PORT ANGELES — More than 2,000 participants are signed up so far for the North Olympic Discovery Marathon races this weekend with registrations picking up especially fast this week for the entire weekend of races between Port Angeles and Blyn.
“We’ve had really high numbers in the last week. The last two days we’ve have 75 people register,” said race director Victoria Jones.
Registrants have signed up from 44 states and a total of five countries — the U.S., Canada, Mexico, Germany and Switzerland. Jones said a large group, 83 so far, are coming from Vancouver Island for the races.
The North Olympic Discovery Marathon is run by the Port Angeles Marathon Association and is the crown jewel of the Run The Peninsula series. The Peninsula Daily News and Sequim Gazette are Run the Peninsula title sponsors.
Jones said people can continue to register right up to the day of the various races. The 5K and 10K are being held at 11 a.m. Saturday while the marathon is being held early Sunday morning. The races were split up over two days during the pandemic and are now a permanent feature.
People can register online at www.tinyurl.com/NODM2023.
Jones said one change this year is the marathon route will make a slightly different crossing on the Railroad Bridge across the Dungeness River near Sequim because work on the bridge has been finished. This will result in a longer but more gentle incline in that section of the race.
There will be a beer garden at the race finish line with beer provided by The Barhop. There will also be live music from a U.S. Navy brass band from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Sunday.
Bib pickup for the marathon is at the Red Lion Hotel in Port Angeles near the city pier from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. Friday, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday and at the starting line on Sunday. For the 5K and 10K, the bib pickup is 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. Friday and 9:30 a.m. Saturday at the starting line.
Near-perfect running conditions are forecast for Saturday and Sunday with mostly sunny skies and temperatures in the low 50s to low 60s in the morning. The strong winds that have been sweeping through the Olympic Peninsula this past week are expected to be more gentle.
The 5K and 10K begin and end at the Port Angeles City Pier with an out-and-back route for both races east of Port Angeles. The 5K winners will be expected back at the finish line around 11:18 a.m. and the 10K winners around 11:30 a.m. The 1.2-mile kids’ marathon open to kids 14 and under will be held at 3 p.m. Saturday at the city pier. Kids in the race will receive a colorful tie-dye T-shirt.
The marathon begins at 7:30 a.m. at 7 Cedars Resort in Blyn and goes west along the Olympic Discovery Trail, ending at the Port Angeles City Pier. Walkers will start at 6 a.m. There will also be marathon relay teams.
The half-marathon begins at the Agnew Soccer Fields between Port Angeles and Sequim at 8:30 a.m. Sunday.
The NODM is a USA Track and Field-certified course and a Boston Marathon qualifier. It’s part of a five-race Run The Peninsula series which includes the Elwha Bridge run in February, the Railroad Bridge run in Sequim in April, the Larry Scott Trail run in Port Townsend in October and the S’Klallam Glow Run in Blyn in December.
Kids take off during the annual kids’ marathon held at the Port Angeles City Pier in 2022. The kids’ marathon returns at 3 p.m. Saturday. (Cascadia Films)
