2017 Highlight Video

2017 BTC Highlights

Once again, all parts of the club contributed to taking the Bowerman Track Club to new heights this year.  This week was the Bowerman Track Club year end banquet where we highlight performances from the past year and look forward to what's ahead in the coming year.  In 2017, the BTC youth program once again had a record number of entrants and sent a club record number of individuals and and teams to the Junior Olympic National Championships in Florida. Additionally, the Masters program posted a solid 3rd place finish at the XC National championships, the Elite program posted a slew of marathon PRs at the California International Marathon and the Pro team brought home 3 medals from the World Championships.  Our club continues to be focused on fostering competitive running opportunities to runners of all levels.  Check out the video for more highlights!

A New Champion in New York

Embed from Getty Images

It’s not everyday that runners get to reap the rewards of the many long hours of training, rehab and fatigue.  For marathoners especially, the chances to race and chase dreams are few and far between.  “Trust the process”, the saying goes.  For Shalane Flanagan, today was a day when the process, one that began as a little girl dreaming of winning on running’s biggest stage, culminated with one of the most incredible performances in the history of the New York City Marathon and American distance running.

This morning on the streets of New York, Shalane won the New York City Marathon in a time of 2 hours 26 minutes and 53 seconds.  She became the first American woman to do so since Miki Gorman in 1977, 4 years before Shalane was born.  For Shalane, this marked her first ever win in World Marathon Major—her best previous finish coming 7 years ago in her marathon debut on the same course as today.  Despite her many attempts and outstanding performances since then, victory had remained out of her grasp.

Shalane's average mile pace per 5k. Shalane made her move at about 34k into the race. 

Although today was not Shalane’s fastest marathon ever (2:21:14 – Berlin 2014), it was the best overall marathon performance of her career, in large part due to the competition she defeated.  Today’s field included Mary Keitany, the runner-up, who came in as the 3-time defending champion of and the top ranked marathoner in 2017, and Edna Kiplagat, the #2 ranked marathoner of 2017 and the winner of the New York Marathon in 2010 when Shalane was runner-up.  It’s hard to pinpoint an exact moment when a marathon is won or lost, but it was clear that when Shalane made her move between mile 21 and 22, she meant business.  Once she picked up the pace, Shalane kept the pressure on all the way to the finish, averaging 5:08 per mile for the last 5 miles.

In the weeks leading up to the marathon, there was a growing murmur amongst BTC coaches and team members about how fit Shalane was. Every race build-up is different, but all BTC pros know the markers of killer fitness and when Shalane returned from Mammoth Lakes, CA in early October she put together a string of workouts that dropped the jaws of even her world class teammates.  It’s rare that we see Shalane in anything other than fantastic shape, but following a stress fracture during her build-up to the Boston Marathon last spring, no one expected her to be in the “best shape of her life.” That forced break proved a blessing, allowing her to attack training with renewed energy. Mid-build up, she remarked to teammates that she, “didn’t realize how tired she’d been for 3 years.”  She hardly looked tired today.

Even many of our youngest club members were up early to watch Shalane.  What an inspiration it was!

Shalane’s performance comes on the heels of Amy Cragg’s bronze medal at the World Championships in August and the Chicago Marathon less than a month ago, where Chris Derrick was the second American (9th overall) in his marathon debut and Andrew Bumbalough finished 13th overall.  For a group that started with professionals only competing on the track, the marathon crew is making a name for itself on the roads and significantly helping to raise the level of US marathon racing, leaving us to wonder if  we will have to rebrand as BMC?

Shalane continues to impress and inspire all members of our club, and today has us all excited to get out and keep training.  November 5th, 2017 will live forever in the history of BTC.   For more information about the New York City Marathon and Shalane’s victory, check out some of the articles below.

Letsrun.com NYC Marathon Recap

Letsrun.com Shalane Victory Recap

New York TImes Recap

Flotrack Recap

Lincoln High's Achon Distance Classic

Bowerman TC finds mutual interest with Lincoln High XC Program

The Lincoln High School Cross Country team continues its annual tradition of racing for a cause this Saturday evening, Oct. 7th, on their home track under the lights.

Raising money for a cause near and dear to the heart of Bowerman Track Club, LHSXC members are encouraged to raise a minimum of $20, with the proceeds heading directly to the Achon Uganda Children's Fund (AUCF). 

Bringing together the celebration of community and competition, a series of 2mi races will be held on Lincoln High's track, helping provide the AUCF with the funds to continue its important work of improved healthcare, education, and exposure to sport in Ugandan communities.

In its 4th year, the Achon Distance Classic hopes to match last year's impressive $15,000 raised for the AUCF. Featuring six races, across all genders, ages, and ability, all one needs to enter is the encouraged $20 entry fee, which guarantees you a free, unique T-shirt, and the thrill of whizzing along Lincoln's spotlit track in the autumn twilight. 

Men's Races 

• 2mi Junior Varsity 6:50PM

• 2mi Varsity  7:30PM

• 2mi Open  7:50PM 

Women's Races

• 2mi Junior Varsity  6:30PM

• 2mi Varsity  7:10PM

• 2mi Open  7:50PM

If you are looking for a race that won't demand quite as much from you, or your athletes as we get towards the later stages of the Cross Country season, please consider joining the event.

The Achon Distance Classic starts this Saturday, Oct. 7th, approximately at 6pm and ends about 9pm. For more information call or email Coach Suzanne Parry.

Coach Suzanne Parry - 503-577-5759

For more information on the AUCF, visit http://achonugandachildren.org/

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BOWERMAN MISSION The Bowerman Track Club is a community based track club spanning from the professional ranks to youth members. Catering to the competitive, we hope to spread the sport of running and all the good it does. Acknowledging the club's potential to effect change in local communities, Bowerman Track Club will seize the oppurtunity to serve the city of Portland through issue awareness, fundraising and project collaboration.

The Burnside Footbridge Project

Bowerman TC gets involved with the Burnside Footbridge Project

The Portland Parks Foundation is seeking the support of the Portland community in raising funds to build a footbridge over West Burnside, providing a safe passage for runners and hikers on the Wildwood Trail in Forest Park.

Connecting 30 miles through Portland’s famed Forest Park, the Wildwood trail serves over 80,000 runners, hikers, and schoolchildren each year. However, a current section of the Wildwood trail crosses over West Burnside, forcing cars to stop unsafely for trail users crossing the road, creating a potentially dangerous situation.

With $2.3 million already raised, the Portland Parks Foundation seeks community support to fund an additional $150,000 for the project with an anonymous donor providing a 1:1 match, for a potential $300,000 campaign.

The Burnside Footbridge campaign runs from Sept. 20 to Oct. 23. To donate and for more information, visit www.oregonskitchentable.org/footbridge-over-burnside and help support this community initiative.

Members of the Bowerman Track Club, including Youth, Masters, Elite, and Professional athletes, utilize Forest Park and its numerous trails. In an attempt to represent Portland not only on the track and Olympic world stage, we ask for the community's support in this worthy project.  

The Bowerman Track Club continually seeks out opportunities to support and engage in community initiatives that impact the city our club calls home. BTC professional athlete sums up the importance of the Burnside Footbridge project perfectly.

“The Burnside Footbridge will create a seamless flow over Burnside that will allow runners and walkers to enjoy Forest Park and it’s surroundings without having a busy street interrupt your exercise.
”

— Dan Huling, BTC Pro

Designed by Ed Carpenter, a Pacific Northwest artist specializing in large-scale public installations, the Footbridge will mirror the natural elements
around it, both blending in and connecting to its surroundings.

First person perspective of the proposed footbridge design.

Not only an amazing spokesperson for Bowerman TC, professional athlete Amy Cragg has directly collaborated with the Portland Park's Foundation, detailing the impact the footbridge project will have on the trail and uniquely beautiful Portland environment.

Coming together as an organization, we hope to fundraise and spread the message of the project to improve the trail we all call home. For more information, check out the project's website. https://www.oregonskitchentable.org/crowdfunding/footbridge-over-burnside

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BOWERMAN MISSION The Bowerman Track Club is a community based track club spanning from the professional ranks to youth members. Catering to the competitive, we hope to spread the sport of running and all the good it does. Acknowledging the club's potential to effect change in local communities, Bowerman Track Club will seize the opportunity to serve the city of Portland through issue awareness, fundraising and project collaboration.

Rubber to Pavement: BTC Transitions With The Seasons.

Fifth Ave Fights and City Nights

Focusing on getting some speed back into their legs after the long grind of a World Championship year, Bowerman women Shelby Houlihan, Courtney Frerichs, Colleen Quigley, and Emily Infeld headed east this past weekend to close out their summer racing series at the Fifth Avenue Mile held in New York City. All moving down in distance, the event was a challenging but fun opportunity to end their seasons in style, flying past Central Park's trees in quick succession. Colleen led the way for Bowerman, taking 9th in a time of 4:20.6, followed by Shelby for 13th in 4:26.3, Emily for 17th in 4:30.3, and Courtney for 20th in 4:31.3. The crew was all smiles after the race, happy to have braved the challenge of a new event. Laughing Courtney said, "I set PB's at every split." 

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#MarathonManCamp

While the New York Squad finished up in the city, Chris Derrick and Andrew Bumbalough were off in the woods and mountains of Mammoth California (dubbed #MammothonMarathonManCamp on social media), getting themselves ready for the Chicago Marathon coming up on Oct. 8th. Hitting high mileage for several months and drinking in the natural setting of Mammoth, CD and Bumby are excited to finally be in the month out moments of the marathon. Having focused their training mainly on mileage and progressive long runs, Chris and Bumby have begun honing in their pace work now that September has arrived.  

Now back in Portland, Bumby and Chris have rejoined the Bowerman boys still in the city to finish up their training and drink some finely brewed Portland Coffee that they have missed for so long. Andrew Bumbalough is excited to have another shot at the Marathon after his impressive debut in Tokyo of 2:13:58. Chris Derrick is looking forward to his own debut in Chicago where he said in confidence, "I just hope to not have a terrible last 10k." With his 10k prowess, I don't think anyone is worried. 

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Summer 3k Series

Flotrack Preview of Jager's Run for Gold

2017 US Championships

2017 proved to be another successful year for the Bowerman Track Club at the USA Championships.  The goal of US Championships beyond winning is to qualify to represent the US team at the World Championships by finishing top 3 in one's event.  In total, the club qualified 6 athletes from the US Championships to this year's World Championships, taking place August 5-13 in London.  Below is a recap of the races BTC athletes competed in at the US Championships.

10,000m Women

The opening event of the US Championships for Bowerman TC was led off by an outstanding performance by team USA 10K veteran, Emily Infeld. Toeing the line with Infeld, and offering an equally inspiring performance was Shalane Flanagan, who displayed the confidence that comes with experience.  With her relentless racing style, Shalane  ground the field down to a final four competitors throughout the course of race. In an exciting last kilometer of the race, both Emily and Shalane faced off against training partners Molly Huddle and Emily Sisson, with a Portland based training group against a Providence based one. Coming off her debilitating back injury undaunted, Shalane led the majority of the race falling off just short in the last 800m, while Emily Infeld broke up the Providence pack by finishing second to Huddle.  With a final time of 31:22.67, Emily qualified for her third consecutive US 10k team, finishing ahead of Emily Sisson in third, and Shalane in (31:31.12).

10,000m Men

A lot can happen in 25 laps around an oval, and during the 10,000m final, viewers were treated to one of the most entertaining and brutal 10K finals in recent history. Chris Derrick led the charge for Bowerman Track Club, braving a race of surging pace and lead changes.  After a pedestrian first mile and a half, Sam Chelanga began to make things interesting by alternating hammering off the front and letting the pack back in. Covering these moves during the slower side of the surge was Galen Rupp, Diego Estrada, and Derrick. After six kilometers of Chelanga’s back and forth pacing, the pack approached a mile to go and the race dynamic became even wilder. Rupp took the lead, as he historically does with a mile to go, before Leonard Korir and Hassan Mead covered his move, cutting down the pace metronomically over the next three laps. At the bell, Chris Derrick fearlessly swung around the pack and challenged Korir all the way down the backstretch. With 200m to go, Hassan Mead made his bid for home and ended up claiming victory on the day. Finishing with the lead pack grouped behind the top three spots, Chris Derrick came in 8th in a time of 29:12.08.

5,000m Women

Building on her momentum from the Olympic Trials last summer, Shelby Houlihan is no longer a fresh face in the American 5K field. With a decisive victory, Houlihan ran a smart race, confident in her ability to strike for home before anyone else could take it away from her. Leading the race early, Natosha Rogers strung out the pack, coming through 3K in 9:22. Bowerman teammate, Sammy Silva, hung on throughout the course of the race, but when it came to the last kilometer, and especially the last 400m, the title was to be decided between Molly Huddle, Shelby Houlihan, Marielle Hall, and Samantha Rowbury. Shelby took the lead at the bell from Huddle, only to be met by a decisive move from Rowbury who swung wide. Coming off the last turn however, Shelby fully sent it down the final 100, pulling away from Huddle and Rowbury, winning the 5K title in 15:13.87 in spectacular fashion.

5,000m Men

It is a rare thing for meet records to fall when it comes to championship racing. Balancing tactics, speed, and strength, Ryan Hill and Lopez Lomong displayed the patience that comes with experience, even in the surprisingly strange race dynamic set by Paul Chelimo’s early full frontal assault of the pace. Racing the peloton (chase-pack), Ryan and Lopez broke away with Eric Jenkins, Emmanuel Bor, and Ben True, who heroically set the pace for the pack. Reminiscent of the last Olympic trials, it would be a kickers race between these few men to clinch the last two spots left open behind Chelimo off the front. Coming into the final kilometer, the peloton whittled down to True, Jenkins, Lomong, and Hill. Four men, two spots. At the bell, Jenkins made a decisive move into second with True and Lomong in tow. Waiting patiently however, was Ryan Hill, who conjured up his final push for home in the last 200m. Swinging wide, he surged away from True and Lomong to take third in 13:16.99, behind Jenkins in second in 13:15.74, and Chelimo in first in 13:08.62.

3,000m Steeplechase Women

As if staring in a mirror, the steeplechase world team ended up being a direct reflection of the USA women sent to Rio last summer. For Bowerman Track Club, that meant that both Courtney Frerichs and Colleen Quigley re-punched their tickets to the world stage by taking second and third respectively. Both Bowerman women had to focus on running their own race while simultaneously gauging their tactics against 5-time defending USA championship winner and Olympic bronze medalist, Emma Coburn. Coburn’s race was dominant, but in an interview said she wanted, “to take the sting” out of the legs of Courtney and Colleen, acknowledging their closing speed. Capitalizing on strength in numbers, Colleen and Courtney played it smart, working together throughout the race to trade the lead and match Coburn’s surges. Courtney noted how calming it can be to have a teammate like Colleen in the race, and together they stayed calm, cool, and collected, as they blazed through the last kilometer.  At the finish, the three women had distanced themselves from the rest the field with Courtney finishing second (9:22.23), Colleen in third (9:25.4) abd Coburn taking another title (9:20.28).

3,000m Steeplechase Men

The phrase “3 times a charm” seems to mean nothing to Evan Jager, who has now doubled his domination in the Steeplechase by taking his Sixth USA outdoor championship title…not to mention in charming fashion. With a slower pace in the early stages of the race, most of the pack was still present as the racing began to happen over the final kilometer. Pulling away at this point was Harun Lagat, Hillary Bor, Stanley Kebenei, Andy Bayer, and Evan Jager. With 800m to go, Lagat and Bor attempted to further string out the field to avoid a completely tactical situation in the last lap. Un-phased however, Jager slid up into striking range and took a commanding lead over the second to last water jump. With Bor, Kebenei, and Bayer in tow, Jager would have to hold off a deep field of speed over the final 400m. Making a decisive move again on the last water jump, Jager surged ahead winning in 8:16.88, leaving the final spots open to Kebenei, Bor, and Bayer. Acknowledging the progression of the event, and marking the fast times run by his fellow Americans this year, Jager was thrilled to win and looks forward to contending for the world title in London.

Bowerman 5k

Jager vs. "Pure Milers" and BTC vs. the 2 Mile Field; Best Matchups to Watch at USATF Indoor Nationals