2010 Race

The 2010 race is tentatively scheduled for July 18, 2010. Watch the website for updates.

2009 Race

The 2009 Run In the Country had 218 half marathon runners and walkers and 11 relay teams. The runners and walkers enjoyed cooler temperatures than usual, but were challenged by a strong head wind on the north bound leg. Coburg resident Brad Chvatal won the race with a time of 1:13:27. Defending RITC champion Denise Bourassa from Eugene again finished first among the women with a time of 1:31:37. Craig Godwin, 42 and from Eugene, was the top Master runner in a time of 1:15:42. The Masters women's race was won by Rachel Adamec, 42 from Albany, with a time of 1:33:30. In addition to some strong performances among the top finishers, we enjoyed an impressive showing by the 6 competitors in the men 70+ age group. Larry Williams, 73 from Springfield lead the pack with an impressive time of 1:45:13. The oldest finisher was Al Oppliger, 77 from Monmouth, with a time of 2:28. At the other end of the age scale, Harrisburg High School runner Brayon Mendoza, 17, turned in a strong performance with a 1:31 finish time.

We are grateful to our sponsors and the more than 50 volunteers who made the race possible.

The Run in the Country is brought to you by Mike Milbradt, Brad Putnam, Dave Wisniewski, and Mark Humphreys. We are four friends, all runners, who produce the race to give back to the running community; we do not make any money from the race. Our first goal is to put on a quality event for the participants. To us that means a race that starts on time, is well marked, has plenty of aid, is accurately measured with accurate splits, has accurate timing, a quality tech-fabric participant's shirt and a reasonable entry fee. If we can provide that and still make a little money, the profits all either go back into the race or are donated to non-profit organizations, primarily ones that involve youth being physically active.

A few things about our budget that participants may find interesting. Based on 200 participants, of the $35 entry fee:

$10.50 went to the shirt and printing
$4.00 went for timing and announcing services
$1.50 went for the portable toilets
$2.00 went for awards
$2.00 went for food
$1.50 went for printing brochures and posters
$1.00 went for web site maintenance
$1.50 went to purchase cotton t shirts for the volunteers
$1.50 went for insurance
$1.50 went for permits

The remaining $8.00 per entry covers miscellaneous small expenses, with the balance getting donated. We don't yet know our final tally from the 2009 race. In 2008 we donated $2,600.

Information about Run in the Country

The Run in the Country is the classic half marathon of the summer — it's fast, it's fun and the rural setting is ideal for the competitive and non-competitive participants alike!

Run in the Country started out 12 years ago to be an event "designed by runners, for runners." We continue to make all of our decisions based on making the race better for the participants. We donate profits from the event to charities, primarily those focused on youth health and fitness. Organizations providing four or more volunteers to the race receive priority when we choose where the profits will be directed.

Run in the Country consists of three events followed by awards and a raffle:

Half Marathon Walk, 6:00 am start (E. McKenzie/Willamette St)
Half Marathon Run and Relay, 7:00 am start (E. McKenzie/Willamette St)
Kids Fun Run, 9:45 am start (N. Harrison/E. McKenzie St)

Reminders

Insurance restrictions require us to exclude any wheeled devices (except for racing wheelchairs) from the course. Dogs and baby strollers not allowed. Roads will remain open to traffic and our County permit requires that we run in the direction of traffic (not against it).

Volunteers

We can always use more volunteers! To volunteer email us at racedirector@RunInTheCountry.com. A good rule of thumb: run five and volunteer for one.