Half Corked

This isn’t your typical half marathon.

First of all, the 21-kilometre jog through Oliver and Osoyoos wine country goes by the cheeky name Half Corked.

The 1,000 participants are encouraged to run in their best wine-themed or Canadiana costumes and there are stations every kilometre handing out wine refreshment.

The quasi-race, which will celebrate its 10th anniversary on May 26 this year, is so popular the 1,000 slots for runners have already been allocated.

All this caught the attention of the Canadian Tourism Awards, which named Half Corked event of the year at its recent Tourism Industry Association of Canada annual conference in Gatineau, Quebec.

Half Corked it put on by the 39 wineries in the Oliver Osoyoos Winery Association, which includes bigger names such as Jackson-Triggs, Inniskillin and Hester Creek and smaller properties such as Adega, Hidden Chapel and VinAmite.

Don’t worry if you didn’t get into the half marathon, or don’t want to run.

There are plenty more events built into the weekend, such as a long-table vineyard dinner on May 25, a party at the finish line with more winery stations, food trucks and live music and special events at wineries.

If you want to run in the 2019 half, go to OliverOsoyoos.com/halfcorked for information on how to get in