Let’s Run it Back: Eugene Marathon
A couple weeks ago I travelled up to Eugene, Oregon, Tracktown USA, to run the iconic Eugene Marathon. It’s taken a minute to fully process everything that unfolded. This race wasn’t just a test of physical endurance—it was a mental and emotional rollercoaster from start to finish.
For those note familiar with the Eugene Marathon, it’s known for it’s iconic finish on Hayward Field, the University of Oregon’s famous track & field stadium where Olympians, world-record holders, and some of the fastest runners in the world have performed. The course is also known for being relatively flat (minus one cheeky hill at mile 8) and fast with cool PNW spring temps. I was looking for a course I could fly on and wanted to feel like a track star chasing down a big PR.
Traveling to Eugene from California
I flew into Eugene late Thursday night from California, giving myself a few days to settle in before race day. Race weekend kicked off with a doozy with a delayed flight before we even arrived at the airport. We booked the last flight up to Eugene and were originally scheduled to land 30 minutes before the car rental counters closed. This put me into full on panic mode when our 20 minute delay turned into an hour delay, and there was no one to contact at the car rental location to let them know we’d be late. Fortunately I learned once we got up there the rental counters will stay late for delayed flights.
By the time the flight took off, it was my bed time. My body was going into sleep mode and I was OUT before we even taxied from the gate. Thought it would be a good idea to catch a couple hours of sleep on the flight up just to bank some hours.
Fortunately, Eugene is an easy airport. It’s small, we weren’t the only one’s needing to get our rental cars, and the town of Eugene is only a 20 minute drive from the airpot.By the time we dropped my parents off at their hotel and Brent and I made it to ours, it was after 1am and way past my bedtime. To say my Oura ring was not happy with my sleep for that night would be an understatement.
We ended up staying at the Holiday Inn Express, which happened to be right at mile 10 of the course, making it so easy for my family to have a cheer spot, and it was .7miles from the start line of the race so an easy walk the morning off. There was also a grocery store right across the street for any fuel needs, and a Dutch Bros Coffee in the hotel parking lot. Downtown Eugene may have nicer hotels and restaurants, but having easy access to the start/finish line without a shuttle was the way to go.
The Race Expo
After wrapping up my workday and continuing on my carb load journey, Brent, my mom, and I headed to the race expo for packet pick up. The race expo is held in the ballroom of The Graduate Hotel in Downtown Eugene, and was a quick 7 minute drive from our hotel. The inside of the hotel is an Oregon Duck and Nike fan’s dream! It doesn’t even feel like a hotel, more like a sports museum.
We got there around 4:30 on Friday and was pleasantly surprise at crowds. We must’ve hit a lull because there was almost no line for bib pickup. I was signed up for the Double Stack Challenge (5k on Saturday, Marathon on Sunday), which had its own separate bib table. That was a little confusing, but found it quickly. After I secured my bib, we headed into the next ballroom for the actual expo.
The Race Expo was relatively small, but had some cool things happening. First, this is where you would pick up your shirt after getting your bib. (One interesting note: The shirt is the same for all distances so I got two of the same shirt for running both the 5k and Marathon. Pro tip is to get the second shirt in a different size if you want to give it to a member of your cheer squad. They definitely earn it chasing us around on race day).
They also had a small section of race merchandise. All Nike gear. They even had a couple nice jacket options, and a “finisher” jacket available on race day. I’m a sucker for the Nike cropped t’s and had to get one as my race swag.
They then had the usual expo suspects, but then also some cool local vendors. Local Wine, Whisky, and Beer sponsors were there with samples. Brent was definitely happy. But the best part:the Krusteaz Pancake Station. Not because they had pancakes for the carb load — they had Gluten Free pancakes! My little celiac self was like a little kid at a pancake station.
I continued my carb load with a delicious pasta dinner at Mazzi’s. The gluten free pasta was fantastic! And the service was great, but veeerrryyy slow. Fortunately we had an early enough reservation at 6:15, but we didn’t leave until 8:30.
Shakeout Run: The Eugene 5K
Saturday morning, I ran the Eugene 5K as my shakeout run. When I signed up, I didn’t know anyone else running so I signed up for the 5K as well just to take it easy. I’m so glad that I did because the 5K started where the Full and Half would start the next day AND I got to do a trial run of my Hayward Field track Finnish.
Besides the track finish, the race organizers added another fun little twist. They had Jack and Jill Pancake — two runners dress in pancake costumes that participants could race to the finish. Whoever beat their respective pancake would win a years supply of Krusteaz pancakes.
I’ll be honest—I felt like garbage for the shakeout. I had terrible heartburn from too much citrus juice for my carb load, which is not fun when running. Nothing about that run gave me confidence. Sometimes the shakeout doesn’t feel magical, and that’s okay.
The 5K itself was well-organized, with a great local feel and energy around Hayward Field starting to build.The 5K took runners through the first mile or so of the actual race. Which, there was another sneaky hill at mile 1 people don’t talk about. The first couple miles you’re running through neighborhood around campus and then you finish the last mile cutting across campus and then up into Hayward finishing under the stadium lights. SO cool!
Definitely kept this run nice and slow, and then walked the .7 miles back to the hotel to deal with my heartburn and continue the carb load before meeting up with my Team Sugar Runs friends at their shakeout. (Don’t worry, I just hung out. No more running until Sunday.)
THe Night before
I made a rookie mistake and did not plan properly for dinners. Life had been so chaotic the last few months. The only dinner reservation I could get at a place with gluten free carbs was at 7:30, which was too late for a race-eve meal.
We opted for takeout from Pastini’s, which was the move. We ordered early just before 5, it was ready for pick up by 5:45, and we were seated at my parents hotel lobby dining by 6:15. It was actually a really nice and relaxed stress-free way to do dinner before a race, and I’ll probably do it for future races.
After my heartburn incident, I kept my dinner as safe a possible - pasta with olive oil, basil, garlic, and chicken. I didn’t want to take any chances, especially after the spicy issue at the London Marathon n 2023.
Training Setbacks and Mental Battles
The night before the race, my coach sent me a running meditation to try before the race. I spent some time reflecting back on this training cycle, which came with its share of obstacles. I started off with a quad strain, which later led to IT band issues on the opposite leg from compensating during training runs. Then, 15 days out from the race, I caught a nasty upper respiratory virus and was worried I was done for race day. But I remembered, that despite it all, I pivoted in ways to remove load and let my body heal without derailing my training. I hit most of my key workouts and put together a solid block. The real MVPs were my physical therapist and my Lever that kept me running but with the load off. But mentally? I was struggling. Faking confidence for a big goal I didn’t quite feel I was capable of accomplishing.
Race Morning Chaos
Race morning, I woke up feeling better than expected. But halfway through my usual long run breakfast — a Bobo’s PB&J and banana — things started going south fast. My stomach was not having it. It felt like a repeat of London all over again.
My walk to the start was one of the longest of my life. Thankfully this race is so well-organized. They had tons of porta-potties right by the start, and when I got there about 30 minutes before start time, there were almost no lines.
I tried using mind of matter to tell myself I would be okay, but I had to abandon my pre-race gel and start the race under-fueled and under-hydrated. I told myself it was just nerves and powered through.
The First 10 Miles: Getting Into It
Navigating through the start corals was pretty easy. I found my spot in Coral A, but stayed in the middle of the pack. Even though this felt like my hometown race, Surf City, in terms of size and organization, being in Tracktown USA made me feel a little slower than normal.
The race went off and the first wave of Full and Half Marathoner runners were on our way. Now, Eugene sends out the Full and Half together and they share the first 10-ish miles of the course before the marathoners break off. Because of that, that first 3 miles are CROWDED. I already had a plan with my coach to pace about 10 seconds slower than my goal race place to account for the traffic jams and to mentally help me hold myself back and try to not pickup extra mileage dodging and weaving around other runners. I knew it was crazy packed when I spent the first 1.5 miles with the pacer group that was 5 minutes faster than my goal time. Everyone was starting slow, but that can set you up to finish fast.
Around mile 3-4 the crowds started to thin out as you get on to Amazon and I settled into my pace. The course felt like it was picking up speed, but I knew it was too early.I continued to hold back by 5seconds. The crowd support was pretty good considering we were running in neighborhoods and along long connector roads between the denser areas around campus and the hills. It was a nice overcast day in the low 50s so weather was perfect and just looking at the green forested hills against the moody sky was enough to take my mind off my GI problems for a bit,
Despite the rocky start and my body nearly rejecting my first gel in the race, I finally started to catch a rhythm around mile 7. It was perfect timing because that was right before the infamous hill at mile 8. I knew the hill existed, but nothing else about it. Not its length, it’s elevation. I went in blind. The crowds were excellent right there, and were so needed to carry me up. It
Seeing my family at mile 10 (thanks, lucky hotel booking!) gave me the boost I needed. By mile 11, I rolled the dice and took a gel—my stomach held, and I felt back in the game. Just in time for the course to split off between the half and full marathoners.
