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Washington > Valentine Marathon, Half Marathon, 10-Mile
& 10K Run
Olympia, WA
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Date
Sunday, February 8, 2009
Event
Details
Following much the same half marathon route as the one used in
Olympia's annual Christmas
Marathon & Half Marathon,
the Valentine Half Marathon takes runners on a
mostly flat out-and-back course just a few days before the Valentine's
Day
holiday, which starts and finishes at
Washington's Millersylvania State Park and features a few rolling hills
along paved country roads. Just over 200 runners came out to compete in
all of the Valentine Classic running events combined in 2008, with an
estimated 67 runners crossing the finish line in the half marathon
alone.
Like the wintertime Christmas race, the course for the half marathon
follows a mostly north-south route
along Tilley Road between Millersylvania State Park and Goddard Road,
starting just off
the shores of the park's Deep Lake. From there, runners head out along
the park road to Tilley Road, which they follow southward until meeting
up with Goddard Road Southwest. The turn onto Goddard
takes runners about a mile up the road to the intersection
with Gibson Road, where the course then turns around and takes the
field back along the
route back up to the park.
The start and finish area for the race offers a picturesque, wooded
retreat from nearby Olympia, which lies about a 20-minute drive north
up Interstate 5. The park's 842 acres are a popular local destination
for camping and fishing and are filled with hiking, biking and walking
trails throughout. Millersylvania is also easily accessible from the
nearby Seattle/Tacoma Airport, which lies approximately a 60-mile drive
away.
Organizers report that the course for the half and the full marathons
include a few hills, but that approximately 70 percent of the race is
run on flat terrain. All races in the event -- which include the full
and half marathons as well as a 10-mile, 10K, 5K and 1-mile run -- are
open to walkers as well as runners, and the marathon course
is a certified Boston Marathon qualifier by USA Track and Field.
Race
Weather & Climate
Located in western Washington State,
just over an hour's drive from Seattle, Olympia
typically experiences cool to cold conditions in the late winter
months, with plenty of cloudy, rainy weather.
In
February, the city's average monthly temperatures range between
48°F and 33°F, while precipitation amounts average
around 6.17 inches for the month.
Fees
N/A
Registration
Online registration is not yet available for the winter 2010 running of
Washington's
Valentine Marathon or Half Marathon. Please check back later for
updated information on how to sign up for this race.
Website
www.ontherunevents.com
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Your Race Story
Ever run in Olympia's annual Valentine Marathon, Half Marathon, 10K or
10-mile race?
Share
your impressions and read fellow runners' stories
and tips for the event.
Discuss it in the HalfMarathons.Net
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