About the race
Easily the most scenic Orca Running race.
Run where the sea meets the sky — at San Juan Island. The course is stunning, and the island is a wonderful place to spend a weekend. Bring your family, run the race, and then stay to explore the island and make memories together.
The course starts at South Beach inside San Juan Island National Historical Park and finishes at Jackson Beach, just south of Friday Harbor. Along the way you get an amazing view of the other islands, the Olympic Mountains and, of course, the Salish Sea.
The Course
The course for the San Juan Island Half is unique and is easily the most scenic Orca Running race. It starts at South Beach inside San Juan Island National Historical Park and finishes at Jackson Beach, just south of Friday Harbor — a true point-to-point.
It has a bit of climbing spread throughout the run, with three main climbs, from miles 0 to 1.6, 3 to 5.3, and 9 to 10.8. The total elevation gain is about 900 feet. What you get in return is an amazing view of the other islands, the Olympic Mountains and the Salish Sea.
The start time is 8:50am-ish — the -ish is because we wait for the last shuttle to arrive.
All Orca races are cupless — bring a handheld or grab a small reusable folding cup at the start.
Entry
Friday, May 8th, 4:00pm – 6:00pm — Van Go's Pizza, 180 Web Street, Friday Harbor
Race morning, from 7:30am — Start line at South Beach
Participants will pass aid stations every 2–3 miles, well stocked with water, Tailwind Electrolytes and GU gels.
Free gear check is included with your entry. Gear check bags are not included, so be sure to bring a suitable bag or sack to use — we will have identification tags for you. Drop your bag at the start line at South Beach and pick it up at the finish line at Jackson Beach.
Overall awards go to the top 3 male, female and non-binary runners based on gun time, not chip time, so start near the front. Age group awards are given in 5-year increments. We DO NOT mail out awards after the race — they must be picked up on the day.
Course closes at 1:00 PM
San Juan Island is reached by ferry, so plan your travel before you plan your race.
If you are coming over to the island on the morning of the race, you will need to take the 4:05am or 6:15am ferry in order to make it to the race on time. We highly recommend getting reservations as soon as they become available.
The direct ferry from Anacortes to Friday Harbor is 65 minutes. If you would prefer to stay in Anacortes the night before and catch an early morning boat, that is a good option too.
If you are arriving by ferry on race morning, run — don’t walk — to the high school/courthouse shuttle pickup. The last shuttle waits until the boat has fully unloaded and allows 10 minutes for people to get there.
On race morning, free shuttles run continuously from the San Juan County Courthouse to the start line area. Shuttles start running at 7:15am, with the last shuttles leaving at 8:25am. The ride takes 15–18 minutes.
The same shuttles will take you back to the courthouse and downtown Friday Harbor after the race, starting at 10:15am and running until 1:15pm.
If you are taking the ferry over on race morning, we recommend that you RUN to the high school/courthouse pickup location. The last shuttle will wait until the boat has fully unloaded, and allows 10 minutes for people to get to the courthouse.
Participants are not allowed to park at the start line. You may be dropped off at the top of the hill above the start line area — it is a quick drop-off only, there is no parking there. A map of the drop-off location is posted on the race page as a PDF.
Everyone else should use the free shuttles from the San Juan County Courthouse in downtown Friday Harbor.
There are many, many styles of accommodation to choose from on San Juan Island, from camping to some very luxurious vacation homes. Start with the accommodations page at visitsanjuans.com, and check VRBO.com and AirBnb.com if you have a larger group looking to stay in one place. If you would prefer to stay in Anacortes the night before and catch an early morning ferry, that works too — see anacortes.org for places to stay.
Where your entry goes
The Whale Museum's mission is to promote stewardship of whales and the Salish Sea ecosystem through education and research. This amazing charity has taken a big hit during the pandemic.
Soroptimist International of Friday Harbor is the local club of a world-wide service organization whose mission is improving the lives of women and girls. In Friday Harbor, they raise and donate over $40,000 and thousands of volunteer hours each year to community projects.
We provide lifetime care for equines and farmed animals who, while still able to lead a quality life, are unable to find homes due to disabilities or chronic or age-related illnesses. Through compassion, training and outreach, we provide resources for our community to support these animals.
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Good to Know
The fine print
We have a clear set of policies that we uniformly follow for all races. Entries are not refundable, but you can defer your entry, transfer it to another race, or transfer it to another participant. You can review our full set of policies here.
There are no higher stakes than being kind to the earth; we care deeply about keeping our planet viable for the next generation. To that end, we organize our events with an eye towards minimizing our impact on the planet. Read more here.
If you have a suggestion or idea for how we can improve our events in this regard, please let us know!
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