With the weather gods smiling down on the city, it is a good time of the year to slip on your running shoes, and there are plenty of marathons and shorter races being held around the city to keep you busy.
With the weather gods smiling down on the city, it is a good time of the year to slip on your running shoes, and there are plenty of marathons and shorter races being held around the city to keep you busy.
This weekend, there are more than a dozen races being held all over the state—some more competitive than others. Saturday events include a 5K/10K Run/Walk Through Hells Canyon in Oxbow, Banes Community 5K Run in Beaverton, Born to Run 5K Challenge in Eugene, Keizer Iris Run in Keizer, Rhododendron 5K/10K Run in Florence, the Stayton Sprint Triathlon in Stayton and the Friar 5K/10K Race in Sherwood this Saturday.
Sunday’s events include the Bark in the Park 5K Run in Eugene, the Duck Bill Thrill Triathlon in Lowell, Rock ‘n’ Roll Half Marathon in Portland and Run Girlfriend Run, a women only 5K/10K run in Sandy.
Some of the full marathon races over the next few months are the Ridgeline Ramble at the end of the month, and the Newport Marathon, the Timberline Marathon, the Three Sisters Marathon and the Pacific Crest Marathon in June.
Portland State students also have a running resource on hand at Run Around Portland, an Academic and Student Rec Center club. RAP is a non-competitive, long distance running club that is open to runners of all levels.
The club aims to be be a platform for a friendly introduction to running to those who have never run before, as well as a way for experienced runners to connect with others across campus. In the spring term, the club meets on Thursday afternoon at 5:30 p.m. and 10 a.m. on Saturday at the bottom of the Stephen Epler Building on campus.
Thursday practices are done in a work-out style geared toward increasing runner’s speed and strength. Thus, the practices will either consist of workouts done on the track or on hills.
On the other hand, Saturday practices are usually longer runs that are either done along trails or on a paved pathway. For these runs, everyone will participate on the same run but will be divided up into different mile pace groups.
And even if competitive running isn’t your cup of tea, there are plenty of places in Portland where you can run recreationally.
“The waterfront right here by campus is wonderful and convenient,” ASRC Health and Fitness Coordinator Erin Bransford said. “If you want to go longer, you can get on the Springwater Corridor on the east side of the river, which runs right along the water and is beautiful.”
Andrea Potter, a community health junior and avid runner, feels that the downtown esplanade is a good place to run. “However, keep in mind that the busiest times are in the afternoon/early evening during summer,” she said. “I would suggest going earlier or later in the day to avoid pedestrians, dogs and large touring bikes that will ultimately make for a frustrating run.
“If you’re ambitious, the esplanade actually extends into Sellwood, and if you loop over the Sellwood bridge and come back into Downtown Portland you will have completed close to 11 miles,” she added.
Some other venues include Forest Park for trail training and Mount Tabor for hill training. Some of the more scenic places include the Ross Island Bridge while the sun is setting or rising, where you can see the breathtaking view of Mount Hood.
From campus, one can also run up to Terwilliger and connect with all sorts of trails. “If you are really motivated, you can go all the way up to Council Crest,” Bransford said. “You can also head to Duniway Track, which is the nicest public track I have been to if you want to do speed work. And of course, Forest Park is obviously a great place to go. The Leif Erickson Trail is particularly nice because it has distance markers every quarter mile and isn’t very technical if you are new to trail running.”
