Poulsbo Half Marathon & 10K
Poulsbo, WA
- Half Marathon, 10K
- Road (Paved)
- Official race website
The Poulsbo Half Marathon and 10k is a beautiful course that runs through “Little Norway”. It will have chip timing, participant shirts and finisher medals! All participants will also get free photo downloads. The course starts and finishes at Liberty Bay Waterfront Park and runs through downtown Poulsbo.
Local Historical Weather (Oct 04):
| 2025 | 2024 | 2023 | 2022 | 2021 | |
| H (°F) | 62 | 62 | 65 | 65 | 61 |
| L (°F) | 54 | 49 | 54 | 52 | 48 |
Find Nearby Lodging (hotel, rental, etc.):
Fun and overcast in little Norway!
Great race overall. Plenty of helpful aid stations. You run through some quaint neighborhoods and the little town of Poulsbo on the way to the two loops of the backend … MORE
Great race overall. Plenty of helpful aid stations. You run through some quaint neighborhoods and the little town of Poulsbo on the way to the two loops of the backend with some nice views of the verdant landscape and lake. It can get a little hilly on that backend and then having to do twice can be a little challenging. Still, it was fun race and you can get a cool green tee and awesome Viking ship medal! A must to take a photo with the viking on Viking Way…tremendous, memorable experience!
Tough but fun!
The course has a lot of variety of sidewalk, a little trail, roadway, and views of Puget Sound. It has some hills and a lot of rolling hills which makes … MORE
The course has a lot of variety of sidewalk, a little trail, roadway, and views of Puget Sound. It has some hills and a lot of rolling hills which makes it challenging. Orca Running always puts on really fun races and enjoying the town of Poulsbo after the race is one of my favorties!
Water views and rolling hills
Really enjoyed this course! There were aid station every 2-3 miles, which felt like plenty. Near the start of the course there is a bit of a hill which is … MORE
Really enjoyed this course! There were aid station every 2-3 miles, which felt like plenty. Near the start of the course there is a bit of a hill which is challenging if still warming up, but running through town and by the water after took my mind off the challenge. There are a few more hills later on in the race, but nothing too extreme, and for every uphill there is a downhill, which helped me recover and feel good throughout the race. There were 3 starting waves for each race, so we had a chance to somewhat organize ourselves according to anticipated pace. This was my first half so my goal was just to finish, and I ended up enjoying the whole course. I also loved the swag – both the green t-shirt and the medal!
Fun!
A great race put on by great people! I'm new to the Poulsbo and everyone made me feel super welcome. Hope I get to run this race again next year! MORE
A great race put on by great people! I’m new to the Poulsbo and everyone made me feel super welcome. Hope I get to run this race again next year!
A little too repetitive
Beautiful scenery, but the course does get repetitive. I can see this being a bit demoralizing for a first-time runner. Cool start, cool finish! MORE
Beautiful scenery, but the course does get repetitive. I can see this being a bit demoralizing for a first-time runner. Cool start, cool finish!
Awesome! Well put together.
This was my first time doing a 10k event. Loved the location and course and everything was planned well. Definitely going to do more races through them. The medal was … MORE
This was my first time doing a 10k event.
Loved the location and course and everything was planned well. Definitely going to do more races through them. The medal was cool also
Some quirks but still a good one
This course is NOT flat and fast. It’s rolling hills and an out and back so gets a bit boring. The slanted roads pose risk for injury at some spots. … MORE
This course is NOT flat and fast. It’s rolling hills and an out and back so gets a bit boring. The slanted roads pose risk for injury at some spots. The course is also shared with 10k race that has different turnaround points and the signage can be confusing at times. Having said all this, it was a fun crowd, great weather and good scenic views. Orca did a good job with the production, I really hope they can make some tweaks to the course though. And Poulsbo is a cute, charming town with many boutique shops, so definitely worth hanging around after the race.
A great reason to visit Poulsbo
I love running this half. I've done it twice and both times I have just had a blast. The course isn't too challenging. It is an out and back with … MORE
I love running this half. I’ve done it twice and both times I have just had a blast. The course isn’t too challenging. It is an out and back with a loop along the coast which is beautiful. The town is super cute and great for getting brunch as well as doing a little shopping after the race. I personally love cruising the antique shops and popping into Boehm’s chocolates.
Not coming back
1. Repeat out-and-back course made the run monotonous. 2. Slanted roads caused discomfort and potential injury risk. 3. Shared road space with cars on a narrow course, creating safety concerns. … MORE
1. Repeat out-and-back course made the run monotonous.
2. Slanted roads caused discomfort and potential injury risk.
3. Shared road space with cars on a narrow course, creating safety concerns.
4. Course was not flat or fast, as they claim. Towards the end, there’s a narrow, dangerous, slippery downhill section at the end.
5. Being a cup-less race made hydration difficult for runners.
Scenic race with some safety issues
I’ll start off with the good: 1. Orca Running always puts on a great race, great staff, everything is well organized, good aid stations etc. I love running their races. … MORE
I’ll start off with the good:
1. Orca Running always puts on a great race, great staff, everything is well organized, good aid stations etc. I love running their races.
2. Most of the course is pretty scenic, which makes the double out and back layout more tolerable.
Now on to the bad:
1. Orca should stop calling this course flat and fast. It’s rolling hills, but fast with the amount of recovery you get on the downhills.
2. There are two very unsafe areas on the course. When you start you leave a board walk and sprint around a tight uphill corner in loose dirt, I’m shocked there are not more people getting hurt here. On the final stretch there’s another section of the course that is extremely poorly laid out and has you crossing an active park full of pedestrians and then dropping downhill and making a 90 degree turn on a dirt single track. This is the 100 meters from the finish and people are all out sprinting, it’s a completely baffling layout. Orca could fix both of these issues by starting the race in the parking lot and heading up King Olaf way, you would lose the scenic board walk but that stretch was just people pushing and shoving anyways. With high stack race shoes becoming the norm we shouldn’t have courses designed for a trail run.
3. It’s a double out and back on an open street. While there wasn’t too much traffic, it’s still a really subpar experience to just about any other race layout, and having to hop into active traffic to get around walking 10k participants just adds to the danger.
With that said, it was still a great day. I had a blast, and some small adjustments could make this race into something really special. I’ll probably still run it again next year since the hills provided a good challenge.
One of my favorite halves!
I signed up for this race because it was the only one I could find near Seattle the weekend me and my husband were in town and I wanted to … MORE
I signed up for this race because it was the only one I could find near Seattle the weekend me and my husband were in town and I wanted to check Washington off my list of 50 States. I’m so glad I did this race!
The course (while challenging) was beautiful, and even with the hills I was still only 3 minutes off from getting a PB. There were plenty of aid stations and I appreciated the selecting of Gu Energy Gels at each one.
The swag was also great. Plenty of recovery snacks available at the finish line, I love the color of my race shirt and the stone medal is so unique!
Overall this is a race I’d recommend and I’d love to run more races put on my Orca Running in the future.
Smooth, beautiful race
The setup and management of this race was awesome. It was my first Orca running race and everything was super smooth. Lots of photo spots, well marked course, plenty of … MORE
The setup and management of this race was awesome. It was my first Orca running race and everything was super smooth. Lots of photo spots, well marked course, plenty of restrooms, etc. The course itself was beautiful, but I’m from Poulsbo so maybe a bit biased. I didn’t mind the out and back, as the views of the mountains, water, and trees were great. The only negatives were that the course is not “flat and fast”, there were some decent hills. Also a lot of the course was very hard on my ankles because of how sloped the roads were. So either wear lower stack shoes or do some ankle conditioning before this race. Finally, this race had the coolest medal. It’s this awesome stone(!) medal with a Nordic dragon and runic letters etched on it.
Prob will skip next year
Half marathoners had to do an out&back then repeat that same out&back. We were just running back and forth on the same stretch of road, seeing the same landmarks and … MORE
Half marathoners had to do an out&back then repeat that same out&back. We were just running back and forth on the same stretch of road, seeing the same landmarks and volunteers 4 times. Lame.
Only a few miles of the course were on the water but it was pretty, as was the starting/finishing area. It was easy to park, check a bag, and pick up your bib.
Wonderful Fall Race
Easy and well-marked race. Everything was smooth from packet pickup to T-shirt exchange. Beautiful views and roomy roads. This was my first race with Orca Running, but it won’t be … MORE
Easy and well-marked race. Everything was smooth from packet pickup to T-shirt exchange. Beautiful views and roomy roads. This was my first race with Orca Running, but it won’t be my last!
Great Race!
Love this race! Beautiful start/finish line and running along the water for a large part of it. Super great swag! Orca always has the best shirts/medals. Only complaint is it's … MORE
Love this race! Beautiful start/finish line and running along the water for a large part of it. Super great swag! Orca always has the best shirts/medals. Only complaint is it’s an out and back. Looking forward to running again next year!
Fun race in a cute town!!
This race is moderately hilly through some cute neighborhoods and along the beautiful waterfront. The start and finish is right on the water which is fantastic. Race shirt and medal … MORE
This race is moderately hilly through some cute neighborhoods and along the beautiful waterfront. The start and finish is right on the water which is fantastic. Race shirt and medal are amazing as always. There are so many cute shops and restaurants/cafes/bakeries nearby that after the race, we stayed longer to have a yummy meal and explore all the shops! Highly recommend this race!
Fun, scenic and hilly
I had read somewhere that this was a flat course. WRONG! I was not sure if not knowing about hills helped or not but I enjoyed every minute. This was … MORE
I had read somewhere that this was a flat course. WRONG! I was not sure if not knowing about hills helped or not but I enjoyed every minute. This was the first event I’ve made it to this year. Tons of things got in the way. Next time I’ll be running it LOL Coming in 2nd in my age group just made my day
Beautiful course!
Great views! Course was well marked. The volunteers were all so encouraging and kind! There were a couple of hills, but nothing too crazy. Good snacks and hydration at the … MORE
Great views! Course was well marked. The volunteers were all so encouraging and kind! There were a couple of hills, but nothing too crazy. Good snacks and hydration at the finish line. I like that they provided some reusable cups for the runners who didn’t have one (like myself!). Good music at the start/finish too!
Fun, scenic, hilly course
This course was beautiful, a mix of charming neighborhoods, beautiful forests, and scenic beach views. There were more hills than I was expecting but the challenge made it that much … MORE
This course was beautiful, a mix of charming neighborhoods, beautiful forests, and scenic beach views. There were more hills than I was expecting but the challenge made it that much more satisfying. As always, Orca’s production was top notch and the Viking fish swag was adorable!
Beautiful fall race
This is a moderately hilly race through some gorgeous foliage in Poulsbo. The double out and back wasn’t as bad as I thought it would be and the finish along … MORE
This is a moderately hilly race through some gorgeous foliage in Poulsbo. The double out and back wasn’t as bad as I thought it would be and the finish along the water was beautiful. The race was well organized and supported.