DATE: February 7, 2009
LOCATION: Pier Park, Portland, Oregon
A few local Portland area Ultra marathoners decided to host this race. It was a 6 hour race in a park in North Portland. The park had a nice one mile trail loop. I had never been to this park before, and enjoyed the park.
I drove out to North Portland and found the park. It was nice to see some of the local ultra runners, not that many Maniacs came. The race was organized with very short notice. Anyway, I got my bib and got ready for the race. Since it was a 6 hour, the goal was not a specific time, but was a specific distance. My goal was to run at least 34 miles. This race was a trail race, so my speed would be slowed down. The last time I ran a trail 6 hour race was at Des Moines Creek 6 hour race in March 2008. In that race I ran 34.14 miles.
As the race started I was off and running pretty fast. I was hanging around the top 3-4 runners for most of the race. There were a few of my local running friends that decided to show up and do the 6 hours, so I was able to see them as I passed them.
After about five hours I was getting a little worn out. The one mile loop had about a 50-70 foot climb in the middle which became a lot harder towards the end of the race. I had just hit the 50k mark, and felt my energy slipping. I ended up running 36.36 miles and decided I didn't have enough time for one more loop with just 9 minutes left on the clock.
That distance was good for 7th place of about 20 runners, and I was glad to have done it. Sadly, that was the only time that race was run.
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