The City of Tigard put together a great 5k course, marked it well, and opened it up for anyone to come run starting on September 5 through this Saturday, September 12. My family and I decided to tackle the Tigard Virtual 5k Fun Run as a family, with our 8-year-old running/walking and our 5-year-old on his bike.
The race starts at the corner of Hall and Burnham and led onto the Fanno Creek Trail behind the police station. The route took us on a section of the trail I’d forgotten about – I always take the straight shot between SW Main Street and SW Hall Boulevard, so it was nice to be routed that way.
Running with kids is always an adventure – sprint, walk, sprint, walk, stop and spin a Pokestop – sprint, walk, chug water … and so on. After about a mile I finally got my daughter to “pace” herself and by talking non-stop about Pokemon I distracted her from complaining about getting tired. When I told her we’d reached the first mile she was really proud of herself!
The course is nicely broken up into sections that I think are very manageable. You can roughly break it up into thirds: the start to Grant Ave, then the section up to Dirksen Nature Park, then from Tigard St. to the finish next to Symposium Coffee. I’d like to see a timed 5k on this course when we can run in groups again, as I think it would be a great course to help runners reach time goals with pacers – for example, trying to beat 25:00 or 30:00.
It’s flat, has a good amount of shade in the first two miles, with a straight, fast finish. The skate park/city hall/public works complex at the start line has ample parking and is just about a half-mile from the finish line, which in itself is a great space and adjacent to Tigard’s vibrant Main Street.
You can still complete the course and submit your results – Goody Bag pick-up isn’t until September 15, so run it before Sunday, September 13 and send your finish time, name, and age to recreation@tigard-or.gov ASAP to get credit! Send in a photo or two, too, and have a great time!
