I gave myself a goal at the beginning of 2017. The goal was to sign up & complete all the virtual events hosted by Hogwarts Running Club this year.

This was my first experience with HRC and I’m quite impressed with the organization.

They host six events in a year, plus have a seventh challenge medal. The registration fees this year were reasonable at $25 per race. HRC is non profit and the majority of the registration cost goes straight to a charity of their choosing. Because of this, most of the registration cost is tax deductible.

For your $25 you are donating to a charity, receiving a medal in the mail, and can download a digital bib. There is also the option to purchase shirts.

They are active on Facebook for those who like the social aspects. They have multiple groups including the Great Hall and common rooms for each house. I am part of the Ravenclaw Common Room.

Charity Miles

Hogwarts Running Club uses the Charity Miles app to track mileage for special events like the House Cup. By using the app, not only are you helping your house, but you are earning 25¢ per mile to a charity of your choice.

* 2017 Events *

Alastor “Mad-Eye” Moody Constant Vigilance 5k

Charity Partner: Limbs for Life Foundation

The first event of 2017 was the Mad Eye Moody 5k. The medal is fun – the eye spins around.

Whether during a run or on a stroll with the kids, I enjoy spotting Great Blue Herons. They make me happy, even though they aren’t terribly fond of people. When I see one while running, I consider it good luck. It seemed fitting that I saw one during my first HRC event.

I printed my bib and brought it with me to Universal Studios, then stamped the back of it at the Owl Post.

The 10K and Spew

Charity Partner: Harry Potter Alliance and their Granger Leadership Academy

It’s all in the details.
When your owl delivers your mail, the package comes with a quirky saying. Love that! Also, many of the medals come with a saying or decor on the back.

This bib was also printed and stamped in Hogsmeade at Universal Studios.

I bought a basic athletic shirt and used my silhouette and heat press to create my own Ravenclaw shirt to run in.

Unmasked 10 mile Run for your life

Charity Partner: To Write Love On Her Arms

Sportin’ my Ravenclaw pride socks.

Even though it’s on the dark side, I love this medal. And, the charity is for an important cause.

Sirius Half Marathon

Charity Partner: Mission K9 Rescue

An event dedicated to Sirius Black.

The medal has a bit of a stained glass effect. The back is engraved with one of my favorite quotes:

If you want to know what a man’s like, take a good look at how he treats his inferiors, not his equals.
– Sirius Black

The Eternal Glory Four Miler!

Charity Partner: Back on My Feet

A four mile event highlighting the Goblet of Fire.

You get to pick the name and number that goes on your digital bib. My number is always 262 – for the 26.2 miles I completed during the Portland Marathon. I chose a different name for each event.

Platform 9 3/4 Year Four

Charity Partner: Antarctic & Southern Ocean Coalition

Another amazing medal. The light on the train really turns on and off.

The bib is designed to look like a train ticket.

Again, I love all the attention to detail.

* Time Turner *

The Time Turner happens in October. This is when HRC turns back the clock and reopens registration for previous events. You can also sign up for the Challenge medal and the Perfect Prefect pin.

Challenge Medal

The Challenge medal was available to HRC members who registered for at least three of the 2017 events.

The fun part about being in the Facebook groups are the added encouragement and challenges along the way. For instance, The Ravenclaw Common Room provided us an optional challenge for earning this medal. Our “position” during our “Quidditch match” was based on our monthly total miles.  I ended up being a beater because I ran between 50 & 99 miles. You can be as active or inactive in the optional challenges as you would like.

The Patronus 5k

I had already registered for all the 2017 events. So, instead I registered for 2015’s Patronus 5K during the time turner.

I registered for this event in October, but technically there was no race date. I hadn’t gotten around to completing it until the first week in 2018. I brought the medal with me on a girl’s trip to the Dominican Republic as motivation to run at least once on the trip. And, I did. I ran only the one time during that week.

Possible Fun Fact: Pottermore helped me discover that my patronus is a ragdoll cat.
A cat? That hardly seems correct. I don’t dislike cats, and ragdoll cats are beautiful. But, I’m more of a bird and aquatic animal person. Or, goat. I do love goats. We don’t even have a pet cat because we don’t want one in the house and the two we tried having outside both got eaten by coyotes. So, no cats for us. Yet, my patronus is a cat. Weird.

Perfect Prefect

I never thought it could be – but yet, it’s true. I am a Perfect Prefect. I highlighted my name on Ravenclaw’s Wall of Fame.

To be a Perfect Prefect you must register for all six events and the Challenge medal. The pin is free, as long as you tell them you want it.

HRC Cheer Squad

The Cheer Squad at this year’s Disneyland Half Marathon weekend. I don’t know these women personally, but I was more than happy to have their support during the 5K. The heat and humidity during the half marathon was brutal. The Cheer Squad had ice! I am not exaggerating when I say that it almost brought me to tears. I was miserable by this point in the race. I truly needed that ice to cool down. More than that, it just felt good knowing someone had my back. It was the encouragement I needed to finish.

Universal Studios Hollywood

To celebrate our son’s birthday, we surprised the kids with a quick trip to LA primarily to visit the Wizarding World of Harry Potter. I brought my Ravenclaw shirt to wear and created shirts for the rest of the family. All the boys, hubby included, are Hufflepuff and my daughter is Gryffindor.

We went early in the year, so I only had 2 event bibs to bring with me. I brought them for the sole purpose of stamping them with the Hogsmeade postmark.

I enjoyed these virtual events so much that I already preregistered for all 2018 events. So, yippy! I should be a Perfect Prefect in 2018, too. I can’t wait to see the themes for each event. The first event has already been announced – the Nargle 9K.

Because I’m a sucker for things I adore, and excuses to run, and themed events, I recently joined HRC’s sister group based on Gilmore Girls, the Chilton Running Club.

There is also the Whovian Running Club, if you are a Doctor Who fan.

Now to work on my 2018 Perfect Prefect status!
Happy Running!

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Last year I took the plunge and decided to try the Helvetia Half Marathon. I had such a good time, I did it again this year.

The Start

My friend and I had been training together, so we started the race together.

The Course

The course was similar to last year – first the flats, then up the hills, down the hills and back to flattish.

Since my friend is a bit faster than me I thought at some point we would separate and meet back up at the end. But, due to health concerns she didn’t mind slowing her pace a little. Also, I felt good and was able to keep a decent pace the entire course. I did less walking than is typical for me. And, my friend encouraged me out of my comfort zone to really fly down the hills.

This pic cracks me up. I felt like I was going strong and looking good… then I saw this pic of how I really looked…

The Finish

Wowee! That last mile was tough. Had I been by myself I totally would have walked a bunch of it. Thankfully, I had a good friend pushing me through all the way to the end.

I PR’d last month on a flat course. It didn’t even cross my mind I could PR on this hilly course. Thanks to Darci, I did! It was an amazing feeling.

Beer and burgers were waiting at the end.

The Swag

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It has been a couple years, but I finally made it back to be an Oregon Poultry Swap vendor. OPS has grown a lot over the years and are now known for more than just poultry. It makes for a fun event.

There was, of course, many chickens and other poultry for sale. Also rabbits and pigs. Plants, honey, homemade soap, and craft items, too.

There was a seed swap, activities for kids, and lots of education information.

RIDGETOP FARM & GARDEN BOOTH

I brought week old Olive Egger, White Leghorn, and Delaware chicks, as well as a few pullets. I was surprised how quickly the pullets sold.

I also brought goat milk soap, hatching eggs, and hand designed canvas totes.

Rusty Rooster

Rusty Rooster greeted everyone at the entrance and biosecurity area.

The Faire

A few tables set up with a ton of education material. I loved that!

After I got all set up, I had a few minutes before the Faire opened to the public. I got a breakfast sandwich from the vendor doing food. So good! I don’t remember the price, but it was reasonable for the huge, delicious sandwich.

Of course we couldn’t leave the Faire empty handed. I found a few chicks from a couple different breeders. Farm Girl was my helper for the day. She picked out a rabbit, that she named Thumper.

END OF A GOOD, BUT LONG, DAY

After a very long day of driving, setting up, tearing down and being a vendor, we came home to unknown sheep and goat friends near our goat pen. Thankfully, with a bit of grain I was easily able to catch them. Then, drive around and hope to find the owners. Which, I did.

Another successful event in the books. Time to register for the next one.

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I’m trying to limit the events I sign up for this year – mainly because they get spendy. But…

I am signed up for another RunDisney weekend later this year. (Woop, woop!) I can finish their races at the 16:00 pace. But, I like to dilly dally. I like to stop for photo ops. I like to look around. I’m not there for a PR. I’m there to run a good race, feel good when I complete it, and have fun. That being said, I prefer not to be assigned to the last corral. I want all the extra time I can get, so I don’t have the pressure to need to run my hardest.

I signed up for Race for the Roses 10K with the hopes to PR – so, I can submit the time to RunDisney with the hopes of it moving me out of the last corral.

PRE-RACE

The race started at the Convention Center. I loved that!

It was great having a warm(ish) place to be while waiting for my start time. More importantly, I got to use a real bathroom before the race began.

There was lots of swag you could grab, if you wanted it – champagne glasses, pins, tattoos, hand sanitizer.

THE START

I waited inside until about 10 minutes before the start. Awesome! The start line was literally right outside the huge door of the conference room.

THE RACE

The course took us past the Moda Center, over the Broadway Bridge, through the Pearl District, to Vaughn Street, and back. I enjoyed the route. I don’t often go to those areas of Portland. I’m pretty sure, though, that was not the route that was posted. Not sure what’s up with that.

THE FINISH

It’s always a great feeling to cross the finish line! I was greeted with a rose, medal, and water. So many thank you’s to the volunteers.

Did I PR? Yes. Yes, I did. It was a couple minutes faster than my previous PR, but also a couple minutes slower than what I was aiming for. Either way, I updated my 10K time with RunDisney.

DONE!

Back in the room at the Convention Center – mimosa’s, photo op, and a lovely assortment of food.

I would absolutely sign up for this event again. I can’t think of anything I did not like. It didn’t even rain!

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My first legit race of 2017 – the Shamrock Run in downtown Portland. In 2014, Farmer John & I ran the 5K. We had a great time, but I haven’t ran it again… until now. And, I upped my game. I ran/walked the hilly 15k.

FLAT JENNIFER

I bought a new shirt from Sparkle Athletic and a skirt from Sweet Spot Skirts for this event. I love them both. The tulle tutu was fun last time, but this outfit was so much better.

THE START

A friend from high school celebrated her 40th birthday the night before the Shamrock Run. I didn’t drink too much or stay up too late, but being downtown early still kinda sucked. The start time was 8:50 and I got there with plenty of time to tend to all the pre race things, like visit the port-a-potty. I forgot just how big the Shamrock Run is. I was surprised to see the crazy amount of people lined up for the 15k.

FIRST COUPLE MILES

The first section of this course was similar to the Portland Marathon I did in October. Start at the waterfront, run south on Naito to Barbur Blvd. This time I knew what to expect for this part of the event. It’s not real steep, but definitely at enough of an incline that you feel it.

I remember looking up on the hill at OHSU thinking that’s where we’re headed. Eek!

THE HILLY MILES

Once on Terwilliger Blvd it was up, up, up. It reminded me of the hill I run at home, except this was longer and not gravel.

The few glimpses of the Willamette River were awesome.

Bagpipes! Somehow that beautiful sound just makes you want to do your best. It’s very encouraging.

It was a welcome sight when I saw the loading dock of the tram at OHSU. I knew the worst of the hills were behind me.

THE END IS NEAR!

Down I ran. Then, through the tunnel I could see the Koin Tower. Woop, woop! Just a little bit further!

DONE!

I crossed the finish line strong and grabbed the water, thermal blanket and medal I was handed. I did it!

I had been training, but I hadn’t gone a 15k distance in a number of months. I was a little concerned about how I would do, especially with the hills. I came in under a 12:00 minute pace. I’m thrilled with that. It’s not fabulous, but it’s right where I should have been. Most importantly, I felt good at the end.

AFTER PARTY

It was a chilly day to be wearing a tank top. So, I was looking forward to the warm potato soup at the end. Not going to lie, I wasn’t impressed by the looks of the soup and was slightly disappointed. But, remember that saying don’t judge a book by it’s cover. This soup was delicious.

A friend of mine and her neighbor finished the 8k right around the time I finished by race. We hit the beer garden together. I’m not a fan of beer. But… it’s an Irish themed run and the sun was out and I enjoyed my run. So, I grabbed the free beer. We listened to the band and had a jolly time.

Happy St. Patrick’s Day, friends!

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In August I completed the Bridge of the Gods Half Marathon. It was an event I’d heard about and thought about doing. So, when my friend, Molly, asked if I would do it with her for her first half marathon, I said, “Of course!”

The actual Bridge of the Gods spans the Columbia River connecting Washington & Oregon. Recently the bridge has gained popularity due to Cheryl Strayed ending her Pacific Crest Trail journey here as she describes in her book, Wild.

THE SHUTTLE

Parking for the event was on the Oregon side of the Columbia River. However, the start line was on the Washington side. Near the parking areas were buses to shuttle us across the bridge.

THE START

The start line, in Washington. We met Molly’s cousin there and gave our well wishes and awesome race vibes to each other.

This was a first sight for me. There was a drone taking pics at the start line.

THE COURSE

And, we’re off.

The openness of the metal grates while running across the bridge was an odd feeling. It was my favorite part of the race.

That small island off to the left is the finish line location.

Running past the Bridge of the Gods Trailhead along the Pacific Crest Trail.

I wasn’t aware there was such a nice trail along this section of the Columbia River. It was great.

We made it to the Stairway of Heaven. Not gonna lie, this was about the point where the fun ended.

The trail was well marked and well maintained. But, I was just not feeling it that day. Well… I should say I was feeling it too much. I’d been hill training, but those elevation changes hit me hard. I didn’t sleep well the night before. I didn’t eat quite as many calories that morning as I typically do on race days. I started my period that day. Possibly a combination of all these things contributed to the rougher than normal race. I’m not sure. But after the first few miles, it sucked and my body was paying for it.

The view of the Columbia Gorge was beautiful. The weather was perfect.
In the top photo you can see I-84 & the powerhouse at Bonneville Dam.

Oh, thank goodness we made it to the half way mark! I’m smiling, but cringing inside.
I did/do love the new tank I bought from Sparkle Athletic. I don’t often run in tanks, but I kinda liked it.

I didn’t take any photos on the way back to Cascade Locks. I was too busy struggling to get myself up and back down those damn hills.

Once, though, we saw the bridge it was such a beautiful sight I had to snap a pic.

This place has the best ice cream cones. It’s a must to stop and enjoy one anytime you travel through Cascade Locks. I absolutely thought about getting one and continuing the race with it. I wasn’t going to get a PR. I might as well have enjoyed some ice cream. But, I didn’t.

Crossing the pedestrian bridge to Marine Park and the finish line!

THE FINISH

I always run across the finish line, but this time I was too tired to even care.

It was a challenge, but we did it!

This event goes down as my worst half ever. I felt horrible and my finish time was slower than even my first half at Disney.

The good news is that we never gave up and we finished.

I’m so ticked off at my performance that I want to go back and kick this course in the ass next year.

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The Helvetia Half Marathon had been on my bucket list for awhile now. However, the course made me nervous. I had heard it’s hilly and difficult.

A friend was interested in doing it and asked if I would do it with her. Of course, I said I would do it – hills and all.

Since I knew there were hills, I did a bit of hill training prior to the event. Not a lot – just about once a week.

This was my first half marathon completed with a running partner. I thought we were well matched, pace wise. Although it was still a workout, the time seemed to pass more quickly having a partner to chit chat with.

THE START

The start was at the stadium in Hillsboro and began like any other start. As far as I could tell, things ran smoothly.

THE COURSE

The first mile or two were fairly flat.

Then gradually the hills came. We did run/walk intervals, walking up the majority of the hill sections. The course meandered passed Helvetia Tavern, Roloff Farms and the picture perfect country church. It was a beautiful place to run.

I was thrilled when we made it to mile 10 and I still felt good.

THE FINISH

We did it! This was my 6th and my friend’s first half marathon. I am proud of how we did. The course was challenging, but we handled it well. I’m certain our hill training helped us power through.

At the end of the race, we were rewarded with a Helvetia burger. I was starving and it was fabulous.

I was worried about this event mainly due to the hills. But, I had trained and felt good through the entire race.

For the first time, I completed a half marathon distance and wasn’t sore the next day. My body was tired. I could tell it had a good workout, but I wasn’t sore. That’s amazing.

Woo hoo, another successful half for the record books!

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The Vernonia Half Marathon marked my 5th half in a year, as well as my 5th half marathon ever. Last May I ran my first half at Disneyland. Apparently the enjoyment outweighed the pain and agony since I keep going back for more. I commemorated #5 by wearing the same outfit as I wore at my first one. Trust me, I felt like I needed all the help I could get to finish this race. As it turned out, I did better than I dared to hope for.

Getting to the Start Line

This was a point to point course, which I believe is a first for me. I parked in Banks and at the High School were buses ready to take us to the start line at Stub Stewart State Park.

The Start

Fairly typical start line routine.

The Course

The course began uphill, but amazingly enough that first mile went by quickly. My time wasn’t faster than normal, it just seemed to go by quick. It was a great way to start the event.

A little after the mile 1 marker were two people cheering us on in critter masks. I took a selfie with them because I really appreciate people going out of their way to make sure we have a good race.

The next number of miles were downhill. Downhill! Woop, woop! It only seemed like a steep downgrade for the first little bit, then it felt very gradual.

By about mile 7 the course flattened out and was fairly flat the rest of the way… no wonder I enjoyed this course.

Mile 10 tends to be where I slow down. I don’t often run over 10 miles while training, so it’s no wonder that I’m not used to it. However, this time I kept my pace and was still feeling good past mile 10!

I don’t know who the photographer was who took this photo, but I’d like to thank him. This is the first professional race photo I’ve ever liked of myself. And, even better is that it was taken during a PR race and is taken on my home turf in the Oregon Coast Range.

Map My Run Stats

I did 5min/2:15min intervals throughout the entire race. Those times seemed to work perfectly that day.

Eats

I have never been so happy to see olives and oranges. By happy I mean I nearly started crying. Two weeks prior to the race I began the JJ Virgin Diet. I realize starting a new way of eating 2 weeks before an event is not smart. But, lately I always seem to be training for an event and at some point I was just going to have to go for it. So, I went for it. I am not bashing the JJ Virgin Diet, but I have never felt worse than I did those 2 weeks of starting that diet. I think there were a few contributing factors that were out of my normal. But, whatever the reasons, I had been miserable.

Because of the diet I couldn’t partake in my normal race gu’s, gels, gatorade, etc. I hadn’t cheated one tiny bit during those two weeks and I had one week left to go. I didn’t want to mess it up because of the run. However, I did want to have a good event. So, I made an electrolyte drink to take with me and packed filberts for a snack. Unfortunately, I forgot the filberts in the car and the electrolyte drink was so horrible I could hardly drink it.

So when I got to the aid station to find not only the normal gu and gatorade, but also a wide range of other snacks, I was ecstatic. They had gummy bears and m&m’s, which I couldn’t have. They had bananas and peanuts, which I also couldn’t have. They had oranges and olives and I couldn’t believe my luck. As stupid as it sounds – and maybe I have a food issue – but those few olives and orange slices were the encouragement I needed. I was getting slightly concerned how I was going to finish the race strong on just water and a few sips of disgusting homemade electrolyte drink.

They had these treats at 2 of the aid stations. Thank you, thank you, thank you!

The Finish

Coming off the trail and into the town of Banks I realized I could actually PR this race, so even though I was getting tired I gave it all I had ’til the very end. I knew it wouldn’t be the case, but I was still hoping that once I got to the high school track the finish would be right there. But, nope. Of course I had to do a lap around the track. I completed the lap and sure enough I PR’d.

My chip time was 26 minutes faster than my chip time at the Star Wars Half in January.

My Food & Drink

As I mentioned earlier, I was doing the first phase of the JJ Virgin Diet when this half marathon came around. This screwed up my typical food options before, during and after the race.

I typically have water at the aid stations and often also have the gatorade or other similar drink. Not this time. I found an electrolyte drink to make at home and brought it with me. I guesstimated on the amounts when adding the honey & sea salt. I may have over done them. Or, I’m not a huge honey fan, so I may just not have liked it. But, either way, the drink was horrible. So horrible it was all I could do to drink the amount I did. After I found the olives and oranges I quit drinking it all together. FYI: honey was technically a no-no on the diet, too. But, I figured I would have it anyway since I was opting out of the gatorade.

Another missing drink from my normal was Advocare’s Spark, or some other drink with caffeine. I usually drink it on the way to an event. Then, I’ll have a gu or clif shot blok during the run. All of those items were out this time. So, I opted for a caffeine tablet. I had never bought them before and was shocked to see how much caffeine was in one tablet. I cut it in half and had one section before the race and the other half during. Maybe that’s what put a little boost in my step.

And finally, my post race food. I would have loved to partake in the soup and stuff offered at the event. Unfortunately, not this time. I wasn’t sure what I would want afterwards or how hungry I’d be so I packed an apple, cutie, almonds, rice crackers and gimme chips.

Music

The final difference during this race than previous races was my music. Maybe I need to climb out of the rock I apparently live under, but I had know idea until recently that you could download your amazon prime music to your phone.

Normally I buy the music I want to listen to from Amazon and download the mp3’s to my phone.

However, I have Amazon Prime. So, most of that buying wasn’t necessary. I listen to Amazon Prime music all the time when I’m at home and sitting at my computer. I have hundreds of songs in my library and have a few playlists set up. I stream it when I’m home. I assumed that’s how it worked on your phone, too. A fabulous friend of mine recently told me, though, that I could download the songs using the Amazon app on my phone. This tidbit of info saved my patootie. About a week before the race I got a new phone and when I went for a training run I realized I hadn’t downloaded any music on it. Dang it! How was I going to run an hour and a half without music? Then I remembered what my friend told me. So, I thought I’d try it. And sure enough. Using wi-fi at the library, I quickly saved a number of songs using the Amazon app, went for my run and enjoyed some tunes. The nice thing about this method was that it gave me a whole new playlist to listen to during this half marathon than what I usually listen to run after run.

Fitbit Stats

Not all 30,000 steps were from the race, but the majority were. Ironically, the 30,000 step badge is named a trail shoe. Fitting since I just ran on a trail.

Final Thoughts

I enjoyed this event a lot. It was definitely the pick me up I needed from the last 2 weeks of feeling miserable. The people running the event seemed efficient. Taking the bus to the start line went smoothly. I loved running on the Banks-Vernonia Trail. The people at the aid stations were friendly and encouraging. I felt good the majority of the race. And, the PR was amazing. I’m not gonna lie, though. I was sore the next few days. More sore than I had been in a long time. Maybe it was those miles of downhill? Maybe it was my lightning quick feet that day? Maybe it was all the fatigue from the 2 weeks prior? I’m not sure, but wowzers I was feeling the pains of this race for days.

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It rained for weeks, then school was out for the holidays, so the majority of my training was on the elliptical throughout December. I was unsure how this run would go since it had been awhile since my running shoes actually hit pavement. But, I did fairly well – even in the below freezing temperatures.

The course began and ended at Tom McCall Elementary School in Forest Grove. We started in town, running through a neighborhood towards the B street trail, then finished the run on the same back roads as I ran during the Love Rocks Run.

The people on the right were ringing a cow bell and cheering us on. I’m sure they were there to encourage a friend or family member. But, I enjoyed their encouragement, too.

A couple water and gatorade stations were set up. I always appreciate these volunteers.

The finish.

We were handed a medal at the finish, which was a pleasant surprise. I love earning bling.

A pancake breakfast was provided.

I’m stepping up my race game this year. I became a member of Oregon Road Runners Club and signed up for their 10k series. In doing so, I received a jacket at this run.

Hopefully this is the start to a great year of running.

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This is my third year running at the Garlic Fest in North Plains, however this was my first time taking part in the 10k. I sometimes like doing the smaller races that aren’t all hyped up and crazy. But, mainly I chose to do this one because it’s timed. In about 2 months I have to submit an official time to Run Disney for my corral placement in the Star Wars Half Marathon. As it turned out, my time at the Red, White & Blues was slightly better so I’ll be submitting that one. But, this was a good, challenging run.

THE START LINE

The Garlic Fest takes place at the Jessie Mays Center, which is where the start & finish lines were for this run.

THE COURSE

The course started in town and was relatively flat. About a mile in, we ventured into the hills of North Plains and ran up hill for 2 miles…. both ways… in the snow…. Ok, the last two remarks are obviously not true, but the course really was uphill for 2 miles. I knew ahead of time about the hill, so at least I was mentally prepared. Then it was back down and flattish for the last 3+ miles. For some reason, though, the last mile was rough for me.

It was a beautiful route and since it started at 8:00 it wasn’t too hot.

THE FINISH

I finished.

I knew it was a hilly course, but I was still hoping for a 12:00 average mile. Guess what I ran? 12:01. Are you kidding me?! It was that damn last mile. I was beat and walked more of it than I planned.

THE SWAG

No medal for this race. But, we did get a pair of comfy socks that say Fun Stinks and elephant garlic. The Oregon Road Runners Club also handed each finisher a raffle ticket. Some people won. I did not.

This was a no nonsense, get out there and do your best event.

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