This was my first time EVER running the Fueled By Fine Wine Half Marathon!!! It was CRAZY hilly (more like hiking than running for me), but a BEAUTIFUL course. And the wine tasting afterwards was fantastic! Check out my race recap on the official Energy Events blog. 

Also, I got to run as part of Elk Cove Vineyard's team, "The Herd," which was super fun to be a part of, and we had an awesome post-post-race BBQ and wine tasting out at the vineyard as well. 

Race name: Lacamas Lake Half Marathon & 5k
Date and time: Sunday, July 27th, 2014 @7:30
Events and cost: 
     Half Marathon run/walk $55-75
     5k run/walk $35-55
     Kids Dash $8-10
Location: 4th & Cedar, Downtown Camas, WA. Course maps available here.
Number of runners (capped?): 
Beneficiaries: Camas High School, Girls On the Run, Lymphoma Society’s Team In Training (TNT) and the American Cancer Society.
Swag: Tech t-shirt (gender specific), finishers medal, one free beer from Mill City Brew Werks, bag check

I haven't run this race since 2011 (way back before this event had beer!), and I'm excited for all of the changes! The event t-shirt and matching medal and Mill City Brew Werks beer are definitely good reasons to take on this somewhat challenging course. Fortunately this year, they've changed it so that you get the brutal hill out of the way early (if you've been to any of the Mill Ciity Brew Werks Pub Runs with Fit Right, you know what hill I'm talking about!!!). The trail around Lacamas Lake is one of my absolute favorite places to run, so I'm really looking forward to this event.

If you haven't registered yet, you have until 5pm today to register online! Otherwise, stop by packet pickup to get signed up:

• Saturday, July 26, 2014 (10am-3pm) at the Vancouver Fit Right (16020 SE Mill Plain Blvd., Suite 113)
• Friday, July 25, 2014 (2-6:30 PM) at the Portland Fit Right (2258 NW Raleigh St)
  

Want to be a volunteer? Click here to contact Race Director Dave Sobolik!

Race 2 of 3 for the holiday weekend was the Stars and Stripes Half Marathon on Saturday, July 5th! Check out the full review on Run Oregon.

Race name: Hippie Chick
Date/time: Saturday, May 10, 2014
Registration/price: $99 ($20 discount codes were available)
Location: Gordon Faber Recreation Complex; Hillsboro, Oregon
Events offered: Half Marathon, Quarter Marathon, Kids Dash
Number of runners (capped?): 2,286
Beneficiary: N/A

Packet pickup: Two days at Portland Running Company. Race participants received 15% off their purchases, including Hippie Chick gear. 

Swag: This year's swag included a purple women's cut tech tee, a necklace, a beer, pancakes, and Ghiradelli chocolate! 

Parking: Plenty of parking was available at the stadium and nearby at Intel. It was a little bit of a walk, but not bad!

Bag check: TONS of awesome volunteers were helping with bag check, so the lines moved very quickly.

Course: The course was mostly flat, with very small rolling hills to keep things interesting. It was mostly on paved roads, with one lane closed to traffic

The race: I wasn't sure what my race "strategy" was. Should I try to PR? Should I just try to finish at a comfortable pace? Of course, I wanted another PR, but I felt greedy hoping for another half marathon PR this year, and my body was just tired (sleep deprived, stressed out, and I've been eating terribly). And then I was late getting to the starting line because of the long Porta Potty lines, which meant I was stuck behind a sea of people. :( In spite of that, I decided to attempt a PR and see how my body felt a few miles in. I felt tired at the beginning but felt alright during the middle part of the race. As I reached mile 9, I started to feel really pretty tired. I really struggled to maintain my pace for the rest of the race, but was happy to see that I'd PR'd as I crossed the finish line! The only issue on the course seemed to be that one water station was dry.

Post-race: After the race I wandered around and checked out the many vendors who were at the race, trying to keep my legs from stiffening up. Headed up to the bag check and got my stuff in no time at all. Then I got my free beer and pancakes and sat down for some BREAKFAST! YUM. Next, I decided I could really, really go for a massage, which was just alright. There were tons of people all about, hanging out and having a good time. The venue really lets people spread out, which is nice. I felt like the post-race party was pretty fun.

Photos: Not available at this time.

Results: There was a small issue where some runners who had signed up for the half ended up doing the quarter marathon instead, but appeared in the half marathon results. I was 4th out of 85 in my age group (but not that close, since the runner in 3rd place in my age group was 5 minutes faster than I was). I did PR, with a chip time of 1:50:13! My third half marathon PR this year :)

Overall: This is a fun all-women race and there is a lot of swag and perks. Unfortunately, the price had been pretty high, even with discount codes. I'm glad they offered a one day special for the 2015 race, but hopefully they'll also consider a lower price point for this event.

Race name: CCRC Washougal Dike Mother's Day Half Marathon
Date/time: May 11th, 2014 at 9:00am
Registration/price: DOR: Free for CCRC members; $2 for non-members.
Location: Captain William Clark Park Trail; Washougal, WA
Events offered: Half Marathon, 7.1 miler, 5k.
Number of runners: 56
Beneficiary: N/A

Race name: Uberthons Spring Half Marathon
Date/time: Saturday, May 3, 2014; 8:30 am
Registration/price: $75
Location: St. Josef's Winery; Canby, Oregon
Events offered: Half marathon
Number of runners: 168 (capped at 300)
Beneficiary: UberJogathons

Race name: Cinco de Mayo Run/Walk
Date/time: Sunday, May 4, 2014. 7:45 am half marathon, 8:20 am 10k; 9:00 am 5k
Registration/price: 5k $29-44; 10k $34-54; Half Marathon sliding scale (suggested $40-99). Upgrade to VIP for any race distance for an additional charge.
Location: Pioneer Courthouse Square; Portland, Oregon
Events offered: Half Marathon; 10k; 5k; kids race
Number of runners: ~1800
Beneficiary: Candlelighters for Children with Cancer

My race recap of the inaugural Capital City Half Marathon is now up on Run Oregon! Also, fellow Run Oregon blogger Matt Rasmussen also wrote a recap.

Race name: Hop Hop Half & 5k
Date/time: Saturday, April 19th, 2014; 5k @ 7:30am, Half @ 8:15am
Registration/price: 5k $35-40; Half $68-80
Location: Marine Drive; Portland, OR
Events offered: 5k and half marathon
Number of runners: 689 for the half, 299 for the 5k (capped at 1500).
Beneficiary: Society of St. Vincent de Paul - Portland

Race name: Blooms to Brews
Date/time: Sunday, April 13th, 2014
Registration/price: 10k - $37-50; Half $60-75
Location: Horseshoe Lake; Woodland WA
Events offered: 10k and Half Marathon
Number of runners: about 800
Beneficiary: Scott Hill Park and Sports Complex