Almost 300 runners and walkers gathered at the Reed College campus in S.E. Portland on Saturday, September 20th for the 3rd annual Reed College 5k. The race was part of the college’s Community Day, and proceeds will be donated to Duniway, Grout, Llewellyn, Lewis, and Woodstock elementary schools, a nice partnership between the prestigious private college and the neighborhood public schools. This year’s race raised over $9000 to be split among the five schools.
The bright red shirts featured the cool running griffin logo, a nice variation on the standard Reed College mascot. One runner was wearing a claret-colored Reed College race singlet with the same logo, definitely a step up from many of the stodgy uniforms seen on major college athletes.
The race started at the circle in front of Elliot Hall and headed out the main entrance before taking a left onto the sidewalk up the Woodstock Blvd. hill. This part of the course was a little narrow, and I was careful to avoid getting my feet tangled with other runners in the first quarter-mile or so. The first hill is a steep one, and the congestion and climb combined to keep me from going out too fast. After people began to settle into their normal paces, I was able to ease along the parking strip and find some space.
We took a left onto Cesar Chavez Blvd. (39th Ave.) at the top of the hill and I breathed a sign of relief as the course leveled off. I was able to gain some momentum along this stretch and used the bike lane a couple times to make a pass.
After several blocks the course took another left and headed downhill on Steele. Every turn along the course was well-staffed with an alert volunteer wearing a bright shirt and pointing us which way to go. After the steep uphill start, the downhill should have been a nice relief, but I found it harder than expected to make the transition and take advantage of the drop.
After a brief tour of residential streets, we reemerged onto Steele and continued the downhill. At the bottom we turned left on 28th for a couple flat blocks, then took a left back into campus for another short, steep uphill. This was the beginning of a course change from last year’s race. Also new this year was the loop on the gravel path around the college sports fields that followed.
Even though the race started and finished at the same place as last year (and the course has a net elevation gain of zero), somehow the new course seemed hillier and tougher (or maybe I just haven’t been training as much).
After the gravel loop, runners continued through the campus on concrete paths, across the bridge over Reed Lake, past Elliot Hall, around the Great Lawn, back to Woodstock, and into the main entrance to the finish. The race came in at exactly 3.1 miles on my GPS, so I can’t blame my time on a long course.
Almost instant results from Eclectic Edge Racing were available on a monitor at the finish, along with paper printouts of each finisher’s individual stats. Awards were prompt and efficient, and race directors Reason To Run ran a very smooth operation throughout the morning.
The Reed College 5k is a great family event that you should consider adding to your race calendar for 2015!
Results (Full results can be found HERE)
Men’s Open:
1. Chris Clancy, 16:21
2. Jack Flowers, 17:15
3. Neil Call Afhan, 17:29
Women’s Open:
1. Alison Crocker, 18:39
2. Caitlin Goodman, 20:06
3. Keeley Tillotson, 20:40
Men’s Masters:
1. Joe Dudman, 18:36
2. Ueli Stadler, 20:49
3. Tom Doherty, 20:55
Women’s Masters:
1. Kristina Wise, 24:23
2. Christina Kyle, 25:24
3. Alice Abrams, 25:53
