A ROAD RACE tradition will cap this week’s 78th Rhododendron Festival in Port Townsend.
Starting at 11 a.m., Sunday’s Jefferson Healthcare Rhody Run XXXVI, a 12-kilometer (7.46-mile) jaunt, will funnel participants from Fort Worden State Park up the hills and through the swales of a good portion of Port Townsend.
This includes two measurable altitude adjustments in less than a mile.
The first is a short but steep climb from the intersection of F Street and San Juan Avenue up Discovery Road.
Runners, joggers and walkers will have a short recovery time of a little more than two flat city blocks before taking on a steady ascension of the lower portion of Hastings Avenue.
Once racers have reached the corner of Hastings Avenue and Sheridan the hardest portion of the event is over.
Thankfully for runners and walkers who may be tiring at around the 5-mile point, the biggest hill of all (Cook Avenue) is all downhill.
The Port Townsend Marathon Association directs the event and strives to live up to the race’s slogan, “The run that cares for the runner.”
In that vein there are aid stations at miles 4 and 6.
Kangen water (it worked for the Seattle Seahawks) and portable restrooms will be distributed by volunteers from Grace Lutheran Church, Port Townsend Kiwanis and BPO Elks Lodge 317 at the 2.5-, 4- and 6-mile marks, respectively.
Splits are given at every mile. Projected finish times are given at miles 4-6.
Racers will then wrap back around a relatively flat section by the Jefferson County Fairgrounds before ending back in the park with a loop of the forts parade ground.
Online registration is available at www.rhodyrun.com until 5 p.m. Friday.
Potential participants also may register during a dine and dash and packet pick-up event at Jefferson Healthcare, 834 Sheridan St., from 3 p.m. to 8 p.m. Saturday.
Online and in-person registration at Jefferson Healthcare is $30 for adults and $12 for children 15 and younger.
Day of race registration opens at 9 a.m. on the Fort’s parade grounds next to the tennis courts and the start/finish line and closes at 10:30 a.m.
Registration rises to $45 and $15 on Sunday.
Participants can enjoy a carbohydrate-rich dinner for $10 at the dine and dash in the Jefferson Healthcare Cafe from 5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. Saturday.
Pasta with vegetarian marinara or a sauce made with beef from Short’s Farm in Chimacum, along with salad, garlic bread and beverages, will be offered.
To make a reservation for the meal, phone 360-385-2200, ext. 2014.
Parking information
Participants and spectators can park at Fort Worden without worrying about having a state Discover Pass until 3 p.m.
Jefferson Transit eliminated all Sunday bus service last July so there will be no shuttle bus to haul participants andspectators to the race from the Park and Ride or the ferry terminal.
Plan accordingly.
Free kids sprint
The fourth annual Kids Sprint for Health, a free race for children 9 and younger, will start at 9:30 a.m. on the parade ground’s northeast corner.
Registration for this event starts at 9 a.m.
Children 3 and younger will run 50 yards, ages 4-6 will sprint for 75 yards and ages 7-9 will race for 100 yards.
All finishers will receive a free T-shirt.
For Kids Sprint information, phone 360-385-2200, ext. 2036.
Rockfish discussion
State Department of Fish and Wildlife Coastal Marine Policy Coordinator Heather Reed will discuss rockfish as part of Friday’s Olympic Coast National Marine Sanctuary Advisory Council Meeting.
The talk is set for 1:30 p.m. at the Makah Marina in Neah Bay.
Rockfish are a slow- growing, late-maturing, long-living species which makes them vulnerable to being overfished.
Caught rockfish also have a hard time being released back into the salt water, they possess swim bladders to hold their place in the water column.
When brought to the surface, gasses in the bladder and other areas expand, bulging out eyes and possibly leading the fish to expel their stomachs, in what is called barotrauma.
A way to reduce these unwanted kills is to employ a descending device to release rockfish.
These tools help rockfish get back down to the depth of capture.
Reed will talk about this and other species-related issues at the meeting.
These sanctuary advisory council meetings are open to the public and include a public comment period.
Halibut derby tickets
Tickets are on sale now for the Port Angeles Salmon Club’s 14th annual Halibut Derby on Saturday and Sunday, May 24-25.
Retailers with tickets include Swain’s General Store and Jerry’s Bait and Tackle in Port Angeles and Brian’s Sporting Goods and More in Sequim.
Tickets cost $40 per person and are valid for one or both days of the derby.
Salmon Club members also will sell tickets on Friday, May 23, at derby headquarters at the Port Angeles Yacht Club, located at 1305 Marine Drive.
While there, anglers can pick up one of 150 launch permits valid during the derby and provided by the Port of Port Angeles.
These permits, along with derby hats, will be distributed on a first-come-first-served basis at the Yacht Club.
Prize purse for the derby is $20,000, with the winner taking home $5,000.
Runner-up will receive $2,500 and third place $1,500, with the amounts dropping down all the way to the 30th place angler picking up $135. ________
Outdoors columnist Michael Carman appears here Thursdays and Fridays. He can be reached at 360-452-2345, ext. 5152 or at mcarman@peninsuladailynews.com.