25 May 2019 - Oregon Spring Half Marathon


Oregon is one of those US states I probably would not have visited without my goal of running a half marathon in all 50 states.  Not that I have anything against Oregon, it's just that it's up in the left corner of the US and until recently I  didn't know anyone that lived in Oregon.  Anyhow, last Friday, Julie and I flew into Portland and then drove our rental car to the Fairfield Inn in Lake Oswego.  I learned the proper way to pronounce it is Os-we-go.  For some reason I want to pronounce it Os-way-go.  This hotel was comfortable and convenient since packet pickup was held there.


Around 4pm, we headed down to packet pickup.  Packet pickup was small but they gave me my bib, running shirt and answered all my questions about the race.  One other cool thing is they were giving away race shirts from previous years.  I grabbed one and Julie found a couple as well.  They didn't care that she wasn't running this race as their only goal seemed to be finding someone that could use the shirts.

Around 5pm, we walked over to Olive Garden and I enjoyed by typical pre-race meal of salad, spaghetti with chicken, and breadsticks!  Gotta carb load before the race!!  Once we arrived back at the hotel we met up with Julie's parents as they drove from California  to see me race and to hang out with us in Oregon for a couple days.  We hit the hay around 830pm since the next morning was race day.


Saturday morning we arose around 530am and were on the road at 6am.  The race was held in Champoeg State Park which was about a 30 minute drive from the hotel.  For some reason I wanted to call it Cham-peg park but was told the proper annunciation is Cham-poo-ee Park.  Who would have guessed?


There wasn't much to do before the race except stretch and watch them set things up.  There was a bathroom in the park by the start and the wait was minimal.  Around 725am we lined up by our projected finish and then at 730am they counted down and we were off.  My goal was to finish this race around 2 hours.  I thought this was possible and I also thought the course would be mostly flat (more on this later).  I started with the 2 hour pacers and hung with them for about 8 miles.  The course was beautiful as we ran mostly surrounded by trees on a path through the park.


The course was basically two out and backs.  Looking at a map, the first half went to the left from the start, the second half went to the right.  The picture above is where Julie captured me at the end of the first out and back, which is about 3 miles into the race.  I convinced most of the pace group to wave at her!

I felt good for the first 7 miles or so.  The course was much hillier than I anticipated.   There was 377 total feet of elevation gain.   Most of hills seemed to be in miles 3-6 and 10-12 as there was at least one hill each way with a 100 foot climb and decent.  I had no problems breathing but my legs started to wear out.  I tried to hang with the 2 hour pacer but lost them just before the turn-around point about mile 8.  I just needed to slow a bit and before I knew it the pacer was out of sight.  At this point I allowed myself the freedom to just enjoy the race and do the best I could.  The course was tough but the scenery was great as well as the weather.  For the entire race the temps were in the low 50s which is perfect for running.

Mile 11 was my slowest but I found a second wind for the last 2 miles and finished at a decent pace.  Overall my time was 2:01:37.  Only 1 minute and 37 seconds over my goal.  I was happy with this. 



The finish line was fun as my Mother-in-law and Father-in-law were there to cheer me on along with Julie.  Once I crossed they hung my second largest finishers medal around my neck.  It is also one of the most colorful! 



Oregon was the 22nd state I've run a half marathon in.  The finish line food was Qdoba, which was OK.


This was a small race but well organized, well marked, and a fun experience.  The picture above shows the race shirt, my bib, and finishers medal.

By the numbers:
Total Time:           2:01:37
Overall:                77th out of 202 finishers
Men:                     46th out of 77
AG (Men 60-64):  5th out of  9


 Other fun things we did on this trip:

Visited Horsetail Falls


Casino in Washington
While in the Denver airport, Julie and I saw a dude playing his guitar.  We chatted with him and found out he was John Ford Coley.  He was famous in the 70s.  We went to his concert at the Ilani casino in Ridgefield Washington.  It was about an hour drive from Lake Oswego.  The concert was fun as Ambrosia, Gary Wright, Stephen Bishop, and John Ford Coley all performed.  It was like going back in time to our high school days.  The only difference is the performers and fans were all our age but old!!!


Cannon Beach

International Rose Test Garden




 What's next for me:
June - Loveland Lake to Lake Sprint Triathlon
July  - TriBoulder Oympic Distance Triathlon
August - Copper Triangle (80 mile ride through mountains with Julie)
September - Ironman 70.3 in Atlantic City NJ

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