First Running Race Ever, 6/7

My first race ever will be the Timberline Half Marathon in Oregon. It takes place on June 6th, 2010 and is one lap around Timothy Lake not too far south of Mt. Hood. I actually hiked around a third of the lake during my PCT hike. I hope this helps during the race. From what I recall it’s not very hilly and the footing is fairly decent. I do know that about half way through the race I’ll be in a pine forest and the tread should be nice and soft with decent shade.
Even though the race is called a half marathon it’s actually 14.2 miles long. Here is a like to the course map. Below is a profile map of the course:

As you can see the max elevation gain is only 100′. I’m not sure of the total gain though. I’m sure it’s going to hurt all the same and that is why I signed up for a post race massage. I will be running to finish, not for any time goal. I’ve only run once with a group and it was easy to see how one could run faster than they should resulting in blowing up. So my main goal is to run at a comfortable pace and finish.

Scatman