Race Preview: 5th Annual Nick Symmonds Springfield 800

The Nick Symmonds Springfield 800 – One of the few races you’ll catch me wearing a singlet!
The race is very well-organized and chip timed, but with a laid back and friendly vibe. One year a group of Olympic caliber runners from the Oregon Track Club even ran the race as a centipede. Awards are presented to the top finishers of each wave, and in previous years they came in the form of very cool facsimiles of street signs. Unique awards for a unique event!
Though previously held in the fall, this year’s Springfield 800 is scheduled for Tuesday evening, July 5th, which is a rest day in the USA Olympic Track And Field Trials being held in neighboring Eugene. Will some Olympic hopefuls show up to watch, or even race? Will Nick Symmonds recruit some high caliber friends to sign up? Will I get lapped by Bernard Lagat in the masters wave? (Luckily, it’s impossible to get lapped on a point-to-point course!) Either way, the atmosphere should prove to be electric with the Trials going on.

Nick Symmonds is usually on hand to sign autographs, and he’s even been known to run the race himself on occasion.
Even if you’ve never run an 800 on the track, you owe it to yourself to try this extremely fun event at least once. The race is a fundraiser for CASA Of Lane County (Court Appointed Special Advocates For Children).
What: The Fifth Annual Nick Symmonds Springfield 800
When: Tuesday evening, July 5th
Where: Check in at City Hall Fountain Plaza at 225 Fifth Street, Springfield, Oregon. The course runs straight down 5th Street, from Depue Street to A Street, finishing in front of the library. There is plenty of street parking in the surrounding neighborhoods, as well as a public parking lot at the library near the finish.
What time:
Tentative schedule
5:30p – Walkers
5:40p – Runners with dogs
5:50p – Youth
6:00p – Masters Men & Women
6:10p – Open Men & Women
6:20p – Elite Women
6:30p – Elite Men
Registration: Only $10 for adults and $8 for youth 17 and under through June 14th (add $10 for an adult shirt and $8 for a youth shirt). Add $2 after June 14th. Day of race registration is available from 4:00p – 5:15p. Register online HERE.