Oregon Mountain Series Calendar

2008 La Sportiva USATF Oregon Mountain Running Series

This inaugural mountain running series is designed to promote competition in the Oregon Mountain running community.  Most the races in the series are well established and represent some of the very best mountain races in Oregon. The 2008 series consists of the following four races:

June 7, 2008 - Granite Man Mountain Run, 10 miles, Jacksonville, OR

          http://roguemultisport.com/eventcalendar/graniteman.html

          Race Director - Chuck Neely - cneely@roguemultisport.com

The Granite Man is an exciting off-road event held at beautiful Applegate Lake nestled at 2,000 feet in the Rogue River National Forest.  This is an exceptional 10-mile up & down mountain run that features a steep one-mile section of course that climbs 1000' of in elevation gain.

August 2, 2008 - Mt. Ashland Hillclimb Run, 13 miles, Ashland, OR

          http://www.mtashlandrun.com/

          Race Director - Torsten Heycke - mailto:info@mtashlandrun.com

Now in its 31st  year, the Mt. Ashland Hillclimb Run is the oldest continuously run mountain race in Oregon.  Starting in downtown Ashland, this race climbs 5600' over 13 miles to finish on the summit of scenic Mt. Ashland.  The course record at this race was set in 1986 by Los Angeles Marathon winner Ric Sayre (1:42).  Dolores Bergman set the women's record in 2004 in a time of 2:13.39.

August 30, 2008 - Sunrise to Summit Race, 3 miles, Mt. Bachelor, OR

          http://www.mbsef.org/events/sunrise2summit/

          Race Director - Molly Kelly - molly@mbsef.org

Organized by the Mt. Bachelor Ski Education Foundation, the Sunrise to Summit may be the shortest race in the series but it is also the steepest.  This uphill only course climbs 2600' in about 3 miles under ski lifts, thru volcanic rock strewn slopes to finally finish on the barren summit of Mt. Bachelor.  The course records are held by Max King (35:32) and Jennifer Sventek (43:45).

September 21, 2008 - NW Mountain Running Championships, 7 miles, Mt. Hood, OR

          http://www.xdogevents.com/scheduleandresults.html

          Race Director - Kevin Foreman - kevin@xdogevents.com

This will be a brand new race from experienced race director Kevin "x-dog" Foreman.  The 7-mile course will run both up and down the slopes of Mt. Hood from historic Timberline Lodge. 

SCORING: Runners score points based on their time as a percentage of the winner's overall time, making every second count!  For example, a winning time of 41:08 gets 100.00 points; a time of 42:21 is worth 97.13, and 1:20:32 gets 51.08 (the winning time being just about 50 percent of that runner's time. Women's scoring is based on 100.00 points for the first female finisher. A runner's top 3 of 4 races are totaled to determine overall series scoring.

AWARDS: Gift certificates for running shoes will be provided by La Sportiva for the top man and women in four age groups (open 0 - 39, masters 40 - 49, seniors 50 - 59 & veterans 60+) for each of the four races.  The series awards a special technical t-shirt to "Mountain Goats", USATF members who run all four races. The title and primary sponsor is La Sportiva, with additional support at events from the USATF Oregon Association.

ELIGIBILITY: As a USATF Oregon program, the series scoring is limited to individuals who are USATF members. Though all races are open to all runners, USATF membership is required to score and win awards in the series.  Some of the other benefits of membership are:

1. Eligibility to score and win prize money in the USATF Oregon Grand Prix and other selected USATF Oregon races.

2. Eligibility to score in USATF Association and National championships.  The 2008 USATF National 100k Trail Championships are being held in conjunction with the Where's Waldo 100k Ultramarathon where cash prizes for top open and master runners are for USATF members only.

3. Elite runners who want to make the Teva US Mountain Running Team or the USA 100k Team must first be USATF members.

4. 10% discount in the USATF Online Store, including Nike Dri-FIT gear.

5. Subscription to Fast Forward magazine.

6. Access to enter exclusive members-only contests.

7. Sport accident insurance.

8. Special discounts and offers from over 25 companies.

Click here to become a USATF member.  If you have additional questions, feel free to email the series coordinator Richard Bolt at r_boltski@yahoo.com or contact the USATF Oregon office at usatforegon@msn.com.