Racing
Each year TRL organizes three series of races to promote fun, healthy competition among club members and with other local clubs in the region.
stumptown cross
A series of 4-5 cross country races in or near the Portland metro area. Compete as a team or individually against others from around the Pacific Northwest.
Spring INto summer series
This fun, low-key tradition draws on existing events (plus Strava) for a multi-month race series in which TRL club members compete in as many events as they like.
Tour de goose
A lighthearted group of summer runs tied to our weekly training calendar, designed to recreate the spirit of a bicycle stage race like the Tour de France.
Stumptown Cross
Stumptown Cross is a series of fun, competitive cross country races for runners of all ages and abilities to truly test their ability. Come out and test yourself in the grass, hills, and mud!
Each year, we send teams of TRL members who’ve participated in at least two races of the series to USATF Club Cross Country Nationals. Financial support to the National Championship is offered to those who make the team selection process. This year’s nationals are in Tacoma on December 14, so we anticipate a large turnout.
This year’s race schedule is:
September 28. Mary S. Young park. 5K women and men.
October 19. Blue Lake Regional Park. 6K women and men.
October 26. Fernhill Park, Portland. 6K women, 8K men. Course maps.
November 9. Pier Park, Portland. 6k women, 8k men. Course maps.
Start times are 9 am for women, 9:45 for men.
Register online at RunSignUp.com
Spring Into Summer Series
The Spring Intro Summer Series (formerly the “Summer Series”) is a TRL club competition that rewards members for both how well they place and how many events they show up for. Winners go 10 deep in each division, with the top 5 decided by placement in the races, and the next 5 by participation – so the more you do, the higher your rank. Members who do more events stand a better shot at placing better through either method, since one never knows who is going to show up on any given day. Some events are age-graded.
2024 Schedule (Subject to modification)
1. March 17. Shamrock Run. Pick any of the 4 distances; results will be compared so that 5K, 8K, 15K, and half-marathon runners compete directly against each other in a single competition.
2. April 7. Hop Hop 5K, 10K, 10-mile, or half-marathon. Any distance.
3. April 26-27. Eugene Half-Marathon, Marathon and 5K. All distances count.
4. May 11. Lewis & Clark Distance Carnival. This is a track meet. Scoring will be like Shamrock, so you can do any event you want–even a field event. If you do more than one event, your best performance is the one that scores. There should also be an opportunity to form as many 4 x 400 relay teams as we have interest for. Registration is on athletic.net (this is a change from last year). To be part of the team (and possibly receive a registration discount) make sure you list yourself part of Team Red Lizard, not “unattached”. To list yourself as a Lizard, you will need the team code, which you can get from Coach Rick Lovett. This one will be age graded.
5. May 18. Ridge Run 10-Miler. This is in the Gorge, between Carson and Stevenson. Much of it is a trail run.
6. June 1. Rock Creek Trail Parkrun 5K. Registration is basically free (for a nominal sign-up fee), and it’s a fun course, nicely located for those on the West side. This will be age-graded, to appeal to our masters runners,
7. June 15. Rose City Mile. This will be age-graded. We are also last year’s 4 x 400 mixed relay champion, so come prepared to defend our title.
8. June 22. Strawberry Fields Forever. 10K only. This is a trail run in the Columbia Gorge. It runs 10K loops, so there are a lot of distance options, up to 100 miles. If you run a longer one, you will get credit for participating, and, if you know it, your first loop time (or, if you don’t know it, your average time per loop) will be scored as a 10K.
9. July 28. Bowerman 5K. Note: this is now a morning race, rather than the evening race it has been for many years. This will be age graded.
10. Strava Segment. Last year this was a flat, fast mile on the Springwater Corridor. This year, it will a section of the Summer Goose route, from the car dealership to Fairview. The route is a 600-foot ascent on a mix of surfaces and trails over the course of about 2¼ miles.
For 2024, scores from your best 5 races are used to calculate the place-based score.
Rules for the Strava segment:
1. Your need to be logged in Strava (no manually submitted times).
2. You need to join the Team Red Lizard club in Strava. That is how results will be tabulated.
3. Set your Stava to public view. Otherwise we can’t find your result.
4. You can run the segment as often as you want; your fastest time will be used in the results.
5. If you need more background on Strava, check out this Strava for beginners article.
tour de goose
The Tour de Goose is the brainchild of former Lizard David Hatfield, who drew national attention in Runner’s World for his vision of a race series with the excitement of a bicycle race like the Tour de France. The name comes from Goose Hollow, the starting location of one of TRL’s weekly training runs. COVID-19 put it on hold for a few years, but this year it is back, with five stages set for August and September, and prizes for the top winners in each race…as well as overall. And in several of the stages, you do NOT have to be fast to win.
Here’s the current schedule, though smoke, heat domes, and other weather catastrophes could force changes.
1 August 2023, 400-metre Mathematique: Duniway Track.
This is a 400m predict in which you have to solve a running-related math problem while running your target pace…without looking at your watch. No cheating! Scores will be based on a combination of how close you come to your predicted time and how accurately you do the math. A normal track workout will follow. Winners get a free dinner (up to $10) at the food carts.
10 August 2023. Pate de Fois Gras: Goose Run.
Chop your Lizard liver by dashing to Fairview as fast as you can. First up wins. Regroup at the top, then finish the run as a jog. Winners get a free beer, back at the pub.
24 August 2023. Le Goose Handicap: Goose Run.
Arrive early and give the starter your current 5K race time or best estimate thereof on a flat course. (No sandbagging.) The starter will then calculate how long it would take the average runner of your flat-course speed to climb to Fairview, and assign you a start time. Slower runners go first. First to the top win. Regroup, then finish the run as a jog. Winners get a free beer, back at the pub.
5 September 2023, Guillotine Mile: Duniway Track
This is complex, but fun. It’s basically a predict mile, but unlike traditional predicts, there’s no penalty for being too fast…and you can use your watch. It works by having runners bid their target finishing times. If you run that time or faster, your get credit for it, but only it. For example, if you bid 8:00 and run 6:30, all you get credit for is 8:00. But there’s a rub: if you bid 8:00 and run 8:00.01, you get “chopped” and don’t score. Also, runners have an opportunity to see what their rivals have bid, and change their bids in response. Winners get a free dinner (up to $10) at the food carts. If enough people show up, there will be age divisions, with $10 prizes for each.
12 September 2023, Storming the Bastille. Duniway Track.
This will come at the end of the normal workout. The idea is to run up the steepest hill in the vicinity (Terwilliger) while carrying a piece of cake. Why the cake? Because hey, Marie Antoinette and “let them eat cake.” Which you get to do if you don’t drop yours along the way. Overall prizes will also be awarded, back at the track.
We will also keep track of overall series standings, and hope to have prizes for the M and F series winners.
Storming of the Bastille.
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