Rose City in Full Bloom: Shamrock & NYC Half Recap

Sunday, March 17th was a big racing day for Rose City Track Club, with fifteen team members repping in the Portland Shamrock Run, a solo trek to Corvallis for the Run to Get Lucky 5K, and four taking on the New York City Half Marathon.

Shamrock Highlights

In the 5K, Teresa Stackhouse and Ashley Meagher placed 13th and 15th overall, and 4th and 5th in their age groups respectively. Meagher also ran away with a PR of 20:02 on the tough up-and-down Shamrock course, which bodes well for her in the upcoming Carlsbad 5000. Clara Kerley ran her first race after some time off running due to an injury over the winter season. She wrote, “I ran (err…  walk/jogged?) the 5K, for a front row seat to cheering for Ashley and Teresa. Shall we call it ‘active spectating?’ This was my first time running since November, and I feel surprisingly good. Vince and the North Lake team are miracle workers!”

Teresa Stackhouse and Ashley Meagher

In the 8K, Fionna Fallon and Lauren Ross placed 5th and 9th overall in a competitive field with finish times of 28:49 and 29:48. Leah Drebin, coming off of the Champoeg 10K two weeks prior, continued to pick up steam in her spring racing season with a 32:04 and top 20 finish. Of the race she wrote, “Happy with the result, as I continue to improve my speed for my goal race (the Hippie Chick Half Marathon) in May.”

Cate Maxson (above) made her season racing debut in the 8K, and commented, “This race is fun because the whole city seems to come out of hibernation and celebrate the beginning of spring. Let’s be real, this most definitely was not my fastest race ever, but it felt awfully good to soak up the sunshine and get my legs moving faster than they have in awhile. It’s a good first race of the season and is like a little ‘spring cleaning’ for my cardiovascular system – knocking some cobwebs loose and giving me confidence to take on some bigger races over the next few months!”

The 15K saw the most RCTC members, including Melissa Stocking, Katherine Tomlinson, Thailyr Jaegersen, Caitlin Jacobsen, Claire Wallace, and Hope Hill.

Hope Hill en route to a speedy 15k finish

Hill posted a time of 58:55 and 9th overall, and said of the race, “The sunshine made the hills a lot more bearable! Although the hills were tough, it was a great lead-up to Boston race. It was also my first race running with my new teammates and it was so much fun to have friends on the start line and being able to cheer each other on along the course.”

Caitlin Jacobsen with her family

Jacobsen placed 15th overall, 1st in her age group, and finished with a time of 1:00:34. She wrote, “Such a blast racing with Rose City at Shamrock on Sunday – the weather, cheers and support all made for a perfect day! Mid-training cycle, I was psyched to set a new 15K PR and smash my 10K PR mid-race by 1:45.” Jacobsen is gearing up for the Eugene Half Marathon next month.

Claire Wallace celebrating her first postpartum race with her son

Wallace, new to Portland and in her first race donning the RCTC singlet, finished the race in 1:08:47 and wrote, “That was a great intro to Portland’s hills (ouch) and racing community. For my first postpartum race, reasonably happy with my time.”

Stocking, in the midst of her build up to the Eugene Marathon, finished the 15K in 1:15:58. She wrote, “This was my third time running the Shamrock 15K, and I managed to shave over 6 minutes off my last PR from 2017!”

Brooks Barth took on the Shamrock Half Marathon, finishing out the tough, rolling course with a time of 1:24:47 and placing 8th in his age group.

Run to Get Lucky 5k

Angela Vinton tried something different and trekked down to Corvallis for the Run to Get Lucky 5K. Luck (and not to mention all the hard work and preparation) was on her side, as she ran away with a PR of 23:29, placing 3rd in her age group and 6th overall. Vinton wrote, “I was excited to return to Corvallis, where I fell back in love with running several years ago while in vet school. I honestly didn’t feel like my race was going very well and I started to give up a little midway through, but I really needed a PR for my sanity, so I rallied in the last mile and sprinted to the finish. I was pleasantly surprised to knock over 30 seconds off my previous PR!”

NYC Half Marathon

Across the country, Molly Christison, Marla Smith, Krysta Gunvalson, and Liz Anjos braved swirling winds and frigid temperatures at the United NYC Half. Christison, after working through an injury in the fall and gradually building back her fitness over the winter, crossed the line in 1:58:03, well beyond her initial goals of finishing the race and going under two hours.

Marla Smith (photo by NYRR)

Despite a tumultuous lead up to the race in the weeks and night ahead of the race, Smith lined up at the start, ready to compete. Several more obstacles were thrown her way on race day, but she kept putting one foot in front of the other and finished the race.

Liz Anjos and Krysta Gunvalson

Gunvalson and Anjos each ran their second-fastest half marathons to date. Gunvalson wrote, “Put out a solid effort in today’s wind on a hefty serving of hills courtesy of Prospect Park, the Manhattan Bridge, the FDR, and Central Park. I was born (and partially raised) in NYC and worked hard for years to earn my way into this race with a time qualifier. Needless to say, it was a special day.⁣⁣” Anjos wrote, “I ran my second fastest time ever on a tough, hilly course and felt strong at the finish. It was great practice ahead of the Boston Marathon.”