Ryan Bak Makes It Three in a Row!

It's been quite a week for Northwest runners! To prove it, here's the third straight post about a Northwest runner hitting the big time.

Ryan Bak, from Bend, was just named the USA Track and Field Athlete of the Week after running a 2:14:17 at the CIM last week. Bak, who trains with the guy we just talked about yesterday, Max King, has always been fast at the shorter distances, but had never shown anything like this.

Bak easily qualified for the Olympic Trials with the time.

Go NW!


Photo of Ryan with a shoe that had a huge chunk cut out of it! by Billy Brown.

I Demand Warm Weather!

Is there anything worse than living in a part of the world where all the runners are covered up in pants and jackets, not to mention hats, for most of the year?

BOOOO on clothing!

In celebration of winter, and the horrible lack of toned, runner skin that it brings, here are a few shots of Oregon's hottest runners!

You're welcome.

I Don't See the Sun Anymore...

Yes, the world is big...and runners are small. That's what I love about it.


So it's April 16th in the beautiful Pac NW...and they're predicting snow for the weekend. Are you freaking kidding me?!? I still haven't been able to mow my entire backyard because it's just a swamp back there. And unfortunately, I am the most fair-weather runner you know. If it's not sunny and hot, then I'm getting on the treadmill in the temp-controlled confines of the Riverside Athletic Club. My wife thinks it's sad and slightly pathetic that I do so many of my runs on the treadmill, and I don't totally disagree, but for me the only thing worse than a treadmill run is an outdoor run where I'm cold and miserable and end up cutting my route in half so I can come back home and sit in front of the tube. At least I always finish my scheduled runs when I'm on the treadmill.

But rain, snow or shine, there's a bunch of races both this weekend and next:

April 26 / Leadman Sprint Tri (Downhill ski leg instead of swim) / Kellogg, ID

April 26 / Miles for Memories 5k / Bellingham, WA

April 26 / Western Oregon University Sprint Triathlon / Monmouth, OR

April 26 / Tom Wales Community Run 5k / Seattle, WA

April 26 / Sean's Run from Autism 5k and 10k / Portland, OR

April 26 / Eagle Run 10k, 5k, and 1 mile Kid's Dash / Oak Harbor, WA

April 26 / Capitol Peak Ultras - 50 mile and 55k / Olympia, WA

April 26 / Hawk Run 5k / Redmond, WA

April 27 / Olivia Medici Memorial 10k and 5k / Beaverton, OR

April 27 / Leadership Dash 5k / Eugene, OR

April 27 / Mt. Rainier Duathlon - Long and Short Courses / Enumclaw, WA

April 27 / Seattle Public Schools Boardwalk 5k / Seattle, WA

April 27 / See Spot Run 5k / Yakima, WA

I See the Sun!

It almost made it up to 70 degrees yesterday...sweet Moses, smell the roses! Spring may actually have finally made it to the Pacific Northwest. Could this be the weekend that my bike smells the sweet non-garage air? Could be, could be... And of course, with the sun comes plenty of sweet racing opportunities. There's even a rare early-evening race in Idaho next weekend. Personally, I love the late in the day races. I'm not much of a morning person and it just seems my body is more loose (loosened up? looser? Hmmm?) and ready to run in the early evening. But they're not easy to find - off the top of my head only one other early evening race comes to mind: the Fremont 5k in June, which is also run at 7pm.

Hey, if you can't find a race next weekend, you're not really trying.

April 18 / Twilight 5k / Lewiston, ID

April 19 / Deer Leap Half Marathon Trail Run / Glide, OR

April 19 / 28th Annual Toe Jam Hill Half Marathon and 5k / Bainbridge Island, WA

April 19 / Liz Duncan Memorial Run 10k, 5k, and 1 mile / Richland, WA

April 19 / Run For Relief - Burma 5k / Bellingham, WA

April 20 / Albany Sprint Triathlon / Albany, OR

April 20 / Bridge to Bridge to Brews 10k and 8k / Portland, OR

April 20 / Earth Day 5k / Bellingham, WA

April 20 / Spokane River Run 50k, 25k, 10k and 5k / Spokane, WA

April 20 / Wenatchee Marathon / Wenatchee, WA

April 20 / Vancouver Sun Run 10k / Vancouver, BC