March 9 was a jam packed day on the East Lake Sammamish Trail, from Redmond to Issaquah. Read below for a summary of how everything went!

The LSRC Cheer Squad

The Flat and Fast Lake Sammamish Half Marathon was on March 9th and LSRC had a self-organized water station/cheer squad near mile #7 offering bottled water and gels to club members, and anybody else who requested it.  The goal of the crew-Krewe was to provide a truly mobile water and gel station for members on the run as the race was a cup-free event meaning official water stops would require fully stopping and filling a cup/bottle yourself.  We had about 10 members out beginning at 8am to cheer on the leaders and they stayed through the tail end of the racers with most of them heading off to the finish line to congratulate the finishers.  This race included many PRs by the members.

LSRC Member Results

(If you are a current member and your time is missing or you'd like to be removed from the list, please email board@lakesammamishrunclub.org.)

Runner	Finishing Time	Highlights
Steve Dion	1:12:16	Stellar race! 8th overall!
Matt Williamson	1:16:41	Super PR! Stellar race!
Zach Fung	1:16:47	75s PR! Stellar race!
Hongzhao Han	1:18:19	Super PR! Stellar race!
Glen Weissman	1:20:03	3rd AG! Stellar race!
Flo Boulanger	1:28:30	PR! Stellar race
Rhea George	1:29:20	Age group PR! Stellar race!
Molly Ha	1:31:55	Great rust buster race!
David Levin	1:32:59	PR! Stellar Race!
Steve Harris	1:33:11	Ran with/pacing Danielle
Danielle Henty	1:33:12	1st AG! Stellar race!
Mike Williamson	1:33:15	PR! Stellar race!
Catherine Williams	1:35:42	Ran this as a workout!
Peter Averill	1:36:51	PR! Stellar race!
Shy Vn	1:37:21	Stellar race! (PR?)
Becky Backstrom	1:37:51	1st AG! Ran 8 more miles after!
Randi Huo	1:43:56	Ran with/pacing Ben with Aimee
Aimee Nogoy	1:43:56	Ran with/pacing Ben with Randi
Ben Ha	1:43:56	PR!(?) Stellar race!
Joy Chan	1:48:31	PR! Stellar race!
Paula Murray	1:49:14	PR! Stellar race!
Mary Blake	1:57:28	Ran with/pacing Nina and just coming back!
Nina Tang	1:58:06	Super PR – first sub 2! Stellar race!
Michele Gurnsey	1:58:07	Ran with/pacing Nina and just coming back!
Caitlin Huotilainen	1:58:25	Stellar Race! (PR?)
Lillian Bowler	2:01:00	Stellar Race! (PR?)
Alan Sharp	2:15:48	Stellar Race! Stayed out of the pain cave!

Race Recap by Joy Chan

The morning of the Lake Sammamish Half dawned partly cloudy and mild, with the slightest of southerly breezes. After many days of obsessively checking forecasts, it seems runners had lucked out – the wind and rain predicted for the day was not to arrive until the early afternoon. Downtown Redmond was filled with an energy unusual for a Saturday morning, as scores of runners made their way to the start at Redmond Central Connector Park. Despite the number of people converging into such a small area, without music or announcements, it seemed too quiet for an event of its size. 

Club members converged at Redmond Downtown Park at 7 AM for photos and pre-race well-wishes. With 30 minutes until the start, most people headed off to finish their warmup, gear check, or the bathrooms, pre-occupied with their own thoughts. As people rushed to the start, they learned the race was going to be delayed by 10 minutes due to the long bathroom lines (which we later learned was due to an arsonist burning down a good number of the rented portable toilets). 

After what seemed much longer than ten minutes, the crowd started to move forward towards the yellow start arch; for people not in the front, this felt a bit sudden and the announcement would have been helpful. Sixteen hundred runners made their way across the tiny Redmond park and began the one-way journey towards Issaquah. 

The first mile was chaotic with the trail getting out of Downtown Redmond being fairly narrow for 1600 people. Even once on the Sammamish River Trail, the normally wide bike bath seemed to shrink. It was a lose-lose: Passing people took energy people wanted to conserve, but going too slow meant needing to make up a lot of time later. Fortunately the participants seemed to spread out through Marymoor Park, and by the time runners hit the East Lake Sammamish Trail (ELST), it was a little bit easier navigating the crowd. This was the longest stretch of the race, spanning a total of eight miles from the eastern edge of Marymoor Park to the southern corner of Lake Sammamish State Park. Bordered by lake views and large homes on the right, the ELST completed paving just five months previously, creating a continuous, flat route connecting Redmond to Issaquah. This was what runners had been looking forward to for many years – no more gravel surfaces, detours onto the road, or a moderate hill in the middle. Just a flat, fast course in arguably the best time of year for a half-marathon. 

Seven miles into the race, the LSRC cheer station came into view. With volunteers holding signs, providing water and shouts of encouragement, and ringing cowbells, it was an especially welcome sight at the point where races of this length could start becoming difficult. Thank you, Nelson, Daniel, Karen, Edwin, Jaime, Shawn, Jordan (and anyone we may have missed) – you guys were awesome out there! 

Finally the ELST came to an end and runners turned right towards Lake Sammamish State Park. This was the first turn in eight miles and welcomed as the breeze was a little stronger in Issaquah. Upon entering the park, runners navigated through the final ¾ miles – a graveled maintenance road, narrow park trails bulging upwards in hazardous spots from tree roots beneath, and a final turn that revealed the finish line a little too late. In total, at least 27 LSRC members completed the race, with over half of them setting new personal bests. 

Despite the shaky start, it was a great day overall. The weather held, the course cooperated, and we celebrated our accomplishments. Most importantly, we supported each other and had fun!