Last weekend was a celebration of Oregon’s scenic beauty as Rose City Track Club took on the Painted Hills Half Marathon, Oregon Wine Country Half Marathon, and 40 mile Timberline Trail around Mt. Hood.

From the cascades to the coast, Rose City Track Club represented at Hood to Coast this weekend! Here’s what RCTC members had to say about their experience running Oregon’s world-renowned relay.

“This was my first year running the Cascade Lakes Relay. What it lacked in sleep was made up for in miles, gummy bears and plenty of laughter. I saw a shooting star during my 3AM leg and finished by running 6 miles down from the top of Mt Bachelor. Overall 10/10. Would do again. Who’s down for a RCTC Team next year??!”

Last Saturday marked the 8th annual Bowerman 5K in Beaverton, OR and the first appearance of Rose City Track Club runners on its course. Clad in maroon, pink, and PRC blue, Fionna Fallon, Shasta Zielke, Krysta Gunvalson, Dominique Lopez-Stickney, and Liz Anjos took to the roads and trails of the Nike World Headquarters campus to test their fitness in one of Portland’s most competitive summer road races.

“Throughout the race anytime the going got tough, I would look at my bib and the memory of my Aunt and her strength helped me push through. I met my goal and finished in 2:59:15 (with only 2 shoe stops 😜) and almost equal half splits. It was my best executed marathon to date.”

“Whenever we travel, I love to research running routes that allow me to experience a new city from a different perspective. Some of my most memorable runs have been through Old San Juan in Puerto Rico, over the Williamsburg Bridge from Brooklyn to Manhattan, and on a guided run tour of Amsterdam.”

“Best running experience: Running cross country for the very first time at age 30! I wasn’t able to run in high school or college and thought my team-running opportunities were long gone.”

“Once I run around and/or up Mt. Kilimanjaro that’ll be it.”

“My best running experiences have been on solo runs out in nature, such as Wildwood Trail in Forest Park, the high desert while at a college cross country camp in Mexico, and most recently spending multiple days on the Appalachian Trail running and hiking from sun up to sun down.”

“Run your own race.”

“The Lilac Bloomsday Run, as it was last year, was a great challenge and humbling experience.”