Run it back
The women’s 6k at Pier Park started with a short, steep hill in the first 100 m. Photo by Izzy Berenson.
Written by Karl Dickman, edited by Chris Smith
The cross country season began on a sunny September day in Oregon City, and it ended on a cold, muddy, but blessedly rain-free late November morning in Pier Park. The final race of the season was the biggest stage so far. In addition to the usual crowd of Portland running clubs, several teams traveled from as far north as Bellingham, Washington, making it the unofficial regional championship.
Alex Kurt’s mother-in-law, Joy Upshaw, brought ribbons decorated with the team rose and the names of all the racers. Many team members raced with the ribbons in their hair.
Ribbons by Joy Upshaw. An accomplished masters athlete and youth coach, Joy paints ribbons like these for the young athletes who participate in her coaching program.
The women’s team finished fourth of ten teams, behind Timberline Athletic Club, Team Red Lizard, and Bellingham Distance Project.
6k finishers
The men’s team finished eight of nine, missing #1 runner Alden Roy due to car trouble.
8k finishers
When the meet was over, the racers headed over to Tienda Santa Cruz in downtown St. Johns. There they met up with teammates returning from their pre-CIM workout on Sauvie Island and swapped stories about the race and the season that had just concluded.
These are some of their final thoughts on the season.
Sara Bea Myre had to keep a cool head when she realized that a bag mixup had left her with less-than-ideal footwear:
The first thing I realized after pulling up to Pier Park was that I had forgotten something. I don't own spikes, so of course I've been using my trail shoes to ensure grip. My bag contained road shoes instead. I know a mix up like this should not be a big deal, but it can wear on you in a race. When things got hard, I didn't want to lose faith in myself by focusing on how much potential power was being lost to slippage.
During the warm up I traced the course to devise a plan around slick spots. I wanted the race to feel like a culmination of the entire series, but ultimately each race had been its own thing. For Pier, the race had the most participation I had seen all season. While the shoes might have been a detractor, the amount of women I had to [race] with was an energizer. There were less gaps to fall into. There were more colorful singlets, more muddy calves, more jabbing elbows to pull me along the course.
When things got hard I tried to revive the previous lessons I had learned to fit them to this race. I reminded myself to be relentlessly positive, to say “yes,” to relax and move my arms. In a single race you might come to some realization that improves performance. A race series is an excellent way to illuminate how those lessons must be relearned again and again.
By the final loop in the woods I could smell the ending. If I could change anything, I wished in that moment I had reminded myself it would not just be the ending of a race but the closing of a season. Maybe that greater finality would have helped me dig deeper. Maybe I can still use that thought for the series next year.
Sara Bea Myre kicks it in. Photo by Amanda Prifti.
Talia Staiger had scheduling conflicts for most of the season, racing at Gabriel Park and Pier:
I got to do the first and last cross country races and they were so much fun! They reminded me of high school cross country; especially opening the season on a hot and sunny day and closing the season on a cold and rainy day. The courses both were hilly and grassy and felt really interesting to run. I had a great time and I'm looking forward to doing them next year!
Talia Staiger (4632) navigates a treacherous corner on the course. A cheer squad including Matilda Msall, Ashley Meagher, and Nico Banks stand in the background. Photo by Izzy Berenson.
Jon Tran, the mastermind of the big group competing at CIM, withdrew from that race after setting a PR in Chicago. With the December marathon off the table, Jon signed up for Pier Park. He says:
XC is a challenge on another level with a sprinkle of team fun. I always question how I can (somewhat easily) run a road marathon at MP but I struggle at running an XC 8k at MP. Cheers to my annual XC race!
Jon Tran wears a big small to show how much he loves racing XC. Photo by Amanda Prifti.
Lyndsey Abt raced her first season of cross country the previous year. After a great first experience she came back to race Fernhill and Pier this year:
I’m very grateful for all the team cross country races this year! As someone who really struggles with pressure and confidence during races, cross country is an incredible opportunity to explore being present and in the moment. The competition is somehow much more tangible, and focusing on the terrain allows you to feel like you’re almost on an adventure. Plus, cross country is the essence of teamwork. It’s a grueling experience, and being out there with and for your team makes it all the more fulfilling and rewarding!
Lyndsey Abt (4508) makes a move around Team Red Lizard’s Ari Fisher (4741). Photo by Amanda Prifti.
Alex Kurt, a new team member who joined this year, recapped his season on Instagram:
I joined Rose City Track in July, after a couple of years struggling to make friends as an adult in a new city.
Within a couple practices I felt like I’d recaptured the same sort of community I had in Minnesota and California.
After 25+ years of running it still feels very silly sometimes to put so much work into something I’ll never be that great at, in the scheme of things.
But it’s taught me a lot about keeping at it, finding joy in routine, and appreciating that the process is the whole point instead of always looking ahead to some far-off goal. It’s a lot like writing, or relationships, or pretty much anything worth doing. It’s hard, it’s worth it, and there will be lots of unflattering pictures.
So if you’re feeling stuck at all, or just looking for a different way to spend every other Saturday all fall, I highly recommend running in an adult cross country league. Or something similar.
It won’t solve any of your problems, but it’ll sure make them feel smaller.
This picture isn’t that unflattering. Alex Kurt speeds through the grass. Photo by Amanda Prifti.
Harry Holzgang joined Rose City at the same time as Alex. This cross country season was a bit different than what he’s been doing for the last few years, but he got a lot out of it:
I enjoyed the season. Coming in to the fall I had a few competing interests in what I wanted to focus on. I am happy I chose to commit to doing the full series this year with the aim of using the fall season to focus a little more on shorter speedwork. As a new member the XC season was a good way to get to better know members of the team. I also feel having repeated races for the first time in a decade was a fun change of pace and provided a good opportunity to learn from race to race and apply or test out those lessons. Something not as easy to do when racing longer distances with months or a year in between.
Harry Holzgang with 2k down and 6k to go. Photo by Amanda Prifti.
Brad Doering joined Rose City in October, but he was a part of the cross country season from the beginning. His wife, Erica, joined at the same time as Alex and Harry, and Brad was there to cheer for her at the Oregon Raw Honey Run when she opened her season. Brad ran unattached at Gabriel Park before officially joining and making his debut with Rose City at Blue Lake. Brad reflects on the arc of his season:
When the Honey Run happened, it looked like everyone that ran, despite it being a small group, was having a blast running. The environment was cool, the weather was perfect. There were just so many positives to take away that when Erica prodded me a bit to sign up for the series I did. And then I ran Gabriel with absolutely no training to run a cross country 5k on a super hilly course. It felt awful and would have been so easy to just not run the rest of the series. But again, you all looked like you were having a blast racing and the group seemed to grow a bit.
I would also add that the team at Gabriel park was insanely welcoming, allowing me to be in the picture, taking the time to talk with me after, and then going to get coffee as a group. It reminded me of the running community that I had built in high school where it didn’t matter what team (school) you ran for, it was about the experience of running together and being excited about racing.
It seemed like the more the season went on, the more people realized how cool the cross series was to be around. It felt like there were more spectators and more runners at every race.
I think cross country is very unique in the sense that you both run for yourself and run for the team. I look at Blue Lake as a great example. I was running for myself, but when I realized that I was in 4th place for the team and in a scoring position, it made me push harder than I would have to the finish line to help with the team scoring. Then you take Pier where I was absolutely dying on the course after the halfway mark and knew that I wasn’t in a position to score, I ran hard but I didn’t push to take it to the next level because I felt so terrible and was only concerned with finishing healthy at that point.
Erica and I were talking after leaving Tienda Santa Cruz and it was kind of an “ah ha” moment for me when we were sitting there as the big group. If you told me 12 months ago I was going to be sitting at one of our favorite places to eat with a huge group after having completed a cross country series on a team, I probably wouldn’t have believed you. It was just such a cool moment to reflect on how great the RCTC community is.
Brad claims he was “absolutely dying” but he’s not really selling that here. Photo by Izzy Berenson.
Laura Thomas finished her fourth season of cross country with Rose City at this race. In that time she’s become the team’s most prolific cross country racer, representing the team in 17 races. Laura says:
I really enjoyed racing at Pier Park. It's a beautiful park and the hills make it really engaging. After getting my asthma meds changed earlier that week, I felt much better than I did at Fernhill. It was exciting to actually be able to go in and really race and still be able to breathe. It was a great way to end the season. As a team, we built camaraderie and momentum as the season progressed. It was so much fun lining up with a group of women at each race. You will, of course, find me on the start line for XC next fall.
Hypoxia averted: Laura Thomas runs strong thanks to better asthma medication. Photo by Izzy Berenson.
Kayla Richardson did more than anyone to build the team spirit that made the season so special. Before Lents, she invited the team to her house, baked pasta for them, led a goal setting for the season, and concocted the secret witch gift exchange. Her efforts paid off:
[T]his season was the first time in years that I've had a cohesive team that showed up week after week. I know the CIM crew also got to feel something of that sense of camaraderie with such a huge group training towards the same thing.
I'm really proud that we fielded a team each meet, no matter the weather. And however great the team on the line was, the team cheering us on was even more impressive with each passing meet.
I think next year I want to run it back, but with a goal to field a team at the Club Nationals. Having one last big hurrah that everyone is aiming for. Most of all I just wanna make cross country the most fun thing someone could do with their fall/winter. I want Rose City to be “the cross country club,” not just Red Lizard!
Kayla Richardson powers through the grass. Photo by Amanda Prifti.
A cross country season is an intense commitment. This season was a race every other week for almost three months. Racing so often is a test of physical and mental stamina. But with that come rewards. Team members who participated have testified to how the season has brought them closer to their teammates, to the other runners on the line, and to the friends who came to cheer them on. As proud as they are of this season, so many of the athletes quoted here are already looking to the next one, hungry for more. As Kayla says, let’s run it back.