event photos here!

Maybe it's the luck of the Irish, but March 13, 2005 turned out to be a beautiful day for Portland's Shamrock Run. In its 27th year, Shamrock has become a perennial favorite with local athletes because of the way they get treated. McCormick & Schmick's and Widmer Brothers Brewing Company sponsor free clam chowder and a beer garden within sight of the finish. Waterfront Park becomes a mini expo of sponsor booths, and at the awards ceremony the winners sit on a big seesaw and get their weight in beer. Add to that the wail of the bagpipes and crisp snap of the drums of the Clan Macleay Pipe Band and you have a wonderful way to celebrate St. Patrick's Day.

Shamrock is Portland's first big road race of the year, and for the first time in its history, it attracted over 10,000 participants this year. That thrilled Race Director Steve Hamilton who said, "Every year, the folks at adidas and I would tell ourselves that it was just a matter of time before we finally broke through the 10,000-participant barrier. I think it was really the incredible weather on race day and for the two weeks prior to the event that was responsible for reaching that milestone. KINK's promotion of the Widmer Beer Garden as a new addition to the McCormick & Schmick's post-event celebration certainly helped too."

Being so early in the season this road race is one of the first opportunities for athletes to test themselves after the long winter months, and luckily, since athletes come in all different levels, the Shamrock Run has something for everyone. There's a 5k to start things off in the morning followed by a 3.5-mile Shamrock Stride for the walkers. The kids come next with a quick 1k Leprechaun Lap down and back on Naito Parkway. Then the 15k race starts, followed by the three-wave 8k start.

The 5k and 8k courses start on Naito Parkway and climb SW Broadway, an innocent looking but draining uphill climb, before looping back to the finish near Waterfront Park. The 15k course follows the classic Cascade Runoff/River City Distance Classic route starting on the Broadway Bridge, running up SW Broadway and continuing up Terwilliger Boulevard with a turn onto Barbur Boulevard and the long downhill stretch on Naito Parkway to the end.

Portland's Christopher Clancy won the 5k race with a time of 15:12. "It was good," he said afterwards. "I had some good competition."

Judging by the second place time, he was right about the competition. Evan Garich, also from Portland, came across the finish line just three seconds later in a time of 15:15, and Portland's John Dimoff was not far off in third place with a time of 15:40

The women's 5k race was won by Lorilynn Bloomer of Beaverton. Her time was 17:43. "The Broadway Hill, it's a killer! You have to get up it and know that you have a straight shot to the finish," she said afterwards. "I like the energy around this race, it's a lot of fun. I wore my green."

Laura Kroninger and Brenda Funk-Danielson, both from Portland, came in second and third in the 5k. Kroninger's time was 17:57, and Funk-Danielson ran it in 18:32.

There are many reasons why people run the Shamrock even though it does comes so early in the year that many people are just starting to dust off their running shoes and get back in shape. For Marika Feibel it was simple, "I dragged my friend here because there's no snow, because we're not on the mountain skiing today. We're here," she said. "As usual, it's a grueling uphill; the Broadway is like, Oh my god, yeah! Otherwise, it's a beautiful morning, and we're having a great day."

Her friend, Kathey-Lee Jalvin, also from Portland said, "I though it was wonderful, my friend Marika turned me on to it, and it's going to become an institution in my life along with the Southeast Shamrockers and the Green Shamrock Juice."

The 8k was won by Boise, Idaho's, Travis Armstrong, with a time of 24:19 "What a great race, so much fun. 10,000 people! Beautiful day. Win my weight in beer. I'm pretty happy," he said. " My friend, my best friend Josh, he and I are on the same team, we were able to kinda put the hurt on some guys up the hill, and it felt pretty good. I'm excited. I'm going to go drink a Hefeweizen."

Portland's Josh Danielson followed his friend in with a time of 24:31. Bringing up third was Oliver Redig of Eugene in 25:12.

One of the truly amazing stories about the 8k was the ninth win for Canby's Deanna O'Neil. She came across the finish in a time of 30:10. "It's my slowest time, I have a nine month old and a hernia operation in the last year so it's tough. I really didn't expect to win," she said after her accomplishment. "I really haven't done that much training; I'm just trying to get back into it. The mind is willing; the body is a little weak. It's seemed a little longer than normal. It's a perfect day."

Her closest rival was Portland's Anne Davis who came in second with at time of 30:44. Anne Marshall came all the way from Spokane to garner third in 30:54.

Speaking of Portland traditions, a few years ago the classic 15k course that includes hilly Terwilliger Parkway was folded into the Shamrock Run to give runners a real challenge. This course has been around for a couple of decades and hosted some of the great running legends when it was the Cascade Runoff. Adidas kept it alive as the River City Distance Classic and then helped sponsor its transition to the Shamrock Run. Starting on the east side of the Broadway Bridge, the first half is a grueling uphill that fortunately leaves runners coasting to the finish on a long downhill.

Christian Hesch from Morro Bay, California won the 15k with a time of 45:36 in another close finish with his challenger Dave Davis from Portland coming three seconds later in a time of 45:39. Superior, Colorado's, Scott Larson was not far behind and finished in 45:53.

"Man that was a tough course," said Hesch. "If I would have known how tough it was, I don't know if I would have showed up." Hesch said that the hardest part was the uphill. "I'm fat. I'm 180 pounds; try dragging 180 pounds uphill next to these guys who are 130. It's brutal!" he said.

Coming from Calgary, Alberta, Lisa Harvey lead the women in the 15k with a finish time of 53:18. Lauren Wiener from Portland followed her in with at 55:17, and Liane Rae, also from Portland, claimed third place with 56:54.

After her win, Harvey said, "It was quite an experience. All the up hill, all the downhill, amazing! It's really nice. I didn't have females around, but lots of guys to run with so that was great."

The 15k always attracts the wheelchair athletes, with two contending for the title this year. Long time wheelchair athlete Jim Fox of Beaver, Oregon, won with a time of 60:05. Fox, who hit over 21 mph on the downhill, had this to say afterwards: "It was a good race, good weather. Perfect." He laughed when asked about pulling his chair up Terwilliger, "The uphill was a bitch. It was better going down hill because they had me going on the left, and the runners were out of my way better and I was out of their way."

As the green Shamrock juice wears off and we put away our green singlets, we can look forward to next year, sure that the Shamrock Run will be there for us. Look for it on Sunday, March 12, 2006.

 Written by Walt Amacher

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