If you’re looking for a marathon vacation, Paso Robles wine country is the place for you.

It’s the perfect mix of good scenery, good weather and local attractions. The Paso Robles Harvest Marathon is returning for its third year on Sunday, October 28th. It includes a 5k and half-marathon relay.

I ran the course the first two years. It is stunningly beautiful. The race starts out at Le Vigne Winery on the east side and begins a series of short hills to the halfway mark. Local volunteers from cheerleaders to girl scouts show up at the water stations to cheer you on.

The run is through vineyards with colorful grape leaves on the recently harvested vines. Last year I watched workers in the fields bringing in the last grapes season as I ran by. The second half of the run is a smoother ride up until a short rise near the finish. Volunteers at the finish line greet you with a medal, fresh local foods and drinks.

If you are going to race, why not make a vacation out of it. Paso Robles offers several attractions and resort-quality hotels. Over 200 boutique wineries, hot springs spas and gourmet restaurants surround Paso Robles.

The event is hosted by the Rotary Club of Paso Robles and is a fundraiser for the many local charities that Rotary supports.

“It’s an amazing race,” says organizer Julie Opheim. “It’s not crowded at all and the beautiful views of Paso Robles wine country at harvest time are a sight to see! We get runners coming back again and again,” she says. The entries come from all over: Japan, Europe, all over America and lots of locals, too.

Last year over 300 runners came out to compete. More runners are expected this year. The marathon is a qualifying race for the Boston Marathon. “The out-of-town runners love to make it a weekend vacation since we are in wine country,” Opheim says.

This course starts and finishes at Le Vigne, 5115 Buena Vista Dr., Paso Robles, CA. Plenty of water stations and bathrooms are available throughout the course. Timing chips are used for all of the events. Every runner receives a tech shirt, goodie bag and food after the race. All marathon and relay finishers receive a finisher’s medal. There is a 6-hour time limit on the marathon and marathon relay. Start time is 7:30 a.m. for the marathon and relay and 8:30 a.m. for the 5k.

The event is sponsored by several local businesses including Le Vigne Winery, Best Western Plus Black Oak, K-Man, KD Capital Mortgage, Paso Robles Chevrolet, North County Physical Therapy, First American Title, Access Publishing, The Wine Wrangler, Glenn Burdette, Carmel & Naccasha LLP, Rick Goree - State Farm Insurance, San Luis Sourdough, CrossFit Paso Robles, Kevin Forsythe MD, Prudential Hallmark and Rex Thornhill, DPN.

For registration information visitwww.pasoroblesmarathon.com or email pasomarathon@yahoo.com

By Scott Brennan, Access Publishing, 806 9th St #2D, Paso Robles, CA 93446. (805) 226-9890.

Scott and Beth Brennan own Access Publishing of Paso Robles. Their team create the San Luis Obispo County Visitors Guide, Central Coast Active, North County Access and offer online marketing, website design and local search optimization to local businesses. The company recently added Google Business Photos to their line up of online marketing services in San Luis Obispo County. (805) 226-9890. Connect with Scott Brennan on Google+.

This story was first publishing at http://blog.travelpaso.com/2012/10/marathon-is-a-run-in-the-vineyards-.html