Oh Dirty Dan, you sneaky dude, you got a whole festival named after you! And this is a good one…read more Featuring music, art, a fantastic kids' zone, a beer garden, a chili cookoff, and of course the uber-legendary Uphill Piano Race this Fairhaven fest is family fun with a capital F. Named after a legendary character and set in Bham's most historic zone, this event oozes history and charm and is a great way to spend the afternoon. We especially enjoyed the chili cookoff. You pay for entry and try samples from various restaurants. At the end you vote on your fave chili and get an entire bowl of it to enjoy. I've never left hungry! Don't forget to keep an eye out for the "ladies of Fairhaven" who roam about in their beautiful and alluring period costumes to remind us all of what else used to be popular in town. These gorgeous gals are a ton of fun - if you see them say hi, they have great stories to tell! Ride your bike to this one because parking can be a hassle, especially if the weather's good.

This was really not a fun event. The entire experience felt disorganized with poor direction. They…read moreuse one off volunteers to maximize their profits and make our experience worse. The volunteers are friendly and trying to be helpful but lack the knowledge or experience to make things happen with any efficiency. This was coupled with long lines. The wait to check in was 45 minutes. The wait for a locker was 10 the wait for a hose to spray off the mud was 20+. These events are expensive and it is clear that Spartan race means to squeeze every dime out of you. $15-$30 for lockers, $150 for entry, $30 for photos and the list goes on. The obstacles are fine, the only redeeming quality is the other racers who all seem to be there to get through this together. People were happy to help each other and that was cool to see.

AROO! I did the Spartan Race for the first time with a large group of friends and had a blast!…read more The Spartan Race for the Seattle area takes place in Monroe, near the high school at a spacious equestrian field in Snohomish County. It definitely was the perfect landscape for obstacles and trail running. For the most part, the event was well organized and they had plenty of volunteers throughout the entire race, to help navigate and cheer you on! Even as you arrive, you're directed to where to park and there are signs everywhere for checking in, restrooms, food and drinks, etc. The space for the race was ideal since it had everything you need for a spartan race, like trails through the woods, uneven grounds, hills and steep inclines, and yes, they even bulldozed some holes for the muddy pits that's part of the three obstacles where you get dirty. There are three different races that occur during the weekend the race takes place: Beast, a 21k with 30 obstacles, Super, a 10k with 25 courses or the Spring, a 5k with 20 obstacles. It was definitely a fun and exhilarating experience that I'll never forget! It was also cool to see how many people visited the Seattle area, just for this race that takes place every year, all over the world. Everyone was very friendly and loved the encouragement from fellow spartans and the volunteers and staff, cheering you on. I can't believe I'll say this, but yeah, I'd do it again.

Mr. Paul, also know as "The Benefactor", has created something incredible with Zoo Racing. We had…read morea group of 5 people in our racing experience at Thunderhill Raceway this weekend and with Mr. Paul's help it, we quickly formed a high functioning team. It was like we had all been friends for years and worked together to do something incredible - complete a 24 (almost) hour endurance race that would break most ordinary men, their cars, and their spirits. Congratulations to the Zoo Racing Team and Mr. Paul for everything - I will never forget it!

I thought this was a bunch of bozo racers only out for a good time, but boy do they know how to…read morehave fun. slow lap times? no problem. a little wheel rubbing? no problem. 1 hour pit stops? no question. if you're from the land of maple leafs, you have an advantage, eh. but, being an american, the only problem i had was trying to convert KPH to MPH, KM to M and what the hell is a pint when filling the oil? disorganized? no. organized? no. fun? hellz yea. the british guy told me we run a 2 stoke motor, so Dave and I removed the oil pan for "good measure", but that turned into quite a sticky wicket. thank gosh for other people's ignition coils, otherwise we would have figured out the repair 30 minutes earlier with a spare DME. organizer's choice award winners, May 2018. i'll be back for more, but only if the seat passes tech. thanks boys!

I ran this one before 2020 so I can't speak for later years. But I can say it was pretty fun. It…read moretook place around the Museum of Flight on a hot summer day. Use sunblock and shorts. I had to pour water on my head because of the heat. Friendly people throughout the race. 5k was a day before and marathon next one. I was expecting a little more of a celebration afterwards though. The Expo was great. Bigger than Hot Chocolate's good old years. I found many interesting things and vendors. Take your time. It took the day before in the theater or event spot in the Seahawks Stadium. There was a line before it was opened. It was worth it.

This is a pretty nice race. I've run a lot of Rock N Roll races (Nashville was my favorite) but…read morethis was okay. Registration was easy but looking up your bib on line was way harder with this race than with others. Need to work on that user interface. The expo was fairly large but they didn't have vendors selling Gu, which is the brand of goo I use when running. That's the first expo I've ever been to where I can't find some! Getting to the start of the race was pretty easy. From the monorail it wasn't well marked and there weren't a lot of volunteers around directing people but by following the crowd I was able to get to my corral. Start was well organized and smooth. Once the race started, it was okay. The course is narrow in some places, only one car lane wide and that caused some bottlenecks. Additionally, some of the water stations didn't have any water or volunteers left by the time I got there (I was running slower than normal). There was not much crowd support along the course and the hills were obscene! Oh my gosh, that one short, steep hill at mile 9.5 almost killed my friend. Also, I ran the half and counted only four musical acts, one of which was a DJ. Most Rock N Roll races do better with the music. Finish line was fairly well managed, but again, not much signage or direction to family reunion area. Race day was beautiful so I can't complain too much. Other races are better organized and have more course support (and fewer hills) but I am not holding that against the Seattle race. Overall, it was pretty fun.

http://www.lakesammamishhalf.com/…read more Lake Sammamish Half Marathon is probably the easiest run from Evergreen Trail Runs. I thought this would be a good experience before I try more of their runs. I thought the race event itself was well organized and all the volunteers who involved were very nice and friendly. This race started in Marymoor Park in Redmond and ended in Lake Sammamish State Park in Issaquah. And, there's shuttle (school buses) dropping participants back to Marymoor after the race. That's very nice. In addition, Gear check in from Marymoor and Gear check out from Lake Sammamish. I was able to change to dry t-shirt after the race. I really appreciated that! If you are looking forward to having your PR, this is a race for you. I would say this trail is all the way flat. My last 4 half-marathons I had time around 2 hours 10-15 mins but this time, I was able to make it under 2 hours. I was very happy with it. In fact, a lot of first time half-marathoners were very happy with their first one! Highly recommended if you are looking for your first half-marathon to run!!

This is a flat and fast race! A lot of my friends have their PR on this course and I do as well…read more I have done this half twice now and would be happy to come back in the future. This was very organized and the shirts and metals were great quality (although be warned that the shirts sizes always run small for this one). The shuttles at the end that take you back to the start were very easy to use and left often. The density of runners was great, not too crowded but enough that you could pace with people. They also had some pacers running which is always much appreciated! My only negative on this run is that darn back and forth they do in the parking lot before the finish. I admit this year was much better that the 2013 course which had a painful number of repeats but when you are at mile 12 it is torturous to be looping around. I always wonder why they don't add that mileage on at the front at Marymoor instead? Still a great race and definitely worth it!

Why settle for black and white when you can live colorfully? The Color Run has always been a…read morefavorite of my friends and I - who doesn't like getting messy on purpose? ;) 2017 marked my third year participating in this popular 5K. The course has been the same each year, taking runners down Fourth Ave and then back to the Seattle Center. A family friendly fun run, The Color Run attracts participants of all ages - my favorite is actually seeing all the families out and about on the course. :) The premise of the run is simple. As participants are going through the course, they'll pass through different color stations where they are covered with either paint powder or foam/liquid. Be sure to bring a pair of sunglasses or you WILL get powder in your eyes! While we've generally had a positive time at the Color Run, my friends and I have noticed that quality has slowly started slipping. :( There weren't any (or maybe fewer?) event photographers, booths, etc. this year. The clincher was the "Self-Apply" paint station this year - I mean, really, Color Run? Fun, festive and silly, I would say that the Color Run is a great 5K though if you're just starting out or looking for a low-pressure event. Feel like you didn't get enough paint along the course? Definitely stick around for the after-run party where they pass around packets of colored powder. Happy running! :)

This event is definitely not worth the money. The quality has gone way downhill over the years…read more There were only two coloring stations for the entire run and the delay was 50 minutes inside the corral. The post run party was also a disappointment. I would definitely not run again next year.

Don't be intimidated by triathlons. You can easily become a triathlete, regardless of prior…read moreexperience! GOOD NEWS The Danskin race itself is fun. It's all women and great for any skill level, age, ability, or size. It's empowering! It's exciting, especially because of its size! And they give great medals and shirts and other swag! BAD NEWS Danskin fills up quickly, often on the first day of registration, which is in February. If you do get in, there will be about 5500 women racing with you. It's crowded. Last year's expo (my first) was a long mess. Allow lots of time to register on the day before the race. If you don't get in, don't worry. The Trek Tri is the same route and also women-only, run by the women who used to run Danskin; it's better anyway and not as full. It's commercial--you will be innundated with advertising for Danskin everyime you turn around. And they love to promote straight, pink femininity. Sometimes it feels like women's triathlon organizers and those who market to us are trying to compensate for the fact that we're athletic by dressing us in pink flowers. Yuck. TIPS Find a good training program online or in book and follow it. Check out some of the great workshops offered by the Lunachix (all money goes to charity). http://www.seattletrilunachix.com/ Get out and swim in a lake, ride a bike, run outside. And ask other people for tips--you don't have to be an expert or have lots of fancy stuff to do a tri. Most of all, have fun!

When my BFF told me she was signing up for the Danskin Triathlon, I was confused. A triathlon?…read moreAren't you a smoker? And don't you need to be in awesome shape to participate in a triathlon? Answers: yup, yup, and nope. The Danskin Triathlon is open to all women, regardless of age, weight, and disability. Throughout the training process and actual triathlon, coaches are always on-site to encourage, support and cheer the participants. My BFF quit smoking and wore a patch through most of the training. Today, as I got up at 5:45 so I could make it to her start time of 7:52, I watched a triathlete swim, bike and run with nary a nicotine patch. The energy present at the triathlon was incredible. Woman after woman crossed the finish line to the sounds of cheers and excited friends and family members. Greeting her at the finish line and giving her a big congratulatory hug almost brought me to tears.

This company ran the race timing for a Turkey trot I ran this year. It was sloppy... I signed up…read morethe day of the race and paid extra for the fee. Either the volunteer wrote down the wrong bib number or it was typed in wrong. Either way, my name was not associated with my time. While all that can happen, what is inexcusable is that I used their online correction form that evening to address...which was ignored. It is now over a month later. Pretty sloppy stuff for a company that does this for a living.

We have used Tortoise and Hare Timing for 3 years for our local runs and we have been so pleased…read more They are organized, consistent, dependable and very fun to work with! We have been so pleased with them and we have them booked already for our upcoming events. Their professionalism and dedication is to be applauded.

There are a number of pretty cool half marathons in the Seattle area and count the Kirkland Half…read moreamong them. It's a little smaller than some of the halves around here (a little over a thousand people this year), but a good choice for a low-key race. So there's not really an expo and the finish line is tiny, but the course is interesting and well-marked with volunteers at all of the potential trouble spots (i.e. busy cross streets, confusing intersections, etc.). Five water stations are present along the course and there's a medical tent if you happen to blow a hammy on a hill. There's a nice amount of hills, if you're interested in that type of workout (or just masochistic). The first seven miles are run through residential areas and are a series of back-to-back hills with a nice elevation increase. From miles seven through ten, it's a steep downhill: my fastest mile was the eighth in this race. The course gets more scenic along this stretch as you head back toward Lake Washington with the Olympics in the distance (mountains, not London). The last few miles are along the waterfront with a few more hills thrown in for good measure. The timing is nice in early May since it's usually pretty nice running weather. They also have day of race registration, so if you find yourself bored on a Sunday morning.....