Let’s Run it Back: Eugene Marathon 2025

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.

11 Through 21: Into the Riverside Trails

The course took us along the south side of the river until a bridge took us over the river at mile 12 taking us into the next part of the race that I had been mentally preparing for: the lonely middle. The course had one little surprise though, which took us through the mainstream of Springfield. It looked exactly as you would imagine any historic Main Street to look like, just a little with supporters out there cheering us on. I took it all in knowing that might be the last moment of bigger crow support until Autzen Stadium at mile 16.And as soon as the course u-turned to go behind Springfield’s Main Street the quiet set in.

It was still another mile until we officially turned into the trails at about 13.5. It was a flat neighborhood road with some neighbors out cheering the runners, but it was definitely more quiet than the first half. People seemed to congregate at the entrance into the trails to give us one last power up since it was about to get real quiet.

The trails are as beautiful as you’d imagine. Tall, bright green trees where you felt like you’re enveloped in a forest that just goes on and on. It was peaceful and calming, but it very quickly became a performance deterrent. I needed energy to keep up! And the running crowds were thinning and I was finding myself increasingly alone with just a coupe runners around.

About a mile into the trails, we met back up with the half marathoners, which was a welcome surprise. Just seeing the other runners was a little pick me and help refocus my mind. I kept noticing as the course quieted down I had to work harder mentally to stay in it. It’s the other runners I’m surrounded with on a race course that fuel me on race day, and this course was missing that energy on the back half.

I was battling both my mind and body at this point. My hips were feeling crampy, my stomach was taking down fuel but I was starting to feel dehydrated, and had to keep pace watching to stay on pace. I was struggling way too early . But then I saw Autzen Stadium in the distance and I knew a “power up” was waiting there for me. The crowds lined up for us at mile 16 were just what I needed. Keira D’amato being out there with the Nike team and all the other supporters was a nice little surprise. And of course, I cheered back at Keira thanking her for being out there cheering us on. (Weird, I know ha!).

And then we were back in the forest. Back to dodging all of the lumps, bumps, and undulations of the trail. It’s not a straight smooth path out there. It’s a bit like playing Whack-A-Mole or Frogger with having to dodge and weave on the trail. Now my brain is engaging again to make sure I don’t face plant. Great! (Fortunately that did not happen!).

By the time I hit mile 19, I was popping salt tabs trying to hold my body together. My hips felt like they could give out with a cramp at any second, and it was about this time I started seeing all of these runners that had passed me early on now walking because they cramped up. Those overcast mid-50’s days are always though because it’s easy to downplay hydration needs, and I had made that fatal mistake, too, and was willing my body to hold it together. But I at least had salt tabs to help.

22-26.2: Finishing like a track start

Once the turn around point to cross back over the Willamette River via a bridge with a not so nice elevation gain that late in the race, it was not the smooth sailing I was hoping for. I started doing runner girl to distract myself because my mind and body were not doing great. Now at mile 22 my calves entered the cramping chat and put me on notice — one bad step and I was going into a Stage 5 cramp. You know the ones where your calf fully seizes up in a painful fashion. But not on my watch!

Now the miles are chipping away as we kept running along the undulated but better paved paths back on the south side of the river. Supporters were starting to show up more, which meant we were getting close. One woman at mile 23 shouted at me and another girl telling us we looked strong, and I wish I could tell her I needed that more than ever at that point.

With only 3 miles to go, I checked my watch to see where I was at. My pace at slipped just a bit, and started doing more runner math to see if I could still hit my goal if my calves fully gave up on me. It was not looking good. 2 miles and I am running ginelrgly and fighting to keep my pace up. Im just trying to distract myself, this time with thinking about what am I going to do with my handheld water bottle for an iconic finish line photo. That worked! I was now turning back onto Agate Street with a half mile to the finish line.

The crowds were roaring. Supporters were there with arms out stretched for high 5s and power boosts to bring us into Hayward Field. I looked down at my watch and saw my goal was within reach — I was going to go sub-3:10! We entered the field at the back curve of the track and and the finish line side of the field was backed with our family and friends, finishers were shown up on the Jumbotron. It was a finish line feeling unlike what I’ve ever experienced before. I saw Brent and my mom up agains the edge cheering me and I found my handheld bottle solution. I threw it to Brent, waved to them, and made a mad dash for the finish line.

3:08:07. With my hands in the air and. Keira finish line watch pause. I had done it. All of my hard work through training, my injury, work issue, general life stress. I had battled through it all and held myself together through the finish line. And then collapsed about 60 seconds later with a Stage 5 calf cramp that did its job holding off until the end. At the point, I didn’t care. The work was done. The cramp would subside, I would rehydrate and take lessons for next time, but accomplishing my goal and what I set out to do will last forever.