WHY THE SHAMROCK HALF IS BULLSHIT

The topic of this post has been swimming around in my head for a while. When the Shamrock Run added a half marathon for this year I initially would put myself in the "generally against" camp. Upon learning more about the half they were planning I put myself firmly in the "strongly against" camp. I'm not against the half distance (it's great!) or adding another distance (choices are good!) but the addition of the event to this historic race is completely unnecessary.

That is the part that irks me the most. For decades, this 15k was the pinnacle of the spring racing season for many around Portland. First as the Cascade Run Off (you can read more about that history here) and then as the Shamrock Run. Part of what made it so unique was that is was a 15k... how many other 15ks are out there, especially ones that attract tens of thousands of runners? With the two other events being shorter, 5k and 8k, it gave you something to strive for. When I ran the 5k back in 2012, I instantly wanted to be one of the cool 15k kids the next year.

So you destroy the tradition of the 15k being the pinnacle of the event and make it just another distance. I might not be so annoyed if they added a cool half marathon course, but all they do is add four miles to the out and back portion along Front Avenue. So it is the same exact route as the 15k except four extra miles in the ugliest part of the entire course. Take my word for it, this part of the city sucks. Everyone complains about it during the Portland Marathon, where there is a large out and back portion. So people are paying extra to run in the most un-scenic part of the entire city.

Extra along Front. Yay? No.

Before this year, the 5k and 8k races didn't receive anything at the end, but if you ran the 15k you got a bottle opener medal. Again, it was cool and something to strive for, along with the challenge of Terwillager and the bagpipers at the top. Now, the half people get a medal, but it's just a normal medal. So the 15kers still get a bottle opener medal and the halfers get a normal, larger medal. Okay. That should be fun to ferret out for the volunteers in the finishing chute.

What irks me most is the people who have no idea about the history of the event. As soon as it was announced on their Facebook page, tons of people were chiming in about how cool the medal is, how they couldn't wait to run the half, why did it take them this long to add a half, etc. Basically they had no idea about the history of the race! That's my fear, that five years from now the 15k is just going to be some weird distance they have if you are "lazy" and don't want to do the full and the average participant isn't going to appreciate the history behind that distance and that course.

That 15k race/route has deep roots in Portland running history and, to me, the half marathon greatly diminishes its value. All to add four miles in ugly industrial Portland. There are already a couple popular half marathon races in Portland that go up Terwillager and have that same general course (Cinco de Mayo comes to mind) so this half is nothing new. It's completely unnecessary and fills no need. The 15k should be the "crown jewel" to kick off the racing season in Portland, like it has been since the early 1980s. It's like adding a half marathon to Bay to Breakers or something.

Oh, and get off my fucking lawn.