Britt Yamamoto's Staging Area

Fun race with a not-so-easy hill from mile 5-7. March in the Pacific Northwest isn’t the greatest weather for running–cold, wet and cloudy–but with good gear, any weather is fine.

-super flat and a great run along the river. a perfect run to do with friends or those who are not major runners. just enough challenge with the distance, but not enough in terms of hills, etc. to eat them up! very well managed and easy to get to/from.

If you’re looking for a small, homespun race and you enjoy running in beautiful, natural and QUIET spaces, this is the race for you. While the production quality (swag, pre-race communication, etc) is not anywhere near other races, this race feels very community based and the way that community runs used to be (or at least how I would imagine them to be!).

There are two hills–one around 11/12 and the other at 22/23, but they are not as brutal as you might expect and very easy to walk. The biggest challenge for me was not stopping and sitting to just take in the beauty of the river and the canyon. I usually run with something playing in my ears, but the quiet and stillness of the canyon inspired me to run without any noise and just the sound of my feet hitting the ground.

This was the first year back after two off due to COVID and it showed a bit. Pre-race communication were non-existent (I wasn’t sure that the race was even happening for certain until I picked up my bib) and for runners who revel in swag, you will be disappointed. But the people who put it on are as kind as can be and you’ll feel like a part of something. Not all races can say that.

First time post-COVID for the race meant that it was not operating at ‘full strength’ and didnt feel fully managed/coordinated. Planning to run again in 2022 and hoping that everything will be back to ‘normal’. Coming from the mainland I wasn’t fully prepared for how much my toes/feet would swell from the humidity–I think I lost 5 of 10 toenails from the run. The uphill going up Diamond Head is gradual and not as hard as you would think, coming at mile 22ish.

This is such a well done race and a lot of fun to run. The course itself is not so hard and passes through all kinds of fun spots in the LA area. The vibe during the race is very positive with lots of spectator areas and plenty of refreshments. Even the placement of the taiko drummers on the one semi-challenging hill was brilliant.