A Tale of Two Half Marathons

By Krysta Gunvalson

On the weekend of February 3rd, Alejandro Fallas bravely took on back-to-back half marathons in Scio and Portland, Oregon.

First up was the Roaring Half Marathon on Saturday, February 3rd. Fallas mentioned that he intended to run the race as a training run for the upcoming Boston Marathon, but decided to make a move late in the race to finish second overall in 1:19:41.

“Early on it was difficult to hold back and not try to catch the lead runners,” he said. “But around mile 9, a friend and I realized the 1st place runner was really close to us and we decided to go for it!”

Alejandro (right) with friends Eric Laurel and Sarah Horn following the Roaring Half Marathon

After a quick 24-hour recovery, Fallas laced up for BATH TIME (Bill Aronson Track Half) at Duniway track in Portland – that’s 52 laps around the track! “It didn’t sound like fun,” recalled Fallas, “but some friends were racing and I wanted to give it a try.”

“The first few miles were the hardest ones,” he said. “It takes some time to get used to the track and running in circles, but after a while you get in the zone and it’s a great way to learn how to focus and just run.”

Fallas completed BATH TIME in 1:23:40 and noted, “I was really happy with the time and the experience, I’ll definitely go back next year!”

Of the back-to-back races, Fallas said they were definitely hard. “I’m in the middle of a marathon training cycle and there’s not much time to recover during the week.” Even still, he found the races to be a great training opportunity and a lot of fun!

Fallas will run the Boston Marathon on Monday, April 16.