California > Windsor Green Half Marathon, 10K & 5K
Windsor, CA • Sunday, May 20, 2012 • Course Map
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Known as the "gateway to the wine country" to the legions of tourists who flock to sample the wines and visit the vineyards of Northern California every year, this small town that lies just over an hour's drive north of San Francisco played host to the second annual running of the Windsor Green Half Marathon, 10K & 5K race in the spring of 2011, which saw more than 1,700 runners cross the finish line in all three races combined, including 630 finishers in the half marathon alone.
As the name of the race probably gives away, the 13.1-mile course for the race starts and finishes on the Windsor Green, a 4 1/2-acre park near the center of town that lies in the heart of what is known locally as Windsor's "Old Downtown," and features a historical timeline walk as well as a grove of native valley and blue oaks that are more than two centuries old.
From the park area on Windsor Green, runners in the half marathon head out and follow what is basically a clockwise loop route out of the town center and out into the rural countryside to the south and west of town. After heading west along McClelland Drive, runners turn left and head south along Windsor Road for the next three miles, until they meet up with Mark West Station Road and turn right, heading toward the west and the Russian River Valley area.
The course keeps runners on Mark West Station Road through a series of a few turns, and then turns on Eastside Road between mile markers 5 and 6, where runners will encounter really the only hill of any steepness along the course. After that, runners continue heading north along Eastside, with views of the flat farmland along the river as they make their way north for the next four miles or so to the intersection with Old Redwood Road.
After turning right on Old Redwood, runners next start heading south back toward the town center and Windsor Green. There's only a couple of miles left in the race by the time runners make the turn onto Old Redwood, and the finish line lies right in the park where runners started. The scheduled starting time for the race is 7:00 AM, and the half marathon is part of the Northern California Half Marathon series, which features races from February through December each year.
Race
Weather & Climate
Nestled among the hills of Northern California's Sonoma County, just over 64 miles north of San Francisco, Windsor typically experiences mild to moderately warm and occasionally hot conditions in the late spring season, and usually very dry weather in the late spring and summer. In May, average monthly temperatures range between 80°F and 50°F -- on the day of the race (May 20), the average high is 81°F and the average low is 51°F -- while rainfall totals average just over 1.5 inches for the month.
Course Map
View the race route map for the Windsor Green Half Marathon
Fees
$65 for the half marathon, if registered before February 29, 2012
$75 between March 1 - April 1
$85 between April 2 - May 1
$95 on May 2 and after
Registration
To reserve your spot in the late spring 2012 running of Windsor's Windsor Green Half Marathon, 10K or 5K race, register online at Active.com.
Official Race Website
www.windsorgreenhalfmarathon.com
Leave a Comment
Ever run in California's annual Windsor Green Half Marathon? Share your impressions and read fellow runners' stories and tips for the event.
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