2024 Top Pot Doughnut Dash 5K: The doughnuts and coffee make this event worth it

Volunteers give out great-tasting Top Pot doughnuts to runners and walkers at the finish line

Yum, that glazed doughnut at the finish line tasted awesome. The coffee wasn’t bad, either. I can see why this race is so popular.

I got an email several weeks ago promoting the 2024 Top Pot Doughnut Dash 5K at Seattle’s Green Lake Park on Sunday, April 21 and decided that this year I was not going to miss it. I’ve now run 263 road races, but never this one before. Turns out, this 12th annual event was being held for the first time in four years — No. 11 was in early 2020 and No. 10 in 2019. The previous three (2021-23) were apparently scuttled due to the pandemic.

The Top Pot Doughnut Dash, which benefits Seattle Children’s Hospital, is named after a small, Seattle-based chain that leverages “a secret 1920s recipe” for its scrumptious doughnuts.

Race organizers said 1,600 runners and walkers signed up to do this year’s race, although the number of finishers totaled 1,309. It’s possible that the overall figure included entrants in the kids’ dash, a shorter race held separately after the 5K run. Regardless, Green Lake Park was overrun with participants and spectators. The porta-potty lines were so long that I barely made it to the starting line on time.

Though this was my first Doughnut Dash, I’ve run more than a dozen races at Green Lake Park — mostly the Love ’em or Leave ’em Valentine’s Day Dash that used to be held here every February before the pandemic. But I hadn’t done a race here since the Green Lake Gobble 5K in November 2019, so it was good to get back to this unique venue where running feels like a religion.

A different starting line for this event

Traditionally, the race starting line has been at what I consider the park’s south side, on asphalt near the Green Lake Small Craft Center. Some of the past 5K races occurred on the park’s inner trail directly around the lake, a 2.8-mile loop that required an extra spur on the course to get to 3.1 miles. More of the events, however, leveraged the surface streets surrounding the park for a combined inner-outer loop that covered 3.1 miles and negated the need for an extra spur.

Sunday’s Top Pot race featured a different starting and finish line — situated on a grass lawn inside the park’s west edge, near the Green Lake Community Center and basketball courts. I’d rather not run hard on grass for fear of reinjuring my bad left ankle, but I managed to avoid any problem. A plus for this course was running a good portion of it on the new street-side bike trail constructed in recent years around the park — it is curbed off to separate runners from cars.

I spent a lot of energy weaving through and around people in the race’s first mile before I could relax and just run. My time was a lackluster 44:39 (14:22.3 per mile), which got me 861st place out of 1,309 finishers. I came in 7th out of 13 in my age group. Full results are here. My two previous 5K races this year were faster, but I still enjoyed running among all the fitness-minded folks who devoted a Sunday morning to this event.

For the record, my best time for a Green Lake race is 25:48 in 2007 and my best time for a 5K anywhere is 24:32 (Bumblebee 5K at the 2005 Holiday Bowl in San Diego). Both came before I underwent surgeries to repair my left ankle, making me more of a jogger now than a runner (but happy to still be running!).

Shout-outs and a personal update

A shout-out to Microsoft and runner friend Jackie Soo, who finished more than 10 minutes ahead of me, but joined me in the coffee line (that’s her holding up the race t-shirt below). Jackie did 5K runs on both Saturday and Sunday this past weekend. Congrats! Another shout-out goes to Nancy Trejo, who I did not see at this race, but who earlier completed her race No. 400. Nice job, Nancy! That’s quite a feat; I’m only at No. 263 and don’t expect to make it to 400.

Alas, I have sad personal news to report: My sister in Portland, Ore., died recently. RIP Bernadette Enbysk.

In other news, my wife and I have purchased a condo on Whidbey Island near Langley and will be moving there from Bellevue sometime this summer. Also, I have come out of retirement — sort of — to work part-time as a writer and editor supporting F5, my previous employer.

The annual All In for Autism 5K run in my hometown of Bellevue is this Sunday, but after running it in each of the last two years, I am skipping it. I feel guilty about this, but I need to get ready for the return of the Emerald City Bike Ride through West Seattle on May 5. After that, I am planning to run the Beat the Bridge 8K in and around the University of Washington on May 19.

Thanks for reading!

Jackie Soo shows off the race t-shirt (click to enlarge)

The coffee line followed the doughnut line

The finish of the kids’ dash

2024 Kirkland Shamrock 5K Run: Sea of green (and a few Ducks fans!) at Juanita Beach Park

The runner at left is wearing a pair of the shamrock green running trunks that came free with a race entry

St. Patrick’s Day holiday runs are almost always fun and festive. I remember doing one such run years ago when a woman running just ahead of me suddenly stopped 500 feet short of the finish line to move to the side and hurl everything she had eaten (and drank!) that morning. I won’t soon forget another race where two women wearing nothing but pasties underneath their green coats flashed runners going the opposite direction down Aurora Avenue in Seattle.

But since I’ve run the St. Patrick’s Day Run in Seattle at least 10 times already, I decided this year to try the newer Eastside St. Patrick’s Day-themed event on Sunday, March 17 — the Kirkland Shamrock 5K Run in Kirkland. Returning after a multi-year pandemic hiatus, it begins and ends at Juanita Beach Park, with a hilly 3.1-mile course that is nearly equal parts uphill, downhill, and flat.

No flashing girls here. This was a family-friendly event (with a beer garden). The sun was out, temps were near 70, and almost everyone was wearing green. Participating runners not only got the customary green running shirts but also shamrock green running trunks — an interesting addition.

As a University of Oregon alum and fan, I’m happy to say that I spotted a few Ducks there adorned in green and yellow. And it was an awesome day to show Duck Pride, as the night before, the Ducks won the Pacific-12 Conference men’s basketball tournament championship in Las Vegas, beating Colorado in exciting fashion. (Go Ducks this week in the NCAA tournament!)

Old Kirkland 5K course goes up and down

It was good to refresh myself on this north Kirkland course, which was the same as what I ran for several years in the Kirkland Half-Marathon 5K (it was also the start and finish of the same event’s half-marathon). This course has never been a favorite. You spend almost a mile climbing Market Street before you turn into a neighborhood and run back down another street. The downhill portion went well, I must admit; I found that I could get a good push without worrying about my ankles and knees.

While I didn’t break any speed records, I got my best 5K time since October 2022, which is something. I finished in 41:43.0 (13:25 per mile), good for 427th place out of 659 finishers and sixth place out of nine in my age group. Full results are here.

Thanks to Snohomish Running Company, this was a well-organized event, despite a late, desperate call for more volunteers. I didn’t notice any lack of oversight, only that there was a lack of bananas and other food treats. But that’s OK. This was nowhere near the size of the St. Patrick’s Day Dash going on in Seattle at the same time — which had 3,233 finishers — but Juanita Beach Park was packed with 1,000 or more people, including spectators and kid’s dash participants, enjoying the weather and holiday spirit.

Congrats to former Microsoft teammates and fellow runners Jen Gaudette and Jackie Soo on their races. Both easily beat me, and Jen got second in her age group. Sorry that I did not see either one of you at the starting line or after that race.

Runs and bike rides ahead

This was only my second race of the year but my 262nd race overall. I’m toying with whether to do the Beat the Bunny 5K Run in Redmond on March 30. But I definitely want to run the Top Pot Doughnut Dash 5K at Seattle’s Green Lake Park on April 21 and the Beat the Bridge 8K at the University of Washington on May 19, sandwiched around the Cascade Bicycle Club’s Emerald City Ride through downtown and West Seattle on May 5.

Thanks for reading!

2024 Alexander’s Hope Valentine’s Day Dash 5K: Fun race, but there’s a reason I wasn’t smiling

The races started and ended at the Redmond City Hall campus. That’s me in yellow to the left.

It’s 2024, and I’m glad to still be running, no matter how well I handle the aging process. I ran my first road race of the year on Saturday, February 10, the day before the Super Bowl. It was my 261st road run overall, and it came two days after losing a major upper tooth in a freak and mysterious accident, so I avoided smiling as much as I could.

The 2024 Alexander’s Hope Valentine’s Day Dash occurred this year in Redmond, on the Sammamish River Trail, after taking place the prior two years in Kirkland. This is a small but well-organized event, thanks largely to members of the Chaffey family, and this year featured a 10K as well as a 5K race. I opted for the 5K, after testing my limits a bit in a 12K in my previous race in mid-December. My journalist, Microsoft, and runner friend Chris Norred joined me in the 5K.

A tooth just to the left of my two front teeth unexpectedly came out as I was eating something soft for a snack — and spooked me big time. This was on a Thursday, just before my Oregon Ducks beat the Washington Huskies, 85-80, in a men’s basketball game. I got through the stressful basketball game OK, but wondered if it would bother me during the run. It did not. In fact, there was no pain during or after the tooth mishap. The biggest pain has been looking in the mirror ever since.

My dentist this past Monday said he believes something happened in my life — maybe decades ago and possibly traumatic — to set the tooth on a path of “dropping out” on me at some point. It cut off at the gumline, with the root still intact. I will get a partial tooth implemented in another week so I can smile again, and am getting set up for an implant in the weeks ahead. The good news, if there is any, is that this happened quickly and painlessly.

Small race leverages a familiar course
As far as the run goes, it went well — mild temperatures, some sun, no rain, and, of course, I relished the largely flat Sammamish trail course. About 175 runners and walkers participated, with 141 finishers in the 5K and 33 in the 10K (a year ago, this event was a 5K-only in Kirkland, with 265 finishers). Bella Chaffey, the lead organizer, told me they moved the race to Redmond because there was more city support and less cost and red tape in getting it scheduled.

We started and ended at Redmond City Hall, running north on the trail to a turnaround point and then heading back. Runners in the 10K went double the distance before turning around. The course was exactly the same as for the Redmond Derby Days Dash, a larger summer 5K race that I did for four straight years from 2016-19 (it went on hiatus during the pandemic). I ran two other recent 5K runs on the Sammamish River Trail, the Retro Run last August and Captain Jack’s Treasure Run in October, which also started and ended at Redmond City Hall but ventured south toward Marymoor Park.

My time was 42:48.87 (13:47 per mile), good for 75th place out of 141 finishers in the 5K. Full results are here. This was 46 seconds slower than my time a year ago and a more difficult Kirkland course, but I felt good about the run anyway. I also was pleased with the comfy new Asics running shoes I’ve just broke in.

I must admit that the oldest runner in the race was an 88-year-old Clyde Hill man, Lucio DiLoreto, beat me by more than 3 minutes. He often does this Valentine’s Day race and looks in great shape. He passed me in the first mile, running with a young woman who may have been his granddaughter, and there was no catching him.

Congrats to him and to Chris Norred, who won his age group and finished 35th overall in 32:47.38. Congrats also to Nancy Trejo, who completed her 393rd race on this day, then ran another 5K in Seattle the following day for No. 394.

Next: Kirkland Shamrock Run on March 17
I have plenty of running options for March, a good month for Hot Chocolate, St. Patrick’s Day and Cherry Blossom-themed runs. So far, I have signed up for the Kirkland Shamrock 5K Run on March 17, my first time doing this race that starts and ends at Juanita Beach Park and likely my race No. 262. Also, I hope to do the Top Pot Doughnut Dash in Seattle’s Green Lake Park for the first time in April.

Thanks for reading! Bear with me until I can smile again.

Lucio DiLoreto, 88, right, is honored as the fastest Male 80+ runner

Nancy Trejo with me pre-race; she inches closer to 400 road runs

Guanxiong Yang of Bellevue finished first in the 10K

Laura Breyman of Kirkland was No. 1 overall in the 5K

Chris Norred, right, won his age group and finished 35th overall

Red-colored race shirts were popular this year

5K and 10K races started together

I finished strong and was happy to cross the finish line

2023 12Ks of Christmas 12K: Road race No. 260 a demanding one, but I endure

Ahh the finish line! Some 723 runners completed the tough 12K race, benefitting from a near half-mile descent that led to the finish at Marina Park

Keep going, legs, keep going! That’s what I kept telling myself as I slogged to the finish of the 12Ks of Christmas 12K run on Sunday, December 10. The 7.45-mile jaunt through Kirkland was my 10th and final run of 2023 and my 260th road race overall.

It was a physically taxing run for me on a course that leveraged the mostly flat Cross Kirkland Corridor trail but was sprinkled with hills through Kirkland neighborhoods, especially in the last two miles. I felt some dizziness through parts of the run — while I believed I trained well by doing several six- and seven-plus mile runs to prepare, it appears that I caffeinated better than I hydrated on the day of the race. Boy, was I glad to make it to the Market Street downhill stretch that led to the finish line. Afterward, I felt almost as spent as after some of my marathons in prior years.

This was my longest race since exactly two years ago when I did this same 12K. Organized by the Snohomish Running Company, this is a fun and festive event, with many runners and walkers dressed in Santa Claus, elf, and Grinch costumes, and seemingly in good spirits. Nearly 1,350 people ran or walked the 12K (723 finishers) and 5K (614 finishers). So glad we had dry weather, even if it was cloudy and mildly chilly.

14th time I’ve done this 12K race

I’ve now done this event more than any other race — 17 times since 2003 (14 times doing the 12K and three times running the 5K, which I ran last year). My PR for this 12K is 1:06:57 in 2005 and my worst time is 1:51:45 in 2012, the year after the first of two surgeries on my left ankle.

Both 12Ks of Christmas races start and end at Marina Park on the downtown Kirkland waterfront. For the current 12K course, you head south on Lake Washington Boulevard to near the border with the city of Bellevue, turn left, and climb a hill up 108th to get on the Cross Kirkland Corridor. You then run this flat, mostly gravel trail for nearly four miles north, passing through the Google campus where you bisect spiffy buildings, basketball courts, and volleyball pits. You exit it onto the hilly Norkirk neighborhood just north of Central Way, which is a major downtown thoroughfare.

Navigating these last few residential streets peppered with roundabouts can be challenging, but at least you know you are close to finishing. Finally getting to Market Street is a good feeling, though I get careful about going all out (worried about knees and ankles) and sprinting downhill to the finish line. It’s always nice to reach Marina Park, even if most runners and spectators have cleared out by the time I do.

One second slower than in 2021

Interestingly enough, on Sunday I finished exactly one second slower than I did in 2021. My time was 1:49:33 (14:42 per mile), good for 693rd place (happy to beat 30 runners!). In 2021, my time was 1:49:32 (14:41 per mile), for a race I somehow remember as easier. I relayed this tidbit about my times to my doctor this morning. “At least you are consistent,” she said with a grin. The full results for 2023 are here.

Chris Norred, at right, took this shot of me (left), Sally Norred (center), and Louie and Oliver Norred in back with friends

Again this year, I got to do this run with members of the running Norred family. My journalist, Microsoft, and Oregon Ducks friend Chris Norred ran the 12K as well, and he and his family patiently waited for me at the finish line (thanks!). His son Louie finished 10th overall in the 12K, a full hour ahead of me; son Oliver came in 12th overall in the 5K and Chris’s wife Sally was third in her age group in the 5K. Congrats to all the Norreds!

My next run would normally be the Resolution Run and Polar Bear Dive 5K at Seattle’s Magnuson Park on January 1. But my Oregon Ducks are playing Liberty in the Fiesta Bowl at the very same time on New Year’s Day, and I would rather watch that, so I will miss the New Year’s Day 2024 run. My next race is likely to be the Alexander’s Hope Valentine’s Day Dash 5K on February 10 in Redmond.

Thanks for reading and Happy Holidays, everyone!

2023 Captain Jack’s Treasure Run 5K: First race in my new age group

Nancy Trejo, at left, snapped this shot; her friend is in the middle, followed by yours truly, Jackie Soo, and Jackie’s husband, Lincoln

Well, I had a birthday more than a week ago, and it was a big one. Seven-oh. As in 70. Yikes! But I got a really nice big-screen TV from my wife as a present, so it wasn’t all bad news.

So, when I ran the Captain Jack’s Treasure Run 5K in Redmond on Sunday, October 29, it was my first road race in my new age group. There were two of us in the men’s 70-74 age group, and I finished second (good job, Bill Denning of Mount Vernon!) and got a small second-place award.

This was a fun and festive Halloween event, with about 570 runners and walkers (it seemed like more than that) participating in 5K, 8K, and 12K races. Many were in costumes ranging from OK to uncomfortable and confining to just plain weird, but all was good and the vibe was cheery. There was music and a beer garden. The weather was great — on the cool side, but dry and sunny.

For the record, the race organizers, Orca Running, apparently capped the race registration, perhaps at 600 total participants. My runner friend Chris Norred tried to sign up a few days before the event but was told it was sold out.

Redmond Town Center spur added appeal for the 5K

In prior years, given the option, I would have chosen the longest race. Not these days. The 5K was an easy choice because it had the most participants and the most interesting course.

All three races started and ended just outside Redmond City Hall and utilized the Sammamish River Trail. But only the 5K course veered off the largely flat Sammamish trail onto the Redmond Town Center trail along Bear Creek Parkway for some new scenery. Redmond Town Center includes offices for Microsoft, Amazon, and other companies, plus lots of restaurants, fitness centers, and shops. We didn’t get to see much beyond the south side of the center but I still liked the course.

As usual, I didn’t break any speed records. I finished in 43:37.58 (14:03 per mile), good for 240th place out of 333 5K finishers. My Microsoft and runner friend Jackie Soo placed 117th overall and third in her age group with a 33:08.37 time. We high-fived as we passed going in different directions near the turnaround. Another runner friend, Nancy Trejo (in a cute, elaborate clown costume), ran the 5K and completed what has to be close to her 400th race. Congrats to both of them and to all the other finishers. Full results are here.

Age and dwindling speed aside, I’m still happy to be running after two surgeries on my left ankle. This was my race No. 259. I again plan to run my traditional end/start-of-year races, the 12Ks of Christmas (still debating whether to do the 12K or the 5K) on December 10 and the Resolution Run 5K on January 1, for numbers 260 and 261.

Thanks for reading and Happy Halloween!

2023 Run of Hope Seattle 5K: Fundraiser for child cancer research packs Seward Park

5K age group and overall winners pose on stage. First-place winner Max Dunn is kneeling second from left.

In many posts for this blog, I have obsessed about the Sammamish River Trail in east King County as a venue for races, bike rides, and training. But I am just as enamored with Seattle’s Seward Park, located on the southwestern shores of Lake Washington. It’s a scenic loop trail that I will always remember as the halfway point of the Seattle Marathon, which I’ve run six times.

The Run of Hope Seattle 5K on Sunday, September 24, provided me a chance to race at Seward Park for the first time in more than a decade. One of the Sammamish River Trail’s virtues is that it is relatively flat. Well, the Seward Park is even flatter — hardly any elevation in the park’s 2.4-mile outer loop. What’s more, you’re unlikely to have speeding bicyclists whiz by you with little concern for your safety.

The 15th annual Run of Hope is a well-organized fundraising event for pediatric cancer research at Seattle Children’s Hospital and featured a 5K run and a 3K walk. About 1,000 people participated in the run or the walk Sunday, including members of the University of Washington men’s basketball team and the Seattle Prep football team. Prior to the race, a few cancer survivors took the stage to inspire those on hand with their personal stories. More than $300,000 was raised through proceeds, donations, and pledges.

It was my first time doing this event, and I was impressed with the turnout and spirit. Also, the weather cooperated — we had mild temperatures in the 60s and a break in the weekend rain showers.

Dodging walkers part of the challenge

As for the race, I ran my second-fastest 5K of the year to finish in 42:42 (13:46 per mile), good for 356th place out of 410 finishers (500 or more others did the untimed walk).

As I said, Seward Park is flat and fast, but its street-sized trail is narrow enough to become congested in an event like this. Because the full loop is only 2.4 miles, the 5K course was an out-and-back to the 1.55-mile mark, running predominantly on the north side of the loop. The 3K walk started 15 minutes after the run, which meant that runners spent the “back” part of the race dodging packs of walkers on the trail.

This is a minor complaint because I did enjoy the run, but the weaving around and between walkers did slow down runners’ times. I talked to the overall 5K race winner, Max Dunn, 29, of Shoreline, who finished in a decent but not exceptional first-place time of 17:34. He noted that a lot of his energy was spent wading through walkers to get to the finish line. Dunn earned first place over Will Hunt, 19, of Seattle, by a matter of milliseconds, as he too endured the packed course. The full results are here.

Kudos to the race organizers, and I was happy to be back running at Seward Park for the first time (that I can remember) since my last Seattle Marathon (and last marathon) in 2012. That was a year after my first ankle surgery in 2011 when my ankle surgeon advised me to stop running marathons — which I did after marathon No. 21.

What’s next? I plan to run my career road race No. 259 in October, my birthday month. There are several options in the Seattle area, including the University of Washington Dawg Dash, the Run with the Kokanees trail run, and the Captain Jack’s Treasure Run. I’ll pick one. Thanks for reading.

Runners and walkers cross the runners’ finish line (click to enlarge)

Two runners who got past the walkers

Race organizers show off the event t-shirt

Two cancer survivors tell their stories

Fast runners line up at the front

Time to get ready to run

Seattle Prep football team members in this pack

Finish line for the 3K walk

University of Washington basketball team members are introduced

2023 Woodinville Wine Ride: Fast, easy ride with a friend; good beer at the end

L’Ecole No. 41 & Montinore Estate near downtown Woodinville was the first of two wine stops for bicyclists during the ride. Cougar Crest Winery, further south along the Sammamish River Trail, was the other stop.

On a pleasant sunny Sunday, I joined as many as 1,000 other bicyclists in riding the Cascade Bicycle Club’s Woodinville Wine Ride on September 10. I did it for the exercise and camaraderie, not the wine.

Some may argue that this flat, 20-mile ride is more a celebration of Woodinville’s wine district than a serious bicycling workout and they may be correct. But I enjoy making the most of flat trail courses and nice weather and appreciate the opportunity to catch up with a friend. And I’m not a big wine drinker.

I did the ride with fellow Microsoft alum Chris Norred, a former journalist and dedicated runner like me. We swapped stories and got caught up while riding relatively fast for long stretches when the course was clear.

We did take in the two wine stops and wine-beer garden at the end but held off on imbibing until we got to the Black Raven Brewery there at the finish line. Yes, the beer went down easy, easier than the ride, which we completed in just under two hours. We were done in time to go watch the Seahawks get drilled by the Rams on TV.

I no longer balk at doing shorter rides

This was my 45th bicycling event since I started doing them for cross-training purposes in 2011, and it is one I might have skipped in earlier years because it was too short (19.64 miles was the actual distance). My very first organized ride was a 25-miler and I felt shortchanged and went out and rode an extra 10 miles to feel like I got a workout. But times have changed (and so has my age). Due to the pandemic and other factors, my longest rides over the last five years have been 40-mile ones. I haven’t done a 100-mile ride since 2017. Also, these days I run nearly twice as many miles as I ride.

The Woodinville Wine Ride is one that I always consider now. In the four times I’ve done this ride, the course has been tweaked or modified each time, but it still leverages the popular Sammamish River Trail for the bulk of the miles. This busy trail is where I have done many road runs and have used it for training for all 21 of my marathons. As a runner, I hug the right side as aggressive bicyclists go whizzing by, some barely missing me. As a bicyclist, I try to be more respectful of defenseless runners and give them lots of room when I pass.

Still, it’s nice to be able to ride fast and not be constantly chugging uphill and this is a ride with a network of flat trails for that. I was in third gear for the entire course. My only nit was a two-mile section of gravel near the end because the newer Willows Road trail is not yet fully paved. But we rode cautiously and my bike tires got through it OK.

This was only my second organized ride for 2023, as I skipped some of the longer rides that I used to do. I will get back to doing road runs for the rest of the year, including training for the 12Ks of Christmas 12K in December. My road race No. 258 is likely to be the Run of Hope Seattle 5K on September 24. Thanks for reading!

The second wine stop at Cougar Crest Winery

Waiting for bib packets at the starting line

Chris Norred finishes just ahead of me

Time to start riding

Riders gather near the ballfields at the first wine stop

Chris Norred (right) and me at the finish line

2023 Retro Run 5K: New race in Redmond for ’80s decade fans

Natalya Kashyrina of Cedar Park, Texas, plays the air guitar after finishing 16th overall and winning her age group in the 5K

The good news is that I finished first in my age group in the first-ever Retro Run 5K, held Sunday, Aug. 6, on the Sammamish River Trail in Redmond.

The bad news is there were no other participants in my age group, as I suspected when my name was called to receive an award that included a small plaque and ’80s-style, Retro Run-branded fanny pack. Oh well.

“It shows you showed up to run,” commented Microsoft friend and fellow runner Jackie Soo, who finished first in her age group out of nine competitors. Thanks, Jackie, for looking at the positive side of it.

Derby Days Dash replacement?
The Retro Run, an ’80s-themed event that also featured an 8K, two-mile run, and kids’ dash, was my first chance in 2023 to do a race on the flat Sammamish trail. I’m not sure who concocted the idea for this event, but it appeared to replace the Redmond Derby Days Dash that I ran for four years (2016-2019). The Derby Days race was canceled in 2020 due to the pandemic. It returned for 2022, but was not held this year for some reason, though the Derby Days community celebration certainly was.

Like the Derby Days 5K, the Retro Run races started and ended outside Redmond City Hall and leveraged the Sammamish River Trail, where I have trained and raced for at least 20 years. To milk the ’80s retro theme, Sunday’s event included a costume contest and air guitar competition. Apologies to all, but I did not enter these. Unlike the Derby Days Dash, it had no live music.

My award-winning 5K finish was 43:17.55 (13:56 per mile), my second-fastest 5K of this year. That was good for 95th place out of 126 participants; as I said, this was a small race. The 8K had only 38 finishers. Race results are here. (As I’ve said many times, I do have a 5K PR of 24:32 in 2005.)

This event was for a great cause — proceeds were to be donated to the Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research. Maybe next year’s event will be bigger.

368 races for Nancy Trejo
Congrats to Jackie for winning her age group and coming in 46th overall and to her husband Lincoln Missner, who also finished ahead of me (I met him for the first time). And a special congrats to Nancy Trejo, who completed her 368th road race overall (and second of the weekend). She makes me feel humble, as I have now completed only 257 races.

The pictures with this post include Jackie posing with her award, me with mine, Jackie and Lincoln at the starting line, and glammed-up Nancy (at left) with a group of us 5K runners. Click on any shot to enlarge.

This was my first race since retiring from F5 last week; I already miss my teammates there. Next for me is the Woodinville Wine Race bicycle ride in September; maybe a September road run as well.

Thanks for reading my blog post No. 200 (!), and how about them Mariners!

2023 Woodridge Fourth of July 5K: Finally did this race in my own neighborhood

A young runner high-fives his dad. Some 200 or more runners and walkers competed, with the fastest time I heard being 18:04 by the teen male age-group winner.

My neighborhood in Bellevue, Wash., Woodridge Hill, celebrates the Fourth of July each year with events that include a 5K run/walk, a kiddie parade, music and food in the park, and a “slip-and-slide” downhill water slide. The festival has been held for more than a decade, minus a couple years’ break for the pandemic.

Unfortunately, much of the neighborhood in the southwest part of the city doesn’t always hear about it. Case in point, my family and I have lived in Woodridge since 1994, but didn’t ever get much notice of it happening in previous years. That changed in 2023, when postcards about the Norwood Swim Club-sponsored celebration were mailed to most (if not all) neighborhood homes in June, and I also saw an online ad for it.

So, for the first time in my 29 years in the ‘hood, I ran the Woodridge Fourth of July 5K on a hot Tuesday (80-degree temps). Some 200 or more others — many of them kids who attend Woodridge Elementary School, but also moms and dads and some of the hill’s more elite runners (not including me), and a few dogs — participated today.

A hilly course, but Woodridge is a hilly neighborhood
The start and finish line was at Norwood Village Neighborhood Park, which fronts the upscale Norwood pool at the very top of the hill behind the school. And the course was a hilly loop that went down (but not too far) on the west side overlooking Interstate 405 (and downtown Bellevue) and back up with a half-mile eastward through the Woodridge Open Space nature trail lining the hill’s north and northeast sides.

We were a couple streets north of my home coming out of the trail, heading back westward, and dropping down again to the Woodridge Swim Pool (a different pool). There we turned back on the main drag 121st Avenue S.E. and ran uphill on sidewalks to the finish at the Norwood park and pool.

The Woodridge Open Space trail was a narrow path and rough terrain, but perfect for making the 3.10-mile race more challenging. Fortunately, I’ve walked and run it several times and was familiar enough with it to avoid taking a wrong turn or stumbling over the tree roots that stick out on the hard mud surface.

As a free neighborhood race, bibs were not worn and official times not kept — but a race clock stood at the finish line to help determine age-group winners. I clocked in at 46:27 (15:01 per mile), which had me behind most runners and ahead of most walkers. It was anything but a flat 5K, but I enjoyed it and would do it again, ankle problems and all. And I will proudly wear my “King/Queen of the Hill” race shirt.

This was my 256th road run since 2001. Thanks to the Norwood Swim Club organizers, to all the course volunteers, and to Wes Jones & Associates, the Bellevue real-estate company that financed the mailings and online ads that publicized the event.

2023 Bellevue Lake to Lake Bike Ride: Wet and wild

Fewer than 250 riders turned out on a rainy Saturday for this year’s Lake to Lake Ride, and the rest stop at Enatai Beach Park, normally crowded for this event, was quiet

The weather in my hometown of Bellevue, Wash., has been generally warm and dry, even downright hot, in recent weeks. So, it was a surprise to me that my first organized bicycle ride of the year, the Lake to Lake Ride through Bellevue (from Lake Sammamish to Lake Washington and back) on Saturday, June 10, would take place in an hourslong downpour. It was sprinkling at the starting line and then constant rain until we finished.

My bike and I ended up a wet, dirty mess after navigating the parks and trails interspersed between the busy arterials and neighborhood streets in the complicated 24-mile course.

Fortunately, I enjoyed the challenge and had someone to ride with. Theresa, a fitness-minded mom from southeast Pennslyvania (near the border with Delaware), was in the Seattle area to visit her son interning at Boeing and decided to rent a bike and do the ride. She knew little about Bellevue and the nuances of this course. After a small group of riders converged early in the ride to discuss whether we were going the right way or not, she decided she should follow me (I mentioned I’ve lived in Bellevue since 1985).

Following me meant her hearing all about various landmarks in town, where famous people like Russell Wilson and Bill Gates lived, the legend of Bellevue Square, the Amazon and Microsoft buildings, and more. We got soaked while we talked and rode. Theresa is also a runner, like me, and has done 13 Boston Marathons (she wore an authentic Boston Marathon coat) with an overall marathon PR of 3:10. While I’ve run 21 marathons myself, I admitted to her that my personal best was only 4:29.

A bicycle tour of Bellevue
The ride started and ended at Robinswood Community Park in east Bellevue. We first headed west down the Lake Hills Connector to Kelsey Creek Park, then north to the Spring District (dead on a rainy Saturday), and westward again through downtown Bellevue. As we passed by the Downtown Park, the skies started to open wider. We rode south up and down through west Bellevue neighborhoods and Beaux Arts Village until a midrace rest stop at Enatai Beach Park on Lake Washington.

When I did the ride a year ago, many riders congregated at this Enatai Beach stop for rest, food, and conversation under the sun. But this year, in constant rain, people blew through there, used the restrooms, and headed back out. Going back out meant riding the narrow paths along I-90 and then taking a roadway along the west side of I-405 that turned into a construction zone. It was not particularly safe riding, especially in the rain. But also not very intuitive for someone from the East Coast. But I was able to lead Theresa through it because this is all near where I live.

We meandered under I-405 heading east on S.E. 8th Street, then turned south onto Richards Road, and got ready for the toughest hill of the ride — going up Kamber Road. Neither of us could conquer the first part of the hill up Kamber, which is the steepest, so we walked a bit until the latter half of the hill, which is manageable. After that, more trails around Sammamish High School, plus the Lake Hills Greenbelt by Larsen and Phantom lakes, through the Spiritridge neighborhood, past the Microsoft Advanta campus, and, finally, to a series of dirt trails that led back to Robinswood. It would have been so easy to veer off course or get lost, but the course markings proved helpful.

The ride in the rain, including stops and pictures, took us 3 1/2 hours.

Smaller turnout, but still many families
This was the 10th year of the Lake to Lake Ride, organized by the city of Bellevue’s Parks and Community Services department — which is why it includes so many jaunts through different city parks and narrow trail systems, some of which require dismounting and walking your bike to avoid spills and collisions.

The ride (my phone app measured the course at 23.38 miles) was held along with a shorter, 8-mile event on a course confined to east Bellevue. In 2022, some 250 riders did either course; this year, I’d be surprised if there were 200 who participated, due to the threat of rain (which I did not take seriously). Still, there were entire families with young children riding together again this year.

I’ve done 44 organized rides since 2011, counting this one, and hope to do at least one or two more this year. But no centuries — I’ve done seven 100-mile-plus rides, including the Ride from Seattle to Vancouver (B.C.) and Party (RSVP) in 2014 — but probably no more. I’m happy to scale back to 25-mile rides these days. Eyeing the Woodinville Wine Ride again on Sept. 11.

Thanks for reading!