Race Info
The Iron Horse Half Marathon is a point to point half marathon taking place in Washington state on the Palouse to Cascade Trail (part of Washington State Parks) and Snoqualmie Valley Trail (part of the King County Parks system). Both trails are the remains of old railroad tracks, hence the ‘Iron Horse’ moniker. The course is nearly all downhill at a steady, gentle grade, except for some very short flat sections.
Despite taking place during summer’s heat, this is Washington, so the weather on race day can vary quite a bit. However, statistically speaking, August in Washington is pretty warm. Please use the links below for specific topics about the race.
Sign up before July 30th, 2020 to guarantee your shirt size!
Course
The course for the Iron Horse Half Marathon is pretty awesome. It starts at Olallie State Park and finishes in North Bend at Meadowbrook Farm, and in between the two covers 13.1 miles of beautiful scenery, numerous railroad trestles, and a whole lot of gentle elevation loss. Please see below for detailed course information, as well as a map of the course. There is an elevation loss of approximately 880 feet. The course starts at about 1300′ and finishes at about 400′ in North Bend.
WAVE STARTS
There are also a few turns in the Rattlesnake Lake and Tanner portions of the course who will keep you on track towards the finish line!
Safety first! On race day, there will be a medical tent at the finish line to treat any runners needing medical attention and provide transport to a hospital if needed. In addition, there will be medical personnel on bikes out on the course to bring in injured runners as needed. Please note that the course monitors & aid station volunteers are not first aid certified individuals–if you need serious medical attention, they will get in touch with the medical staff. As part of a safe race experience, be sure to obtain the OK from your doctor that you are in adequate physical condition to run a marathon. Even though this is a downhill race, it is in a somewhat isolated mountain environment, so do not treat this experience lightly.
AID STATIONS
There a total of 5 aid stations along the course. Since it is summertime, we strongly recommend that all runners bring extra water and/or an extra bottle with them, in the case of hot temperatures (which are not uncommon in August) to help prevent dehydration. Aid stations are 2-3 miles apart. All aid stations will have the following items:
Simple first aid kit
Cell phone or radio communication with finish line
Water
Nuun Electrolyte Drink
**Aid Stations after mile 6 will have Clif Gel Shots available.
COURSE CUT OFF
There is a course time limit of 4 hours for the Iron Horse Half Marathon, which starts with the last wave start.
Packet Pickup
Skip the lines on race day and come to packet pick-up. Road Runner Sports VIP members receive 20% off during packet pick-up! You may also pick-up your friend’s packets.
Date: Friday, August 28th
Time: 3:00pm-7:00pm
Location: Road Runner Sports Greenlake, 7020 Woodlawn Ave NE, Seattle, WA 98115
or
Date: Saturday, August 29th
Time: 11:00am-3:00pm
Location: Road Runner Sports Bellevue, 12200 Northup Way, Bellevue, WA 98005
Directions, Parking and Shuttles
FINISH LINE PARKING
We strongly encourage participants to carpool whenever possible to the race, it’s good for the planet!
New for 2020! Participants need to park at Meadowbrook Farm which is located at 1711 Boalch Ave NW, North Bend, WA 98045. This is the finish line of the race.
SHUTTLES
Chartered school buses, aka shuttles, will run from to the start line on race day morning. We suggest you board a shuttle about 45 minutes before your wave start. The shuttles will begin running at 6:15am. The shuttles will run on a fixed schedule. That means that they will depart at a set time, whether the bus is 100% full or not. So, please plan ahead and arrive early. The shuttle is about 15 minutes from the finish line to the start line, then there is a .25 mile hike up to the trail, then another .25 mile walk to the start line.
Shuttles will pick up participants at the parking lot of Meadowbrook Farm which is located at 1711 Boalch Ave NW, North Bend, WA 98045. See below for a zoomed in view of the exact location where the shuttles will go. Please do not park inside the parking lot at Meadowbrook Farm, there is plenty of parking on the field.
Non-participants are welcome to ride the shuttle but may be bumped to make room for a participant.
START LINE PARKING
We don’t recommend that you park at the start line, for a few reasons. Firstly, there is extremely limited parking at the start area. Also, you’ll need to have someone drive you back up to the start. Please note that if you decide to park at the start line area, you will need to have a Discovery Pass. Iron Horse Half Marathon is not responsible for any parking tickets if you park at the start line and do not have a Discovery Pass.
But, if you are dead set on doing so, you can park at Olallie State Park. Do NOT park at the Homestead Valley Trailhead. You will cause congestion at the start line! And again, you will have to have someone drive you back to the start.
Results and Photos
All participants will receive unlimited free race photo downloads! Photos will be indexed by bib number–so make sure it’s visible during the race. We’ll post a link here 3-4 days after the race.
Registration
Registration Dates and Pricing — Online registration closes August 25th, 2020 at 6p.m. Register by July 30th, 2020 to guarantee your shirt size.
October 1st – October 31st: $70
November 1st – December 31st: $75
January 1st – March 31st: $80
April 1st – May 31st: $85
June 1st – July 31st: $90
August 1st – August 21st: $95
Race Day or Packet Pickup: $100
Interested in signing up for more than one 2020 Orca Running race? Check out the 2020 Orca Running Bundle options.
Lodging
We recommend staying at Embassy Suites in Bellevue. Iron Horse Half participants qualify for a special rate. To book, either use this link or call the hotel and mention that you are booking a room for the Iron Horse Half. Reservations can be made by calling 1-800-362-2779.
Embassy Suites is conveniently located in Bellevue and is a 25 minute drive to the race finish line. To view a map of the hotel’s location, please click here.
You can get a King Suite or Two Queen suite for $189 a night. The two queen suite has two queen beds in the bedroom with a sleeper sofa in the living room. The king suite also has a sleeper sofa in the living room. Maximum occupancy for the two queen suite is 6 people. There is a $15 charge per person for for more than double occupancy.
Rate includes complimentary, cooked-to- order breakfast. Breakfast on race morning will be opened up early for race participants at 6:30am.
Evening Reception is 5:30pm – 7:30pm.
Cascades Restaurant and Bar is the onsite restaurant. Hours of operation are 11:30am-11:00pm.
Race Policies
For a complete overview of our race policies, please click here.
Schedule/Waves
6:30-8:30am: Shuttles run to start line
8:40am: eighth wave
1:00pm: Course is completely closed
Awards
Awards will be given to the top 3 male and female finishers. Only the 7:30am wave is eligible for overall awards!
Also the top three males and females in each age group will win an award. Age groups categories are in 5 year increments:
19 and under, 20-24, 25-29, 30-34, ……, 65-69, and 70-74, 75-79, 80-84, etc
Please note we do not mail out awards, they must be picked up at the race.
Orca Series Award
Those who complete any of our races (half marathon or longer) will be entered into our series standings. Points are calculated on a % of the winning time and numbers of races ran. Runners receive points based on their finishing time. Award prizes will given to the top 5 male and female finishers at the end of the year!
Swag
2020 shirt
Gear Check
GEAR CHECK
The race offers free gear check. Gear check drop is at the start line. It will likely be a bit chilly and potentially rainy (it is Washington, after all) at the start line, so the start line gear check bag is for runners’ warm clothes. Please note, you must bring your own bag for gear check. We do not provide gear check bags. Gear check bags will be transported to the finish line and available for pickup after you finish.
Iron Horse Beer Garden
After you’re done running, (and if you’re of age) enjoy some awesome local craft beer, courtesy of Iron Horse Brewery, who is our official beer provider for the Iron Horse Half. You are expected to bring a cash donation to enter the beer garden. 100% of all donations made towards the beer garden will go straight towards Discovery Lab, local non-profit that creates an integrated learning environment where students achieve academic excellence through project-based and exploratory methods.
Beers available TBD.
Charity Partner
We are partnering with The Trail Youth which is a non-profit organization seeking to build bridges between youth and the many resources available. The Trail Youth aims to help youth, ages 13-19, by promoting stable, nurturing relationships with mentors and promoting a safe environment for students through a youth coffee shop. We desire to see a strong, integrated community that values every child and contributes to their success.
We donate a portion of every registration to The Trail Youth and you can also make a contribution during the registration process.
Pacers
We are pleased to be working with the Seattle Green Lake Running Group for pacers for the Iron Horse Half Marathon. Pacer’s will be available for the following times:
1:30
1:40
1:50
2:00
2:10
2:20
Golden Spike Challenge
Back for the 4th year is the Golden Spike Challenge medal! Run the Craft Classic Half on and the Iron Horse Half and you will automatically receive the Golden Spike challenge medal.
Earn Unique Swag with Referrals
You can get a refund of $25 by referring 5 friends to sign up for the race. It’s simple! Invite your friends to join you by using the special referral link that you will find in your registration follow-up email. When 5 people register using your link, you will receive a refund of $25.00 automatically.
When 10 people sign up using your referral link, you will receive our custom Orca Running Tech hoodie, pictured above.
Running is great. Running with friends is even better. So invite your friends to join you at the Iron Horse Half!
