Despite the possibility of unseasonably cold temperatures and rain, a record crowd turned out on March 12th for Portland's 2006 Shamrock Run, the first big race of the season. With a break in the weather, everyone got lucky, and the luckiest one was probably Race Director Steve Hamilton.

"It really isn't bad running weather today. Temperatures, compared to the last few days were pretty mild; that isn't bad," said Hamilton. "A lot of people are here today, which is great. In numbers, it's about 10,500 and counting. We haven't seen the final numbers, but that is a record. We had a record last year by breaking 10,000 for the first time, and it's great to see that much momentum carry over. I've had cabin fever all winter and given the weather, I think 10,000 plus had the same thing and wanted to just come down and get the start of the running season going."

A seasonal favorite, the Shamrock Run consists of the 3.5-mile Shamrock Stride, 5k Shamrock Race, 1k kids' Leprechaun Lap, 8k Shamrock Run with a three-wave start, and the 15k Shamrock Challenge. Having three competitive road races start and finish on Naito Parkway was a challenge this year because construction meant only one side was open. Race organizers had to change some of the start times to make it work.

"It was a little challenging because of the Naito Parkway construction project," said Hamilton. "Normally the 8k and 15k finish simultaneously; the 15k finishing on the park side of Naito and the 8k finishing on the downtown side of Naito. But this year only Southbound Naito was available to us for finishers. We had to finish the 5k, then finish the 8k and then finish the 15k, so that meant the 15k started about an hour later than normal. All of this was published so it was no surprise; it wasn't a last minute thing. But next year we'll be back to business as usual for the Shamrock Run"

The way the three road races followed one another this year and especially the gap of 35 minutes between the start of the 5k and the 8k gave 47-year old Vancouver, Washington, runner Jim Swietlik the idea to run all three races, one after the other. After accomplishing what no one had ever done before, he said he was, "Really tired. My legs are really heavy!"

"I did the 5k in 18 flat, I did the 8k in 30:04, and then I did whatever I had left in the 15k," Swietlik said. "It was a challenge. This was the first year that, because of the way they had the timing of the events set up, it was actually doable. But I was thinking that it would only be doable if I could break about 30 minutes for the 8k because that would give me about 10 minutes to get to the start of the 15k. I made it, and I think I'm the only guy in the entire event that did all three. I wanted to see if maybe I could get age group awards in two of the three, so we'll see."

The best things about Shamrock are its traditions. For instance the men and women winners of the 5k, 8k and 15k and the wheelchair winners win their weight in beer.

During the awards ceremony, which by the way takes place in the beer garden, each champion sits on one end of the big teeter-totter while helpers load cases of beer on the other end. Every participant gets a bowl of hot clam chowder and a free beverage after they finish. Portland's Clan Macleay Pipe Band alternates between keeping their legs warm at McCormick and Schmick's and playing for the runners and walkers at the start. After the race when everyone in the restaurant is feeling nice and warm, the pipe band plays a set in the crowd by the bar, pipes a wailing and cymbals crashing.

One of the best traditions is seeing the runners dress up to celebrate the holiday. As Portland's Kate Smith said, "Any reason to celebrate and get into a costume." Smith is a member of the SE Shamrockers, a group of runners who know the meaning of party. They get more outrageous every year.

"This is our sixth year," said Chris Mueller, one of the original members. "Here's the thing, Portland is a town just based on good fun, you know, people having a nice time. We meet at the Slammer Bar, Stark Seventh, 10:30. Unlimited food, beer, you name it. They shut down; they open for us on Sunday. With the cheesy thought of how you win; maybe this is how we win. We just try to have a good time and try to inspire some of the other folks around here."

No doubt their costumes set the Shamrockers apart, that and the boom boxes and blow up guitars. Shamrocker Pat McGee came resplendent in a pink, orange and blue full-body spandex outfit with a luxurious blond wig barely concealing a healthy head of black hair. He said the group got its start from some friends who liked to run, dress up, and make people laugh.

"Lo and behold we got started, and we got more people who want to laugh and have a good time," said McGee. Commenting on his performance, he said, "I feel that I did a damn good job, honestly. I ran it, I said I wasn't, I said I was gonna run two blocks and hide out where we started. No cheating, no nothing, I did it. I rode a bike a little bit of the way through, rolled my ankle, fell on my ass, bout got arrested. But I finished, finished strong, and everybody had a good time watching me. I had a good time cheering people on."

Another runner who did it this year was perennial favorite race announcer and KINK radio morning show host Les Sarnoff. Always in the announcer tower, it turned out that Sarnoff was secretly envying the runners who streamed by. This year he became part of that stream.

"We’ve been doing this for so long, and I've been antsy," said Sarnoff. "I thought it would be fun to actually try it, so I thought I'd give it a shot and it was a blast. The crowd was great! It was great! That's what makes this race so unique, everybody is in it for Doernbecher, and everybody has smiles on their faces, and they are very supportive of the other runners."

The highlight for amateur and professional runners alike is the 15k run on the former Cascade Runoff course through Terwilliger Parkway. This is a competitive event with the first place men's and women's finishers walking off with $1,000 prize money, and lesser amounts going to the top three men's and women's finishers plus the 15k masters and wheelchair winners. That always adds some incentive and attracts runners from outside the area. This year's 15k winner was 34-year-old Pete Julian, who went to school at the University of Portland, but now lives in Boulder Colorado. His time was 46:05.

"I was born in Eugene and grew up in southern Oregon, Ashland, so I always knew about the Cascade Runoff. It will always be a great race, one of the first pro races out there," said Julian. "My coach, the great marathoner Steve Jones, always had great memories of Cascade, and we thought what the heck, this would be a good opportunity to get back home and put a good effort in. I've always struggled on courses like this where it's up and then down, I'm more of a rhythm sort of runner, so we thought it would be good to see what I could do on a course like this.

"The last four miles are like falling off a cliff more or less. My legs are certainly feeling beat up, and there was a steady wind all the way down the last four miles. It's hard to say when you are standing here, but down there running a 4:30 pace, there's just that sort of steady wind where you can't get rhythm, it's kind of just holding you back a little bit. The guys behind me are strong runners. The turn back down, I mean I knew I had to shake Loggdon. I didn't know who it was behind me at first, and then someone said, 'C'mon Loggdon,' and like, ah damn, that kid's good, I know who he is. He's going to want to win this thing as bad as I do, so I knew I had to give up any hope of him being one of those young whippersnappers I had to break a little bit earlier."

Canby's Eric Loggdon followed Julian in a time of 46:25 and Sean Nesbitt, also of Boulder came in third in 46:34.

For the women, last year's 15k winner did it again as Lisa Harvey from Calgary, Canada, took the honor with a time of 53:09. "The weather was good for running, nice and cool, a bit of rain," she said. "I love Oregon, so nice to run here." Corvallis's Camille Herron took second in 54:50 and Eugene's Sopanga Ead took third with 55:45.

Defending top honors in the wheelchair division, Jim Hill from Beaver, Oregon, won for the sixth straight time this year.

"I'm getting old, that's what I'm thinking about this," said Hill who is 40. "I've done it a lot so I didn't get discouraged on the hill like I have years ago. But I was happy to see the top and start coming down hill. My helmet came lose, so I had to tip my head back to see where I was going down hill, weaving in and out of people at about 25 mile an hour. I made it, and no body went to the emergency room, so it was a good race."

And you don't have to win to have a good time. For David Harkin, co-owner of the Portland Running Company, it provided a good workout for the Newport Marathon.

"Very competitive race, always sure to have somebody to run with, and it's a great course. Going up Terwilliger is priceless. As far as courses go, it' great," he said.

For Matt Hough, from Beaverton, this year's run was his second in a row. "I like it because it's one of the first runs of the year, and it forces you to get in shape for upcoming events. And then there's the fun atmosphere and of course the beer and food afterwards."

"I'm here to support the Shamrock Run and Doernbecher," said first-timer Lori Kay of Portland in the beer garden after finishing. "It was a little hard for me because I haven't run for a while, but it was good. I finished it, and I was glad. The beer is making it very good now."

The 5k race was won by Portland's Christopher Clancy in 15:40. His closest rival was Ian Gillespie from Beaverton who finished second with 15:51. Third was Joe Dudman from Portland in 16:04.

Clancy's mom, Ingrid Clancy, in the beer garden after completing the 8k in her 15th Shamrock Run talked about how proud she was of her boy. "He's awesome," she said. "He kind of looked at mom and wanted to run too. I think I had a little influence on him."

For the women, Carrie Strickland won first in 18:01. Casey Hire took second with 18:37 and Laura Marsen was third; her time was 18:38. All three are from Portland.

Sage Canaday from Sheridan won the 8k event with a time of 24:48. Damian Baldovino from Lakeview came in second in 25:24 with Portland's Bobby King taking third with 25:36.

Corvallis's Johanna Olson won the women's 8k race; her winning time was 29:20 with Jenifer Compton, Portland, taking second with 29:44. Danielle Quatruchi, also from Portland, took third in 30:11.

There is something inherently exciting about getting together with thousands of people who have something in common with you and want to have fun. If you haven't experienced Shamrock, the next one is less than a year away.

"We're always the first Sunday before St. Patrick's Day; I think that would be March 11th in 2007," said Race Director Hamilton who is probably dreaming of seeing 11,000 for next year's event. If you're not a runner or walker yet, there's plenty of time to start, or just go to cheer them on. You'll have fun.

Written by Walt Amacher 

Shamrock Run web site
http://www.ontherunevents.com/shamrock

2006 Shamrock Results

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