Fall is in the Air
By Liz Anjos
The fall racing season has been in full swing, with Rose City Track Club taking on the Stumptown Cross Country Series in Portland, the Whee Run in Oakridge, the Rambler 120 in Canyon Lake, Texas, and a 50 mile hike along the Rogue River Trail.
Stumptown Cross Country
Taking place in Lents Park was the second of five races in the Stumptown Cross Country series hosted by Team Red Lizard. The grassy multi-lap five kilometer course served as a perfect rust buster for Ashley Meagher, who raced for the first time post-collegiately in over ten years. After opening the season with a time of 20:41, Meagher told us, “It was a beautiful day for a cross country race and while I didn’t do as well as I had wanted, it was a great start to cross country season! I’m looking forward to the four mile race this weekend at Gabriel Park and continuous improvement.”
On the men’s side, Dylan Dougherty and Alex DeCino opened up the season with grit, determination, and (figurative) tears of joy at the finish with respective times of 19:17 and 22:20. Dougherty wrote, “Cross country is hard, but the race was super fun. That was an XC 5K PR for me and it was fun to wear the [RCTC] singlet. The course was flat with one sneaky downhill/uphill on the back half of the loop. Will probably do it again at Pier Park for the 8K!”
Alex DeCino
Dylan Dougherty
Whee Run
Dani Reese
It should be no surprise that Dani Reese of Bend embarked on yet another epic outdoor adventure in the Oregon wilderness.
Reese wrote, “The Whee Run is a technical trail race located on the Middle Fork Willamette National Recreation Trail in Oakridge, Oregon. With almost 3000ft of elevation gain over the first half of the race it is safe to say this was one of the more challenging trail races I’ve ever done. The multiple creek crossings, laid back atmosphere and constantly changing scenery more than made up for the slight (okay, extreme) discomfort of running uphill for a very long time.
I was rewarded for my first place finish with a handmade pig mug which is probably THE coolest race swag I have ever received. We were treated to homemade soup, a warm bonfire, and lots of beer at the post race party. 11/10 would recommend.”
Rambler 120
Just one week after running a major personal best at the Chicago Marathon, Shauna Dool ran away with the individual female win and placed second first overall at the Rambler 120, a multi-event race in Canyon Lake, Texas consisting of a 22 mile bike ride, 6 mile run, and 2 mile raft race. On top of that, she set the new female course record of 2:24:23.
*(10/16/17) We just received the following update from Shauna:
The race was a lot of fun! I signed up last minute and I’m so happy that I did. We found out today that the person who placed first overall was actually disqualified which means that I moved up and was 1st place in the entire race. Me and the gentlemen who placed second actually beat the groups that competed as relay teams. I paddled an extra 3/4 mile on the kayak because we weren’t expected on the water that quickly and they didn’t have the boat out there directing me where to turn. The had a mystery event when you got out of the water and had to put together a word matching puzzle before running a 1/2 mile to the end. I was definitely smoked for a solid 30 minutes at the end of that entire event!
Rogue River Trail Hike
Krysta and Steven Gunvalson
Meanwhile, Krysta Gunvalson just returned into cell phone service range after a four day, 50 mile journey on the Rogue River trail with her husband, Steven Gunvalson. Her quick take: “Holy crap, we did it! I had no idea what to expect from my first thru-hike but it was every bit as exciting and beautiful as promised. Already looking forward to the next one.” Be sure to give Gunvalson a follow on Instagram for more photos like those below.
