The last race when the sun was setting
Matilda Msall hands off to Karl Dickman as twilight descends on the distance medley relay. Photo by Jessie Rubin.
Written by Karl Dickman, edited by Chris Smith
On July 31st, Rose City Track joined the rest of the Portland running community at Grant High School for the final meet of the Portland Track Summer Series. Some were racing in Rose City gold for the first time. With 28 athletes racing and a cheer squad on the berm overlooking the track, the sense of support was excellent.
1 mile run
The first race of the day was also the biggest. Fourteen Rose City athletes lined up to race the mile.
Just five days after racing the Bowerman 5k, Nicole Kiley ran 5:43.87. Nicole says, “Art [Avitia’s] pacing at Bowerman... inspired my approach to the mile. I went into the mile without a time goal and to instead run negative splits. I felt a lot more in control of the race and feel like that was my strongest performance of the summer…. It has inspired me to approach my other races this way.”
Cortney Berling made her debut race for Rose City, running 5:13.12. Cortney says, “It was such a fun race! Despite the summer heat I ran a season [best].... It was a treat to line up alongside the speedy men and women of RCTC. Lyndsey [Abt] and I pushed each other to kick a little harder down the home stretch. Can’t wait for many more races to come!”
Valerie Weilert ran 5:06.66, continuing her march through the Rose City masters record books. She lowered the women’s masters mile record by 46 seconds. It was her fastest time in the mile in twenty years.
Ashley Althaus won the women’s division with a new PR of 5:00.87. Ashley says, “I went way outside my comfort zone running in the first heat. I had this thought that I didn’t belong there and would be way more comfortable running in the second heat with more training pals. I had to push that thought aside and just let the uncomfortableness of the faster heat and a distance I’m not skilled fuel the run. I felt really happy with that race because I don’t think I had anything left to give at the end and I stuck to chasing a goal.”
Athletes running their first race with Rose City: Cortney Berling, Steven Gilkey.
1 mile performances by Rose City athletes at Summer Series #4
200 m dash
The 200 m dash was a duel between Gabe Asch and Jordan Steelman. Gabe says:
The Portland Summer Series track was my first time back on the track in 16 years! I had a lot of fun rediscovering my love for track this summer. The 200 m was a little outside of my comfort zone when it comes to track, having only raced it a handful of times back in the late 2000s. Unlike the 400 m, which I primarily raced, the 200 m is an all out sprint the entire race. It’s quite uncomfortable. I had no race plan or strategy going into the race except I knew I wanted to beat Jordan Steelman in our heat and I thought I could run it in 28 seconds. It might not have been too hard of a challenge though given he was racing every single event.
I started the race in the block, I don’t even remember what my stance used to be haha. At the gun I focused on the runners in front of me, trying to keep pace with them as best I could, still keeping an eye on Jordan. At the turn I noticed Jordan fade from the peripheral vision. Victory was close, if I could hold him off for the last 100 m. At this point I was holding on for dear life, trying to keep my speed and form together. I pushed through the last 100 m giving it my all. I finished in 27.4, faster than my goal time of 28, and barely edging out Jordan, my fellow banana bro!
The best part of racing in the summer series is the teammates cheering you on during your race. They really make the experience a great one. I’m so happy I found such a great community of runners, and friends too! Also, big shout out to Lauren Ross for all the time and hard work she put into organizing this series, it’s been one of the highlights of my summer!!
200 m dash performances by Rose City athletes at Summer Series #4
800 m run
The next event was the 800, featuring six Rose City athletes, the biggest 800 squad the team has ever fielded.
Emma Wolcott, not long after racing the mile, ran 2:48.16. Emma says, “[S]ince graduating from college I’ve [had a] hard time with feeling like everything needs to be perfect for me to race and that I’ll never be able to get back to that level. But with Summer Series I could set achievable goals for myself like running under 5:30 in the mile and getting times on the board for the 800 and 5k. And it reminded me how fun it is to go hard and have the feeling of accomplishment at meeting your goals. Overall an amazing experience and a highlight of the summer!
800 m performances by Rose City athletes at Summer Series #4
5000 m run
The final individual event of the night was the 5000 m run. Ten Rose City athletes lined up, many of them doubling, tripling, or even quadrupling.
Kendall Bergeron took a run at sub-20 in the 5k. She was looking to build on her success Summer Series #2, when she beat her time goal of 20:30 in the 5k that had stood since high school, running 20:12.79. Rose City teammate Kirk Sutherland paced Kendall at both races. Running an even pace throughout, Kendall smashed her goal with a final time of 19:36.02. Kendall says,
In the last mile, I definitely wanted to stop because it was uncomfortable and challenging. But one thought that kept me going was that I’d already sunk multiple miles of discomfort into that particular attempt, so I might as well make the most of the pain and keep going rather than have to try to run sub-20 for the first time on a different day—it was definitely a relief to cross the line, accomplishing my A+ goal for the season exactly when I hoped to at the end of the summer, knowing I don’t have to go through that PR pain again until it sounds fun. The other thought that kept me going was, of course, that many of my teammates were around the track and while I think they would still be my friends if I dropped out, I know that they thought I could accomplish my goal so I should take that encouragement and keep on trying.
Bradley Parks closed out his summer racing season with a tough run to 18:36.29. Bradley says,
I … didn’t want our teammates (or my gf) to see me quit just because I wasn’t feeling it. So I decided to just have fun with it, smile, cheer for teammates as they passed, wave to people who were cheering for me.
I still had so much fun even though I was so far short of my time goal. I’m really enjoying my break so far and already eager to sink my teeth into marathon training!
5000 m performances by Rose City athletess at Summer Series #4
Distance medley relay
The meet closed with the distance medley relay. Rose City fielded two teams: Lizzie Harmon, race director Lauren Ross, Lyndsey Abt, and Jordan Steelman; and Ashley Meagher, Laura Thomas, Matilda Msall, and Karl Dickman. In addition, Kayla Richardson made a last-minute decision to run the lead off leg of a third relay team.
Lizzie and Kayla had volunteered together throughout the meet corralling athletes and handing out hip numbers before each race. Both of them made their debut races with Rose City in the DMR. Lizzie says, “[I]t was the perfect environment for my first race in the RCTC gold. One of the biggest reasons I wanted to join the team was the strong sense of community, and that was on full display at the Summer Series meet. I’m already looking forward to cheering on teammates and being cheered on at future races!!” Kayla says, “[I]t [was] so fun to actually get back on the track, especially for the last race when the sun was setting. It’s a shame I got the itch to race more right as track is winding down, but I’m excited for next year and to have a full training cycle with the team under my belt.”
Ashley Meagher, a teammate who originally joined with the first membership class in 2017, recently rejoined after several years away. Her first race since rejoining was the lead off of the DMR. Ashley says, “Wowsa that was hard! It's been three years since the last time I raced, and the DMR was a great way to dip my toes back into racing. I'm so thankful for Rose City and the running community and even though I put us in last place from the gun, it was SO much of fun! Being in no man's-land in a race is always lonely, but with everyone there cheering, I never felt alone. I'm excited for what's next.”
Play stupid games, win stupid prizes
Jordan Steelman competed in every race, including the DMR. Jordan says,
I decided to do it during Summer Series #2. There wasn’t a great reason to volunteer myself for it beyond novelty, but when Tyler [Benson] raised the idea of putting betting lines on it, I leaned into the silliness.
My performances in isolation weren’t noteworthy, but I was mostly pleased with them in the context of a heavy day of racing. My 5:06 mile was my third best mark ever. I had never run a timed 200 m before, so I was thrilled to run under 28 since I never sprint. And rallying for a 5:22 1600 on the last leg of the DMR was far better than I anticipated.
Pulling out of the 5k was embarrassing given how much I had talked about running them all, but was absolutely the right decision.
Art [Avitia] cumulatively guessed closest to my actual times, missing by a total of 11.2% across the 4 races I finished. I still owe him some Dum Dum lollipops.
Congratulations to Art Avitia for guessing the closest to Jordan’s actual times, winning what Jordan calls “a stupid prize.”
Conclusion
The final Summer Series Track meet saw plenty of strong performances from the Rose City athletes who participated. More importantly, it was an atmosphere of support and encouragement. Many athletes mentioned this, perhaps none more eloquently than Ashley Althaus: “It’s inspiring to see everyone out there competing in something different, and the support to each other is incredible. I tended to think track events are scary because there is nowhere to hide, but having the support and inspiration around is definitely the positive pull.”