For my first race of 2022, I wanted something unique and challenging, yet predictable race. Thus a bucket list race was in order and the Winter Predictor from Eclectic Edge Racing seemed like an obvious choice.
This 5k and 10k is relatively simple in premise, yet has a cool idea. When registering for the event, racers put in an estimated finish time for their distance and the top 25 participants who were closest to their time receive awards. Thus not only do the overall male and female fastest runners receive a Champion shirt, the closest male and female runners do as well. This means, that any runner – fast or slow – has a chance to win if their prediction skills matched their speed skills.
The course itself showcases some of the best of Eugene. We started in Alton Baker Park and navigated the paved roads and trails on the stadium side, before circling back near the start line. The 5k wrapped up their run and the 10k runners headed up the venturing up the Valley River for an out-and-back on their second half.
I can’t remember the last time that I ran without a recording device – either my phone or a watch. It was quite trippy to not be able to check my pace at all over the span of 45+ minutes. I definitely glanced down at a nonexistent watch about two dozen times before I finally figured it out. Full disclosure: I did have my phone available to take pictures and videos for our Instagram and Facebook)but I can assure you I did not look at the time once. What’s the fun in that?! And to be fair, it’s not like I would have won anything anyways, as I surprisingly ran about 6 1/2 minutes faster than my estimated pace. Maybe I should run without a watch all the time!
Winter Predictor
Eclectic Edge, per usual, put on a great event. Every few miles along the race course there were volunteers guiding us and offering small bottles of water as well – a nice touch in a pandemic time where on course refueling can be a challenge. Speaking of volunteers, literally everyone out there was fantastic and encouraging. Great job out there! After the race there was some grab-and-go snacks like fruit, granola bars, hydration, and other treats.
We recommend checking out this race in future years, and it has been one on my bucket list for a while. Eclectic Edge is timing a bunch of races coming up, but their next event of their own is the Couples Classic on February 12th. Make sure you make the trek and check out their awesome races.
It’s easy to predict that it will be a good time.
