RUN Wenatchee

River Run athletes said they liked the views of the Columbia River and Wenatchee Foothills from the course. (Frank Cone photo)

WENATCHEE — The recently completed River Run Half-Marathon, 10K and 5K has received high marks from participants, with 95.5 percent of those surveyed saying the event was excellent or good.

Asked if they would do River Run again, 78.7 percent said they were extremely likely or very likely to do so.

In particular, participated enjoyed running on the loop trail, views of the Columbia River and Wenatchee Foothills, and the Sept. 21 event’s association with the Taste of the Harvest Festival in downtown (where the finish was located) and with Pybus Public Market (the start). They also applauded the work of volunteers and described River Run as well-organized.

“I loved how it was connected with the Harvest Festival,” one runner remarked in the survey. “It was great to run the 5K with my family (pushing our 3-year-old in the stroller) and then be able to enjoy the festive activities together as a family afterwards.”

Added another runner, “I liked the new course. It’s much more scenic and I love the hills (both up and down).”

Asked what can be done to improve River Run, some runners suggested an earlier start time for the half-marathon, use of a public address system at the start, and a return to the courses being just on the Wenatchee side of the Columbia River. Some said they thought the route was too hilly.

All three runs this year began at 10 a.m. RunWenatchee, which organizes the event, introduced a new course this year that took athletes over to the East Wenatchee side of the river.

About 42 percent of this year’s River Run participants live at least 50 miles away from Wenatchee — with about half of that number coming from the Seattle area. Females made up 72.7 percent of the field.

Taste of the Harvest Festival and Pybus Public Market were both draws, with 65.2 percent of runner saying they took part in the festival and 71.4 percent saying they checked out Pybus.

Nearly 36 percent of finishers completed the online survey.

As part of the survey, RunWenatchee held a drawing and gave out a free entry to next year’s River Run. The winner was Stacey Beem of Cashmere.

— RunWenatchee.com