The very hardest part about the Eugene Marathon is the split at Mile 11 when the half marathoners start heading toward the finish line and the marathoners still have 15 miles to go.
So I signed up for the Eugene Half Marathon. See ya suckers! I mean marathoners.
Let me rewind a little bit…
I’ve participated in the Eugene Marathon twice before and the Half Marathon once. It is a beautiful, well-supported race that starts and ends (and loops through in the middle) at University of Oregon. I haven’t been running enough miles lately for a spring marathon (plus that Mile 11 split was a pain), so the half marathon was the perfect challenge / weekend vacation. We drove down Friday evening to attend the packet pick-up early and have plenty of flexibility on Saturday for rest and wandering.
All participants in the event start together at 7am beside Hayward Field. Lots of folks were peering through the fences to spot the finish line we would cross hours later. It was great energy to all start together, plus pace groups were available to support participants for both events during those early miles. Since speed wasn’t an option for that morning’s run, I focused on the beauty around me.
Any time my mind started to get down about others passing me by or the number of miles ahead, I would just repeat the word “beauty” over and over and then seek out beautiful things around me on a Sunday in April.
The first nine miles of the race go through neighborhoods in Eugene, including a long out-and-back on different sides of a narrow park. Aid stations seemed to appear just when I started hoping for them. Plus there were lots of cheering stations from friends of runners or just folks who live in the city. Around mile 9 we went back through the starting area, which is always a hard experience (why aren’t we done?!?).
The 11-mile split was as joyous as I expected as the sunshine continued to beat down and my under-prepared legs grumbled up. We were on a paved path in a semi-wildlife area that reminded me of Powell Butte in SE Portland or some sections of Springwater Trail. It was so loopy that I could not keep track of location very well. I did know it was somewhere between mile 11 and 13.1. And that was enough.
Entering back into the U of O campus, there were so many people along the sidewalk cheering their peoples on. All that joy got to me as I entered Hayward Track and teared up a little bit (not a great thing while trying to run but whatever). I could see a glimpse of myself on the video screen while crossing the finish line. The medal, with a piece of the old stadium built in, was just perfect.
The day itself was almost perfect: the pancake station was nowhere to be seen; apparently it was up some stairs and no signs indicated which way to go. Ah well. Good thing I’m already signed up for 2025 and will be calling dibs on a double-stack and extra syrup.
