Disclaimer: I received a free entry to North Olympic Discovery Half Marathon as part of being a BibRave Pro. Learn more about becoming a BibRave Pro (ambassador), and check out BibRave.com to review find and write race reviews!
This past weekend I ran the North Olympic Discovery Half Marathon in Port Angeles! I went into it with high expectations that I quickly realized were wishful thinking.
The Friday before I summited Mount Saint Helens. It was over 5,000 feet of elevation and a very long trek to the top. On the glissade down I ended up face planting due to the snow conditions and tore my pants in the process. When I woke up on Saturday to leave for Port Angeles my right leg was covered in ice-burn and I have two deep purple bruises from my ice axe. Let’s just say, my legs were not feeling so good. The drive north was beautiful and we arrive to Port Angeles in good time.
Expo:
The race expo was held on Saturday only from noon to 6pm. The bib pickup was pretty organized, but due to a name mix up I had to go back and get the correct bib. I was very happy the long sleeve half zip was a womens cut! That was a wonderful surprise. We also received a reusable gear check bag that had a place to write your bib on with a bunch of paper flyers. There weren’t many vendors at the expo, mainly local running races.
We checked into our hotel then found an early dinner. I highly recommend Barhop Brewing, their pizza and beer was great! We also swung by the natural food market for some snacks. I opted for fresh guacamole, hummus and chips which seemed to help my stomach instead of hinder it on race day.
Race Day:
Getting to the race day shuttles was a quick walk from my hotel. NODM did a great job organizing the start times for the Half and Full marathons so that it was easy to get on a shuttle to the start. The volunteers loading runners on to the shuttles were wonderful too!
After a 20 minute shuttle ride we arrived at the start line. It was an open soccer field. There was a marching band and a small shelter that had cups of water. There were also plenty of porta-potties! The lines were never too long for them which was wonderful. I did find my fellow BibRave Pros Bradley and Jeremy before the start! It’s always wonderful to meet fellow pros.
The start was pretty organized considering there were less than 1,000 runners. The course is relatively flat but the hills are pretty steep. I ran with someone from my Fleet Feet Seattle training program for the first 6 miles before I started to really feel my legs. By mile 10 I was not a happy camper and was having issues keeping water and my shotblocks down. I knew after mile 6 that my goal of running a small PR was a no go. I will admit, at mile 10 I did phone my BRF to have her kick my ass into gear and finish. Cassidy- you are the best BRF a girl can have. I even called my boyfriend and asked him to have a coke ready for me at the finish. Yes, coke somehow helps me intake some sugar after I finish a race, not sure why it’s the easiest thing for me to stomach but it is.
Even if the last 3.1 miles suck they were beautiful! The last 4 miles look out over the Puget Sound and are on a very flat trail. All of the volunteers on the course were wonderful too. They were super enthusiastic and did a great job giving everyone directions. I was very happy to see that finish line even though I was in a lot of pain.
The finish line was pretty well organized. I quickly got my finishers medal, a gatorade and my gear check back. There was plenty of post race food too. I didn’t really eat any of it until I got back to my hotel, I was trying to drink as much liquid as I could since I was dehydrated.
Overall I would recommend this race to anyone looking for a relatively fast course and some sweet swag. If I were to run it again, I would definitely not summit a mountain two days before. Onward to Rock n Roll Seattle Half for a PR attempt!
