Now he’s back and, not content with just one event, he’s put together a series of five events called the Running Around Portland Series. And if his first event for the year, the Cinco de Mayo 5k & 10k in downtown Portland on May 5, 2003, is an indication he’s one of the best things to happen to local running in years.

The Running Around Portland Series consists of Cinco de Mayo; the Mt. Tabor Challenge 8k on Father's Day (June 15th); the Southeast Summer Scamper 5k on July 27th; the Labor Day 15k and 8k on August 31st; and a half-marathon called the Run Like Hell Half-Marathon right before Halloween on October 26.

Cinco de Mayo commemorates the victory of Mexican General Zaragoza over French invaders at the Battle of Puebla near Mexico City on May 5, 1862. Since then people on both sides of the border have made this day a special occasion to celebrate the good things in life, and what better way for runners and walkers to do that than to join with friends and enjoy the fresh air of a spring Sunday morning. One of those participating this year was Scott Morrill of Tualatin

"About a year ago I started to lose weight and started running just for the heck of it and decided that since I'm running, I might as well have some fun with it,” Morrill said.

Tolly Bangs of Portland said she was there because she was a friend of Aaron’s: “He kinda talked me into doing it.” She is thinking about doing the series, but said she was a little intimidated by the Run Like Hell Half. “I'll probably do the Summer Scamper. I did that last year; that was really fun. Small run, lots of beer, good music.”

Even though a neophyte in the world of special events, Montaglione is no stranger to fitness. For five years he has been doing Sports Kids, an after school program in the Portland Public Schools for kids K through 5. “I go into a different school each day and play different kinds of sports with the kids. We do everything from tag games, to basketball, soccer and floor hockey. We just do all different kinds of fun games to keep people interested in sports and being active.”

Although he said he is still learning a lot about putting on road races, he seems to know what people want. “I just thought it would be kind of cool to have a series and to have people be able to sign up for a bunch of races throughout the course of a running season. I thought it would really be nice if someone wanted to work up to a half-marathon, they could do that by doing the series, and pay a little bit less, and know it's coming and train for it,” he said.

“I have a goal in mind. It kind of materialized in the fall; I started to think about it and about all the races I wanted to do. And so here it is, and I feel good about it. For a first year event and the budget I have for advertising, I think I did a pretty good job. If you do the whole series, I have a bunch of prizes for the winners. I'm going to try to do some cash prizes, but that depends upon the numbers I get for the series.”

Speaking of winners, Newberg’s Sage Canaday won the men’s 5k race in a time of 15:57:82. "It was kind of hilly, and the wind was pretty bad today. It's a well-marked course. A lot of people out; that was good. The weather wasn't the best, but you have to deal with those things. I was hoping for maybe a little faster time, the wind was hard and there were some hills and turns and I didn't feel real great.”

He was followed by Joe Dudman with a time of 16:13:86, and Anthony Cantwell finished third with 16:47:81.

The female 5k winner was Dana Boyle from Portland in a time of 18:39:16. " It was an easy course 'cause it just goes uphill and then comes back downhill,” she said after her win. When asked if she was going to do the 5-event series, she said, “I haven't decided yet. There's more runners per capita here than any other city according to last month's Runner's World, and it's great to have a race series.”

Erin Perkin came in second in a time of 19:26:01, and Lee Posey came in third in 19:27:40.

Portland’s Andy Wedam was the first man over the finish line in the 10k with a time of 33:50:17. T. Hartman finished second in 34:01:92, and Joel Wurtz came in third (34:40:88).

"It was kind of cold and windy out there, not too bad,” said Wedam. “ Nice course. Out and back, kind of flat. It was two miles of flat, and I actually got caught going up the first hill, and then settled in behind the number two guy. Passed him on the downhill. I can run downhill better than uphill.”

Jill Gozdowski came from Bend to win the 10k for the women in 41:29:93. She was followed by Nina Sarroub-Boyd with a time of 42:07:94, and Robyn Harskowitz was third in 42:35:81.

“I loved it; it was great,” Gozdowski said following her win. “It was a lot of up and down and flat. I really liked it. It was a nice finish coming down. The weather could have been better.”

As with any new event there were some delays at the start, but that didn’t dampen Katie Burco’s enthusiasm about being involved in this first-time event. “I though it was great. I think it's hard to organize a first event to know how many people are going to show up, so starting on time wasn't a huge deal for me. It was still fun.”

Many of the participants were looking forward to taking part in the race series. One of those was Lee Worley. “It gets me out of the house every weekend for a good workout, and it beats staying home on the sofa.”

The next event will be the Mt. Tabor Challenge 8k on Father's Day (June 15th). In view of the special day, there will be a competitive father/child category in the 5k race. There will also be free beer to participants who are of legal age along with live music and food. The 5k and almost all of the 10k will take place in beautiful Mt. Tabor Park.

For more information about this race and the Running Around Portland Series visit the Terrapin events website at www.t-events.com. And don’t forget to have fun.

event  photos here

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