Evergreen Trail Runs

I was drawn to the Tehaleh Evergreen Trail Runs due to the fact that I wanted to do a double half marathon weekend, which meant one half marathon on Saturday and one half marathon on Sunday.
*Crazy ain’t it? But that’s me and my life for a good portion of my life.
The Tehaleh Evergreen Trail Runs running event is a small event that showcases and draws many seasoned trail runners, as well as experienced marathoners, to the Pacific Northwest during the last weekend in September. Typically, the weather during that time is generally cooler and makes for a great race atmosphere. To most, this race is not known to the masses, as trail races cater to the chosen few who want a cheap race but not be bothered down with big crowds, heavy logistics, and high entry fees. For those of you who love a good time and want to run a technical trail (at some spots), this may be the one for you, although there were some parts of the course that were paved, but 75% of the course is all trail. I was here for the 2015 installment of this trail race and ran the half marathon.
The Tehaleh Evergreen Trail Runs offers the full marathon and a half marathon, as well as a 10K, 5K, and the kids run. I was privileged to see the kids race while waiting for the half marathon to start. Since this one is a very low key affair, they only offer race day packet pick up. They don’t have any race t-​shirts and don’t give out finisher medals at all. I should have known that before signing up, but then again, I don’t read through the fine print at times and assume that all races have finisher medals. The race starts and finishes at the Donald Eismann Elementary School in Bonney Lake. Parking here is quite plentiful, as long as you get here early enough to covet a great parking spot near the start /​finish line. The race registration is as cheap as you can get and I paid $ 41 for the half marathon, whereas the marathon is priced at $ 48. Pretty darn cheap for a race, but bummed that there was no race t shirts nor finisher medals.
For me, it was just 13.1 miles and on a trail no less. On some spots along the course, it felt like I was lost and in the middle of nowhere. The course was basically a loop course, where the half marathon did it once, but the marathon does it twice. The course had some hills and some uphill climbs. There was a grossly narly downhill section on the course, which was basically a 45 degree section of trail that was a challenge to get down without breaking anything. That took me a while, but at least I didn’t break anything or fall down. Bonney Lake was about 30 — 45 minutes from downtown Seattle, so best believe that it takes a while to drive down to get into the trails out here. In the end, the volunteers were great and the trail was marked with orange ribbons that was tied to tree branches and signposts, so it was marked pretty well. Thank goodness I didn’t get lost and the weather was comfortable and didn’t get too warm. This trail race is what it is. If you love trail distance racing, this one may be the right one for you. If you like bling with your racing, it may not be the one for you.
But it’s just running and be glad you are out here and competing. It’s a fun way to see the country and the travel is quite nice too. While I am not keen on trail racing myself, it’s a nice race with fantastic organization, so I’d recommend this one, if you are chasing states and don’t like the urban vibe of the Rock n Roll Seattle marathon (June) or the Seattle marathon (November).
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B+

Great race organization. The first race I did with ETR was my second half ever. It was up Tiger Mtn. I like to look back and laugh. The next with them was this last weekend (Lake Sammamish). The runs have grown in size drastically and so have the quality. There was a DJ and more sponsors and schwag. I like that at the end of a race they have food to accommodate any craving– sweet, salty, crunchy and reusable cups! My only complaint came from the Tiger Mtn race. It was really hard to figure out on the course which way to go in the maze of trails based on the various lengths people were running. I’m sure that has been cleared up though. Also, maybe one more water station on the routes. Great runs, though, with great organization. THANKS! I’ll keep truckin with them for sure!