Shamrock Run 15K Race Recap

I have been waiting for race season to finally begin in Oregon.

The Shamrock Run sponsored by Adidas is the kickoff event in this area as the official start of race season.

The race sells out every year weeks ahead of time and this year was no exception.

It is the second largest race on the West coast and there are over 35,000 participants running through downtown Portland for 3, 5 or 9 miles.

Only those who complete the 15K (9.3 miles) receive the coveted medal.

pretty awesome medal….

I, of course, had to have that medal…..

The packet pickup/expo was smaller than I expected but the amount of samples being given out and the quality of the vendors represented was better than expected.  There was no official “swag bag”, but almost every vendor had a fun prize wheel to spin for prizes and I left with a bag filled with all kinds of goodies.  There was an issue with the sizing of the women’s official race shirts, but I was able to swap mine out for a comfortable size with no issue during the expo.

The best “swag” type item was that we would not have to pay for our race photos!  This is a huge deal, as I usually like at least one of my race photos and they can be very expensive.  Thank you to GameFace media for working this out – it’s the best thing ever to be able to have these photos for free.  I would have paid for these, though, as I actually don’t look like I am dying in all of them.

The race was held this past Saturday, March 16th. It was 55 degrees and cloudy but I was comfortable in a tank top and shorts. I decided to get in the spirit by wearing crazy shamrock socks. I did have my fancy Thorlo Experia running socks underneath since I was running more than a few miles.

Waiting for the race to start

I waited among the sea of green runners waiting for my section to be released, as they do a “hold and release” system so that the course doesn’t get too crowded, which is nice. I was probably 10 sections from the start, so as we kept inching forward towards the start, we were all pretty anxious to cross the line to begin.

Within the first mile, there was a stinking train crossing!  We all had to stop for the train to pass.  I paused my Garmin while we all watched, dumbfounded, wondering how the race organizers let this happen to us.

A train…..really?? Way to ruin our times!

After a brief minute to two, we were back on our way.  My “official” chip time did not account for this unfortunate delay.  I had paused my Garmin, so that is the time I think it should be.

I had heard there were hills, but I wasn’t too concerned.

I prefer not to look at a course map before I run a race because I don’t want to psych myself out and not perform as well. Every runner is different, but studying the course before the race is bad luck, in my opinion.

This blog is called Not Fast But Not Last for a reason; there will always be those ahead of me, so it would be a real surprise if I was ever at the head of a race and needed to know where I was going. I like to be surprised during the race.

Such a great photo! I was even smiling! Probably because I had not seen that hill yet….

Around mile 3, I happened to look up and notice there were runners way up on a hill that we were running towards.  “Awesome”, I thought, as this large hill loomed in front of me.

That hill became an obstacle to be conquered.  We all ran straight up, it seemed, for 2 whole miles!  So many other runners had become walkers by this point, but I charged on, determined to get to the top.

Not a flattering photo, but you can see how hard I am working, while others are walking up this hill.

At the top of the “hill”, there was a group of bagpipers and it was truly great to hear and see, as it meant we were beginning our descent to the finish line!

I wasn’t joking about a huge elevation change!

Miles 6 and 7 went by so fast, I was at Mile 8 before I knew it.

I read somewhere that there was actually a “bacon station” table set up at mile 8, but I did not see such a thing.

My last mile, I was determined to fly and it was my fastest mile for this race.

Those hills cost me precious minutes….

I saw my husband right by the finish line and gave him a high five as I ran it in hard.

Finishing strong!

My only complaint has to do with the organization of the finish line. With most races, you are handed your medal and a water as soon as you cross the finish line or within a relatively short distance.

After I completed 9.3 crazy miles, I had to wait in a very long line to receive my medal. There were many complaints as we all huddled together, wondering where the water was and why we had to wait in this ridiculous line.

Thankfully, my husband had a warm zip up hoodie and a bottle of water waiting for me at the finish line!

Tired, but happy!

I wish they would have had a better system and hopefully they will rethink this for next year.

Overall, it was great race. The water stops were manned well, the bands on the course were great, the volunteers were cheerful and the weather cooperated nicely so that it didn’t really rain on us during the race.

After each race, I do a little “body check” to be sure I feel ok. After this race, I had a few blisters (nothing new for the distance and the terrain) and a serious chafe burn on my left inner thigh. It is probably too graphic to post, as it has taken several days to be able to have any type of fabric touch it without feeling uncomfortable. It is almost completely healed now, though.

I surely earned this new piece of hardware, but it was worth the blisters and chafing and waiting in long lines to conquer that hill and say I went the distance.

And its a bottle opener!