The Windermere Marathon and Half Marathon, set to run on Sunday, May 19, is the second race in the spring series of local Negative Split races. If you haven’t heard what the Negative Split race company has been up to lately, check out their plans for 2019. The Windermere is the next great race on the list and will highlight some of Spokane’s best in scenery and outdoor recreation.
The Windermere Marathon is a point-to-point race, which is appealing to many runners as there is no repeated area on the race course. It is one of the flattest and fastest courses in the region, too. As race director Ryan Hite points out, that makes it a great race for veteran runners looking to PR or qualify for Boston.
“This race covers a lot of landscape, from open fields and neighborhoods to tree sections of the Centennial Trail and the downtown/ Gonzaga area,” says Hite. The diversity in scenery is owed in part to much of the course running along the Centennial Trail, a regional paved activity trail that runs through downtown Spokane and into Idaho.
“We love the fact that this race follows the Centennial Trail and highlights one of the best trails in this regions,” says Hite. The trail also runs along the river for a considerable amount of the race, which is colorful and fast-flowing with spring runoff this time of year.
As with all of Negative Split’s races, runners can expect a great participant experience in addition to the well-plotted course. For 2019, there will be new photo experiences for runners at the finish line, and new merchandising options with a heat press to customize shirts at the finish area. Hite says the finisher shirt this year will a quarter-zip long sleeved finisher shirt, which is the highest quality shirt they give out at all of their races. And of course, it’s worth mentioning the bling—the finisher’s medal will connect with the finisher’s medals from two other local Negative Split races, the previous Negative Split 5k, 10k, and Half Marathon and the upcoming Coeur d’Alene Marathon, Half Marathon, 10k and 5k (May 26). These three races are part of Negative Split’s Run the PNW series.
“We have tried to keep a consistent theme through all of our spring races for 2019 of Running the PNW,” says Hite. “We love the idea of our participants accomplishing so many different running events and being able to run through so many great scenic areas of this region.”
Hite says the Windermere is usually one of the more challenging races to direct, but also the most rewarding for himself and for runners.
“The Windermere is truly a highlight of our spring running season. The course, the scenery, and the weather usually all come together to make one heck of an event,” says Hite.
If you haven’t already, register for the Windermere Half or full Marathon online, and enjoy some of the best road running that this region has to offer!
[Feature photo courtesy of Negative Split]
