We gave everyone a chance to grab Old Scratch by the horns last night. When I announced that each person would be their own pacer a few eyebrows were raised. I went on to explain that from our Start line (180th Trail head), the West loop portion of the course is marked every 1/4 mile. This continues for the first 1.5 miles of the full course and is an Excellent method of monitoring/correcting your pace. If you can only pay attention, that is really all there is to it. Once you emerge Northbound along 168th and continue clockwise, the East loop of the course is marked every 1/2 mile. There is a certified 5K point (from the original start line) labeled just before you turn right to head up the big dam.
As you continue over the big dam and then down the hill, resist the temptation to follow the sidewalk. Rather, turn hard left (just follow the Bright Orange arrows) and through the parking access, there you’ll see the 4 mile mark. Back up the hill by the playground, keep right and down over the bridge, and continue all the way to the Ball Fields for the 10K finish line.
If you continue for the full Zorinsky loop, passing your original start line, the final certified point is the 12K mark. And if that isn’t enough, you can run a full 5K on the West loop, again with marks every 1/4 mile to help guide your pace. We’ve also got a 100 meter and 200 meter stretch marked off on the Southwest side.
Last night’s results:
Kelly Crawford: 38:43
Ben Schultz: 40:28
Brian Kelly: 41:22
Andrea Rich: 43:02
Joy Shultz: 43:10
Carole Swanson: 44:36
Kristin Ramm: 47:28
Bruce Barnhart: 49:10
Jacyi Zakaras: 51:16
Jason Zakaras: 51:27
Jody Green: 57:36
John Tully: 1:01:26
Gerry Lindgren asked but one favor from me for hosting our mates in Portland, 2004. Galen Rupp (13:37.91) had just broken Gerry’s High School 5K record (13:44.00) that had stood for over 40 years. He asked me if I could introduce him and sure I went and fetched Galen so I could snap this historic shot of their first meeting. This is the only picture existing to capture the moment.
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