The Half-Corked Marathon: What it’s Like to Run 21 Kilometres and Taste 15 Wines

Working for this magazine has given me a lot of really cool opportunities—hosting the Restaurant Awards, eating five omakase meals in a week,  snooping through the homes of Vancouver’s top creatives. But one bucket-list item that I’ve been secretly dreaming about for the past half decade is running the Half-Corked Marathon. This wine-fueled race happens yearly in Osoyoos. Participants dress up in wild costumes, taste-test the best wine the region has to offer and oh, yeah, run a half marathon.

I’m passionate about drinking, crazy about dressing up, somewhat okay with running and obsessed with doing things for the plot. So when I finally got the opportunity to do the Half-Corked Marathon in May 2024, I was all in. Tickets for the 2026 Half-Corked Marathon go on sale July 23 at 9:00 a.m. (mark you calendar!) but if you miss your chance to scoop one up, a lottery for a remaining run of tickets opens in October.

If you’re not sure whether this is the event for you—or you’ve already got tickets and are starting to get the pre-race jitters—no fear: here’s everything I learned at the 2024 Half-Corked Marathon. But first, some FAQs.

The Important Half-Corked Marathon Questions, Answered

1. Should I train for this?

Maybe it was the misguided confidence that comes from being in my twenties, but I didn’t do any kind of special training for Half-Corked at all. The “race” is the epitome of just-for-fun, they don’t even keep track of your time or standing. Lots of participants walk for the majority of the event. It’s not easy, but there’s no pressure whatsoever to be fast.

2. Wine plus running seems like a recipe for disaster. Is everyone barfing by the end?

This was a worry of mine, for sure, but the pour you get at each winery is not much—I’d say about an ounce on average, but often less. It really is just a little taster in a small plastic cup. If you want more than the serving size, most of the wineries will give you a splash more if you ask for it. Overall, the average person won’t consume enough wine to feel ill.

3. Does everyone dress up in costumes?

Not everyone does, but the majority of participants do. It’s part of the fun. Now that I’ve done Half-Corked once in a bulky, noisy outfit that limited my mobility, I suggest picking a costume that is relatively easy to move around in.

4. What if I have to go to the bathroom?

There’s portable washrooms at various spots around the route, so there’s plenty of opportunity to flush out some of that wine along the way.

5. Is it hard to use a port-a-potty when you’re dressed as a bunch of grapes?

Yes. I do not recommend it.

Things I Learned from Running the Half-Corked Marathon

The opening night “Primavera Party” is a banger.

I don’t know how most people prepare for a half-marathon, but in Oliver Osoyoos Wine Country, the Friday night before a race is spent eating, drinking and dancing. There’s live music, lots of wine and a buzzy, beautiful vibe. The 2024 Primavera Party was held at Church and State Winery and featured food from the Paella Guys. My partner and I were both pretty baffled by how much some people were drinking (no judgement!) but the party emcee did say something like “The only way to lose the Half-Corked Marathon is to come in first!” so it’s not like hardcore racing was really on anyone’s mind. We were transported by bus to and from the lovely Watermark. Our bus left the party late because some guy decided to take a leak in the adjacent field (judgement!) but we were still home by 8:30 p.m. That’s the trick: party early and often.

Some of the costumes are truly epic.

We decided to dress as grapes for Half-Corked, which was on-theme, if not totally original. I was convinced we would have the most inconvenient costume around, but I was dead wrong: there was a group of Flintstones that rolled an entire prehistoric car with them, a team of Jurassic Park characters including blow-up dinosaur costumes and (the costume contest winner) Toucan Sam and a bowl of Froot Loops. For the brave, costume functionality simply isn’t a concern. You commit and you deal with it.

That said, there were plenty of sane among us—Powerpuff girls, bottles of ketchup, Princess Diana, mustard and relish, Barbie and Ken, etc.—who dressed up without sacrificing their ability to run. All costumes are good costumes.

Everyone is in the best mood of their lives.

I don’t think I’ve ever been surrounded by so many people who were so happy to be running. The mood on “race” day is positively delightful—participants are complimenting each other’s costumes, joking about their various levels of athleticism and full of a playful, excited energy. And it’s not the wine: before we’d even made our first pit stop, people were making new friends and snapping photos of their favourite outfits.

Oliver Osoyoos Wine Country is beautiful.

Duh. But running through the wineries themselves, past green leaves and grape vines, kicking up dust and feeling the occasional breeze cool your balloons, is much different than experiencing the landscape by car. Taking in that scenery was one of the best parts of the race. On my race day, it rained for twenty minutes at around the halfway point, which only made the setting more refreshing.

Crossing the finish line feels amazing.

I can talk all I want about the race being just for fun, but I am a deeply competitive person and have never run a half-marathon (with or without wine) before, so I was feeling some pressure to do well… whatever that means. I ended up completing it in about three hours, sprinting through that final arch and taking a moment to feel a rush of pride. I did it! And the reward? Food trucks, live music, and more wine. The “Party at the Finish Line” has free admission (so even people who didn’t race can get in it, cheaters) and food and bevvies for purchase. I ate a peanut butter covered hot dog, rested my head on my costume and revelled in the fact that the whole experience was even better than I’d dreamed of.

Half-Corked Marathon tickets go on sale July 23 at 9:00 a.m., with a lottery for remaining tickets to follow this fall. More details on the official website.