Leavenworth
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The annual Leavenworth Oktoberfest Marathon marked its 10th anniversary on Saturday. Thousands of runners turned out to participate in the full and half marathon events and were offered a challenge among a beautiful setting.
The town of Leavenworth, located just over 100 miles east of Seattle, WA, is nestled in the Cascade Mountains. The town was designed to resemble a small Bavarian village and hosts one of the top Oktoberfest celebrations in the Pacific Northwest.
The marathon and half marathon courses wound through residential areas, major thoroughfares and trails that allow runners to enjoy the finest aspects of nature. Tall mountains surrounding the town offered spectacular scenery for runners trying to achieve a personal best time. The high altitude provided an additional challenge for the runners.
The half marathon was won by Christopher Anderson with a time of 1:14:42. The top woman in the race was Ann Pedack with a time of 1:29:04.
Micah Adams took the full marathon event with a time of 2:38:49. Laura Lavezo posted the fastest time for women at 3:11:43.
A portion of all entry fees for the races went to benefit TedDriven, which is a foundation that promotes cancer research.
Deception Falls, which is located roughly 30 minutes west of Leavenworth, provided an additional treat to the marathon weekend. This majestic waterfall is situated just off U.S. Route 2 and is a must-see for anyone traveling to or from Leavenworth.
A view of Deception falls from the observation bridge
