Stainless steel 14oz mug
The 2014 Bridge to Brews 8k and 10k race was held at Portland’s Lilis Albina Park on Sunday, April 6th. Close to 4,000 participants gathered under cloudy (but dry) skies to run across two of Portland’s bridges and to enjoy the beer festival afterwards. For complete results, click here.
I arrived in North Portland around 8am (for an 8:40 start), and parking on the neighborhood streets was getting tight. I found a spot about half a mile from the start/finish area and used the walk as a warmup.
Water bottle fill station by the firetruck
This was Bridge to Brews’ first year of using the city park as a start/finish, and the area was big enough to accommodate the runners and spectators without feeling too crowded. There were plenty of porta-potties (no wait! Yay!), bag check seemed to be running smoothly (although the line got long later on), I saw water bottle fill stations, and OLCC made ID check stations available to expedite the “run to beer” at the end. The line at the beer mug/token pickup was also short, so I opted to pick mine up before the race as well. The grassy park was getting muddy from all the food traffic, but the weather and ground conditions are out of control of the organizers.
The race started on time, and the “release and hold” system of wave starts efficiently and effectively spread out the runners, so that there was no congestion to speak of. The course was well marked and staffed by volunteers at key corners, and Portland Police made sure that busy intersections would be safely blocked.
Running on the bottom deck of the Fremont Bridge
At mile 1 we were on the ramp onto the Fremont Bridge. I was very excited for this part of the race, since in a marketing email in early February Terrapin had announced that this year we would be running on the top deck of the bridge instead of the bottom deck. Unfortunately it appears that it didn’t work out after all, and event organizers didn’t get around to announcing the change along with the course map last month.
The water station at mile 2.5 was well stocked and staffed, and I enjoyed a cup of water. Then came the split between the 10k and 8k courses, which was also very well marked, and volunteers looked at the color of our race bib to make sure everybody chose the right route. A few zigzags through the NW residential area took us to the Broadway Bridge, along the right bank of the Willamette and back to the finish at Lilis Albina Park. Some finishers were announced by name as they crossed the finish line, and my nine-year-old was thrilled that he was mentioned.
Since I ran/walked with my grade-school-aged kids, I finished towards the back of the pack, and lines for all the post-race activities were very long. Post-race food and mug/token pickup lines snaked through the park, and the brewfest tasting lines also looked to move slowly. I passed my tasting tickets to someone waiting in line, and we moseyed on home, proud of our accomplishment.
Overal Men:
1. Chris Clancy of Portland, OR – 0:26:46
2. Scott Pinske of Portland, OR – 0:27:01
3. Ricky Garcia of Milwauke, OR – 0:27:47
Overall Women:
1. Michelle Hurn of Portland, OR – 0:30:31
2. Beth Armstrong* of Mcminnville, OR – 0:35:54
3. Noreen Murdock of Portland, OR – 0:36:08
Master’s Men:
1. Joshua Eisenberg of Beaverton, OR – 0:31:32
2. Roger Tumasonis of Portland, OR – 0:32:55
3. Yudie Thio of Portland, OR – 0:34:12
Master’s Women:
1. Charlene Paulson of Oregon City, OR – 0:37:56
2. Shelby Wood of Portland, OR – 0:38:39
3. Laura Madison of Echo, OR – 0:39:13
Bridge to Brews 10k Results:
Overall Men:
1. Jay Cech of Portland, OR – 0:33:52
2. Duncan Roberts of Portland, OR – 0:35:37
3. Elliot Tilden of Salem, OR – 0:36:21
Overall Women:
1. Sarah Horn of Portland, OR – 0:39:01
2. Larisa Manuel of Portland, OR – 0:39:25
3. Anne Heiner of Portland, OR – 0:41:57
Master’s Men:
1. Lawrence Merrifield Jr of Portland, OR – 0:37:08
2. Curt Mykut of Portland, OR – 0:38:49
3. Peter Jensen of Portland, OR – 0:39:51
Master’s Women:
1. Kathy White of Portland, OR – 0:44:31
2. Fabiola Lopez of Beaverton, OR – 0:44:41
3. Cheri Bolden of Long Beach, WA – 0:45:22
* Denotes Master’s
