I flew into Seattle and rented a car to get to my AirBNB
Since the marathon was in North Bend to Snoqualmie and had zero options for rooms, I stayed in Issaquah.
The drive from Issaquah to the race start was about 45 minutes, so I had to get up a extra earlier!
I signed up for the Cascade Express Half Marathon the day before (Saturday), so I was able to get a sneak peak of the course before the marathon the next day (Sunday)
There are various races the run this same course throughout the year such as Jack and Jill, Cascade Express, and Light at the End of the Tunnel
The expo was nonexistent since it was just the bib pickup. I was there for about 3 minutes since there weren’t vendors or anything to look at.
The weather was a bit on the warm side at first, but it got hotter as time went on!
I believe it reached low 60s by the time I finished
The race started at the Hyak Sno Park trailhead on the John Wayne Pioneer trail
After 0.5 of a mile, we enter a pitch-black tunnel and run in it for 2.4 miles
We really needed a headlamp just to see a bit in front of us!
The rest of the course was beautiful and gorgeous! I stopped over a dozen times between the half marathon and full marathon just to take pictures!
We had to run on gravel, so it was sometimes hard to have steady footing.
The next difficult part was that the trail is used by the public, so we had to dodge bikers, other runners, and dog walkers.
The end of the race was great since there was a water tank, LOTS of food (ex. chips, cookies, chili), and the opportunity for a massage.
Lastly, there were shuttle busses to take runners back to the start where cars are parked.
I didn't have any major complaints during the run since the volunteers were nice, the course was well marked, and everything was beautiful!
I highly recommend this race as a destination race! And a way to PR and/or BQ!
Race Website: Tunnel Vision Marathon
Half Marathon Pictures!
Marathon Pictures!