No April Fool’s joke here.
The Olympic Adventure Trail Run OAT Run is set for Saturday, April 1, with 12-kilometer and half-marathon options for runners and walkers.
Packet pickup for both races is 4-7 p.m. Friday, March 31, at Harbinger Winery in Port Angeles.
Runners are shuttled to and from the race start/finish line.
The half-marathon (13.1) starts at 9:30 a.m. Cost is $50 per person. Shuttle to the half-marathon start is 8:45 a.m. on race day.
The first three miles of the half-marathon course are rerouted from the 2016 course because of anticipated timber harvest activities along the trail. The last 10 miles remain the same as previous years.
The rerouted course will start at the intersection of Eden Valley and Sandhagen roads. Runners will go south on Eden Valley Road for 0.7 mile. Runners then head west (uphill) on the single-track Olympic Adventure Trail for about one mile, then take a right turn onto a gravel logging road. After 1.5 miles on the logging road, runners rejoin with Adventure Trail and head east. The remaining 10 miles follows the previous half-marathon course.
The half-marathon features two aid stations.
The 12k (7.5 miles) starts at 10:30 a.m. Cost is $40 per person. Participants in the 12k catch a 10 a.m. shuttle to the starting line.
This one-way course starts with a half-mile run downhill on a gravel road before hitting single-track goodness. The trail becomes rolling, but finishes with an almost three-mile downhill cruise, minus a short, steep hill right before the finish line.
The 12k features one aid station.
Race participants do not receive a T-shirt but do get a commemorative beer glass.
The after-race party features food, drink and prize raffles.
The annual OAT Run raises funds for the Backcountry Horsemen of Washington-Peninsula Chapter and the Peninsula Trails Coalition for the construction and maintenance of the Olympic Discovery Trail and the Olympic Adventure Trail.
Registration closes March 31.
Register or find more information at oatrun.org.
The website details course instructions and has maps, elevation profiles and more.
About the OAT
The Olympic Adventure Trail is a project of the Clallam County Road Department. The trail was constructed to be a temporary route to connect two sections of the Olympic Discovery Trail while the official trail is constructed.
While the mainline Olympic Adventure Trail is a paved rails-to-trails type which is used by a large variety of user groups, the Olympic Adventure Trail — a 25-mile-long trail with 21 miles of single track and four miles of logging road — is dirt and gravel, appropriate for horseback riding, hiking, mountain biking and trail running.
