About
No official race (that we know of) runs on the Tolt Pipeline trail. Instead, we are organizing the 2nd Annual unofficial "Fat-Ass" style 50K, Marathon & Half-Marathon and 1.5 mile challenge on the east section of the Tolt Pipeline Trail. Enjoy all the beauty the Sammamish River valley has to offer. The course is a half-marathon distance. Do it twice for a marathon OR two times plus an out and back on the Sammamish River Trail for the 50K. Both the 50K and Marathon will have 2,600 feet of gain and you get to run up Heart Attack Hill twice! For those of you looking for something short and quick, run the 1.5 mile Heart Attack Hill Challenge. Let see who can get up that hill the fastest! Set an FKT for these courses or win your Strava segment, if you are into that kinda thing. Or just come out for the fun of it all!
Registration is free, but we ask you to sign a waiver and bring food to contribute to the cause, and consider bringing a new pair of socks or a t-shirt to donate to YouthCare. Run with us and then hit the wineries in Woodinville afterward for a fun day in the Sammamish River Valley.
Course Maps
The start/finish/aid location is all the same spot. After parking in the lot near the baseball fields at NE 145th in Woodinville parking map link, please walk towards the Sammamish River Trail (west of the parking lot, you can’t miss it), then take a right and walk north about 1/8 of a mile and we’ll start near the public bathroom building on the river trail: Start line location
PLEASE NOTE: We are returning to the originally planned course from 2018 that was changed due to Pipeline construction. You will still climb Heart Attack Hill. You will still get miles and miles of open carriage trail and views of the Cascades and the Olympics. The only difference from 2018 is that we will not use a portion of the pipeline trail to the west of the Sammamish River and elimination the one non-crosswalk road crossing.
1.5 mile Heart Attack Hill Challenge
The climb starts at the .4 mile mark and goes 300 feet up to .8 mile mark. Then head back down. Experience the steepest part of the course without continuing for the longer races. Stick around and support participants in the longer runs.
Parking
There is a public use parking lot on North side of NE 145th Street and the east side of the Sammamish River. Link to map of parking area If you arrive early for the event, there should be plenty of parking at 7:30am, but the lot does fill up due to youth baseball games and wine-country traffic so don't cut it close with getting arriving just in case you have to go hunting for parking.
Additional Parking: The parking lot nearest to the start/finish is a busy lot. Sundays always fill up with little league baseball participants. ARRIVE early: 7:30am or prior. Park in the spots closest to the river to leave room for baseball parking traffic. If for some reason the parking fills up, there are the following options:
1. Across the street, on Village Road, is a cash only pay lot used for winery visitors on weekend. https://goo.gl/maps/gSnj17PsubJ2
2. Many winery visitors park off the street here: https://goo.gl/maps/DVpE1QyMW6x - We cannot guarantee what spots are legal, but people park all over this area.
3. Finally, there is a small parking area at the crosswalk where the Tolt Pipeline crosses 146th. https://goo.gl/maps/dpKw6nkG8Br There’s room for about 6-8 cars and its about ¼ mile walk to the start finish.
Start Time & Aid Cut Off
All distances begin at 8:00 AM. We are offering a 7:00 AM early start for those of you who want to get going early. We are planning on keeping the aid station set-up for 7 hours after start (3pm). If you feel you will finish after the 7 hour mark, please consider the early start.
Aid Stations
Please be ready to self-support for 1/2 marathon. The start/finish line is also the one aid station. Because this is a free "fat-ass" style event, the aid station will be stocked with whatever participants bring to share. The organizers will bring water, electrolyte drink (Gnarly brand) and some basic chips and things, but if you have specific dietary needs for the ultra distance, please be prepared to bring what you need for yourself to be self-sufficient.
Road Crossings
The course contains about eight road crossings. Most of the crossings are on quiet residential roads, but two are across busier roads. Please be aware of traffic when you approach roads, and allow for time for traffic to have the right of way. There will be no crossing guards.
What to Bring
We have no entry fee for this event, and ask that you bring food and/or beverages to share with the group. Can be something small like a plate of cookies or a bag of chips. We will also be collecting donations of new socks or t-shirts for YouthCare: youthcare.org at the event.
Wear sunblock! If it’s a sunny day, there’s not a lot of shade on the trail. Even at 8:00, the trail has lots of sun.
Additional Safety
Due to the road crossings, we strongly discourage use of head phones. If you have to listen to music while you run, please keep the volume low enough to hear traffic.
Event's current local time: 11:26 AM PT
