In 1975, Oregon Road Runners Club started the Hagg Lake Runs back when I was just two years old! Forty years later the race has become a perennial favorite among club members and the running community.
Race day started with a cool temperatures with sunning skies, perfect conditions for a running event. There were 363 runners and walkers that participated between the 10.5 miler, 10K and the 5K events.
I ran the Hagg Lake Runs 10K last year with a friend pacing him the whole way to help him get under an hour for the time. This year was my first year all out racing the course. I had heard that it was a challenging course and soon realized it was with plenty of hills. There was a total elevation gain of 433 feet and a loss of 446 feet. Here is my Garmin data from the race detailing elevation and the course.
The race started on the road just outside the entrance to Boat Ramp C, a merciful start considering it is a 30 foot climb out of that parking lot. All the participants lined up for the start, received our instructions and the race started with gun.
The first part of the race was a downhill and since the all the runners from the races started together, it took a few minutes for me to get into the right pace. The tree-lined winding roads around Hagg Lake helped keep the sun off of us as we made our way along the 10K course helping us to stay relative cool throughout the race. At mile two, there was a 100 feet elevation loss over a half mile, which helped speed up my pace. For all the gain, I knew I would have to run up the hill on the way back. By mile three, I managed to pull into the second position of the field. The first runner and eventual winner of the 10K, Aaron Beddes of McMinnville, was a solid two and half minutes ahead of me and finished with a time of 35:30, which is a 5:44 per mile pace.
Afterwards, to celebrate the 40th anniversary of Hagg Lake Runs, Decadent Creations whipped up a big batch of tasty cookies for all the participants as well as fresh oranges bananas and fluids. During the award ceremony, Mark Barrett (race director) had multiple drawings for prizes of clothing and pies. In additions, each race participant received a special pair of socks commemorating the 40th anniversary of the Hagg Lake Runs.
Steve Wright, ORRC Club president took photos of the event, which are available for download for free.
Results were provided by Timing By Zornick:
The Hagg Lake Runs is a great event for both price and experience. If you love hills (or willing to at least tolerate them) and want a challenging course, than I would recommend this event for 2016 race calendar.