It is cheap, scenic and official. If you live close by and just want another marathon in quest of 50 or 100 than do it. Only marathon in February for North West that I know of. I am gunning for 100 and used this marathon as a training run for March Washington DC marathon. Got what I wanted my second time doing Birch Bay.

Small event, this year first time over 100 finishers. Course is a double 10 mile loop with 3 mile start/finish tail. One big hill and some rollers need to be done twice. Was cool, heavy overcast, breezy, detracted from the scenic aspect. Wind was favorable first 5 miles or so - knew that would mean a difficult return. Barely adequate water and gatorade for cool day. Don't expect anything at finish but OK medal. No warm area to wait, minimal awards, no age groups. Packet pickup, even on race AM, at hotel over two miles from start which confused some people. Limited and expensive parking due to change in park policy, not the organizers fault. The hostel is GREAT, nice place and save $$

A beautiful, scenic day in Birch Bay. Completed my own personal goals. The organizers and the community really did a great job this year. Good to see course support improved. A great warm up for the bigger races. And if you need a place to stay, check out the Birch Bay Hostel, Clean and quiet. They give marathon runners 20% discount and let me come back to shower after the run.

I registered for this race for the sole purpose of qualifying for Boston. I liked the fact that it was an early-season race, and the fact that the course was flat for a good portion (with only one big hill and some gentle rollers).

I have run 17 marathons, and always plan on being self-reliant. I never leave my success of my marathon in the hands of strangers - there's too much of a chance of problems. I did not use the aid stations and didn't need porta-potties. The "expo" on the day before the race consisted of handing the t-shirts out of a pick-up truck. And the race director had somehow lost the race bibs. Only then did I find out that it was an open course, which meant running on the left side of the road, facing oncoming traffic. I think this is something that should receive some sort of mention on their website; this was just something that threw me off by adding something that I had to keep in mind during my run. Thankfully, I met my BQ time, so I was happy with the race overall. Following the race, I had a plain bagel and some new sports drink following. There was very little food after the race, but it seemed like enough for the remaining participants. For the early-bird price, I didn't expect much, as I knew it would be a low-key affair.

Only issue following was the fact that my results had my name misspelled, so I had to do a couple of follow-up emails to have that corrected.

If you are looking for an early season marathon, with gorgeous scenery and no frills, consider this an option. I did like it for the fact that the participants were there to run for the love of running, and not for a big cheering crowd. I really appreciate the smaller marathons, so I did find some of the details amusing. I would consider running the Birch Bay Marathon again.

It used to be a $20.00 marathon but was raised to $60.00. The site claims better course support. If you call a couple of stations with some water course support, then this is the marathon for you. When it was $20.00, they had some Gatorade. This was my last Birch Bay Marathon.

I did not run this race expecting a lot, other than a quiet course in a nice setting. However, when running a marathon, I expect that when the race director advertises that Gatorade (or another electrolyte) will be present at the aid stations that they will actually be present. For the 2010 race, all of the aid stations had water only. I carried a couple of gels for back up, which allowed me to get through the course (just barely, though, and I believe it cost me about 20 minutes, as when I finally crossed the finish line I was faint from hunger). This lack of attention to detail from the race director is a serious issue and could seriously impact the health of runners. If you aren't going to have electrolytes, then say so in order for runners to prepare. Also, the web page is totally confusing as to where the aid stations are. The text says 10 aid stations, but the course map reached through another link shows 6, which is closer to the truth, as I found out.

My other issue was the lack of much food at the end: Plain bagels and bananas and some sort of new type of energy drink only. Where were the advertised peanut butter, jelly, and honey? Considering that I barely saw any race officials on the course, and nearly zero signage, and the fact that the aid stations had only water, it seems $50 was a little steep. The T-shirts were basic, and the medal OK, but I don't run for these things. The run itself is what I run for and the organization left a bad taste in my mouth in what otherwise would have probably been a PR for me. On a good day (hit and miss in February), this is a good area to run in, but I do not recommend this course because the organization is too poor.

I ran Birch Bay for the first time today while in Washington State visiting my daughter at PLU. It's pretty mellow, without any artificial hype resulting in a relaxing event. Other than water/electrolytes on the course (the number and location of aid stations were satisfactory), you have to prepare yourself with GU, toilet paper, and the like. The strength of the event is the beautiful/scenic course. I especially liked the views of Canadian Cascades across Puget Sound. Although the course was 1/4-mile long by my Garmin, it is Boston-qualification certified. For the price, it's well worth doing, especially if you like running in solitude through spectacular scenery and don't care about schwag. Fort a first-time runner, though, it's probably not a great choice, as it's somewhat hilly and has zero "fan support" to drive you along.

Posted by SRK, member: Team MarathonGuide.com

I actually love running in Birch Bay. I've run the BB 30K a few times, so I knew the route.

First the good: The race started right on time. The aid station volunteers were very supportive. The course was beautiful.

Now the issues: First off, no chip timing. We had little ribbons, and not even numbers. I like to keep my race number from every race. I was left with a 1-inch piece of blue attached to my jacket.

There were absolutely zero facilities on the course. I get no frills, but I think it's mighty presumptuous of organizers to decide for the citizens of BB that it's a-okay for people to pee in their yards! Because there are very few areas of commerce, and none past mile 2, most of those not even open in the off season, there was NO PLACE to use a restroom. I prefer NOT to drop trou in public, especially wearing a bright yellow jacket that screams, "I know what YOU'RE doing!" But I had no choice.

Up until mile 17 or 18, the water stops were good. Only one had food, and there was no GU, but there was water and Gatorade. The others were all water, until the second loop when one of the guys at a water stop told me that he'd had his brother take Gatorade to the next stop so people could get some there too.

At about mile 17 or so, the organizer drove up beside me, asked how I was doing, and asked if I needed the next water stop. I said no, but I didn't mean I didn't need ANY course support for the rest of the marathon. Plus, how do you answer that? It shouldn't have even been asked. I was shocked to find not only no more water on the route, but not another SOUL on the route. What if one of us had had an emergency? I know the guy behind me was really struggling, and I'd lost a guy WAY back in the first loop who was already doing poorly. That was really a HUGE liability just waiting to happen! I don't think that a race with no time limit should pull course support, period. I'm no Deena Kastor, but I finished in 5 hours. That was slower for this field, but not exactly a walking pace. I generally finish middle of the pack.

I won't run this one again. I've had better course support on marathons that had no fee. Heck, I even got some silly "medals" in those. Nothing on this one. For $35, it would have been nice to have had a piece of fruit (they had some cookies and chips that had been at the one water stop left over) at the end. This was my 19th marathon, and 4th this year. Of those four, this was the second most expensive (cheap at $35), but had the least support.

This marathon was terrific from start to finish. Looking for medals or crowds of people that all say, "Looking strong"? Then this is not your race.

Looking for beautiful views and a challenging course? Sign up! Part of the course is a ten-mile loop that you do twice.

The organizers were great. The race started on time and the aid stations were fine.

I would do this race again and again.

Did it in '06 and '07 and plan for '08 as well.
Watch the weather and be prepared to dress up for cold, rain, and wind if necessary. Temps can be in the teens at the start.
Much of the run is along the seashore, which is scenic but sometimes windy. The course is two loops around the peninsula, and stays interesting enough to keep you from getting too bored, with one tough hill thrown in too (you get to do it twice).
Support is sparse but adequate.
Very friendly folks put this race on.