Race Preview: Uberthons Summer Half Marathon

Looking for a Half Marathon to run this Summer?  I have found you a great one!  The Uberthons Summer Half!
 I recently talked with Stephanie from Heirloom Roses. Last year when Stephanie started working for Heirloom Roses, she knew it was a perfect location for an Uberthons event.  After talking with

Stephanie and seeing some of the beautiful photos, I am sure this will be a perfect location too!  I'm really excited about running this on July 18th!


 Heirloom Roses is located at 24062 Riverside Drive NE, St. Paul, OR.

Not a fan of the half marathon? No worries, Uberthons offers a 5k and a 10k going on that same day as well.

Half Marathon ~ $75.00
10k ~ $40.00
5k ~ $30.00

Start time: 8:00 am

The Course includes one small hill at mile 6.  You get to go back down that hill at mile 10. The Incline cumulative gain is 258 feet.  The course is for the most part flat! 

This race is limited to 300 people, so don't delay in getting registered!  You can register here

Parking is very close, so there is no need for a bag check. 

There will be 7 water and electrolyte startions  along the course along with some watermelon stations. 

Packet pick up will be Thursday July 16th from 4 pm-8 pm at Road Runner Sports in Tualatin, OR. 

Check out more Q&A's here

Some facts and interesting information about Heirloom Roses:  

Own Root Roses
All roses shipped and sold from Heirloom Roses are grown on their own roots. Own root roses provide more profuse blooms, are more winter hardy, disease resistant, and there is no graft to contend with. Our commitment to quality ensures that you'll always know what to expect when you order from us.

Own Root Roses Provide the Following:

Healthier Plants
More disease resistant
More Blooms
True to Type
No Virus
More Winter Hardy
Long Life
No Root Stock Suckers

Virus-Free Roses

Heirloom Roses has been a leader in bringing virus problems to the attention of the public and industry. Virus-free roses are healthier, more winter hardy, produce up to 20% more blooms and are more disease resistant.

As a family-owned business, we understand the value of history and tradition. That is why we are passionate about hand cutting and propagating each rose to preserve unique and rare roses and honor the art of growing them on their own roots.

Our love of roses is deeply rooted in our knowledge that gardens go beyond just physical beauty. It provides a place of solace or social gatherings, where peace and beauty can be enjoyed to refresh a soul.

Heirloom Roses is located in the Willamette Valley of Oregon, one of the finest climates in the world for growing roses. Located just 25 miles south of Portland, also known as the “City of Roses,” our gardens feature thousands of beautiful, fragrant roses.

Visitors can walk through seven acres of gardens and be whisked away by the fragrance of each rose. From old garden roses to the very newest hybrid teas and everything in between, our gardens provide something for all rose lovers to enjoy.

We invite you to visit our gardens to relive memories and make new ones. Bring a book to read, brushes to paint, or lunch to enjoy in the midst of our roses. Whether you come alone or with the company of others, you will feel as if you are among friends at Heirloom Roses.

Gardens are open to the public, free of charge. Visit us year round from dawn till dusk. Roses are in bloom from May to October.

Follow Heirloom Roses on facebook here
Follow Uberthons on facebook here

Heirloom Roses can also be found on Instagram at HEIRLOOM_ROSES

Uberthons at UBERTHONSRUNNING

Happy Running Friends, Hope to see you at the Uberthons Summer Half

You can follow me at ZaoFit

Upcoming Races:

Uberthons Freedomthon 5k ~ July 4th

Uberthons Summer Half ~ July 18th

Albany Half  ~ Aug 15th

Uberthons Fall Half ~ Sept 12th
Runaway Pumpkin Half ~ Oct 17th
Uberthons Halloweenathon 5,10, or 15k ~ Oct 31st.

Uberthons Winter Half ~ Jan 23rd

One More Mile

Recently One More Mile gave me a chance to review a product.  They were quick to send me this awesome shirt to try and see how I liked.  They also are giving you a chance to win one as well.  

One More Mile is a company that makes quality workout clothing with fun slogans.  Their mission:  "Our Goal is to provide fun, high quality exercise apparel at great prices.  In this impersonal, fast-paced world, we will try to offer highly personalized service to each customer and will strive for complete customer satisfaction."


I was sent a Women's Heather Tech V Tank with the slogan "It's a RUNderful Life"  It's 100% Wick-Lite Polyester. I washed and wore this shirt several times over the last couple weeks.  It is very comfortable and stylish to wear for training runs, races or just as casual wear.  It still looks as good as new after wearing and washing lots! 

I like that with One More Mile you can pick out the color you want.  Short sleeve, tank or long sleeve. Then your own slogan. This can get really run for races or team events.  You can even create your own slogan.  What fun!

Take a look at their website here

One More Mile has generously offered one lucky reader at HeatherTech shirt of your own! Enter below!

~ Giveaway for a HeatherTech Tank with your choice of slogan, color and size.~

(US only)  (I do double check to make sure entries are completed!)

Disclaimer:  One More Mile provided me with their product to review.  I received no compensation for this post. All opinions are my own

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a Rafflecopter giveaway

Road ID Giveaway

Road ID was created in 1999 with the concept that active people should be wearing ID as a part of their gear when participating in outdoor activities. As a marathon runner, I see the value in a product like Road ID and I highly recommend it.  

Road ID has generously offered a $35 e-coupon for their website to one lucky reader.     

Road ID is available in 6 different styles.  It's a cool piece of gear and it's peace of mind! Check out their website here.

Contest end June 9th at 10:00 pm

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Enter a friend to win Uberthons's The Oregon Marathon Full and Half here!

Fun Shoefie contest going on here.

Uberthons Spring Half Marthon

Saturday I did my first half of 2104.  I ran the Uberthons Spring Half Marathon.  

My husband, and friends Tonya, Kelleigh and Mitch all came and ran it too.  

We arrived at St. Josef's Winery about 50 minutes before the start.  I quickly headed  to find the port-a-potties before the line got too long.  I was excited to get my race shirt because the pictures looked awesome.  I was also excited to have personalized race bibs with our names printed below the number.

I started a little warm up and used the rest room again!  I found out the winery had their rest rooms open for us to use, so I got to use soap!  A special treat for us runners at a race!!!

It felt a little cold so I tried to keep moving to stay warm.  I headed to the starting line and I could feel the excitement! I knew I wasn't in PR (personal record) shape, but I still was planning on giving it full effort and that excited me! 

As we started running, I realized we had some hills right off the start. I was ok with this!  My thought was, maybe we will get them over and the rest of the course will be flat!  Well, 2.5 miles later it started to flatten up, but we turned into a nasty headwind.  I guess this might be a little harder than I anticipated.   I tried pacing with the man in the gray shirt (in the start photo).  After about a mile I realized his pace (now feeling good) was too fast for me this early.  I knew better than to be running hills at this pace at mile two. I backed off and let the gray shirt guy pass me.   

We made several turns and the head winds continued to push at us head on.  Sometimes we would get a break for a mile or two, but then it would start up again.  I felt very warm, almost too warm.  It was humid out.  As we ran on, more hills came.  It got to be funny too me.  I started off counting the hills but by halfway, I had lost count. I just did my best and "jogged" up each hill, one at a time.  

The course was very well marked with orange cones, arrows, and tons of volunteers.  Each mile was marked with a large marker that you couldn't miss.  Every mile marker brought more encouragement knowing the finish line was getting closer and closer. It was also nice to have water/electrolytes stations every two miles.  I like to pretend all those volunteers are out there just for me!

By mile 7, gray shirt man was right with-in my reach.  I was gaining on him. I was able to pass him right up.  Guess, I was smart for slowing down my pace slightly during the first couple of miles.

During mile 9, I had a bit of a meltdown. I couldn't remember if I was on mile 8 or 9 and it was really upsetting me.  I refused to scroll though my garmin to find out.  I just didn't feel like it, so I suffered though that mile, hoping I was on mile 9....and not 8.  

 I reached the final 5k (3.1 miles).  I really was getting tired from the hills, all the running, but mostly the headwinds.   I still was feeling pretty good but knew my goal of 1:53-1:55 was going to be a stretch.  I also, had given up on the negative split I wanted.  This was a more challenging course than I ever expected. One thing I knew, I was still going to break two hours!

Just before mile 11 a girl and me keep passing each other back and forth.   As she was coming up behind me someone yelled for her, "go Kara."   So, in my boredom, I pretended I was running with Kara Goucher.  Wow, and I was ahead of her!   Soon she passed me. As she passed she warned me of a nasty hill coming up.  She was very nice!  I didn't mind her passing me at all, after all...she was Kara!

Kara was right,  soon, I came to that hill.  It didn't break my spirit, I just kept going, a little slower, but I was still running! 

 Soon a man (blue shirt) came up and ran with me for a bit. He asked what my "race" was.  I told him I love the marathon and that Uberthons has a awesome full coming in Sept.  He told me how his wife had ran her first full marathon last year with Uberthons.  I got to meet her after we crossed the finish line.  I always love meeting other runners at races!  So fun!

The final stretch was....can you guess?  Another hill!   It is actually quite comical by now.  I could hear Alan announcing names as finishers crossed the finish line.   I ran up that final hill, turned the corner and ran across the finish line.  I was done!  I was handed a huge finisher medal and a emergency warming blanket. The wind was so strong, that blanket was perfect.  It kept me perfectly warm while I waited for friends to come in and enjoyed cheering for complete strangers.  It's so much fun to cheer runners across that finish line!    The looks on faces as they cross is inspiring. I loved it!   

After friends finished, we went inside where the food was!   I was so hungry!  Qdoba Mexican Grill was there too feed us.  It was a perfect post race meal.  It was so nice to be able to sit at tables inside, out of the wind with my friends and just relax.  

The finish 1:56.08

There was massages available for the runners, but I just wanted food.  Sometime I really need to take advantage of a post race massage. They aren't available at all races.   

I was very impressed with Uberthons and their Spring Half.  I plan on coming back in 2015 to PR the course! 

Take a minute to check out this NEWS from The Oregon Marathon!

I'm looking forward to 2014 Half Marathon of Oregon.  Maybe you would like to join me or even run the The Oregon Marathon FULL!

Need help and encouragement getting your training started? Message me on facebook at Dallas, OR Run the Open Road