Fall is my favorite season in part because it has the single best holiday, which is, of course, Thanksgiving. Besides feasting and football, it’s a day for turkey trotting. For five years in a row, my turkey trot of choice has been the Turkeython. (You can read my recap of last year’s Turkeython – minus some pictures due to picture rot – here.)
This is usually the biggest event that Uberthons stages all year, and it’s grown steadily from its first year in Cook Park to Beaverton Square (2012), Washington Square (2013) to Bridgeport Village (2014, 2015). This year, it will still be at Bridgeport Village, but it will also be held at downtown Portland and at Clackamas Town Center!
As with the major Uberthons events, there will be chip-timing with instant results (except for the downtown location), post-race food and beverages, mile markers, aid stations on the courses, finisher’s medals, age group winner pins, and more. There is a race shirt available for purchase for $15, the profits from which will go to Doernbecher Children’s Hospital at OHSU.
Parking is available at the lots at Bridgeport Village. The 5K course starts and ends near the Barnes & Noble and wraps around the movie theater before heading out and tracing a parallelogram with a notch in it. It’s relatively flat except for a slight downhill and then uphill stretch around the halfway mark. This is the only location offering a 10K option, which consists of a second time through the course.
Parking is available at the lots at Clackamas Town Center. The 5K course stays entirely on the parking lot of the shopping center.
Parking should be available in downtown lots, as it will be Thanksgiving morning. The 5K course starts at Yamhill and Naito, heads north to the Morrison Bridge, crosses the bridge to the east side, comes south along the river bank past OMSI, crosses the Tilikum Bridge, and returns to the starting point. Note that this is an untimed fun run- no chip timing.
“How do I choose which location to run at?”
With three options, you may be wondering how to choose which location to run at. I’ve put together a self-directed questionnaire that you can answer on your own to give you a suggested race location.
Question 1: Do you care who the primary race director will be?
If yes:
1a: Which race director do you want to lead your Turkeython?
if Alan Rasmussen -> choose Bridgeport
if Darwin Rasmussen -> choose Clackamas
if Randy Wilder -> choose downtown
Question 2: Do you want to run a 10K?
If yes -> choose Bridgeport
Question 3: Do you want to run across the Tilikum Bridge?
If yes -> choose downtown
Question 4: Do you want to run the inaugural location?
If yes -> choose Clackamas
If no -> choose Bridgeport
Turkeython
When: Thursday, Nov. 24, 2016, at 8:30 a.m.
Where: Bridgeport Village; Clackamas Town Center; downtown (Naito Parkway just south of the Morrison Bridge)
Register: Online – Bridgeport here; Clackamas here; downtown here. 5K – $30; 10K (Bridgeport only) – $35; multirunner entries with discounts available too.
