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Pillage and plunder event slated July 6 in Vale

The Viking Pillage and Plunder event kicks off next month with $1,000 cash on the line for the winner of the race. (The Enterprise/Pat Caldwell).

VALE – Get ready for some pillaging and some plundering.

On Saturday, July 6, contestants can test their luck and endurance skills while racing for a chance to win $1,000 cash in the Viking Pillage and Plunder.

Sponsored by the Vale Farmers and Crafters Association, the 2.23-mile course begins at Wadleigh Park at 9 a.m. and runs down Lytle Boulevard, up Rhinehart Butte and alongside the Malheur River. Cost to register for the race is $100.

“You have to be 18 or older and it is winner take all. At the first obstacle on Lytle Boulevard, which is a cargo net, runners will have to climb down,” said Kate Humphrey, the organizer of the event.

Humphrey said Vale was an ideal setting.

“It is the only place locally that has a hill and a river that are both accessible and visible from the city,” said Humphrey.

Humphrey said there are about 12 obstacles that range from hay bales, tires, the cargo net and a mud pit.

At each obstacle, contestants will be handed a piece of “pillage” such as a wooden nickel, a bracelet or a key chain.

“All of these pieces you have to put into your crossover bag because when you cross the finish line you have to have all that pillage, or you don’t win,” said Humphrey.

The event is a fundraiser for the Vale Farmers and Crafters Association, said Humphrey. The local nonprofit sponsors the local summer market, Christmas market and the Farmers Bazaar.

Humphrey said every contestant would get a T-shirt and the crossover bag they must wear during the race. Humphrey said while the association is behind the event, the organization received help.

“Everything is signed off by the county and the city, and each landowner up and down the river,” said Humphrey.

Humphrey said registration for the event would begin at 7 a.m. at the south end of the park.

Interested individuals can also register at the event web site, vikingpillageandplunder.com.

Contestants also must sign an insurance waiver.

The race is expected to be complete by 11 a.m.

Have a news tip? Reporter Pat Caldwell: [email protected] or 541-473-3377.

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