Oregon Wine Country Half Marathon Unites Wine with Exercise

Inaugural race in Willamette Valley kicks off Labor Day

PORTLAND, Ore. – Destination Races goes to Oregon on Sunday, September 5, 2010 with a half-marathon through the Willamette Valley, starting at Stoller Vineyards and Winery near Dundee, and ending in the winery-laden town of Carlton where the post-race Wine & Music Festival will be held.

Over two dozen wineries from the Willamette Valley will be pouring their wines at the festival, which also features the race awards ceremony, live band, exhibitor booths, plus beer and food garden. The festival is co-sponsored by Ken Wright Cellars and the Willamette Valley Wineries Association, featuring wineries from the Yamhill-Carlton, Chehalem Mountain, and Dundee Hills appellations.

The Wine & Music Festival runs from 9:30 am to noon and is open to the public. Extra wine glasses can be purchased for $20 at the event until sold out.

This is the first time that Destination Races has brought one of its race to Oregon, having successfully staged the sold-out Napa-to-Sonoma, Santa Barbara and Healdsburg Wine Country Half Marathons in California.

The Oregon Wine Country Half Marathon also offers a team competition for six or more members and a 2-person relay, for participants who are more accustomed to running a 10K distance.

Matt Dockstader, founder of Destination Races, feels the event is positioned to introduce Oregon wine country to a whole new market: “This area is so scenic and the wines are outstanding, but best of all the people here are so warm and welcoming.” Dockstader expects this to become one of the premier destination races in the country.

“We think this event will open a lot of eyes to people from around the country. Almost fifty percent of our participants are registering from out-of-state, which shows there is interest on a national level”, says Dockstader.

The Race Expo is held on Saturday, September 4, from 10:00am to 6:00pm at The Allison Inn, a luxury resort located in Newberg.

Open the public, the expo features exhibitor booths, sale of event apparel, packet pickup for runners, informational seminars and a wine and food tasting hosted by Chehalem Mountain Winegrowers Association from noon to 5 pm. This event is open to the public and wine glasses can be purchased for only $15 which includes the wine tasting event.

Activities will be held all weekend as part of the Oregon Wine Country Half Marathon. More details are available on the race website.

Elite runners will compete for $2,000 in prize money sponsored by West Coast Bank, plus Ball Watches and magnums of wine. Each participant receives a technical running shirt, colorful finishers medal, and logo wine glass. Top three finishers in each age category win wine and other awards.

The race is limited to 1,800 participants in its inaugural year. Registration is currently open and can be accessed on the event website at www.run4oregonwine.com

It’s recommended that runners register prior to Thursday, August 5, 2010 when the price increases and runner’s bibs can no longer be personalized. For more information on the event series, visit www.destinationraces.com