Checking in with RCTC co-founder Liz Derstine
Can you talk a little about how your love of running originated?
I joined my cross country team as a freshman at a totally new high school where I didn’t know anyone. My dad thought it would be a good way for me to make friends. I didn’t love the actual act of running at first–it was hard!–but I loved the sense of accomplishment I felt afterward. I also liked the sense of belonging I felt by being on a team.
What inspired you to create RCTC?
The idea came during an early morning track workout in the dark with some friends back in 2016. I thought, “How cool is it that we got up to do mile repeats at the crack of dawn because we wanted to?” At the time, we were looking to fill a niche in the Portland running scene for competitive-minded and goal-driven athletes that were seeking structure and accountability with their training.
As the co-founder of RCTC, how does it feel to watch the organization grow?
It’s been really rewarding to see RCTC grow from an idea to a fully-fledged organization. While running brought our team together, I think what many of our members share in common is a desire to make a positive impact in our community and strive to make our sport more accessible to all. It’s been a huge growing experience for me personally. It’s one thing to round up some friends and start a club, but quite another to examine how you can impact the greater running community in a meaningful way.
How have your trail adventures influenced your running overall?
Trail running has had a wild impact on my running! I think in my pure road running days up until 2019, I would inadvertently set limitations on myself as my mindset was very numbers-focused. I could fit my training and my goals in neat little charts and follow everything to a “T”. When I started trail running, I didn’t really have any pre-established notion of what I thought I was capable of. I just ran by feel. It was incredibly freeing, and honestly life changing. I felt limitless. I recently signed up for my first road marathon (Boston!) since running Houston in 2020, and since running and hiking the entire Appalachian Trail last summer. I’m interested and excited to see how Boston will go with this new mindset.
Tell us about the story behind ‘Mercury.’
Mercury is my trail name. Trail names are like nicknames that hikers either select for themselves or that are bestowed upon them by fellow hikers. I chose Mercury while I was listening to Gustav Holst’s orchestral suite The Planets leading up to my hike on the AT. The song is playful and jovial, exactly how I feel when I’m out running on trails. Mercury is also the wing footed messenger- I thought that was pretty fitting as I’m a runner!
What are your observations when it comes to trail vs road running culture?
You know, I have found more similarities than differences overall. What I like is the tight-knit communities found in both cultures. I think of events like the Rose City Mile, where you have the different heats going off all day and everyone hangs around at the track to cheer for each other; sort of how at the finish line of an ultra, the faster runners will stick around and cheer for the rest of the runners finishing many hours later. Even at major marathons with thousands of people, you feel connected with the other runners because you’re all experiencing the exact same course. I love that Shalane Flanagan handed out finisher medals many hours after she won the NYC Marathon. Before I started trail running, I think I had this idea in my head that trail runners and ultra runners were peace-loving hippies that like to jog and walk in the woods all day. Okay, maybe there’s some of that–I have certainly found bliss being out in the forest for hours on end–but my observation is you have the same ratio of intensely fierce and focused competitors on the trails that you would find out on the roads. They’re just two different specialties. There’s sort of this ongoing stereotype (on the letsrun message boards, for example) that once you start to slow down on the track or roads, you switch to trails. I think anyone that goes into trail running thinking it’s going to be a cakewalk is in for a rude awakening… but then I think they’re also going to wonder, “Why didn’t I get into this sooner? This is freaking awesome!”
What’s your vision for our local running community? What about your own running?
I think what makes our Portland running community special is the interconnectedness between the many people and teams that make it up. The running community as a whole has grown so much even since we started Rose City Track Club in 2017, and there seems to be something out there for everyone. While we might be lining up as competitors at races like Stumptown XC, my hope is that we’ll all continue bringing out the best in each other and make the Portland running community something we can all be proud of. Portland Track has done an exceptional job of being a voice for our community, creating opportunities for artists and athletes through their grants, events, scholarships, prize money, fundraisers, etc. We have some great momentum going.
As for my own running- it’s a humbling sport, no matter how you put it. The deeper I get into it, the more I have come to accept that seemingly extraordinary performances simply come from a long series of ordinary, everyday steps to get there. There’s no secret, there’s no faking the hard work, and that’s the beauty of this sport. One of my mentors told me, “You never know how many people you’re going to impact.” Wherever my running goes from here, I hope to make it meaningful and inspire others by sharing about the process through my writing. Someone might look at some of the things I’ve done on paper and think, “That’s just crazy!” but I think we’re all more alike than we think. We’re all capable of doing extraordinary things
