Attention Athletes:

Well... how do you like them Apples?!? This is not the announcement we wanted to make today so the apples feel kind of rotten, but if you know us, we aren't going down. Instead we're making apple pie!


PeaceHealth AppleTree Marathon, Half Marathon & 5K is now a VIRTUAL event. Unfortunately, phases have been put on hold and the City of Vancouver is just not able to permit the live event. The good news - we are going to make this event our best virtual event ever! Stay the course, race the course and together, we will get through this! So get your family and friends ready, because the 2020 PeaceHealth AppleTree Marathon, Half Marathon & 5K Virtual Event will be one you will never forget!

Our number one priority is our athletes and the health of our community so we would never want to do anything that would cause anyone to get sick. With that said, we hope we can convince you to still race with us virtually and we have ramped up all aspects of this event.

  • Upgraded, AMAZING SWAG! Check it out below!
  • We have added a very exciting "Portland vs Vancouver 5K" challenge! Which city is the fastest? Which Mayor, Police Chief, Fire Chief or City Council is the fastest? Which city can inspire the most amount of people per capita to take on the challenge?! Let's see which city on which side of the mighty Columbia river is the fittest!
  • We have been allowed to mark the course so you can still run/walk the majority of the original course during 9 days!
  • We have added a Marathon & Half Marathon challenge so for those of you who aren't able or willing to do either distance all at once, you can complete the distance over a number of days! That's a perk that a virtual event allows for!
  • Still a fundraiser for PAL and Friends of the Fort. Let's raise some money for these important causes!
  • Kids still race the 5K for FREE!
  • We can now race together from all over the world! Last year, we had 8 countries represented! Can we beat that for 2020?!

This is our 3rd year of the PeaceHealth AppleTree Marathon, Half Marathon & 5K and it's rained the last couple years. Wouldn't that just be our luck that this year could have the best weather yet! Taking a positive spin - you can complete your distance(s) anytime between September 19th through September 27th so pick the best day (and the best weather) for you! Gather your family or a small groups of friends and have your own race weekend! There is something for everyone at PeaceHealth AppleTree Marathon, Half Marathon & 5K. We have you covered whether you are a marathon junkie or if you are completing your first ever 5K!

How does virtual work? You do your distance whenever, wherever and with whoever you want. You still get all the SWAG including BIG BLING and upgraded merchandise to remind you of the year you raced in such a unique way. THIS IS THE BEST SWAG PACKAGE WE'VE DONE THIS YEAR! You will send us your race photos, videos and results so we can still create an official photo album, race video, finisher's certificate, results listing and we will host virtual awards ceremonies. We need that sense of community and that feeling that we're going through this together. We need to feel that sense of accomplishment. The emails we have been receiving from our athletes who have participated in our virtual events have been so overwhelmingly positive and have confirmed for us that offering the Virtual option is what the majority of our athletes want and need right now. Just because COVID-19 canceled our plans, it doesn't mean your goals need to be cancelled. Not to mention, we need an outlet and an incentive to put the training in to develop our physical strength, mental health, reduce our stress, and build our immune system.

In order to entice you to do the Virtual option, we have upgraded all the SWAG and will hustle like crazy to make this virtual experience memorable, meaningful, fun and something you will never forget.


Here's what you are going to get if you don't defer and/or register! Please sign up if you haven't yet and let's #RaceApartTogether!
All PeaceHealth AppleTree Marathon, Half Marathon & 5K athletes get a Technical Finisher's Racing Shirt, 3D APPLE Medal, Buff, Bag, Event Glass and SWAG bag full of goodies from our sponsors! On some of the items, we are honoring our historical Old AppleTree that we named our event after and that recently died with "RIP OLD APPLETREE 1826-2020".
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Plus all Marathon, Half Marathon and Challenge participants also get a VERY COOL, COMFY, WARM event Hoodie and Arm Sleeves! You get it all! We hope this is an incentive for many of our athletes to give a Marathon or Half Marathon a go on your own terms in a non-intimidating way. The Half Marathon or Marathon RACE is for those who complete the distance all at once and want to upload time, results and/or want to be considered for awards. The Half Marathon or Marathon CHALLENGE requires you to do the distance over 9 days or less. So you too could be a Marathoner with an asterisk (**over 9 days) or over however many days it takes you to complete. Another perk of a virtual event!
Do you want ALL THE SWAG?! DO THE BEAST CHALLENGE! Since the event is virtual over an extended period of time, it makes it more manageable to be a BEAST! If you perform 2 or 3 of the events, you can earn a Beast medal or the coveted Triple-headed Beast Medal. Since it's virtual you can do multiple events over the time period. For example, you could do a Half Marathon one day and the 5K on another day and the Marathon challenge over the week. Any combination counts and you can earn a Beast Medal or a Triple Headed Beast Medal.

Email [email protected] for details and to add on.
FUNDRAISING: It's also important to note that $5 from each paid adult registration will be split between our beneficiaries Police Activities League of Southwest Washington and Friends of the Fort. When you register, you can also set up a fundraising page to help raise donations and put an even more compelling WHY to your virtual race! Help us continue to support these important causes during these tough times.

KIDS: We want to continue to offer our 'Kids race for FREE' initiative so kids (12 and under) can participate in the virtual 5K for free and get a shirt, medal, bag, and bib. We are teaching them important life lessons and how to focus on the positive during these challenging times. Make it fun for your kids and maybe have them set up a fundraising page and see how much they can raise for our beneficiary as they train to cross the virtual finish line.

IMPORTANT: If you have already registered, your options are as follows:

1. Participate in the virtual option which we REALLY hope you do! If you have already signed up, your registration will automatically be switched to the virtual option so you don't need to do anything. Not only will you get all the upgraded swag, but also our already registered Marathon athletes will receive a $20 race credit to be used at a future Why Racing event or to be used for the Beast Challenge.

2. Defer to 2021 or another Why Racing event this year. Just email us at [email protected] by this Friday August 14th and let us know if you want to defer. We have waived the deferral fee. If you don't defer, all of your correct sizing for all official finishers' merchandise will be ordered for you that's why we need to know ASAP if you want to defer.

Register! If you have not signed up yet, we hope we've convinced you to join in on all the fun! Here's the pricing details to sign up for the virtual race experience and receive all the SWAG and be part of something amazing! Please share with all your friends, family and racing buddies!


*$55 for 5K Adults gets the Technical Shirt, Buff, Medal, Tall Boy Can Glass & SWAG bag full of goodies
*$80 for all Marathon & Half Marathon race and challenge participants get the Hoodie Sweatshirt, Arm Sleeves, Technical Shirt, Buff, Medal, Tall Boy Can Glass and a SWAG bag full of goodies.
*50% off for Junior athletes
*$20 for add-on 5K or $45 for Marathon/Half Marathon add-on for Beast challenge.
*When you register, you'll be asked if you are Team Portland or Team Vancouver. Choose who you align with if you'd like to be part of the 5K challenge. If you have already registered, you'll be sent an email to choose which team you'd like to represent.

So instead of crying, we will continue to focus on what we CAN do versus what we can't do. That's what athletes do! We train to overcome obstacles and challenges! We can't race together physically, but we can still race together in spirit. We can't control what's going on in the world and the uncertainty of it all can be scary. The only thing we can control is what we focus on and our response. A virtual event won't be exactly as we had planned for, but nothing is really going as planned right now. The only thing we can do is to promise that we will do everything in our power to assure you won't regret sticking with it and going virtual with us.

FYI, if you email [email protected], Jennifer Lyman, will be receiving your email, who is our sweet registration director. Please be patient with her as her inbox has been slammed and she will do her best to get back to you as soon as possible.

IMPORTANT: If you have a Comcast email address, many athletes have had difficulties receiving our emails. If you don't hear back from us, please message us on Facebook.  
Thank you so much for your support during these challenging times. So many of you have asked how you can help us make it through this when we can't host any live events and the best thing to do is to continue participating in our virtual races and inspire your friends to sign up too. That's the only thing that's keeping us together right now. So many of our colleagues across the country have either laid off all their employees or shut their doors for good and we are fighting that as hard as we can! We want to be doing this for the long-term! We can't wait to see you face-to-face at a finish line soon but in the mean time, a virtual finish line is better than no finish line!

Please share this email with anyone you love who you think would be inspired to go for it and would benefit physically and mentally from these events.

Sherri McMillan & your WHY Racing Crew
BE SURE TO CHECK OUT ALL
THANK YOU TO OUR PARTNERS!
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