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Jack Brechtel
2018 REVEL Mt Hood Half Marathon
Published: July 30, 2018, 7:34 p.m. 
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Overall Rating
5/5 Stars
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Describe your race day.
First time ever in Oregon and the Portland area and I drove myself to the parking/commute area without GPS without issue thankfully, so I arrived in ample time. Waiting in the staging area making small talk with the other runners. And just simply enjoying the atmosphere and scenery running in the Northwest.
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Did you PR?
Yes, I beat my previous PR in an official race for a half marathon by about 2 1/2 minutes. My previous best was just over 1 hour 33 min., I finished the Mt Hood Half in 1:30:48. Came close to cracking an hour and a half! On a side note, I have run many full marathons and while qualifying for the Boston Marathon is not a direct goal of mine, if I did qualify I would plan to run it.
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How would you describe the course?
Scenery was absolutely gorgeous for the half going through the less crowded rural roads and the woods/tall trees and small neighborhoods, and the finish area while small was very quaint and picturesque. Elevation downgrade was somewhat demanding, but not too bad. It has probably already been suggested, but along US Hwy 26 towards the end of the race, hopefully the right lane is closed off in future races, running on the highway shoulder with traffic when cars are speeding by in the right lane is pushing it!
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Tell us about your training.
Living in the New Orleans area where it is almost all flat, downhill or hill training is actually difficult. Every now and then a few weeks leading up to the event, I ran indoors on the treadmill on a downhill incline. It actually worked out well because I ran at good fast rates on the treadmill, and right now it is too hot/humid down here to expect to run as fast as you want.
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What advice would you give future runners?
Dress in layers or bring a sweater/windbreakers, and also be prepared for the temperature to be all over the place during your trip. It will likely be hot in Portland during the day, but it will likely be cool overnight and in the mountains to start plus you have to wait for a while before start time so your body will get colder accordingly.
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What fun things did you do in the area before or after the race?
Traveled from the New Orleans area. I also hiked in Forest Park just outside downtown Portland, one day I drove to the US-101 Hwy/Pacific Ocean, after the race I wasn't too tired or sore and went along the Columbia River just east of the city to sightsee at a few light hiking trails.
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