The Ladybug Race Directors-in-training … Organizer Liz Dooley’s adorable little girls, Rowan and Finley.
Describe the perfect 5k/10k post-race party.
Did your description include 10 Barrel IPA? Dutch Bros. iced drinks? Door prizes? Or good finisher medals for both 5k and 10k participants?
How about bacon and waffles?
Now that I’ve got your attention, I’d like to send you over the registration page for the Ladybug Run for CDH 10k/5k running on Saturday, August 2, 2014. Sponsors have covered all of the race expenses, so all proceeds from registration are being donated to CDH research programs.
Here’s what you need to know:
When: Saturday, August 2, 2014
What time: The 5k and 10k are at 8:30a, the Kids runs start at 10a
Where: Cook Park in Tigard, Ore.
Register: Online here for $40 for the 5k/10k or $10 for the Kids mile or 1/2 mile; or DOR starting at 6:45a. The first 45 people to sign up using code RUNOR4CDH can register for $35 for an individual entry. Teams of 8 or more can sign up for $35/person.
Why this is such a great event to support: CDH is a hole in the diaphragm that allows organs from the abdomen to move into the chest and thus not allowing the lungs to develop. CDHs affect about 1 in every 2,500 babies. 50% of babies diagnosed with CDH do not survive.
Two years ago, the race donated $5,000 to Boston Children’s Hospital for research. Last year, they were able to give UTHealth for Pulmonary Hypertension Research $10,000 and set aside $2,000 for a future CDH Clinic that a local surgeon is planning to create. There’s also a fund set up for local CDH families to provide gift cards for Randall Children’s Hospital meals, a home meal delivery program, gas gift card donations, and even support for funeral expenses when needed.
Organizer Liz Dooley (who also puts on the Soles2Souls 5k/10k as a fund raiser for West Hills Christian Academy) does this because her daughter Finley is a CDH survivor. Even though Finley is thriving, CDH could be passed on to her own children, so Dooley is now continuing to raise funds towards a cure for her future grandkids.
This year’s race has a cap of 750 participants. Last year saw 508 finishers, more than twice the number of runners and walkers from 2012, so I wouldn’t wait too long to sign up.
Ryan King and Heather Stuart-Ward at the 2012 Ladybug Run for CDH. Photo courtesy Ladybug Run.
If you’ve run this in the past, you’ll note that the course is running in the opposite direction this year. You’ll start out in Cook Park, where there is ample parking, and run west along the trail that follows the Tualatin River. There’s a pretty big hill as you leave the trail and head up SW 108th to Durham, where you’ll turn right and follow Durham (which is amazingly flat) back to SW 92nd. Before you reach Tigard High School, you’ll turn and run down an awesome hill to the finish.
This route totals 5k; 10k participants will run straight through the finish (and get a 5k split) to repeat the route for their mileage.
In addition to the 5k and 10k, there are kids runs. There is a free “Diaper Dash” for kids 2 and younger (which Eliza will hopefully be in the mood for), a 1/2 mile run and a 1 mile run. Kiddos will receive ribbons and otter pops after crossing the finish line and there’s even a kid-specific raffle based on bib numbers.
The perks I mentioned in the intro are just the beginning. Dooley gave me this huge list, which includes the IPA, waffles, bacon, raffles, and coffee, plus:
- Bull Run Cider
- Sesame Donuts for Volunteers
- Chocolate Milk
- Gender-specific sized shirts (based on what’s available, the size guarantee deadline was July 4th)
- Free race photos available for download from the event website from the volunteer photographers
- Prizes for winners of the best “Individual” and “Group” costume contest
- Bag check
- Extra parking on SW 92nd and in neighborhoods – but don’t park at Tigard HS this year; they’re having their own event
- Restrooms – not porta-potties – at the start/finish
- Porta-potties on the course
- A special “Hero Up!” Aid Station on SW 108th
For a race like this, where all the expenses are covered by sponsors, we have to give them credit. So thank these local businesses for their support: Hoffman Construction, Alpenrose Dairy, Dutch Bros. of Sherwood and Tigard, Pediatric Associates of the Northwest, Demand Solutions Group, Cascade Acoustics, Walkabout Magazine, Kristen Bier of Homesellers White Realty, RunMamaRun/Urban Mamas, Bull Run Cider, and Ramos-Advocare. THANK YOU!
