Race to the Cape
It will start at 9:00am from the day use area of Cape Lookout State Park. Bring $5 for parking pass. Race to the Cape will start just outside the day use shelter in one of Oregon's most picturesque State Parks. Aside from the old growth forest, Cape Lookout State Park offers secluded beaches and stunning cliff top view points. We highly recommend taking full advantage of all the park has to offer.
2013 Race Review from PRC
Race Review: Race to the Cape
This weekend we, along with most of the Portland metropolitan area, are planning to run Shamrock. So my wife Stephanie and I decided to do something a little different last weekend and headed out to Tillamook to run the first annual Race to the Cape at Cape Lookout State Park. We were lucky enough to get beautiful weather and great views of the ocean, beaches, and coastal forest. Those views didn't come easy, however.
At the start we were warned that the approximately 10-mile course was "rugged," and despite my skepticism (how tough can a popular State Park trail be?), rugged proved to be an excellent description. The course is out-and-back, starting at the park campground at sea level and gaining about 850 vertical feet in the first two miles. The trail was a mix of single and double track with a lot of switchbacks. The surface was graveled at some points but largely dirt, with quite a lot of mud, primarily in the middle portion of the course which is the most popular with hikers. The trail takes you out to the end of Cape Lookout, which appropriately has a great view of the ocean and the coast to the south, including Haystack Rock. On the way back, you also get views of Cape Meares and the Three Arch Rocks to the north.
When I say this race was the anti-Shamrock, I'm not kidding: The race was limited to 65 entrants and had about 15 runners total. It's a small-scale race in every regard, but very well organized. In fact, thanks to the small number of runners, they were able to hand out awards as you finished, so there was no need to wait around, although most people stayed awhile to wash off some mud in the ocean or just enjoy the sunshine. Due to the size of the race, there were only two prizes given, but I'm happy to report that the PRC Race Team swept them! It was all thanks to our shiny new uniforms.
Event's current local time: 1:23 AM PT
