Portland is well known for it's outdoor lifestyle; running is no exception to that rule. I have to admit running is a love / hate relationship for me. The first year I started running on a regular basis I ended up irritating my IT Band which lead to shin splints... Wow... This was a painful combination. The second year I never really tried... Too much cycling and not enough running to ever make a difference. Well... Now It's a balance between running and cycling which is the trick. Which one gets the focus. When you go "all in" like I do, it's hard to pick one.
Gear
- ASICS Cumulus 10's[1] for putting on the miles
- Garmin Forerunner 405 for logging them
- Garmin Connect for tracking them
2008 Sydney Marathon
This year I ran my first ever Marathon in Sydney Australia. It was an amazing experience and probably the hardest thing I've ever done from a fitness perspective. I also wrote a little bit about my adventure on my Blog!
- Location - Sydney Australia
- Date - September 21st, 2008
- Distance - 42.2 km / 26.2 miles or the distance from Marathon to Athens in Greece
- Time - 4 hours 6 minutes.
- GPS Data - In the spirit of full disclosure. Here is my run via my Garmin Forerunner.
Below is a beautiful panoramic shot I took the day before the event. The run started by runing over the Harbor Bridge on the left and in turn finished at the famous Sydney Opera House. A beautiful route and some iconic scenes along the way.
2009 Portland Marathon
San Francisco Running
- The Embarcadero - As mentioned this is my favorite. It's right out my front door and allows me to go just about any distance I want. If you run all the way to the Golden Gate Bridge you can run about 12.5 miles round trip. Not bad!
Click Here for GPS data of The Embarcadero on an 8 mile run. - More To Come...
Portland Running
Portland offers amazing running. One of the things that sticks out most about the terrain is the hills. While you can easily get your share of hills there are many places to run that are flat and perfect for training of any type. Whether it's trails or paved runs, Portland has it. Here are a few of my favorite places to go; both long and short:
- Waterfront - A simple but great short run. A loop around Portland's waterfront gives you amazing views of the city along with some really interesting people watching. Pay close attention to the homeless community hanging out on the Tom McCall Waterfront Park as well as the various carnivals and shows that go on here.
Click Here for GPS data of the Waterfront. - Springwater Corridor - My favorite place for longer runs. The Springwater Corridor is actually trail system that makes up a the 40 mile loop starting from the Oregon Museum of Science and Industry (OMSI) all the way out to Boring, OR and back. It's the most consistent flat place I've found to run and offers a traffic free environment.
Click Here for GPS data of the Springwater Corridor. - Forest Park - Coming Soon.
[1] ASICS stands for “Anima Sana in Corpore Sano”, a Latin phrase expressing the ancient ideal of a sound mind in a sound body. We believe that sport has not only a positive effect on the body and soul, but has a universal meaning that overcomes cultural differences and contributes to improve solidarity. (http://www.asics.com/csr.html)