Tri-Cities Marathon Race Reviews
Rating: 
Link to Web Site: www.3rrr.org/marathon/marathon/
Date of Run: 31 Oct 2004
Reviewed By: Foo Blue Monkey
Comments: Record attendance this year: 156 marathoners. OK, so it's not a huge marathon. At least most of the runners are slow, so you can feel fast even if you're not. The race starts in Richland at the Shilo Inn on the Columbia River. It follows the river for most of its length, usually on levies right on the river, except for a few short sojourns on city streets in Richland, Kennewick and Pasco. The course crosses the river 4 times on three bridges, which provide the only hills on the course, which is otherwise exceptionally flat at 400 ft elevation (much lower than here). The scenery is OK (the river), and I do remember a number of large flocks of geese honking their way overhead throughout the race. But there was one portion of the race from miles 14-15 where the course runs through the seedy industrial section of Kennewick, through back alleys surrounded by 10-foot fences with barbwire It's a little like running in a war zone. Eventually the course crosses the cable bridge, which you catch glimpses of as you wind through these deserted back alleys with only chalk arrows on the ground to guide you. There is one 2-mile back-track section of the course, but there is enough course diversity from miles 7-15 to keep you from thinking too much. Then miles 15-26 are straight back along the river's north edge into the teeth of a headwind. Bad stretch that allows too much thinking, as I found out. It was a nice, sunny fall day but there was still a 10 knot head wind from the west. It didn't seem to help on the way out, but sure hurt on the way back.