If you love trail running and want a real adventure, you gotta register for Wood You Rather, a choose-your-own-adventure style race brought to us by the always stellar Go Beyond Racing. This race is a checkpoint run in Forest Park and it’s guaranteed to be different than any other you’ve ever done. Instead of what you’d find at your typical pre-set course, all participants will receive a map at the start of the race, which begins at 8:00AM on Saturday, May 4th.  There will be 10 checkpoints highlighted on your map, and you have 2.5 hours to reach as many checkpoints as you can as well as ..read more

If you like to get dirty while you run, it’s time to register for the 2024 Dirty Leprechaun 5k which will take place on March 16th, 2024. Terrapin Events sure knows how to put on a great obstacle course race, and this one never disappoints. The best thing about mud runs this time of year is that there is no reason to cart in water to make obstacles extra muddy, the winter rains will take care of that! The race takes place at The Plumper Pumpkin Patch off Old Cornelius Pass Road in Portland and it is the perfect place for this kind of race course. There are 20 or so obstacles over the 3.1 mile ..read more

If you are a lover of snow, check out the Snow Lovers Loop snowshoe race at Odell Lake Lodge and Resort. The 2024 event is pushed back a few weeks and lands on February 25th. Even though it isn’t Valentine’s Day weekend, its still the perfect active get-away weekend for friends or lovers! Choose to snowshoe a 5K or 8K distance or team up for the 8K 2 person relay. The snowshoe race is run on the Nordic trails of Odell Lake Resort and is on National Forest Land by special use permit. And, good news – If you don’t have snowshoes, you can rent them at the lodge at a special reduced rate! There wi ..read more

Believe it or not, it’s already time to start thinking about My Muddy Valentine! This Terrapin Events 5K Mud Run could be the perfect date for you and your mud-loving special someone; or just a fun time with friends/family. With a good mix of obstacles and mud, you are sure to make memories at this event. Plan on 20+ obstacles that will include crawling, climbing, and plenty of mud. This event is for all levels. There are no penalties for skipped or failed obstacles. Your entry includes a pancake breakfast, a complimentary drink, music, and even the option of a hot shower. New this year is the ..read more

All runners have a race “bucket list”, right?! That group of events that they are planning for and desperately want to add to their list if time (and cost and training) allows. Once of those races for me is the White River Snowshoe Race 4k and 8k, a non-traditional running event that has me hooked – at least visually. The snowshoe race returns in 2024 and takes place at the White River West Sno Park on Mt. Hood on January 20th. If you’ve never been there before it’s a few miles northeast of Government Camp off HWY 26 / HWY 35 Junction. It has been a while since Run Oregon had anyone out t ..read more

When I first got into running, I discovered a group that sponsored races in cool places all around Oregon that were true running adventures. They were called X Dog Events, and unlike many obstacle race companies, X Dogs had legit obstacles made in nature that were a real experience. I walked away from events like Ole’s Assault and the Mt. Hood Scramble with cuts and bruises but I never had so much fun earning them. At some point, Kevin, the owner of X Dog, retired and the company faded off into the sunset. Bryan Shull, a longtime XDogger, decided it was time to revive it, and it’s now been bra ..read more

One of my first memories of computers was playing “The Oregon Trail” in elementary school on those ancient black screens in the computer room. (Side note: thanks to the Internet Archive, you can still play it!) Check out our recap of the inaugural event! But whether or not computer games are your thing, there’s an alternative that’s just as fun, if not more. Join Oregon City on Sunday, October 1st for the 8th 2023 Oregon Trail Game 5k. This is an obstacle course race of sorts, except that instead of crawling through mud or doing stuff like that, racers will have to make decisions as if they we ..read more

You may have noticed that obstacle course races (OCRs) in the Portland area are becoming fewer and farther between. If you’re like me and itching for a taste of an OCR, I’d recommend getting registered for Mud, Sweat, and BBQ at the Wooden Shoe Tulip Farm in Woodburn. This 5K mud run is low key and perfect for the first timer or the veteran OCR racer. This off-road event includes 12-20 obstacles using the terrain of the farm and creative uses for farm stuff like hay bales and irrigation pipes. I ran this last year and particularly enjoyed the speedy slip and slide into the pond and the over-un ..read more

I’m mean seriously. SERIOUSLY?! How many Run Oregon Blog readers do we have that have endured a 12 or 24 hour run? Please comment if you have – I want to personally shake your hand! Let me fill you in on one such 24 hour event – the Elijah Bristow 24/12 Run, which starts Saturday, July 1st at 8a at Elijah Bristow State Park, pretty close to Eugene. Participants may choose a 24 hour, 12 hour or 6 hour event – we have important choices to make here about how crazy we are, right? A quick preview of the course. Each lap through Elijah Bristow State Park is very slightly over 1 mile. You’ll ge ..read more

How fast can you run? How far can you run? Now how would you handle a race where those two answers might mean a bad ending? In The Meltdown: Last Not Fast, the starting line means heading out on ta 1.5-mile dirt/bark course at Linfield College. And then 30 minutes later, you start again. And then 28 minutes after that. And then 26, 24, 22, 20 and on until there is just one runner who can finish the lap. With a race like this, being the fastest isn’t the best plan for being the winner. Luckily everyone is a winner at this race thanks to two grilled cheese sandwiches as part of the race entry. T ..read more