Race For The Roses Recap

Joe Dudman, community blogger By Joe Dudman, community blogger
on April 07, 2008 at 4:44 PM, updated April 07, 2008 at 4:50 PM

Close to 3000 people finished either the half marathon or 5k at Sunday's Race For The Roses in downtown Portland, making this popular early spring event one of the area's largest.

Many of the runners were representing Team in Training (TNT), and were highly visible in their purple singlets. Coach Joe English trained 40 TNT runners for the event, and you can read his pre-race speech here and see his race report and photo gallery. If you'd like more information about Joe's work with Team in Training you can email him here.

The unique courses started and finished next to the Oregon Convention Center, crossing the Willamette on the Broadway and Steel Bridges. There was some occasional drizzle and a little wind, but overall the conditions were very good.

I ran the 5k. Although it seemed a little tougher, and my legs felt a little more tired than usual for a shorter race, I was very pleased with my time, 12 seconds faster than Shamrock, and three seconds faster than my last 5k a couple weeks ago. After about a half mile, I was settled into the back of a single-file line of four, and as we crossed the Broadway Bridge it was like a bike race, with the pack snaking through the best line, avoiding the puddles and pot holes, and finding the best angle to draft off each other as we headed into the wind on Front Avenue. I fell back a little during the second mile, and had to battle the headwind on my own, which is always hard work. I missed the first mile marker, but my 2-mile split was around 10:22, which even in my race-addled mental state I could translate to 5:11 pace. After losing contact with the leaders, and knowing my place was not going to change, my motivation was waning. It felt like I was slowing and losing momentum after the turn-around, but I tried to maintain focus and keep pushing. I heard some other runners cheering me on and it helped, but I tried to keep the blinders on and finish strong, so this was one of those races where I didn't return the favor. My legs were really rubbery heading up onto the Steel Bridge, but I knew the finish was coming up soon. My final pace was 5:12, so despite the feeling that I was bagging it slightly over the last mile, I guess the determination to push through it made up for the dead legs. It was amusing to discover that two of the three people ahead of me were 39, so I barely took first master!

Unfortunately, I was too far back to witness the leaders' finish, but Bowerman Athletic Club teammates Phil McCartney and Chris Cook were credited with exactly the same time (15:45), although McCartney is listed as first and Cook second in the results. Bret Kimple was only eight seconds back in third. I was able to see the top women finish, and it was another close race, with Alyssa Tower edging Andi Camp by five seconds, 18:13 to 18:18, in a reverse of last year's race, in which Camp out-kicked Tower for the win. This year, Tower and Camp exchanged the lead a couple times before Tower pulled away on the Steel Bridge. Susan Barth was third, 10 seconds behind Camp. Tower's sister, Laurie Porter, was fourth in 18:35.

In the half marathon, Alejandro Dominguez-Morales took the lead in the first hundred meters, and held on for the win in 1:13:37. Alan Rozendaal was second in 1:14:34, and Mark Davies was third in 1:15:49. For the women, Wendy Terris, in a tune-up for the USA Women's Olympic Marathon Trails in two weeks, won by over four minutes in 1:21:18. Jessica Tranchina was second in 1:25:47, and Shannon Edwards was third in 1:27:31.


Half Marathon (Full results HERE)

Men's Open:
1. Alejandro Dominguez-Morales, 23, Portland, 1:13:37
2. Alan Rozendaal, 37, Portland, 1:14:34
3. Mark Davies, 37, Seattle, 1:15:49

Women's Open:
1. Wendy Terris, 38, Milwaukie, 1:21:18
2. Jessica Tranchina, 31, Bellevue WA, 1:25:47
3. Shannon Edwards, 24, Yamhill, 1:27:31

Men's Masters:
1. Lawrence Merrifield, 40, Portland, 1:15:57
2. Joel Brvhn, 44, Portland, 1:23:30
3. JC Callans, 40, Eagle Point, 1:23:31

Women's Masters:
1. Kim Grasberger, 43, Portland, 1:29:24
2. Constance Tammen, 46, West Linn, 1:30:44
3. Bettylou Morrow, 47, Canby, 1:35:01

5k (Full results HERE)

Men's Open:
1. Phil McCartney, 33, Portland, 15:45
2. Chris Cook, 39, Portland, 15:45
3. Bret Kimple, 39, Portland, 15:53

Women's Open:
1. Alyssa Tower*, 45, Vancouver, 18:13
2. Andi Camp, 33, Portland, 18:18
3. Susan Barth, 27, Portland, 18:28

*Denotes masters

Men's Masters:
1. Joe Dudman, 43, Portland, 16:09
2. Cliff Reuter, 42, Sherwood, 16:53
3. Kurt Stevens, 45, Damascus, 17:30

Women's Masters:
1. Laurie Porter, 46, Brush Prairie WA, 18:35
2. Angela Thatcher, 40, Sherwood, 20:15
3. Michelle Olson, 46, Portland, 20:34