next four donors to make a Pink Level donation of $100 on Coach Ron's GoFundMe Pink Brigade page, he will make you a customized three-month training plan AND also a customized medal holder! Any donation helps though--even $1.00!!! 

I'm excited for this weekend's 10th Annual Portland VegFest! Even though I've been lacto-ovo-pescitarian for a decade now, this is the first time I've heard about this event. I'm taking two friends, and we're all looking forward to 

EVENT FACTS
 
What: 10th Annual Portland VegFest Oregon’s premier plant-based food and lifestyle event. 
Date:  Saturday and Sunday September 27th & 28th 2014, 10:00 a.m. - 6:00 p.m.
Location: Oregon Convention Center, Exhibit Hall A
    777 NE MLK, Jr. Blvd., Portland, OR    
Cost: $8 at the door
          Students and Seniors 62+ are $5 with ID, one per person.
          Children 12 and under are free.
Website: For more information: visit www.portlandvegfest.org

Considered the “go-to” vegan event, Portland VegFest offers unparalleled resources, entertainment, and community building to celebrate sustainable, healthy and compassionate food choices to anyone wanting to learn more about plant-based diets.  Celebrating its 10th year, this family friendly and affordable two-day festival is open for everyone, bringing together thousands of people with varying interests in plant-based food.  From the committed vegan, the health conscious family, the sustainability minded individual or those who are simply curious, the event is for anyone who wants to explore healthy plant-based and sustainable food options, learn more about the vegan lifestyle, be inspired, and connect with a like-minded community. In addition to the renowned speakers, attendees will enjoy the 100+ exhibitors and restaurants providing free tastings, vegan chef led cooking demonstrations, a new fashion and beauty area, fitness area and farmers market, film screenings, interactive kids’ and teens’ areas, free photo booths, bookstore, informational tables and other exciting activities. Held at the Oregon Convention Center, tickets will be available at the door.  For the complete lineup of speakers and activities, please visit www.portlandvegfest.org
 
About Northwest VEG and Portland VegFest
Portland VegFest is hosted by Northwest VEG, a nonprofit organization in the Portland, OR and Vancouver, WA area, dedicated to educating and encouraging people to make vegan choices for a healthy, sustainable, and compassionate world.  Founded in 2003, Northwest VEG goals include:

• Build, support & maintain community in a fun environment
• Build, connect & network in the larger community
• Provide education & outreach
• Be a responsive, effective, transparent organization
• Provide expertise & serve as a resource to the community on veg issues
• Create positive change & make the world a better place

The goal of Portland VegFest is to celebrate, promote and build community around vegan lifestyles in a way that is inclusive for all; vegans, vegetarians and those who are curious about learning more about plant-based diets and the vegan lifestyle.  

On Friday, I paid $25 for a plastic cup of Sam Adams Rogue IPA at Shorty's Oktoberfest. It was probably 12-16 oz of mediocre beer. That's outrageous.

Here's how that came to pass. Last year, Shorty's Nursery had an Oktoberfest/Brew Fest weekend that was a fundraiser for the local libraries. I had heard about the Beer Fest somewhere and wanted to check it out, even though there wasn't much info online, since I love brew festivals, and I loved the library as a kid and would be happy to pay admission to a beer festival that supported such a worthy cause. My friend Jacob and I went to the Shorty's Brew Fest, paid about $20-25 and got a souvenir pint glass and five or so tasting tokens. There were maybe half a dozen local breweries and we wanted to try all of the beers, so we ended up buying more tokens, hanging out, buying some food, listening to the live band, and buying some chocolate bars. It was super fun, it was for a good cause, and we felt like we got our money's worth. I loved the nontraditional venue and the beers were delicious. I have been waiting all year for this event to happen again.

This year, there wasn't much info available either, but we did see a facebook event for Oktoberfest at Shorty's for $25. Even though it didn't specifically mention a Brew Fest, we decided we'd just go check it out. So we bought tickets, talked it up to some friends, and went to the event. Apparently, Shorty's/the libraries aren't doing the Brew Fest portion of their Oktoberfest anymore, they're only doing "Oktoberfest." Which meant all that our $25 ticket actually covered was one plastic "gold" token which got us either one of three medicore Sam Adams beers, or one of two wines. No food was included, additional beers were $5, and Sam Adams Oktoberfest beer steins were $10 (which included filling it with beer). There was still live music, but there was a really limited food menu and it was overpriced. And the food was from BEACHES of all places (don't get me wrong, Beaches has great food, but not German food). And we were about two decades younger than everyone else there, so other people kept staring at us. We decided to leave shortly after finishing our beers and go to somewhere with local beer and better food. 

I don't know if the Shorty's Oktoberfest pricing and goods are the same as prior years, but I was incredibly disappointed by this year's event. I feel like it was a huge waste of money. Last year, we spent more money, had more fun, and supported LOCAL breweries. Saying that your event supports a charity isn't an excuse for a bad event, especially when they know how to plan a GOOD event that supports a charitable cause. 

I'm very lucky to be able to work with Uberthons and participate in their events--their races tend to be on the smaller side, and encourage runners and walkers of all abilities, while still putting on a professional, good quality event. I had been looking forward to Uberthon's Oregon Marathon & Half Marathon because this year's event started/finished at Mt. Angel's Oktoberfest, and I had never been there! I also love the concept of a race that switches locations every year to highlight different parts of Oregon.

And then I heard about Cause+Event Portland. Cyndie and Amy are the amazing race directors, and I couldn't help but get excited about their event too! Their enthusiasm was pretty contagious. And I love that C+E benefits ANY 501(c)3 cause that a participant chooses! 

So there were two AMAZING but incredibly different races... and I wanted to be involved in both. So I decided to run the Oregon Half Marathon, while also doing the virtual Cause+Event race (unlike some virtual races, C+E allows any type of run/walk, whether it's outside, at another event, or on a treadmill!) Here I am, double-bibbing it. Party in the front, party in the back.

Race name: The Oregon Marathon & Half
Date and time: Saturday, September 13, 2014 @ 7:00 am
Events: Marathon, Half Marathon, Marathon Relay
Location: Mt. Angel, OR
Number of runners: 800
Beneficiary: N/A


Race name: Cause+Event Portland
Date and time: Saturday, September 13, 2014
Events: Half Marathon, 10k, 5k, Virtual race
Location: Bethany Village; Portland, OR
Number of runners: 500
Beneficiary: Any 501(c)3 of your choice! I chose Solemates.

Race name: Pints to Pasta

Date and time: Sunday, September 7, 2014 @ 8:00 am

Events and price: 10k run/walk $49

Location: The Old Spaghetti Factory; Portland, OR

Number of runners: 1800 

Beneficiary: N/A

Race name: Warrior Dash Oregon

Date and time: Saturday and Sunday, September 6 & 7, 2014

Event: 3.2 mud/obstacle race (untimed unless in the "Compettive" heat) 

Location: Horning's Hideout; North Plains, OR

Number of runners: Not known

Beneficiary: St. Jude's Medical Research Hospital

The official race recap of Gateway to the Gorge Half Marathon is up on the Energy Events blog! It was a challenging race for sure, and made my legs a lot more tired than I had expected--the first half of the race had a lot of uphill. Still, a great event with a beautiful course, awesome friends (including Solemates volunteering at an aid station!), and I'm stoked to add another medal to my collection :)

Race name: Sunriver Marathon for a Cause

Date: Saturday August 30th & Sunday August 31st, 2014

Events: 
Saturday, August 30, 2014: Half Marathon, 5k, 10k, Kids Race
Sunday, August 31, 2014: Marathon, Half Marathon
$91 for the Half+Half challenge

Location: Sunriver Resort; Sunriver, OR

Number of runners: Fewer than 200 for each half marathon

Beneficiary: Oregon SW Washington Affiliate of Susan G Komen

UPDATE 9/10/2014: A winner has been chosen! Congratulations to Danielle! Please email me your full name and address ASAP :)

They sound like they shouldn't taste good--a "healthy" snack made out of PEAS being compared to potato chips?!  I'll admit that I was pretty skeptical when I first tried them--my mom had bought some for me. I was pretty sure I'd hate them. But I'm honestly a huge fan of these--I LOOOOVE THEM and was so excited to be invited to receive a complimentary box of ALL SIX Harvest Snaps flavors!!! (Snacks I already LOVE + free = AWESOMESAUCE)!!!!

I'm a salty-snack fiend. Sweets are alright--I have a few specific favorites--but I WILL DEVOUR salty savory foods. But I'm trying to eat healthy. And trying to eat more veggies. But I have a bad habit of buying a ridiculous amount of produce and then not eating it before it goes bad. I need shelf-stable veggies that also TASTE DELICIOUS, which is why I'm addicted to Harvest Crisps.


What I like about Harvest Snaps is that they're 65%-70% WHOLE PEA OR WHOLE LENTIL! And they're 110-150 calories calories per serving of 22 crisps, with 5g of protein---which is enough that you feel like you actually ate a snack (although they're so delicious I've devoured an entire bag at once). And the flavors are DELICIOUS. The Black Pepper ones remind of me enough of black pepper kettle chips that it actually satisfies that craving for me. They're also baked, gluten-free, high in fiber and protein, low in sodium and fat. I eat them at home when I need a snack, as part of a meal, at work, on road trips--pretty much whenever. I'm excited that Harvest Snaps has offered to give one of my readers a variety pack with all six flavors too!

To enter to win a Harvest Snaps Snack Box, please do the following:

• Visit Harvest Snaps Lunchspiration
• Create a unique bento box and share to your social network or Pin it to Pinterest
• Copy and paste that link in a comment on this blog post and comment what flavor Harvest Snap they'd like to try
• Giveaway will end 9/9/14. A winner will be chosen at random!