October 7 – The weather held out for the WWU Classic at Lake Padden in Bellingham on Saturday; teammates Brittany and Katelyn traversed their old college-hosted course side by side once again, finishing with Katelyn in 9th in a time of 21:58 and Brittany in 18th in 22:27. Though BDP did not field a full scoring team, the two kicked a**, and the work put in at Padden will greatly compliment their endeavors at the Lake Padden Trail 1/2 this coming Saturday. It’s not too late to sign up for the Lake Padden Trail 1/2-sign up HERE! Results for the WWU Classic HERE!
October 7 – The Hole in the Wall XC Invite (5k) is a 2-loop mix of grass, track and gravel road, held in Arlington, WA, and teammate, Rachel, home from school in Portland for the weekend, raced, taking 3rd Female in her prospective race, and bettering her time from the same course the year previous. 
October 7-8 – The sold out Oregon Coast 50k proffered not only a CR, but three male competitors under the old CR. Mario Mendoza of Bend shattered the record in a time of 3:42:11, followed by Paul Weeks of Seattle in 3:48:33 and Ryan Kaiser of Bend in 3:54:10. The previous CR was held by Ryan Ghelfi (3:57:58). Teammate Alex Giebelhaus was 37th in 5:12:18, as he works towards the Orcas Island 100 Mile in February. 50k Results HERE! 30k Results HERE!
October 8 – As most of you were probably aware, the Bank of America Chicago Marathon took place on Sunday, and we were obsessively tracking a handful of runners, including our teammate, Amber. Amber was set to nab the OTQ of 2:45, but unfortunately came down with a pretty debilitating sickness, and had to stop at mile 10 of the marathon. We are thankful to the Chicago Marathon medical staff who treated her. It’s extremely disheartening when you train for something that you need to go right on one specific day, only to fall sick, but Amber is passionate and resilient, and we can’t wait to see which race she’ll choose next!
Even if you missed the Chicago Marathon, you probably heard that for the first time in 35 years, an American-born runner won…Galen Rupp (previously Greg Meyer in 1982), in 2:09:18. Letsrun has a great article about it HERE. Yet this wasn’t the only incredible thing to have happened…his Nike Oregon Project teammate, Jordan Hasay, finished 3rd in a time of 2:20:57 (a 2 min. PR, and now 2nd on the all-time list of American marathon performances). It seemed like it was hit or miss for most competitive athletes at this year’s Chicago Marathon, with some breaking new or old ground, and gaining PR’s, showing exemplary fitness, and others having a rough time, hitting the illusive wall. We’re incredibly proud of all, no matter what, and each act of perseverance had us running a little harder on Sunday, in solidarity. Full results for the Chicago Marathon can be found HERE.
WOW. What a weekend. So many distances, cities, states, styles. We’re enthralled and motivated. Fall is definitely racing season, and we couldn’t be more thrilled! Congrats to all those who raced, and best of health to all those in their recoveries.
