Shore to Shore Marathon

A beautiful, fun, small marathon - you know it will be a good time when packet pickup is at a winery! There were about 600 runners this year (breakdown per the race director was about 120 for the marathon, 300 for the half, and the rest for the 10k); everyone I met was inviting, unpretentious and happy to be there. The course was beautiful, with lake views throughout. There were a rolling hills to keep things interesting (challenging without being overwhelming; maybe 3 bigger ones). Roads were open to traffic which was a non-issue early in the race, though the steady stream of cars toward the end (and while you run through the main parts of town) was a bit more bothersome. This is especially true as the runners' 'lane' accumulates walkers toward the later portion of the race - everyone was nice and happy to move over, but it just got a bit crowded at times. Still, the crystal clear lake and beautiful vineyards kept a smile on my face. Lots of aid stations, nearly every mile at the end, which were great as the temperatures rose. Not a ton of spectators, but the volunteers were fantastic. It was a great place to spend a weekend and I hope to be back again next year!

The course started at 25 mile creek state park and followed the lake around to the city of Manson. It rained the entire 26.2 miles, which is unusual for Chelan but overall a beautiful course but very challenging due to all the hills. Very well organized with aid stations every 2 miles. Looking forward to making this a new tradition every year!

Beautiful run along the water. Very little pre-race information. I had to e-mail to find out where the race started and the time to meet to get on the bus. No course description on the web site. Thought we were just about done when they send us on a 'detour'. I wasn't ready for that! I'd rather start further out and run 'straight' back.