Get in the holiday spirit and bookend your race season with Portland’s favorite winter Half Marathon, 15K, 10K, and 5K! All races start and finish at the beautiful LEED Platinum-certified Daimler Truck North America campus on Swan Island and feature carolers, music and cookies along the course and more holiday festivities at the finish line than you can shake a candy cane at! Sure, we spend nearly a year of planning and organizing an awesome race course through miles of city streets, but it’s the FULL EXPERIENCE that sets the race apart!
MEDALS: All finishers will receive a LARGE and always super-cute Ugly Sweater Freddi medal (pro tip: use them as tree decorations each year!). Our medals are guaranteed to make you smile!
LONG SLEEVE TECH SHIRTS: All registrants that sign up before the shirt deadline will get one of our popular long-sleeve tech shirts! These shirts are available to those that register before the shirt deadline and come in men’s and women’s sizing. Always a super cute logo and always a tech fabric!
SPACING and STAGGERED STARTS: Over a dozen race waves to keep racers spread out and safe! Lots of covered outdoor areas as well to allow each racer to find space at the event!
CAROLERS ON COURSE: Caroling groups will be scattered throughout the course to give you a hearty dose of holiday cheer as you pass by. From girl scouts, to youth groups, to school choir classes, the community will be bundled up and ready to cheer you on! All groups are fundraising groups that we love to donate to!
HOLIDAY COOKIE AID STATIONS: All race courses will feature a special “SANTA’S COOKIE” station to provide you that little extra motivation to get through the course! Costumed purveyors of cookies will greet you with a platter full of cookies and a whole lotta cheer.
POST RACE ENTERTAINMENT: The finish venue is a holiday party! Heated tents at the finish venue create a wonderful and safe meeting place for post-race photo ops, conversation, beer drinking and more. Vendors selling products and giving away freebies will be there to peruse and investigate as you revel in a race well done.
REFRESHMENTS: Our friends at Rogue Brewery will be there to serve you some of their award-winning brews. We will also have multiple food trucks at the finish venue for you to choose from (bring your wallet or card!)! HOT CHOCOLATE station will be returning this year as well!
POST RACE MUSIC: Our DJ will be spinning holiday beats all morning long inside the gym! From classic holiday songs to some more upbeat music, music
AWARDS CEREMONY and RANDOM DOOR PRIZES: There are no official awards ceremonies, but we will have age group winner awards available and will have results kiosks available as well. Plus, raffle prizes!
COSTUME CONTEST: Costume contest competitions all morning long so nobody misses out. Head up to the stage, let them know you want to enter, and he’ll include you in the next “runway” exposition of costumes for the crowd. Team and individual contests offered.
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This is by Far My Favorite Local Race
It is important to note that I have done this race three times. I am a local and therefore I would have a different view of the race perhaps than … MORE
It is important to note that I have done this race three times. I am a local and therefore I would have a different view of the race perhaps than someone visiting from elsewhere. I had taken several years off because I was concentrating on getting my 50 states done. However, my sister decided she wanted to run her first half marathon and I immediately told her that this was the race and that I would join her.
The “expo” for the this race is not much to speak of as it is held at a different Foot Traffic store depending on the the day you go. With that being said, I have no issues with this setup.
Race morning was COLD. I mean it is not warm in Portland in December to begin with. But it rained almost all the way to the beginning of the race and the wind was blowing. This was my first time doing the “new” course. The old race started and finished at Adidas and the race now starts and finishes at Daimler which is a little further south. This was actually a good move because it cut what always felt like just a silly little zigzag through a neighbourhood to add mileage before beginning the real course. Now you go straight up the hill and pass Adidas before connecting with Willamette Drive for most of the course. I love Willamette Drive as it has a beautiful view of the Willamette River, DT Portland, and some very nice fancy homes. You pass University of Portland which is a pretty campus and run under what is arguably the nicest bridge in Portland (the St Johns). The turn around near Pier Park is a bit anticlimactic but such is the nature of an out and back sometimes.
This race was funny for me because I set out not really trying (since it was not part of my 50 States) but something about being on the course drove me that morning. I was obviously cruising along. I did not see my sister until I was well on my way back (which she told me was disheartening to know that I was that far ahead). I knew I must be going hard because I did feel it in miles 9, 10, and 11. But at mile 12 the course pretty much switches to you descending the hill that you ran up at the beginning. It is actually a nice way to end as it pretty much carries you that whole mile with just a small straightaway into the finishing chute. I actually thought I was hallucinating when I saw the timer as I did not believe that it could be right. A 9 year PR was shattered that day. This is a big deal considering I am on the other side of what should be my “peak running years”. I was pretty excited that my new PR was on my favourite local race.
The finishing area had plenty of goodies and of course the obligatory beer. My sister finished the race in a respectable time for a first timer and promptly retired from the half marathon. She did however agree that it was a nice course.
I think think that if you are a local this is a great race to shake off winter dust. I would even say it could be worth it for a destination race.
Point to point race along the bluff
Race day was in the low 40s with a typical damp/light rain. The race start finish line was on the DAIMLER campus which was nice because it offered a lot … MORE
Race day was in the low 40s with a typical damp/light rain. The race start finish line was on the DAIMLER campus which was nice because it offered a lot of open space and parking.
The 1st mile of the race was a 300 foot climb leading to a bluff. From the top of the Bluff the course was pretty flat and very gently rolled to the turnaround point.
The course mainly ran through the University of Portland campus and through residential areas. When the wind kicked up on a few occasions it was considerably colder.
The last mile was a downhill descent and turn back into the DAIMLER campus to the finish line.
The volunteers were nice and provided water and electrolytes at all rest stops. Gu was also provided at one of the stations which supported runners on both the out and back legs. They were holiday singers on the course tee which was a nice touch for this time of year.
Due to shipping issues the race metals did not arrive. However, the organizers provided a ribbon, a holiday ornament and a patch for the half marathon.
This was a well organized event and I would recommend if someone is looking for a local race in the Portland area .
Gingerbread cookies, downhill finish!
Great holiday vibe, with the live band and plenty of costumes. Slight uphill to keep me from going out too fast (my first 10k), gingerbread cookies at mile 5 (stashed … MORE
Great holiday vibe, with the live band and plenty of costumes. Slight uphill to keep me from going out too fast (my first 10k), gingerbread cookies at mile 5 (stashed in my hip pack for later!) and the downhill finish made me get that second wind a little easier. Beer from Deschutes is always stellar, donuts and chili. Plus, it wasn’t even cold this year! I love that they give a true technical shirt (long sleeve) and the medal is cute. Fun day for any age and distance run. I’m going to do this every year.
one of my all time favorite events & loc
This race is awesome. Out and back and kind of a loop at the end. So many runners and so much fun. Wave starts. Great Finisher Medal and shirt. Post … MORE
This race is awesome. Out and back and kind of a loop at the end.
So many runners and so much fun. Wave starts.
Great Finisher Medal and shirt.
Post party was huge and they had all kinds of stuff at this event. I hung out for 1 hour after the race was done.
Festive and fun.
This is a fun way to get into the holiday spirit. Easy course with plenty of folks dressed up in holiday cheer. It's always cold during this time of year, … MORE
This is a fun way to get into the holiday spirit. Easy course with plenty of folks dressed up in holiday cheer. It’s always cold during this time of year, but that’s what the hot soup is for! I have done this race twice and both times I got a long sleeve technical shirt that I can actually use for running! Lot’s of people stay and hang out afterwords and enjoy the morning. I will probably do this every year if I can.
Best Hoilday Run
Fun new location for this race this year. Much more room for parking and before/after race. Fun Flat Course, just a little up hill the 1st 1/2 mile however on … MORE
Fun new location for this race this year. Much more room for parking and before/after race. Fun Flat Course, just a little up hill the 1st 1/2 mile however on the way back its all down hill the last 1/2 mile. Very organized and everyone seemed to have a good time. People singing on course and you could even grab free candy.