Cherry City Half Marathon, 10K & 5K

02/25/2026

Don’t panic, buuut… Prices increase this Saturday at midnight!

Don’t miss out on your best possible pricing for the 2026 Cherry City Half Marathon, 10K, 5K and Kids Fun Run! Be a part of growing Salem and Willamette Valley’s running and walking scene and support growing a premier event right in the heart of Salem!

Register now at: https://cherrycityhalf.com

02/21/2026

Help us grow the Cherry City Half Marathon! 🌸

We’re looking for some awesome people to become brand ambassadors for Cherry City 2026 and help to promote and grow the event. Ambassadors receive great benefits and will be key contributors in growing the running culture of the Willamette Valley.

To apply, simply click the link below and complete a short survey!

Apply Today: https://forms.gle/BnYRq4KpYocjpTTa6

02/12/2026

Beat the price increase!

Prices for the 2026 Cherry City Half Marathon, 10K, 5K and Kids Fun Run increase February 28th! Don’t miss out on taking advantage of our lowest price tier!

https://cherrycityhalf.com

01/01/2026

WE ARE SO BACK! 😎

Registration is now open for the 2026 Cherry City Half Marathon, 10K, 5K and Kids Fun Run! 🌸

Join us on Sunday, September 13th, at Riverfront Park in Salem, OR for another great event. Need an excuse to register? Use promo code: CHERRY10 for 10% off your registration through 1/31!

Whether it’s your first ever run or you’re a seasoned pro looking for your next PR, our beautiful course is fun, fast and offers something for everyone!

After your race, be sure to stay to support our kids race participants, enjoy live music, award-winning local wine, beer, ciders and local food trucks!

Grab your friends, make a training plan and we can’t wait to see you this fall! 🏃🏻‍♀️🥳🏃🏻‍♂️

Register Now:

https://runsignup.com/Race/OR/Salem/CherryCityHalfMarathon

09/30/2025

We may not be the organizers but come join us on November 8th in Salem for a Fancy 5K! 🥳🎩💃 All proceeds go to Safety Compass, a local non-profit that helps victims of human trafficking! Use CHERRY5 to save $5 🫶

More info below ⬇️

The Fanciest 5K. Ever. is on Saturday November 8, 2025 to Saturday November 15, 2025. It includes the following events: The Fanciest 5K Ever and The Fanciest Virtual 5K Ever.

09/16/2025

Putting on an event in 60 days was definitely not on our bingo card… but alas, the inaugural Cherry City event is officially in the books! 🌸

Alex and I are feeling an overwhelming and indescribable sense of gratitude today. To every single one of you who showed up, believed in this, spread the word, and rallied behind us—this would not have come to life without you. Truly.

What started as a dream of 200 participants turned into over 700 of you incredible humans showing up and making history with us. We can’t say “thank you” enough 🫶

From the very beginning, our vision was simple: keep this grassroots, keep it community-focused, and keep it personal. We want to know your face (and hopefully your name—though some of you definitely got the “I know your face but not your name yet” moment at packet pickup 😂).

This event will always be about relationships and connection, because at the end of the day, this is about YOU.

100% grassroots forever. Thank you for being part of the Cherry City family. We are so blessed and cannot wait to run it back with you all for years to come. 🌸🫶

09/12/2025

When Alex Mangan ’16 first laced up his running shoes as a student-athlete at Linfield University, he couldn’t have imagined he’d one day be organizing a major event in Oregon’s capital.

08/30/2025

FINAL PRICE INCREASE ALERT! ‼️

Cherry City is almost here and prices go up one last time on September 1st. Register by midnight on 8/31 to lock in the lowest rate!

See you soon! 🌸

https://runsignup.com/Race/Events/OR/Salem/CherryCityHalfMarathon

08/28/2025

So excited to see you all on race day in only 17 days! 🥳🌸🫶 Don’t forget to sign up! ⬇️

https://runsignup.com/Race/OR/Salem/CherryCityHalfMarathon

08/12/2025

CHERRY CITY GIVEAWAY! 🥳

We’re giving away TWO free race entries (any distance – Half, 10K, or 5K) for Cherry City 2025! Whether you’ve already signed up or not, you can still win! 🙌

How to enter:
1️⃣ Follow us on Instagram:
2️⃣ Like this post
3️⃣ Tag 3 friends in the comments 🏃‍♂️🏃‍♀️🏃

Bonus entries:
✨ Share this post to your story for +1 extra entry (can be shared once per day for max of +6 extra entries…make sure to tag us!)
✨ Already registered for Cherry City= +2 extra entries
✨ Sign up this week= +3 extra entries

Giveaway runs: NOW → Saturday
Winners announced: Sunday, 8/17 🏆🏆

Tag your crew, start sharing, and get ready to run Cherry City with us next month! 🌸

08/04/2025

Meet our race director (and my husband), ALEX! 🌸👋🏃‍♀️

Alex ran in college, but his interest in the coordination of races started at Linfield after he took a course called Economics of Running and got hands-on experience by organizing a 5K. Fun fact: his professor from that class is running the half marathon at Cherry City!

After college, Alex worked at a running store, spending 4 years immersed in all things running, including being a lead role on race days — coordinating, setting up, delegating, and learning the ins and outs of what makes a great event tick. In 2024, he was the sole organizer and coordinator of the inaugural Run Willamette 5K at Willamette Valley Vineyards (our premiere sponsor!) and successfully hosted it again this last June🍷🏃

While Cherry City is his biggest race yet, Alex brings experience, grit, and a deep love for the running community — plus a very hands-on co-director (hi 🤪👋). Together, we’re all in on creating something special for the PNW’s running community 🫶

So join us on September 14th! Riverfront Park, in Salem! Be there, or be square! 👊