The Goofy, Part 1

Event Stats:
Name adidas Helvetia Half Marathon
Date 06/09/2007
Location Hillsboro, OR, USA
Event Halfmarathon
Finish Time 01:45:09

Coming as part 1 in my 'Goofy' attempt (the term originates from the Disney marathon weekend, where Saturdays Half-Marathon features a Donald Duck medal, Sundays Marathon a Mickey Mouse medal, and runners finishing both events get an additional Goofy medal), I decided to go full out today, and then try to have fun and enjoy the scenery while the lactate burns in my legs at tomorrow's NODM.

I finished in 1:45:09, which beats my old PR by a solid three minutes. {Pride}

Race conditions: 4/5

Light rain that picked up over the race, but remained at a comfortable level with temperature in the 70s, very good running conditions

Scenery: 2/5

Located in Hillsboro, Oregon, the course features smaller streets through somewhat hilly farmland. It sure is beats running through an industrial area, but is in no way spectacular

Difficulty: 2/5

A rather hilly course, 98% on paved roads, good solid running, but for a road race tougher than expected.

Information: 4.5/5

Good website, pre-race eMail update, easy to find race site, large, exactly placed mile markers (I guess having adidas as a sponsor helps). Only thing missing was the marker for the half-way point.

Finisher medal: 2/5

Small, clean design, and not really great

Goodies: 4/5

Cliff blocks, 10% Off with sponsor adidas, a 10$ voucher for the spaghetti factory, and not too many useless flyers make for a perfect goody bag. The T-Shirt was simple and simply not nice, but post-race burger and a (for pay, but that might just as well be due to legal issues in Oregon) beer garden tops it. No Raffle though.

The Cheer: 2/5

The volunteers were encouraging - they always are, but I doubt I saw more than 20 spectators outside the start/finish area. A stadium finish, though!

Overall: 3/10

A solid race, but nothing spectacular. Probably a good one to hang out and chill afterwards, if the weather is nicer. If you are in the area, definitely go for it. If you have to travel for it, pick something else.