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Washington > Tacoma City Marathon, Half Marathon &
5K
Tacoma, WA
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Date
Sunday, May 2, 2010
Event
Details
More than 1,300 runners crossed the finish line in all races
combined at the spring 2009 running of Washington's Tacoma City
Marathon, Half Marathon & 10K, which underwent some changes
for its third annual running, dropping the 10K for a 5K run and
adding a children's marathon race. Run entirely on paved city streets
through this city that overlooks Commencement Bay on the southern end
of Puget Sound, the half marathon takes runners through a combination
of downtown city streets and for long stretches along the Tacoma
waterfront, passing by and through several city parks with views of
Mount Rainier off in the distance.
From the starting line at the corner of South 9th Street and South
Market Street, the course starts off with two long straightaway
stretches, south along Market and then north along Fawcett Avenue. As
runners hit the second mile marker near the intersection of Fawcett and
7th Street, the course begins the stretch where it offers up its
biggest hills, between the mile 2 and mile 4 markers around the edges
of Tacoma's Wright Park and the intown neighborhoods just north of the
park.
Roughly 27 acres in size and encompassing about 10 city blocks,
Wright Park is famous locally for its lawn bowling playing greens (or
"rinks"), the Seymour Conservancy greenhouse as well as its sculpture
scattered throughout the grounds, all of which runners can catch sight
of as they make their way around the park. After running around the
park and heading north, the course begins to flatten out as runners
head along miles 4 and 5 of the race, passing by the Stadium Bowl
football field, which is followed by a long,
mostly flat stretch of course as the route heads out from downtown onto
the Schuster Parkway and Ruston Way.
This stretch of the race, which takes runners along the Commencement
Bay waterfront, is among its most scenic and is all flat as runners
make their way along the waterfront. At the 8.8-mile point in the race,
near Tacoma's Marine Park, runners hit the turnaround point and then
head back along Ruston and the Schuster Parkway back toward the finish
line, getting in a few more turns through neighborhoods downtown on the
way to the finish line on Commerce Street, near Tollefson Plaza.
Race
Weather & Climate
Mild, occasionally cool weather tends be the norm in the Tacoma area in
the early weeks of spring, as May temperatures average between
66°F and 47°F. May is also among the city's drier
months -- the area tends to see much more cloudy and rainy weather in
the
fall and winter -- with an average of just over 2 inches of rainfall
during the
month.
Fees
$40 for the half marathon, if registered by August 31, 2009
$45 between September 1 - December 31
$55 between January 1 - February 28, 2010
$65 between March 1 - April 15
$75 between April 16 - 27
$90 at the race expo
Registration
To reserve your spot in the spring 2010 running of
the Tacoma City Marathon, Half Marathon or 5K, register online at the event website.
Website
www.tacomacitymarathon.com
Half
Marathon Course
Map
Share
Your Race Story
Ever run in Washington's annual Tacoma City Marathon or Half Marathon?
Share
your impressions and read fellow runners' stories
and tips for the event.
Post your comments in Runner Reviews for the Tacoma City Half
Marathon
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