In March 2020, the first major event cancelled in Portland due to COVID-19 was the Shamrock Run. The races generally bring together 15,000 participants, plus volunteers and spectators, all into packed spaces with lots of deep breaths and clinking post-race beers. While the cancellation email was totally expected, it was also just the first of many many many things that had to change in the new normal. After two years of virtual participation in this…
Before I ran this race someone had told me, “Hills don’t care about your feelings”. This mantra kept me going throughout this entire race. I knew there were hills (see elevation chart below) – and there usually are on a good trail race – but the hills on these were no joke. But with that mantra in mind, a sunny, crisp late winter day, it felt like a great day for the Oregon Trail Runs…
Despite being just 90 minutes away from Portland, I can count on one hand how many times I’ve been to McDonald Forest. My first memory of the place involves a very rainy ultra and what was practically a lake at the finish line. Luckily that was not the case for this year’s 15K just a few short weeks ago. The race begins at Peavy Arboretum and parking was easy. It’s a beautifully forested start/finish line…
I really can’t think of a better way to usher out winter and say hello to spring than to participate in the last 5k of the 2021-2022 PRC Winter 5k Series. We might not be through February yet and we might have some more cold days ahead, but it’s sure starting to feel a lot like we are on the other side now. And the last race of this three-race series certainly felt like a…
In the years since I’ve been running the Winter 5k Race Series, I’ve come to realize a few things about this Three-Event 5k series brought to us by Run With Paula Events. For one thing, there’s always a “bad weather race” in which you’re really thinking about whether you’re going to listen to Paula Harkin’s advice and “never let winter win” or just stay home in a nice warm and dry bed. I remember one…
It’s no wonder that the tagline for the PRC Winter 5k Series is “Never let winter win.” In Oregon, December through February could arguably be the worst in the way of wet and cold weather for the year. This race series offers runners a 5k for each of those three months, and some might wonder why. So then .. Why? Because we ARE runners. It’s what we do. It proves how strong we are. And…
I’ve run over 50 marathons since 2005 and somehow, I had never experienced the Columbia Gorge Marathon/Half Marathon until this year. Now that I’ve completed it, I can confidently say it’s been one of the best races I’ve done in years. One thing that might deter people from signing up for this race is that it’s at the end of October when weather in the Pacific NW can be iffy. I will admit I wasn’t…
Race Season has been TOUGH this year, maybe even more so than in 2020. Last year, we knew there were probably not going to be any races IRL, but this year, everything has been so up and down that we’re all waiting on the edge of our seats whenever we hear an announcement from our trusty race directors. We see glimmers of hope and sometimes they disappear like dust in the wind. Thank goodness for…
A few summers ago I was running an incredibly remote trail race on another continent and a man in my starting group was wearing a Haulin’ Aspen race tee. “I’ve always wanted to do that one!” I said to my fellow Oregonian and we ran and chatted together for a few, well, kilometers, and then parted ways. I don’t remember his name, just that he lives in Corvallis and recommended the race. Fast forward through…
Hilly, humbling, and hard. The Hagg Lake Half Marathon, part of the 2021 Hagg Lake Triathlon & Trail Festival was all of these things. With Summer here and things beginning to open up more and more, I’ve had a lot of races on my plate, and I realize now that I really didn’t appropriately prepare for the challenge that the Hagg Lake Half brought me. There are a few things I think you should know…
