I meant to write this review earlier but time slipped away on me. Sorry. Okay, so my teenage daughter (DD = dear daughter) is training for her first marathon. In fact, she has never been a runner other than a very brief stint on the high school track team (no-cut policy) a couple years ago. However, after seeing her elderly mother finish the Portland Marathon last year, she decided she also wanted to run a marathon. So her journey began.
DD has been training with a terrific running program in our area, Portland Fit. It's the program I used last year and the program that I am now participating in as one of their assistant coaches. As part of the training program, PFit uses a locally run half marathon June event for their first distance benchmark run. My daughter did very well on her first half marathon and she was bitten by the bug, insisting we sign up for another half marathon in July. We chose the 2012 Foot Traffic Flat Half Marathon which is run on Sauvie Island near Portland, OR on the Fourth of July.
Now in the Pacific Northwest summer does not usually begin until July 4th or July 5th. Don't know why this is, but it is. Many a PNWer can recall a wet and/or gray Fourth of July camping trip with weather clearing up on your last day or the day you have to go home. So it was a 50/50 chance of hot weather. We lucked out. It was dry but in the high 60s - low 70s. This meant the early morning was cool. It was actually VERY cool that day. Pretty nice summer running weather.
Getting over to the island for the race is a logisticalnightmare challenge, even for "almost-locals" who should know better. (We live in a Portland suburb.) Keep in mind, you ARE WARNED on the race website! But somehow the warning is just not dire enough. While you are told that traffic will be bad, that carpooling or riding the shuttle is really the only way to go, you aren't told how driving your own car to the island on race morning is an absolutely BAD IDEA unless you plan to get there at 3 in the morning! Thankfully, I purchased a couple tickets for the shuttle (of which I was led to believe there were approximately 500 available) so getting to the start was not an issue...later I will explain how others driving to the start affected the race.
I promise this review will not be full of gloom and doom, although I do need to address some of the slightly unfavorable parts of the run. First, packet pick-up.
I guess I am spoiled. At packet pick-up I have come to expect a little bag containing your race bib, maybe a few coupons, maybe an energy bar/gel, and a tee shirt. However, when we picked up our "packet" we were handed a bib number, that was basically it. We were welcome to grab some pins out of a box, there was a small pile of some type of coupon for something, we received a postcard with a barcode on it for some type of raffle type drawing they would be having on race day, and you went to another table to pick up your tee shirt. I saw no bags. We had registered too late to get a tee shirt with our packet so maybe people who received a tee shirt received a plastic bag? I don't know. I didn't see any and I didn't see a single soul at the start area arrive with a Foot Traffic plastic bag for clothing drop-off. I did eventually see plastic bags being given at clothing drop-off on race day...which is another story. Sigh. This may have been their way of "encouraging" participants to go green and use their own bags.
Now, we have our bibs but no ticket for the shuttle. When I asked about this I was told that my name would be on a list that will be checked prior to boarding on the shuttle bus. Right there I realized this would be an incredibly inefficient way to handle the shuttle situation but as the kids say...whateva. I decided that on race day I would bring my email/receipt that showed my confirmation number. Good call!
Race day arrives. The shuttles leave at two different times. One leaves really early for the early start of the marathoners, the other leaves later for the start of the shorter runs. Since the later departure would only allow for about 15 minutes to use the porta-potty and drop off clothes, DD and I decide to take the earliest shuttle. Another good call.
Getting on a shuttle was a zoo with people lining up and looking up names on a list. Flashing our printed confirmation numbers allowed us to board immediately. My kids hate when mom goes over board with "being prepared" but I received no complaints that morning. :) We arrived on the island well ahead of the traffic nightmare that was on the horizon.
It was remarkably cold that morning. Sunny but cold. There was a long time to kill and not much to do. The farm hosting the start had some barns and one of them was open so that you could go in and check out some small livestock. More interesting for small children than cold, race anxious adults.
There were plenty of porta-potties available and it's the one thing about which I did not hear anyone complain. As start time neared, we began looking for the clothing drop-off. Nowhere could we find a tent or big sign indicating "this is the place". I finally asked someone who looked like they worked for Foot Traffic where the drop-off was located. He indicated that it was at the tent on the other side of the van behind him. Other side of van...no tent. There was a table but that was it and it appeared no one was there. (Guess we were early?)
Eventually it was close enough to our 6:45 a.m. start time to actually shed our jackets. By this time we see there is a makeshift sign taped to the once unmanned table and there is a line a mile long starting at the table as people were asking for bags and pens to mark said bags and deposit their clothing. Oh, bother. Again, mom to the rescue. At home I had pulled out an old Portland Running Company bag we used at the Helvetia Half Marathon, changed the bib number to our new ones and was ready to go. As soon as we arrived at the table we were outta there!
As DD and I (and hundreds of others) waited in drop-off there was a constant din of noise coming from a couple of loud but muddy sounding speakers. (I already have difficulty hearing due to too many endless hours listening to big band practices. Another story, perhaps.) Many of us simply could not make out most of what was being said. Turns out the marathon start had been delayed by 15 minutes due to traffic problems. This is when the truly irritating part of the race began for me.
At 6:45 a.m. DD and I line up for the start not realizing our start had been delayed. Looking around I see a mix of half marathon bibs in a sea of marathon bibs. I ask someone if they have decided to start the marathoners AND the half marathoners together due to the delay. No one seems to know. The horn blows, the crowd moves and many, if not all, of the half marathoners around me appear to start. So DD and I do, too! Mistake!
As we move down the road we see an endless sea of cars still attempting to get to the parking/start area. Eventually we see runners with half marathon bibs running against the wall of runners who have started. I get this sick feeling that we started too early, but our chip has been started so after I walk back to where my daughter is (I run faster than she at the moment) we decided to heck with it, we'll keep going.
The course is as advertised...flat! It is also beautiful. The weather was perfect, the company very friendly. About mile 4, I begin to hope that the turnoff from the marathon course would be clearly marked. A couple of early start half marathoners express their similar concerns. We pass what I am certain is the half marathon turnoff but there is no one directing traffic and there is absolutely NO SIGN indicating "Half marathon - this way". We are assured by an older marathoner that the turnoff is farther ahead of us. After awhile a group of elite male half marathoners go blasting past us. It was comforting to know that at least we were going in the right direction...or were we???
In just a few minutes, those same elite runners came screaming down the opposite side of the road and they were NOT HAPPY CAMPERS! Turns out, we had all missed the turnoff. The course had changed from last year! Of all the little annoying things about the race, this is the one thing that frosted me the most. Even if they didn't expect half marathoners to start out with the marathoners, one would think they would have the course clearly marked. When even the elite runners who started with the proper gun miss the turnoff, there is a problem.
Now I am in a foul mood because I realized that not only did I not start with my wave due to poor communication in the start area, but I have run an additional 1.5 miles! Thankfully, DD didn't run the same distance as she was running more slowly and there was someone directing traffic by the time she reached the turnoff point.
It is no surprise so many use this run to Boston qualify. Although it definitely would be uncomfortable if it was a warm day since there is relatively no shade on the latter half, the course is relatively easy if you enjoy flat courses. The scenery is beautiful. Plenty of farmland, barns and country road. (Don't know what the full marathoners saw scenery-wise, assuming it was simliar to the half.) In spite of the start debacle, I PR'd for 13.1 miles and 14.5 miles (my actual mileage).
The strawberry shortcake afterwards really hit the spot. (I think they had hotdogs there, too, but I only wanted shortcake.) They also had kiddie pools filled with ice and water for people to soak their legs. (I know ice baths are purported to make your legs feel better but I'll pass, thank you. Don't think my old ticker could take deliberately plunging parts of my body into ice water.) The people organizing/operating the race, though not particularly experts at efficiency, were super friendly. (That can help one forgive a lot of things.) The locals who put up with the disruption of their quiet island life on the Fourth of July in the name of charity (the run raised over $40,000 for charities including their fire department) should be commended for their generosity both in time and patience. They were also super friendly!
The shuttles were scheduled to begin returning to the "mainland" at 10 a.m., I believe. This was very late when you consider how much time you had to kill if you ran one of the shorter runs. Turns out the buses actually were leaving as they filled. A point that could've been explained earlier and would've had many early finishers leaving as soon as they were done so they could get an early start on their own Fourth of July activities with their families.
Will I do this race again? I don't know. Unlike the Fueled By Fine Wine Half Marathon where the brutality of the course might prevent me from taking on the challenge again, the chaotic organization of the Foot Traffic Flat might give me pause. I hate disorganization. I recognize the difficulties of putting on such an event, however, they've had awhile to iron out the kinks. Hmm... If you only have 500-600 seats for the shuttle but 2600+ people run the race, that means the traffic scenario is not likely to improve with the current road situation.
I would like to run it again just to see how fast I could do it without the missteps. Unfortunately, I probably won't be getting any faster in my old age so this PR might be the best time I will ever have on a half marathon.
Swag: I did order a tee shirt to be picked up at the store a couple weeks later for DD and myself. You do get a good sized medal. I've heard many say how much they LOVE the medal. To each, his own, I say. It is a "fun" medal in that it has a certain comical quality. Not a favorite on mine but I have seen far worse. The tee shirt is also "okay". I'm not a fan of red, white and blue clothing so I will probably toss it into my stack of tee shirts that will find its way into a tee shirt quilt.
Bottomline: Foot Traffic Flat Half Marathon is a good race with the potential to be a great race! The people are great, the organization will likely improve. Be prepared and be patient and you'll have a great time. :)
DD has been training with a terrific running program in our area, Portland Fit. It's the program I used last year and the program that I am now participating in as one of their assistant coaches. As part of the training program, PFit uses a locally run half marathon June event for their first distance benchmark run. My daughter did very well on her first half marathon and she was bitten by the bug, insisting we sign up for another half marathon in July. We chose the 2012 Foot Traffic Flat Half Marathon which is run on Sauvie Island near Portland, OR on the Fourth of July.
Now in the Pacific Northwest summer does not usually begin until July 4th or July 5th. Don't know why this is, but it is. Many a PNWer can recall a wet and/or gray Fourth of July camping trip with weather clearing up on your last day or the day you have to go home. So it was a 50/50 chance of hot weather. We lucked out. It was dry but in the high 60s - low 70s. This meant the early morning was cool. It was actually VERY cool that day. Pretty nice summer running weather.
Getting over to the island for the race is a logistical
I promise this review will not be full of gloom and doom, although I do need to address some of the slightly unfavorable parts of the run. First, packet pick-up.
I guess I am spoiled. At packet pick-up I have come to expect a little bag containing your race bib, maybe a few coupons, maybe an energy bar/gel, and a tee shirt. However, when we picked up our "packet" we were handed a bib number, that was basically it. We were welcome to grab some pins out of a box, there was a small pile of some type of coupon for something, we received a postcard with a barcode on it for some type of raffle type drawing they would be having on race day, and you went to another table to pick up your tee shirt. I saw no bags. We had registered too late to get a tee shirt with our packet so maybe people who received a tee shirt received a plastic bag? I don't know. I didn't see any and I didn't see a single soul at the start area arrive with a Foot Traffic plastic bag for clothing drop-off. I did eventually see plastic bags being given at clothing drop-off on race day...which is another story. Sigh. This may have been their way of "encouraging" participants to go green and use their own bags.
Now, we have our bibs but no ticket for the shuttle. When I asked about this I was told that my name would be on a list that will be checked prior to boarding on the shuttle bus. Right there I realized this would be an incredibly inefficient way to handle the shuttle situation but as the kids say...whateva. I decided that on race day I would bring my email/receipt that showed my confirmation number. Good call!
Race day arrives. The shuttles leave at two different times. One leaves really early for the early start of the marathoners, the other leaves later for the start of the shorter runs. Since the later departure would only allow for about 15 minutes to use the porta-potty and drop off clothes, DD and I decide to take the earliest shuttle. Another good call.
Getting on a shuttle was a zoo with people lining up and looking up names on a list. Flashing our printed confirmation numbers allowed us to board immediately. My kids hate when mom goes over board with "being prepared" but I received no complaints that morning. :) We arrived on the island well ahead of the traffic nightmare that was on the horizon.
It was remarkably cold that morning. Sunny but cold. There was a long time to kill and not much to do. The farm hosting the start had some barns and one of them was open so that you could go in and check out some small livestock. More interesting for small children than cold, race anxious adults.
There were plenty of porta-potties available and it's the one thing about which I did not hear anyone complain. As start time neared, we began looking for the clothing drop-off. Nowhere could we find a tent or big sign indicating "this is the place". I finally asked someone who looked like they worked for Foot Traffic where the drop-off was located. He indicated that it was at the tent on the other side of the van behind him. Other side of van...no tent. There was a table but that was it and it appeared no one was there. (Guess we were early?)
Eventually it was close enough to our 6:45 a.m. start time to actually shed our jackets. By this time we see there is a makeshift sign taped to the once unmanned table and there is a line a mile long starting at the table as people were asking for bags and pens to mark said bags and deposit their clothing. Oh, bother. Again, mom to the rescue. At home I had pulled out an old Portland Running Company bag we used at the Helvetia Half Marathon, changed the bib number to our new ones and was ready to go. As soon as we arrived at the table we were outta there!
As DD and I (and hundreds of others) waited in drop-off there was a constant din of noise coming from a couple of loud but muddy sounding speakers. (I already have difficulty hearing due to too many endless hours listening to big band practices. Another story, perhaps.) Many of us simply could not make out most of what was being said. Turns out the marathon start had been delayed by 15 minutes due to traffic problems. This is when the truly irritating part of the race began for me.
At 6:45 a.m. DD and I line up for the start not realizing our start had been delayed. Looking around I see a mix of half marathon bibs in a sea of marathon bibs. I ask someone if they have decided to start the marathoners AND the half marathoners together due to the delay. No one seems to know. The horn blows, the crowd moves and many, if not all, of the half marathoners around me appear to start. So DD and I do, too! Mistake!
As we move down the road we see an endless sea of cars still attempting to get to the parking/start area. Eventually we see runners with half marathon bibs running against the wall of runners who have started. I get this sick feeling that we started too early, but our chip has been started so after I walk back to where my daughter is (I run faster than she at the moment) we decided to heck with it, we'll keep going.
The course is as advertised...flat! It is also beautiful. The weather was perfect, the company very friendly. About mile 4, I begin to hope that the turnoff from the marathon course would be clearly marked. A couple of early start half marathoners express their similar concerns. We pass what I am certain is the half marathon turnoff but there is no one directing traffic and there is absolutely NO SIGN indicating "Half marathon - this way". We are assured by an older marathoner that the turnoff is farther ahead of us. After awhile a group of elite male half marathoners go blasting past us. It was comforting to know that at least we were going in the right direction...or were we???
In just a few minutes, those same elite runners came screaming down the opposite side of the road and they were NOT HAPPY CAMPERS! Turns out, we had all missed the turnoff. The course had changed from last year! Of all the little annoying things about the race, this is the one thing that frosted me the most. Even if they didn't expect half marathoners to start out with the marathoners, one would think they would have the course clearly marked. When even the elite runners who started with the proper gun miss the turnoff, there is a problem.
Now I am in a foul mood because I realized that not only did I not start with my wave due to poor communication in the start area, but I have run an additional 1.5 miles! Thankfully, DD didn't run the same distance as she was running more slowly and there was someone directing traffic by the time she reached the turnoff point.
It is no surprise so many use this run to Boston qualify. Although it definitely would be uncomfortable if it was a warm day since there is relatively no shade on the latter half, the course is relatively easy if you enjoy flat courses. The scenery is beautiful. Plenty of farmland, barns and country road. (Don't know what the full marathoners saw scenery-wise, assuming it was simliar to the half.) In spite of the start debacle, I PR'd for 13.1 miles and 14.5 miles (my actual mileage).
The strawberry shortcake afterwards really hit the spot. (I think they had hotdogs there, too, but I only wanted shortcake.) They also had kiddie pools filled with ice and water for people to soak their legs. (I know ice baths are purported to make your legs feel better but I'll pass, thank you. Don't think my old ticker could take deliberately plunging parts of my body into ice water.) The people organizing/operating the race, though not particularly experts at efficiency, were super friendly. (That can help one forgive a lot of things.) The locals who put up with the disruption of their quiet island life on the Fourth of July in the name of charity (the run raised over $40,000 for charities including their fire department) should be commended for their generosity both in time and patience. They were also super friendly!
The shuttles were scheduled to begin returning to the "mainland" at 10 a.m., I believe. This was very late when you consider how much time you had to kill if you ran one of the shorter runs. Turns out the buses actually were leaving as they filled. A point that could've been explained earlier and would've had many early finishers leaving as soon as they were done so they could get an early start on their own Fourth of July activities with their families.
Will I do this race again? I don't know. Unlike the Fueled By Fine Wine Half Marathon where the brutality of the course might prevent me from taking on the challenge again, the chaotic organization of the Foot Traffic Flat might give me pause. I hate disorganization. I recognize the difficulties of putting on such an event, however, they've had awhile to iron out the kinks. Hmm... If you only have 500-600 seats for the shuttle but 2600+ people run the race, that means the traffic scenario is not likely to improve with the current road situation.
I would like to run it again just to see how fast I could do it without the missteps. Unfortunately, I probably won't be getting any faster in my old age so this PR might be the best time I will ever have on a half marathon.
Swag: I did order a tee shirt to be picked up at the store a couple weeks later for DD and myself. You do get a good sized medal. I've heard many say how much they LOVE the medal. To each, his own, I say. It is a "fun" medal in that it has a certain comical quality. Not a favorite on mine but I have seen far worse. The tee shirt is also "okay". I'm not a fan of red, white and blue clothing so I will probably toss it into my stack of tee shirts that will find its way into a tee shirt quilt.
Bottomline: Foot Traffic Flat Half Marathon is a good race with the potential to be a great race! The people are great, the organization will likely improve. Be prepared and be patient and you'll have a great time. :)
Nice review! This is the race director and I like to take time to read everyone's feedback, good and bad.
ReplyDeleteWe are glad you enjoyed many qualities of the race and want you to know we were equally frustrated with the traffic this year. Last year went so well with the Fire Dept. (who have always mandated that they be in charge of parking) when they loaded multiple lots at once. Unfortunately, they brought on a new liaison that just didn't seem to care about it. BUT THERE IS GOOD NEWS FOR NEXT YEAR! It looks like we have approval to manage this OURSELVES with PROFESSIONAL flaggers and load two lanes at once near the parking area and load three lots at once. This will single handedly destroy any traffic lines. GUARANTEED!
The shuttle was open to 1000 people this last year (we don't allow 2,000 people right now because we don't want to have a parking fiasco at the shuttle location too!) but it looks as though 200 of the 1,000 that registered, decided to not take the shuttle and drive anyhow. So we will continue to creep that number up next year so a few more take the shuttle and we can guarantee the safety and efficiency of that in addition to the traffic changes!
As far as the course change, that will absolutely be over-marked and over staffed next year. We had volunteers stationed there from the Fire Dept. (again), but they just didn't know how to direct very well. Our other volunteer that was supposed to lead that got caught in traffic actually (darn traffic again!). The course change actually went great and we will continue it next year with lots of signage.
Hope that answers some of your questions! We work hard to organize this event and sometimes things can go a little haywire. I hope you do come back next year to really enjoy the island again and see how relaxing and fun and organized this event can be!
Sincerely,
Sean Rivers