We've met our match!

Heather and I recently paid a visit to Centralia, Washington to partake in the Match Maker 5K road race benefiting the local high school cross-country team. What a great time we had! That's great time in that we had fun and a great time that our combined times landed us in first place for the mixed-match (male-female pair) 76-95 (combined age) division. We actually came in second overall for the male-female pair. Race director Doug McClaughlin does a great job with this race and he should be commended. I'll be doing a full write-up in the April issue of Northwest Runner. In the meanwhile, check out the race's neat little website and plan on participating in next year's run.

If I was in Richmond...

Hey-Happy Chinese New Years a couple of weeks early. Heather and I recently returned from a weekend trip to Richmond, British Columbia. The city, just south of Vancouver, sits on an island in the Fraser River Delta. Fascinating little place with a vibrant Asian-Canadian community including the second largest Buddhist Temple in North America and enough Chinese eateries to satisfy all of Shanghai.

But aside from Richmond's vibrant Golden Village (the Asian heart of the city) the city also boasts a quaint and historic district known as Steveston. An old fishing centre, Steveston now teems with historic sites, museums, boutiques and great restaurants. The entire city is traversed by an incredible trail system including the Dyke Trails which make for great running and cycling. I have two upcoming stories on Richmond, so look for them. One in Northwest Runner on Richmond's running scene including those great trails. The other one in Northwest Travel highlighting Steveston's heritage corridor.

In the meanwhile, contemplate a trip to Richmond. Skip Vancouver and enjoy this oft-overlooked gem in the BC Lower Mainland.

Hikeoftheweek.com
welcomes the Snohomish County Tourism Bureau.

Starting this month, Hikeoftheweek.com will have two sponsors. The North Olympic Peninsula Visitors and Convention Bureau has once again joined us as a main sponsor as well as the Snohomish County Tourism Bureau. I have been doing promotional work for both agencies for the past several years. Last year I designed a beautiful hiking brochure for the Snohomish Group and the North Olympic folks were an original sponsor of hikeoftheweek.com.

On alternating weeks you will be able to read about exciting hiking destinations in these two regions. Look for hiking options off of the Mountain Loop Highway, the Skykomish Valley and around suburban Everett as well. And over on the Peninsula-all kinds of great locations await you from the Pacific Coast to Hood Canal. Be sure to support our sponsors too-visit their websites and plan a weekend in a nice lodge-or treat yourself to a great meal after burning some calories on the trail. We hope you enjoy this year's great line-up of hikes on Hikeoftheweek.com. And spread the word-let your hiking buddies know about us!