Yakima River Canyon Marathon
Selah, Washington
Saturday, April 4, 2009

The Yakima River Canyon Marathon, which I race walked on Saturday, April 4, 2009, is one of the most scenic marathons that I have ever done. The race started at 8 AM in Ellensburg, Washington with temperature at 25 degrees, the sky completely sunny, and the wind almost non-existent. In the distance was snow-capped Cascade Mountains illuminated spectacularly by the early morning sunshine. The first five miles were mainly flat leading the competitors to the beginning of the Yakima River Canyon. From there the course was either downhill (about 75% of the time) or uphill (the remaining 25% of the time). There were two major hills. The first had a 250 foot climb from mile 14.1 to 14.9 followed immediately by a 300 foot descent from mile 14.9 to mile 15.6. The second had a 300 foot climb from mile 22.1 to 23.1 followed immediately by a 400 foot descent from mile 23.1 to mile 25.9. Because the road mainly followed the contours of the river, the course through the canyon was a continuous series of banked curves. This made the course very challenging for me as my left knee ached from the first major downhill to the finish.
The course was mostly closed to traffic with the few local cars observing the required 25 mph speed limit and yielding to the runners. Water/PowerAde stations were space every 2.5 to 3 miles which were a little to far apart when the temperature rose above 50 degrees half way through the race, causing me to need to remove some of the clothing with which I started. There were plenty of enthusiastic volunteers; however, there were no spectators except at the start and the finish because of the restrictions on traffic (There are no side roads in the canyon.). I totally enjoyed the beauty and serenity of the canyon as well as the grazing mule deer, horses, and cattle. Canadian geese flew up and down the river with their honking echoing off the canyon walls. Just before mile 26 I could see snow covered Mt. Rainier approximately 70 miles in the distance. What a perfect end to a wonderful experience.
I had another unique experience on Thursday, April 2, 2009 when I was driving east on I-90 from Seattle to Yakima to do the race. The Cascade Mountains were experiencing a major snow storm in the high country during which I had to drive I-90 through Snoqualmie Pass. The highway was closed for about half an hour as the road crews maintained avalanche control on the eastern slope. In addition the accumulated snow from throughout the winter lined each side the summit road with a wall of ice and snow that reached from10 foot to 25 foot in height. This made the road seem to be a canyon. The snow at the summit was totally awesome, for snow is not something one sees in Key West where I live.