Racing and reveling in marathon and brewfest

• What: Vancouver USA Marathon and Summer Brewfest.

• Where: Esther Short Park, corner of Sixth and Columbia streets.

• When: Brewfest and marathon expo are open 2-10 p.m. Friday. Freedom 5K and kids’ runs are Saturday morning. Brewfest open from noon-10 p.m. Saturday and 9 a.m.-4 p.m. Sunday. Marathon begins at 7 a.m. Sunday and half-marathon at 9 a.m. Closed streets reopen to traffic at 2 p.m. Sunday.

• Cost: Online registration for the race is closed; register at the expo on Friday and Saturday only. Prices start at $125 for the full marathon and $95 for the half. Races are free to watch. Brewfest is $25 at the gate and includes a commemorative glass and 10 drink tokens.

• Information: www.vancouverusamarathon.com; www.energyevents.com/summerbrewfest

• What else:

Summer Solstice Urban Obstacle Race.

• Where: 1011 Broadway.

• When: Costume contest begins at 4:30 p.m. Saturday; obstacle race follows from 5-7 p.m.

• Cost: $45 in advance or $50 same-day registration.

• Information: nwpersonaltraining.com/event/summer-solstice-urban-obstacle-race

Runners and walkers of all stripes — the serious and the silly, the striving and the imbibing — can have a ton of fun in downtown Vancouver this weekend.

Even better if one of those runner-walker-drinkers is Dad, since this overstuffed bundle of outings overlaps with our annual celebration of paternity. Sunday is Father’s Day, remember?

It’s also the day of the Vancouver USA Marathon, expected to send upward of 3,500 racers on a route that explores some of the prettiest spots this city has to offer: Esther Short Park, Frenchman’s Bar and Vancouver Lake, Uptown Village, Fort Vancouver and the Waterfront Renaissance Trail along the Columbia River — including the recently rebuilt path out there that had been closed for erosion repairs for too many years.

“Our course is so much better than some. You’ve got all these sights to see, from the lake to the fort, and you’ve got so much riverfront,” said race director Brian Davis of Energy Events.

Too much beauty to absorb in one 26.2-mile journey on a single pair of legs? Consider the half-marathon instead. Or the much shorter Freedom 5K on Saturday morning. There’s even a special kids’ marathon-ish, with children up to 12 encouraged to log 25 miles on their own and then top that off with a final glory run of 1.2 miles on race day.

This is the fifth year of the Vancouver USA Marathon, which has grown from a local experiment into a big success, pulling competitors from 38 states (so far) and places like India and Italy. “We’ve put Vancouver on the map of marathons,” Davis said. Runner’s World magazine has named it one of its top-nine best new marathons, as well as one of the top-10 “Fun-Feature Filled Marathons in the USA.”

What sort of fun features? While the main event is Sunday, the entire weekend, starting Friday afternoon, will be packed full of run-related festivities. Esther Short Park will be home to the marathon’s official Active Expo, with services and vendors (and promotional freebies), guest speakers and all the information and equipment you’ll need for the race.

While you’re at it, absorb some inspiration from Bart Yasso, a Running USA Hall of Champions inductee and the “chief running officer” for Runner’s World, who will be on hand to sign books, emcee the festivities and lead an informal group run along the river on Saturday morning. Yasso will offer a couple of motivational talks at 1 and 4 p.m. Saturday at the park (and space is expected to be limited, so don’t be late).

Other than motivation and swag, what else can you pick up in the park before (and after) the marathon itself? Beer. Energy Events is also sponsoring the annual Summer Brewfest here. Twenty-five regional breweries will offer 50 craft beers, and registered runners enjoy free admission plus a handful of taster tokens. (If your idea of a great time includes the drinking but not the running, separate Brewfest admission starts at $25 for a mug plus 10 tokens.)

A zany alternative

And if all that still seems tame for an energetic summer weekend in the Couv, you’re welcome to don goofy duds before zigzagging all over downtown on Saturday evening in search of riddles to solve and challenges to conquer.

That’s the seventh annual Summer Solstice Urban Obstacle Race, sponsored by downtown gym Northwest Personal Training and gladly part of the weekend party, according to event director Shantina Fox. Participants — in teams of up to four — are issued secret clues at the start, and they’ll use those plus other assistance — smartphone, pen and paper, a brain that’s maybe not too beery yet — to reach hidden destinations, solve puzzles and undertake zany tasks.

Fox wouldn’t reveal what those will be this year, but previous contestants have climbed walls, ridden tricycles, played musical chairs and rolled beer barrels. “It’s all pretty fun and silly,” she said. Show up an hour before the 5 p.m. Saturday starting time to enjoy the costume contest; previous years’ entries have included Batman and Robin, the castaways from “Gilligan’s Island” and some walking pieces of chocolate cake.

But there’s a serious point: the Summer Solstice Obstacle Course, which costs $45 to enter today and $50 on race day, is a fundraiser for the Clark County Food Bank.