One of the deepest and most competitive public 5Ks returns to the Nike campus near Beaverton on Saturday evening, July 29th. The Bowerman Track Club 5K brings together a wide assortment of runners, from the fastest Nike athletes to local runners who come simply for the novelty of the rare chance to run at Nike World Headquarters. The winning times are usually eye-poppingly fast, but don’t be intimidated. Runners of all paces are welcome to…
I will admit that I’m less than halfway through “The Boy Who Runs,” but I wanted to share this with Run Oregon readers because even though I know what happens, this book has captivated me! A few years ago, I interviewed the subject of this book, Julius Achon (read that interview here). I know that he was kidnapped at a young age and forced to serve as a boy soldier in Uganda. I know how he escaped…
The 6th Annual Bowerman Track Club 5k is scheduled for Saturday, August 15th at 7PM. This event is a fun opportunity to see Nike World Headquarters, raise money for the Achon Uganda Children’s Fund (AUCF) and run a chip-timed 5k. All ages and abilities are invited and everyone can hang around for some food, music and a raffle. Elite athletes will be on campus too, so participants might have the opportunity to meet some Bowerman Track…
My favorite interview in all the years Run Oregon has been around (since 2007!) is the one where I got to meet Julius Achon. (Click here to read the three-part interview and read why.) An accomplished runner, Achon has spent more than the past ten years of his life helping people from his home town, Awake, in Lira Province, Uganda through the Achon Ugandan Children’s Fund. Through the AUCF, Achon and his supporters have put…
Read our entire interview with Julius Achon: Part 1 – Part 2 After the 1996 Olympic Games, Julius Achon continued his collegiate running career at George Mason University. Upon graduation, Achon finally was able to return to Uganda and search for his family again. Four years after last talking with his parents, he arrived in Kampala, Uganda’s capitol, and boarded a bus to Northern Uganda; unsure if they would still be living in the same…
Read our entire interview with Julius Achon: Part 1 – Part 3 When Julius Achon arrived in Kampala, he left behind his family and everyone he knew. He’d never lived in a city, and every day he was learning more and experiencing new things. For example, living in the dorms at the high school to which he’d earned his scholarship, he slept in a bed for the first time. He also continued to run –…
This is the first in a three-part series of an interview with Ugandan Olympian and now Portland runner Julius Achon, originally posted on Run Oregon’s original home on OregonLive.com in March 2011. Read our entire interview with Julius Achon: Part 2 – Part 3 Have you ever met someone who gives of themselves beyond what you would have ever thought possible? Please allow me to introduce Julius Achon, who has an impressive running resume, and an…
