RacING
Each year we put on three sets of races to promote fun, healthy competition among club members and with other 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.
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 or few 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. These ain’t no stinkin’ road races.
Details, including the upcoming season’s race schedule can be found here. Typically, there are four races when USATF Pacific Northwest regionals are in Seattle, and five when we are hosting regionals here, in Portland.
But this isn’t the extent of our involvement in cross-country. Each year, we send teams (with some degree of financial support to runners who’ve also done Stumptown Races) to USATF Club Cross Country Nationals. We also go to USATF “winter” Cross Country Nationals, when they are western half of the country. These also have a club competition, at which we have often done well .
Details will be announced here, and on the TRL Facebook pages, as the cross-country season draws near.
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Summer Series
The Summer Series is an intraclub competition that rewards members for both how well they place, as well as how many events they show up for. The winners are based on a top 10 list for men and women, with the top 5 based on how club members place in the events they run, and the next 5 based on participation – so the more events you race, 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.
2023 Schedule
1. March 12. 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 15. Lewis & Clark Larry Byerly Invitational track meet. Register on Direct Athletics, and make sure you list yourself part of Team Red Lizard, not “unattached”. Scoring will be like Shamrock, so you can do any event you want–even a field event, if you are so inclined.
3. April 30. Eugene Half-Marathon and Marathon. Either distance counts.
4. May 6. Lake Oswego Lake Run. Again, you can do either distance.
5. June 3. Rock Creek Trail parkrun 5K .
6. June 17. White Salmon Backyard Half.
7. June 24. Rose City Mile.
8. July 16. Fueled by Fine Wine (quarter marathon).
9. July 29 (date still tentative). Bowerman 5K.
10. Aug 12. Garlic Festival & Brunch; 5K, 10K, or half-marathon.
11. April 1-Aug 12. Strava segment – Springwater Corridor, just north of Oaks Park Amusement Park.
For 2023, scores from your best 6 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. You can run the segment as often as you want; your fastest time will be used in the results.
4. 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 stage race, like the Tour de France. (The Tour de Goose name comes from Goose Hollow, the starting location of one of TRL’s weekly training runs.) It dates from at least as early as 2005, and was run annually for at least 14 years until it took a hiatus for COVID-19. It returned in a limited version in 2022, and will probably return more formally in 2023. (If helping to make that happen appeals to you, please contact any club officer.) The Tour is unique among Lizard events in that you do NOT have to be a fast runner to win. On many events,stealth, guile, and smarts count just as much – if not more – than speed.
Specific events varied from year to year, but popular ones have included:
Guillotine Mile: Duniway Track
Within your age & gender group, you bid the fastest mile time you think you can run. If you do it, great! If you don’t make it, off with your head! For example, let’s say there are 2 runners in your age/gender group. You bid a 6:15 mile, and your competitor bids 6:30. If you both make or beat your bid times, you win. But, if you don’t make 6:15 and your competitor makes their 6:30, then you lose your head!
Trivial Pursuit Pursuit : Washington Park
Let’s just say that running and answering trivia questions are involved. Miss a question and you run a (short) penalty loop. Get it right, and you continue on the main course.
Downhill Mile: Washington Park
Each runner is assigned a mile time they can easily do. The winner is the one who gets closest to their assigned time. No watches allowed!
Storming the Bastille
Run as fast as you can up a short, steep, lung busting, quad burning hill…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.
400-meter Mathematique: Duniway Track
Run a predict 400m, in which your target time is determined by solving a racing-related math problem along the way. No watches allowed!
Goose Hill Handicap
Run the first 2/3 of the Thursday Goose training route (the core of the traditional Tour de Goose), handicapped by your time on a flat 5K. Who’s the best pure hill climber? This stage will sort it out. You don’t have to be fast to win. You just have to be faster uphill than on the flat.
