The course for the 2014 Joe Dudman 5k is marked with the black line. Click for a larger view.
One of the most fun – and most challenging – things about putting on a race is planning the course. They say when writing, to write about what you know … so in planning our race, I stuck close to home! I run the Fanno Creek Trail on about 75% of my runs, so I know that trail pretty darn well.
The start/finish area will be set up at ADAPT Training at 9923 SW Arctic Circle. Parking will be available in their parking lot and on SW Arctic between SW Harvest and SW Western. (Keep reading and you’ll see why.) Inside ADAPT is where you’ll be able to pick up your bib before the race; and where you’ll be able to take part in a dynamic warm-up led by the awesome team at ADAPT. Post-race, we’ll hold awards (and hand out cupcakes) there as well.
The start and finish line will be on Arctic just south of Harvest. (There is a youth basketball facility on Harvest; starting south of that street will let their players get into their parking lot.) Heading south on Arctic, the course makes a left after about a quarter mile onto Allen Boulevard, where one lane will be closed to traffic for our runners. Police will be stopping traffic at the intersection of Allen and Scholls, where runners will take a hard right onto Scholls Ferry and the Fanno Creek Trail at the 0.6 mile mark.
The one-mile mark is about half-way down the entire distance of the trail. But you’ll keep on cruising along the curvy Fanno Creek Trail. There are a lot of bridges on the course, but they’re all flat and the same width of the path, which will break it up and provide a little more variety without adding elevation. There is one pretty sharp turn just before reaching the end of the trail where we’ll divide the coming and going traffic with cones – which will make for a pretty exciting corner in the elite race!
Runners will exit the trail at the 1.5 mile mark and go just about fifty meters onto SW 105th for a road-width turnaround. Here, we’ll have an aid station set up for anyone needing a quick drink of water, and then it’s back along the course to the finish.
As for elevation, there’s about 45 feet of elevation loss, mainly as you run down Allen to the trail in the first mile. Heading back to the finish, you’ll gain it; but you probably won’t notice it too much.
At the finish, stick around and cheer for others finishing the race or head back to ADAPT for a cool-down and to enjoy your post-race cupcake and cuppa’ Joe!
