Carlton lands big wine country run

A brand new annual event called the Oregon Wine Country Half Marathon has been scheduled for Sept. 5 – the Sunday of Labor Day Weekend.

According to event director Matt Dockstader, the race is expected to attract between 1,500 and 2,000 avid distance runners from around the western United States.

The 13.1 mile course begins at Stoller Vineyard, east of Lafayette on McDougall Road. It heads through Lafayette to 12th street, cuts north on Abbey Road, turns west on Hendricks Road and ends at the Tyrus Evan Wine Depot on Pine Street in downtown Carlton.

A post-race event for participants is being developed by the Carlton Business Association. Though still in the planning stages, it will include wining and dining.

Dockstader’s company, Destination Races of Sonoma, Calif., launched the concept of wine country half marathons in 2004. It now stages three of them in California, one in Santa Barbara, one in Napa and Sonoma and one in Healdsburg.

Dan Shryock, digital media director at the News-Register, and Phil Hutchinson, CEO of the McMinnville Area Chamber of Commerce, began discussions with the company last fall in conjunction with the Oregon Sports Authority in Portland.

— Excerpt from the Yamhill Valley News Register, January 9, 2010