This morning’s Beaverton Sun Run followed the same course as last September’s Beaverton Celebration Family Fun Run – at least I thought it was going to. More about that later. The Sun Run is a fundraiser for the Beaverton Rotary Club, and the 10k, 5k, and kids’ run drew around 200 people to Griffith Park for the second annual event.
The 10k began at 8:00a under mostly sunny skies, with a slight breeze, followed by the 5k five minutes later. Runners headed south from the park and turned west, following 5th St. for several blocks before heading south again on Erickson Ave. to the turnaround. The Celebration Run (and the Sun Run’s course map – which was admittedly labeled “Tentative Route”) made a short loop on the paths in Schiffler park before retracing the course back to Griffith Park.
However, as I approached Schiffler Park, it was clear that runners were simply turning around at several traffic cones in the middle of Erickson Ave., and not venturing into the park at all. I don’t know if that was an error, a congestion/safety decision, or something else, but to be honest it was kind of a relief, because I remember that loop in the park seeming to take a deceptively long time (not to mention there was a bit of a hill).
We were greeted with a noticeable headwind for a couple blocks on the way back, and a slight uphill, but then it was time for a nice straight shot back down 5th. I gave a thumbs up to the 10k leaders as they passed me on their way out for the second time. It was warm, but not too warm, and the breeze was welcome as we did a final circuit around Griffith Park and into the finish. My GPS tagged the loop at 2.86 miles, but I was pleased with my pace and effort, even if it wasn’t a full 5k.
I sat on the curb to catch my breath, and cheered on the 10k runners taking off on their second loop. Soon the 10kers began to finish, and before long it was time for the kids’ run on the grass in the middle of the park.
All finishers received a nice tech shirt and a goodie bag, and the overall winners of the 5k and 10k came away with gift cards, compression sleeves from Road Runner Sports, and a very nice pair of binoculars, as well as a hockey puck with the Beaverton Rotary’s 2014 slogan: “Make Your Presence Felt”.
Despite the short course, it was a fun event, and a great morning for a little exercise in Beaverton! Everybody seemed to be having a great time. You can find results for the 10k and 5k here.
