Oregon > Wildwood Trail Run Marathon, Half Marathon & 10K
Portland, OR • Saturday, July 27, 2013 • Course Map
Since its incorporation as a city roughly 160 years ago, the tiny northwest Oregon settlement that would eventually become the city of Portland and one of the nation's largest metropolitan areas has always kept intact the wild, untamed backcountry wilderness feel of Forest Park, which at more than 5,000 acres remains the largest forested urban park of its kind anywhere in the United States.
It's that landscape -- dominated by dense forests of Douglas fir trees, many of which have trunks that measure several feet in diameter -- that runners will trek through at the Wildwood Trail Run Marathon, Half Marathon & 10K, which makes its 4th annual running in the mid-summer of 2013 after a 2012 race that saw just over 440 runners cross the finish line in all three races combined, including 237 finishers in the half marathon alone.
Part of a series of nearly 30 trail races managed by Coastal Trail Runs, a Walnut Creek, Calif.-based race and event management company that puts on trail runs just like the Wildwood Trail Run throughout the year up and down the California and Oregon coasts, this race takes runners on a challenging out-and-back half marathon route that features an elevation gain of about 925 feet from the start to the highest point of the course, which lies at the mid-way point of the half marathon route.
Runners in all three race distances will start at Portland's Lower MacLeay Park, which lies between Upshur and Thurman streets near the city's Northwest district. From there, the course heads southeast into Forest Park and onto the Wildwood Trail, which stretches some 30 miles inside the park and is part of a 40-mile loop trail system that connects Forest Park with several of the city's other pedestrian and park trails along the Columbia and Willamette Rivers, and to other parts of the city.
The half marathon -- which starts at 8:30 AM, following the 8:00 starting time for those running the full marathon while the 10K starts at 8:45 AM -- follows a mostly gradual uphill climb for the first half of the race.
Starting from an elevation of just over sea level at the starting line, the course unfolds along dirt and single-track trails through the forests inside the park, with numerous small uphills and downhills along the way, climbing more than 900 feet from the start to the half-way point.
Once runners reach the turnaround, they cover exactly the route they just ran in reverse, all the way back to the Lower MacLeay trailhead.
Race Weather & Climate
Located in the northwest corner of Oregon, about a three-hour drive south from Seattle, Portland typically sees its warmest and driest weather of the year in July, when average monthly temperatures range between 57°F and 79°F, and rainfall totals average just over 3/4 of an inch for the month.
On the day of the race (July 27), the average low is 58°F and the average high is 80°F.
Course Map
View the race route map for the Wildwood Trail Run Half Marathon
Fees
$45 for the half marathon
$55 for the full marathon
$35 for the 10K
Registration
To reserve your spot in the summer 2013 running of Portland's Wildwood Trail Run Marathon, Half Marathon or 10K race, register online at the event website.
Official Race Website
www.coastaltrailruns.com
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