Event Quick Links

Register • About the Event • Schedule/Packet Pick-Up • Course/Maps • Photos

December 11th, 2011 Adidas N. America Campus (directions)

If you are interested in sponsorship opportunities  CLICK HERE for more info!

Thank you for a fantastic 2011 event! The Holiday Half & 5K and The Freshwater Trust thank you for the support!

Check out some fun video footage of the event below!

Check back soon for updates on registration for 2012! It's sure to fill just as fast!

2011 FEES: (in-store & mail-in registration ends Dec. 3rd at 6pm!)

Half Marathon

$60 Includes LS SHIRT (BEFORE SEPT. 1st)

$67 Includes LS SHIRT (Sept. 1st to Nov. 1st at 7pm)

$67 NO SHIRT AVAILABLE (Nov. 2nd -Dec. 3rd)

$75 NO SHIRT AVAILABLE (Dec. 8th, 9th, 10th and Race day)

5K

$28 INCLUDES SHIRT (BEFORE SEPT. 1st)

$35 INCLUDES SHIRT (Sept 1st-Nov. 1st at 7pm)

$35 NO SHIRT AVAILABLE (Nov. 2nd-Dec. 3rd)

$40 NO SHIRT AVAILABLE (Dec. 8th, 9th, 10th, and Race day)

*ABSOLUTELY NO REFUNDS (this is a limited entry race)!

Transfer deadline has passed. No transfers to other runners/walkers

ABOUT THE EVENT:

Get in the holiday spirit, Portland! Portland finally has a half marathon in December! The fantastic out and back course starts and finishes at the Adidas North America Campus and winds along Willamette Blvd to the sounds of carolers all along the course!

The flat and scenic route is the only race course fully completed in beautiful North Portland, so you can be sure you're getting a unique event, full of fantastic features and sights. The Historic St. John's Bridge, the beautiful Univeristy of Portland campus, and panoramic views of Downtown Portland from the bluff of Willamette Blvd. are just a few of the highlights awaiting you!

Finish the race and treat yourself to a craft beer seasonal brew, hearty holiday soup, hot chocolate, hot oatmeal, egg nog, and more! You want holiday music? You get LOTS of Holiday music all morning long! With a combination of live carolers along the course and DJ's spinning holiday beats, you're sure to get your fill of festive cheer this December. 

If you're not excited about Christmas, Hanukkah, and every other Holiday festivity after this race, then you just might be the Grinch! READ BELOW for more EVENT, COURSE, and WEATHER INFORMATION.

AWARDS & T-SHIRTS!

FINISHERS AWARDS:

All finishers of both the 5K and the Half Marathon get a cool and UNIQUE holiday award in the shape of silver bell! Finish the race to the sounds of thousands of jingling bells as your fellow participants celebrate their finish!

LONG SLEEVE TECH SHIRTS AND HOODIES:

All registrants that sign up before Nov. 1st will get a long sleeve adidas Tech Shirt! The LS shirts are MEN'S AND WOMEN'S SIZING so order accordingly (no size swaps).

If you registered within the first 200 HALF MARATHON entries and you were fortunate enough to get a HOODY, you will receive a hoody only INSTEAD of a LS shirt. You may purchase a hoody in addition if you missed the first 200 registrants. NOTE: the HOODIES are unisex sizing, so they'll run bigger.

Both the long sleeve tech shirt and Hoody will be available for individual sale at the event and the packet pick up days for those that would like to purchase one in addition or for those that missed the cut off date. SCROLL TO THE BOTTOM OF THE PAGE TO PURCHASE an extra hoody now!

SHUTTLE TICKETS (aka: big yellow sleigh-ride)!

Shuttle ticket option is now closed. Call our NE store at 503.284.0345 for questions.

BUS SCHEDULE HERE

PARKING:

There is no parking at adidas & neighborhood parking is severely restricted. Take the 4 min. ride up the hill and shave off tons of annoying loops looking for parking!

Note: This is not a mandatory shuttle, but you are strongly encouraged to use it. It should be noted that this is actually a service that MOST races do NOT provide. In fact, when you go to your next Blazer game or your next concert, you will not find ANY shuttle, let alone decent parking for under $10. We have made significant efforts to secure parking for you in a convenient, close-by location and we hope you enjoy the service!

AGAIN, the shuttle is NOT MANDATORY, but it's a simple way to avoid congestion, make sure you get to the start on time, AND help keep this event in the great N. Portland Neighborhoods by keeping their resident's happy!

WEATHER IN DECEMBER

If you are not from Portland, you might be asking yourself, "What should I expect for weather in December?"  Interestingly enough, we ask ourselves the SAME QUESTION! We HOPE for mild temperatures in the 40's with no rain, but our weather systems are about as mysterious as Santa's Sleigh schedule! We could have snow or ice and below freezing temps (not common, but it does happen), or rain and rain and more rain (more likely). The first year of the event we had rain for weeks before the event and then it miraculously stopped and the temperature shot up to the high 40's or low 50's! Of course, there can be wind depending on the weather system moving in.

Soo.... if you couldn't tell, we are as clueless about the weather as everyone else! But the way we look at it, dry weather is nice, but wet weather or snow makes for a really authentic Oregon holiday race! We are all out there experiencing it together and you can be assured you'll have a dry place at the Adidas campus to recover after the race! See you in December!

WALKERS ON COURSE

Out of respect for residents, businesses, Tri-met, the City of Portland, and everyone that coexists in this great city of ours, we must place restrictions on the time frame a course can be open. We're working diligently with our friends with the City of Portland to make this event possible for a variety of abilities. CONSEQUENTLY, we must mandate that participants maintain about a 15 min. mile.

HOWEVER, we will be keeping the aid stations and the finish line open long enough for participants maintaining up to a 20 min. mile to finish. Nevertheless, for everyone's safety, participants on the course after it reopens are required by law to follow all traffic rules, including using the sidewalks, cross walks, obeying cross walk signs, and not crossing streets while the traffic lights are red.

What does this mean for you?

• Here's a typical scenario: You arrive at mile 9 at 10:45am (a 16:40 pace for the first 9 miles). The course marshall will then mandate any participant beyond this pace to move to the sidewalk along Willamette Blvd (a beautiful, scenic, and safe sidewalk, by the way). The aid stations will then be moved over to the sidewalk as well, so you will receive full support along the final 4 miles of the course. You arrive at the finish line with food, beer, medal, and a finish crew waiting to record your time! Presto! You have skirted the 15 min. rule with no problems as long as you follow traffic laws!
  
• To reiterate, we want to support walkers in any way possible so we are trying our best to make this a wonderful course for you! Please let us know if you have any concerns and we will do our best to assuage your concerns.

BAG CHECK

There will be a bag check inside the adidas gymnasium before the event.

SCHEDULE & EARLY PACKET PICK-UP DATES (3 to choose from!):

It is HIGHLY recommended that you pick up your packet on one of these three days to ease congestion race morning. The packets will be available on Sunday morning for a brief amount of time before the race begins.

Thursday: 2pm-6pm, Foot Traffic Lake Oswego (Click here for directions)

Friday: 12pm-6pm, Foot Traffic Downtown (Click here for directions)

Saturday: 10am-4pm, Foot Traffic Northeast (click here for directions)

DAY OF RACE SCHEDULE:

7:00am: Packet pick up begins.

8:00am: Half Marathon starts

8:15am: 5K starts

9:30am-12:30: Awards, festivities, music!

RESULTS

PHOTOS

For fantastic, professional photos from the 2011 Holiday Half, please visit the official photographer of this year's event, Evan Pilchik Photography! 2011 Holiday Half PHOTOS will be supplied by Evan Pilchik Photography. These photos make great gifts or simply personal awards for PRs or your first half marathon. Click on the logo below for all your photos from the Holiday Half!

VOLUNTEERS:

Want to help out a great organization and have fun at the same time? Email our Volunteer Coordinator to find out great ways to support the event and get involved. Volunteer today! Opportunities available on Dec. 8th, 9th, 10th, & race day!

Benefitting The Freshwater Trust

The Freshwater Trust works to improve freshwater health throughout Oregon, forwarding cooperative, action-oriented solutions to protect and restore our freshwater ecosystems. Every year we plant thousands of trees, restore dozens of river miles, keep billions of gallons of water flowing in Oregon streams and facilitate tens of thousands of students in learning about our freshwater resources.

In Oregon and across the nation, freshwater ecosystems are steadily degrading, and this decline threatens the long-term prosperity of our communities.  The Freshwater Trust is improving stream and river health throughout Oregon through action-oriented solutions to protect and restore.  Please consider supporting The Freshwater Trust with a donation today! Click here for more information or to donate!

COURSE MAPS/DESCRIPTIONS:

CLICK HERE FOR MAP OF HALF MARATHON

Half marathon course starts and finishes at the Adidas North America Campus. It is an out and back course. There is a VERY slight hill to start, but the rest of the course is FLAT with a nice fast downhill finish. Amazing panoramic views of Portland and Forest Park await you along Willamette Blvd. and the course turns around under the historic St. Johns Bridge. You also catch glimpses of the beautiful University of Portland campus.

CLICK HERE FOR MAP OF 5K

5K course is a simple loop through the beautiful Overlook Neighborhood and along Willamette Blvd. Starts and finishes in the same location as the half. Up hill on the way out for a portion of it and a fast down hill finish! Catch glimpses of Forest Park and the city on Greeley Ave. at the turnaround!

AID STATIONS & ON-COURSE NUTRITION

Aid stations will be every 2 miles (see map) and each will be stocked with electrolyte (TBD) and carbohydrate gels.

SPONSOR LODGING/HOTELS:

Welcome Silver Cloud Inn--Northwest Portland!  

The Silver Cloud Inn is our official race hotel. Click here for their rate sheet and more information. They really no how to take care of visiting runners and walkers, so reserve soon! Ask them for shuttle options the morning of the race.

RATE & ROOM INFO

They are one of the closest hotels to the race start and I guarantee you'll have a great night's sleep before the race in their great rooms!

2011 HOLIDAY HALF & 5K GEAR!

2011 COTTON EVENT HOODY! Unisex Sizes. 100% brushed cotton.

There are no more hoody orders online, but both shirts and hoodies will be available for purchase at the event & if we are out of stock, we can ship them to you!