Amy and her daughter Kaylee, getting ready for the race.
As far as small community events go, the Stoller 5K Race is a pretty amazing event. The race is incredibly well organized by Race Director Elisa Bennett, and the venue is perfection.
Let me lay it out for you: Plenty of parking. Indoor restroom facilities (honestly this would be top of my list thank you nervous bladder. Gigantic space for expo vendors that included VooDoo donuts. Huge start/finish area. Place for the band. And the event held in the very place that will receive the proceeds from the race.
The event sold out this year well before the race and organizers opened a few more spots for race day registration. All told there were 625 runners and and 60 joggers for the Junior Jaguar Jog. And plenty of other family, friends and volunteers. And there was nothing but wonderful spaciousness.
The start of the Jr. Jaguar run, some speedy runners! Photo Credit: Amy Little
There were also some really special aspects to the pre-race festivities including the national anthem performance by talented Stoller student Rohan Kumar.
There was also a band made up of a handful of Stoller students who are also from the Portland School of Rock. These kids Stevie Wonder and Blue Oyster Cult in the same performance, and yes, they really did rock.
Packet pick up was a breeze and even though you could literally walk your stuff to your car, they still had a bag check option.
The Junior Jaguar Jog was also a fun option for some kids not wanting to tackle the 5K and also even some little ones. Just a one mile run, plenty of fun and smiles!
A sea of runners just after the starting line.
The course itself was wonderful, I really enjoyed the gently rolling hills, and most especially I love that it is the kind of race I can run with my new favorite running buddy: my ten year old daughter.
This was the first time we raced together and I couldn’t be more proud of her. She will be writing her own race review so I’ll let her tell you more about her experience. I love that the course would be challenging enough to attempt a PR, yet gentle enough for a mother and daughter (or father and son, as the case may be) can race together.
The volunteers were also amazing and did an incredible job of supporting and directing runners, though the course was so well marked it was very easy to follow! Traffic control was also terrific and I felt very safe!
I really enjoyed this event and honestly it’s one that I would keep on my calendar year after year. If you’d like to check out the race results click here. Race photographs will also available to view online, just go to www.KarenPatsyPhotography.com and click on the Stoller 5K tab.
