Wood You Rather? Branching Out for a Fun Run in Portland!

Looking for something different? Check out 2025 Wood You Rather, a super awesome checkpoint run brought to the adventurous trail runners of the Pacific NW by the fabulous Go Beyond Racing. This year, the race is on May 3rd and as always, you’ll have a chance to trek your way through Forest Park solo or on  a team of 3 to 6 runners.

Wood You Rather is described as “a mashup between a trail race and an orienteering event,” and that seems pretty accurate. The race will begin at 8:00AM and you (or your team) will be given a map at the start line with ten checkpoints on it. You’ll have 2.5 hours out on the trails to find as many checkpoints as you can before the clock runs out!

The checkpoints will close at 10:00AM and runners must get back to the start before 10:30 so they don’t DNF.  The runners (male, female, non-binary, and team categories) who get to the most checkpoints in the quickest time are declared the winners. For teams, all the team members times are averaged to help determine which team won.

This is definitely a “choose your own adventure” kind of fun where you’ll be making decisions like “do I want to take the short but steep path or the long but easier path?” It’s all in your own hands and you’ll want to use your time and energy wisely!

So how long is this race? It really depends on the route you choose! You can expect to run between 7.5 and 10 miles in that 2.5 hours on the trails.

All participants will receive a Wood You Rather mug and some delicious coffee and donuts at the finish line. If this sounds like your kind of “Type A Fun,” you should sign up before it sells out. This has been on my personal list of races I’ve wanted to try for awhile and I’m finally doing it this year! I would love to see you out there.