SONOMA, Calif. – (February 5, 2010) – Destination Races, LLC is expanding its popular Wine Country Half Marathon Series to Oregon. The fourth, and newest, edition to this series, the Oregon Wine Country Half Marathon, will be held on Sunday, September 5, 2010 with activities planned throughout the Labor Day weekend.

The event features a bucolic 13.1 mile course starting at Stoller Vineyards and Winery in Dundee. Runners then wind through the heart of the Willamette Valley, finishing in the quaint town of Carlton where the Wine & Music Festival is held from 9:00am to noon.

More than 20 wineries from the Willamette Valley will be pouring their wines at the festival, which also features the race awards ceremony, live band, exhibitor booths, and beer and food garden. The festival is co-sponsored by Ken Wright Cellars and the Willamette Valley Wineries Association.

The Race Expo is held on Saturday from 10:00am to 6:00pm at The Allison Inn, a luxury resort located in Newberg. Open to the public, the expo features exhibitor booths, packet pickup for runners, informational seminars and a wine and food tasting hosted by Chehalem Mountain Winegrowers.

Destination Races Introduces New Oregon Wine Country Half Marathon

According to Matt Dockstader, founder of Destination Races, the event is positioned to introduce the Oregon wine country to a whole new market, "We think this event will open a lot of eyes of people from around the country. This area is so scenic and the wines are outstanding but, best of all, the people here are so warm and welcoming".

Dockstader believes this is going to be one of the premier destination races in the country and if the other Wine Country Half Marathons are any indication of what's to come, Oregon wine country can see a significant and measureable boost in tourism that weekend due to the event.

Destination Races also produces the Napa-to-Sonoma, Santa Barbara and Healdsburg Wine Country Half Marathons in California. These boutique-style events draw runners from all over the country and are limited to 3,000 runners or less, usually selling out well in advance of the race. The Oregon Wine Country Half Marathon also offers a team competition and a 2-person relay.

Elite runners will compete for $2000 in prize money sponsored by West Coast Bank, plus Ball Watches and magnums of wine. Each participant receives a technical running shirt, colorful finisher's medal and logo wine glass. Top three finishers in each age category win wine and other awards. The Oregon Wine Country Half Marathon is limited to 2,000 participants in its inaugural year.

Registration is currently open and can be accessed on the event website at www.run4oregonwine.com. For more information on the event series, visit www.destinationraces.com

Source: RunningUSA