Young runners were very excited about the downhill start of the 2014 Soles2Souls 5k at Greenway Elementary. Photo by Eric Barten.
For those of you looking for a quick recap: definitely add this race to your 2015 schedule. It’s inexpensive (this year was only $12 pre-registered and $15 DOR), fast (I ran nearly three minutes faster than my goal time – this is a PR course!), and fun (Beaverton runner Tony Carpenter was the announcer and the event starts and finishes next to a huge playground).
Kelly Chang of Portland was the first 10k finisher, running a 6:38 pace for a finish time of 41:19. The second finisher was the first male, Joshua Creem of Lake Oswego, crossing in 42:17. Fabioloa Lopez ran 43:47 to earn the female master’s title (and she gave her cake pop to my toddler, making a friend for life); the first male finisher was Joe Gould of Portland, who ran 47:37.
In the 5k, Thomas Graf of Beaverton ran the same per mile pace as Change (although she was in the 10k) for a 20:38 finish and the win. Marc Larson of Beaverton was the first male master in 22:02. In the women’s 5k, 10-year-old Audrey Johnson of Portland ran 23:09 (!) for the open win and Lori Rigwald ran a 23:36 for the master’s win.
There were 70 finishers in the 10k and 171 finishers in the 5k. You can view full results by Uberthons online here. Check out photos from the 2014 Soles2Souls by Andy Akenson on Flickr here.
I showed up early to help with the race, and I was assigned to work at the registration table with a few other lovely ladies. We put together race bags and before long were ready for the runners and walkers to show up. It seemed like there were nearly as many day-of-race registrations as there were people picking up their packets, which is always a good thing for an organized race director raising money for a worth cause. Soles2Souls was doing just that, with funds going to West Hills Christian School. Before I knew it, it was nearly 8:30a and time for the 10k to start! The 5k wasn’t scheduled until 9a, and our entertaining emcee Tony made sure that everyone lined up knew they were running the longer distance.
We started out on grass down a gentle incline and within 20 meters had joined the asphalt path that led to Greenway Park and the Fanno Creek Trail. Living nearby, I know the extensive trails and loops in this park very well, but it was nice to see volunteers stationed at every turn. Nearly all of them also held a sign that directed runners the right direction based on which race they were running or walking. The organizer, Liz Dooley, had help from the awesome Reason to Run team in setting the course markings, and the mile markers were placed accurately along the course. Always a plus in my book.
I was running the race with a (much faster) friend who was there to get some easy miles in and catch up. Still, I was planning to rock the 10:00/mile pace that served me so well at last weekend’s Twelve Bridges Relay. So I was stunned when our easy pace turned out to be a 9:17 for the first mile. And a 9:03 for the second. And a 9:01 for the third. 8:56 for the fourth was just silly, but by then, we only had two miles to go! Now, I was just using MapMyRun which is not really accurate, but I got 6.36 miles for the course at a 9:07 pace overall. (You can guess what happened in the 5th mile.) I actually trust that the course was correct and my app was wrong, unless you ask me about my pace – then I’ll swear I ran the faster pace!
We “ran” into the 5k runners coming back an into our fourth mile, but they were pretty spread out and the course was designed so that loops allowed for a nearly one-way flow the entire distance. There was one area where some walkers with a stroller kindly let my friend and I “zoom” past them; everyone was extremely friendly and enjoying the perfect race weather. The last mile of the course is the same loop encountered in the first mile, but having run in the park so many times I was ready for it.
Post-race, participants checked a prize board to see if they won (one person took home a “Bundt Tower” from Nothing Bundt Cakes … lucky dog). Tony ran through the awards ceremony, and the top three overall and masters in each race got a customized medal and a cake pop, plus an enthusiastic round of applause from the adult participants. All the kids were too busy running around and swinging, sliding or hanging on the Greenway Elementary playground equipment.
This is definitely a race to add to your calendar for next year – keep an eye on Run Oregon because we’ll be sure to tell you the details as soon as they’re available!
