Join us for 110 fast, flat laps around Drumheller Fountain. Stick around after to enjoy food and music at the U-District Street Fair.

Read Epilogue

This event took place in 2022. Looking for a more recent Drumheller Half?

Course

We will run on the concrete slab that encircles Drumheller Fountain. While campus foot traffic is reduced on weekends, you can still expect to navigate around fountain-admirers, passers-by and cyclists. The fountain will be on starting at 8. There is no shade.

FAQ

Who can participate?: Anyone in the CSE community.
How will you keep track of distance?: We're leaving this responsibility to the participants. We recommend running with a device capable of counting laps or someone else who has one. GPS will clip the curve, so don't rely on it for more than a couple laps at a time.
Which direction do we run?: You should alternate directions during the run to balance the strain of the curve between your legs. Change directions only at the end of a lap though, or you'll make counting harder.
Do I have to run the whole thing?: No. You're welcome to come join for a few laps.
How fast do I need to run?: You should be able to complete your chosen distance in under 2.5 hours.

Rainier Vista, partly framed by Johnson and Mary Gates halls, is the most sacred space on campus. The vista was first conceived as a centerpiece of the campus plan by the Olmsted Brothers in 1906, when the elusive mountain revealed itself during the firm's visit to Seattle to develop a plan for the Alaska Yukon Pacific Exposition. Rainier Vista is the most dramatic borrowing from nature on any campus in the United States, with Mount Rainier as its climax, and with both architecture and landscape reinforcing its thrust past a minor view of the city toward the mountain beyond. As Edmond Meany put it, “No campus in all the world can equal Rainier Vista. In those rare moments when Mother Nature in kindly mood pulls aside the vaporous curtains we may gaze upon Mt. Rainier, a three-mile…flow…of rock and ice. A spectacle of unending fascination!”

Epilogue

Eleven runners convened at the fountain for the first ever Drumheller Half Marathon. Counting laps was manageable as a group, and it didn't seem to cause any great difficulty even as we split up for the last few kilometers. Thomas W. sped away first, setting the course record at 2:02:05.

Nick Walker

A selfie of nine smiling runners standing in front of Drumheller fountain — Start line selfie. Not pictured, a couple runners that would join us part way through.

Drumheller Fountain gushing in front of Rainier Vista trees, with Mount Rainier visible in the distance — The fountain, the mountain and the runners. (Photo: Daniel Revier)