Race Recap: Uberthons Scholarship Run 5K (Champoeg Park)
This race was billed as a scholarship fundraiser for local high school seniors, who were invited to apply by, among other things, writing an essay on the topic “How I can help others stay physically fit for a lifetime.” With the hundred or so runners gathered just behind the start line, race director Darwin Rasmussen announced the scholarship winners ($250 each) and runners up ($25 each):
* Lauren Chambers, runner up, St. Helens High School
* Tristan Dixon, runner up, Coquille High School
* Rainey Gash, winner, McMinnville High School
* Hannah Porter, runner up, Canby High School
* Rachel Porter, runner up, Canby High School
* Olivia Spade, winner, Sam Barlow High School
There were also shout-outs to the eldest runner in the field (Carol Craig) and to Andie Proskus, the very inspirational runner who, despite suffering from the muscular-degenerative disease myopathy, continues to complete 5K and 10K races. Race director Randy Wilder then offered a helpful bit of advice, telling us that on our return, we might think the last stretch is uphill, but it only looks that way. Ha ha ha!
Then we got a short countdown, and the race began. That beginning stretch — aka the end stretch on our return — wasn’t steep, but it was a 60 feet descent over about half a mile. Not long after the start, I settled into sixth place overall, behind four men and one woman. As for my son, I — er — let him run at his own pace.
Also, my left shoelace came undone. 5K is a short enough race distance that I actually thought about leaving it that way; it’s a tight enough fit that I didn’t really think it would come off over the remaining 2.5 miles. But I stopped to tie it, and was momentarily passed.
Most of the race course was on the walking/biking path in the park, parallel to the main road. We ran past the frisbee golf course and then around the 1.25 mile mark, crossed the road. Randy Wilder was stationed there and greeted me as I went by.
“Watch for my kid!” I yelled back.
The race course turned deeper into the park for a short out-and-back. The aid station was located here, so it was available twice to runners.
I was just under 10 minutes at the 1.5 mile mark, so I figured a sub-21 minute finish was possible if I didn’t fade too much in the second half of the race.
Heading back now, I saw my son going the opposite way, so I cheered him on and took some parental pride in how he looked to be doing pretty well.
Somewhere around the 2 mile mark, I passed one of the guys who had been ahead of me from the start, so I was now in fifth place. Two of the guys ahead of me were WAY ahead of me, but the woman was within striking distance. I was easing up on my pace for a bit, intending to crank it up for the last half mile or so, but I appeared to be gaining ground slowly but steadily.
Around this stretch, I saw Andie Proskus cheerfully moving along, accompanied by a videographer. I gave her a thumbs up and told her she was awesome.
At the 3 mile mark, I was maybe six feet behind the eventual female winner, Eliza Smith. Keep in mind, this part was, despite Randy Wilder’s “there is no spoon” message, sloped uphill and unpaved at that. I kicked into overdrive to exhaust everything I had left in the tank. Side note: if you are looking to improve your end-of-race kick, try interval training and squats/deadlifts.
Uberthons announcer Kelly Marker saw me trying to pass Ms. Smith and shouted excitedly, “Oh, we’ve got a race to the finish!!!” Any hopes that I might have had about sneaking past Ms. Smith were dashed, and if I wanted fourth place, I was going to have to earn it. That last little bit of a 5K — as in, the part after 3 miles — isn’t really that long, but it sure feels like it when you’re trying to get under a time goal or to beat someone to the finish.
Running uphill is, as Olympic marathon champion Frank Shorter explained, basically strength training in disguise. Since I live in one of the hilly parts of the Portland area, if I run outside, I get lots of hill training whether I want it or not, so perhaps that uphill ending helped me, as I finished just a few steps ahead.
She came over to high five me, and I in turn congratulated her for, it appeared, being the fastest woman in the race, which would net her the prize of a $60 gift card to Road Runner Sports. (The male winner, Adam Diverglio, also won a $60 gift card.) Then I cheered more of the finishers coming through, while waiting for my son.
There were quite a few kids from 5 to 14 years old at this race — 12, out of a total of 97 runners. The fastest one was a 12 year old who clocked in at an impressive 24:08, for a sub-8:00 minute pace. I cheered when I saw my son, and it was pretty cool to be there to congratulate him when he finished. (He’s run a couple of 5Ks before, but each of those times, I ran the 10K, so he finished those races before I finished mine.) He collected a bottle of water and the race medal, and then we wandered over to the post-race spread of fruit, chips, and hot dogs.
Uberthons is usually quite precise in the measurement of race distances, but as you can see in the RunKeeper screen capture, this route looks like it was a bit long at 3.18 miles. Friend and fellow Uberthoner Eileen Kuffner also had it measured at 3.18 miles. So, hey, we all ran slightly faster paces than is indicated on the results page!
Speaking of the finisher’s medal, here it is. It’s shaped like the NewYearathon and Luckython medals (and presumably the medals from the remaining Uberthons races this year). There’s a detachable pin; you can leave it pinned to the medal, or take it off to pin somewhere else.
Scholarship Run 5K Results
Click here for complete results.
Male Overall – Adam Divergilio, Lake Oswego, 16:38
Female Masters – Belit Burke, Gresham, 26:48
* denotes Masters runner
Tung Ying,
Yes, this “was” a fun event. I am Andie’s personal paparazzi (videographer) that you referred to. It is quite possible I got a photo of you, as I took the opportunity to get as many as I could as they passed by us.
I don’t know who it was, until I look at his bib number, and look it up, but one gentleman decided to run it a second time, confirmed on video recording when he passed us the second time as we were by the field opposite the Visitor’s Center, of which I got some photos of that area on my way out as well. 😀
I haven’t put them up yet, but by tomorrow, the photos and videos I took will be under http://andiesarmy.org/walks.
Thanks for commenting; I’m glad you stopped by so that I now know who you are, as I’m sure I’ll see you and Andie at more races.
Hi Tung Yin. What a great race report. I am the announcer that ruined your chances for sneaking past Eliza so I wanted to apologize. It was fun to watch! I can’t hold back my excitement sometimes!
Ha ha, no worries, it definitely helped kick me into high gear!