Race Recap: Vancouver USA Marathon (VUM)

Now that's we're several weeks removed from Energy Event's Vancouver USA Marathon (affectionately known as VUM - "voom"), our team has had some time to reflect on the race and what a great time we all had!

I was up in downtown Vancouver Thursday setting up and Friday and Saturday to work our booth at the Fleet Feet Sports PDX sponsored Active Expo...what an awesome event! We had such a good time being outside in the fresh air and getting to meet all of the athletes and Vancouver residents. The expo was high energy all day - having the Farmers Market right across the park made it the perfect place to spend a couple days (athletes and pre-race excitement PLUS good food? Winning combo!). Thanks to everyone who stopped by our booth to chat - it was great to meet you all, and we hope you had a great race!

I ran the half marathon on Sunday morning. While not my best race of the year, I did improve on my half time from the weekend before and felt pretty good the whole time. Thank goodness the clouds hung around and we had a relatively overcast race! Being saved from direct sunlight helped - the course felt fast and smooth, even though there were some (tough!) hills in parts. Loved the waterfront portion of the race...how nice that the waterfront trail has reopened, allowing runners to get a beautiful and motivating view of the Columbia! The volunteers along the course were wonderful; plenty of aid stations and cheering! Overall, a great experience for me - great race, great crowd, great location (and the giant finishers' medals don't hurt either!).

I've asked some of my team to share their thoughts below. We'd love to hear from you too - let us know how your race went in the comments!

I was very excited to run in the VUM Half this year as 90% of my training runs take place on the roads of the course. I spend many mornings running these roads alone, wishing everyone could enjoy the tranquility and beauty of Vancouver and the Pacific NW as I do. The views never get old and seeing the city grow over the years has been exciting to watch. The new waterfront project is going to take Vancouver to a whole new level. It was nice to race on familiar roads and at the same time get the opportunity to celebrate and enjoy the scenery of the course with others. Energy Events does an amazing job putting the event together. The location, support, and post race activities were executed very well and the event really brings the community together and highlights why Vancouver is an amazing place to live or visit. I look forward to running the race again; maybe the full next time.

-Matt Carney, Vancouver Fit Expert

Sunrise on one of Matt's VUM training runs!

The Vancouver USA Marathon/Half Marathon is really hitting it's stride now in its 5th year! Energy Events always does a great job and this fun-filled weekend was no exception. I ran the Half Marathon for the first time and thoroughly enjoyed it. The course is a nice mix of scenery and terrain with some challenging but not brutal uphills and some welcome downhills. The volunteers were terrific and the well-organized Expo had all sorts of great vendors to check out. I especially loved all of the great after-race snacks as half marathons always leave me starving! I would recommend any of the VUM events to anyone looking for a change of pace from the typical downtown Portland runs. They are the "total package" as fun inspiring events go!

-Kevin "Coop" Cooper, Portland Fit Expert