Southern Oregon Runners

Latest News

New course for the Rogue River Half Marathon

With a new course, there are many new age group records (and CRs, of course). Mercy Ray and Jonathan Cornish win the 5k. Sera Mathews and Matthew Thomas take the half marathon. Results Click here

Perfect weather for couples

80 2-person teams and 18 solo runners finished the 2011 Couples Truffle Shuffle event, run as a 2 X 5 Km. relay. See the results: Click here

Rogue Valley Runners store owner Hal Koerner wins the Rocky Raccoon 100 miler in a blazing 13:24:52 on February 4. Hal also landded a #8 ranking nationally in the 2011 North American Ultrarunner of the Year list. Ashland's Timothy Olson won the national 100 Km. championship Bandera 100 Km. race on January 7 in 8:38:40. He came in at #10 in the 2011 rankings.

See the 2011 ultrarunner national rankings here


Hal Koerner at Rocky Raccoon	Timothy Olson at Bandera

Hot winning times for the Frostbite Run

We don't remember the last time we had a sub-18 5k in the women's race, but Mercy Ray turned in a blazing 17:57. A CR by far. Camden Stemple repeats as men's 5k winner in 17:06. Glenn Tucker came back to the area to notch a win in the 10k with 33 minutes flat. Kierra Huggins gets the nod for the ladies with a 40:34. Results are in: Click here

Thanks to all who came out and ran the 2012 Frostbite Run. The new location was a big hit (getting away from the hills of Talent was well received!) and running a new course always makes for a great time. A record 175 racers makes this year the largest run Frostbite in the 5 years I have been directing it. Everyone can thank Steve Buxton (our new co-Pear Blossom Run director) for the great 5k lollipop course. It was all his idea. Thank you Steve! The Madrone Trail Public Charter School which was our start is receiving part of the race proceeds. The school thanks all the runners for the support! Great weather and great runners! Always a bonus!!

--Krista Peterson, Race Director

Local Runners at the Olympic Marathon Trials

Max King at Trials

Photo: khou.com

Medford's Liana Bernard runs a 3:01:05, Crater H.S. alum Max King finishes 19th with a big PR of 2:14:36. Ashland's Jenn Shelton suffered an injury part way through. Read about it here in the Mail Tribune.

Looking for a group to train with? Winter running can be much easier when you've got partners. Several SOR members were interviewed for this Sunday Jan 15 Mail Tribune story

Welcome, 2012!

Changes Ahead

With the new year upon us many people are determined to make changes in their lives. If one of those changes is to become healthier and more fit, joining the Southern Oregon Runners is a great way to accomplish that goal. Come join us on New Years day at the Jacksonville Inn for our Resolution Run! This event is the only event all year that is a members only event. It's not a race but a chance to just run with friends and make new friends. You can run from 1 up to 6 miles. It's your choice. Afterward we have a great brunch at the Jacksonville Inn while the Runner of the Year awards are given out. Joining the club has never been easier. Here is a link to our new low cost online signup!

CLICK HERE

Turkey Trot was Big Success!

Turkey Trot 2011
Photo by: Andy Atkinson

Even the weather cooperated! It poured most of the night before but when race time came, not a drop in the sky. The temperature was a balmy 40 degrees. This year we had record turnout. There were over 1,000 runners, volunteers, and spectators. The Turkey Trot has turned into a great family event. For many families the Turkey Trot is now a yearly tradition.

Jorge Juarez from Phoenix Oregon smokes the 2 mile course. His 9:42 race time was definitely a course record. Michele Holcomb set a course record for the women on the 2 mile course with a time of 12:19. In the 8 mile race speedster Trevor Palmer scorched the 8 mile course in 41:12 and for the women Marci Klimek set a course record with an amazing 47:34.

This year we set a record on food donated to Access Food Share. We collected 741 pounds of food! You guys are awesome!! The numbers aren't finalized yet but it looks like we may be able to write a check to Access for around $12,000.00. For every dollar that is raised Access is able to provide 5 meals. That means that this will be able to help provide 60,000 meals!!! That is thanks to all of you. This would not be possible without your help.

SOR Member Hal Koerner smashes course record at the Javelina Jundred 100 mile ultramarathon.

Photo By: Matt Haggen

Many of you know Hal as the owner of Rogue Valley Runners. I had a chance to catch up with Hal and ask him about his latest accomplishment.

SOR: What was the weather like?

Hal: I had been watching it all week as it looked like we might have rain but it slowly changed to mid 70's for Saturday. Luckily the sun wasn't out all day though and I was able to enjoy some milder temps. Many finishers however had to endure rain and mud through the night, that was quite unfortunate.

SOR: At what point in the race did you take the lead?

Hal: I was with the lead group of Jay Aldous and Zach Gingerich for the first loop but Zach and I steadily pulled away from jay around mile 20 and then I ran alone from the 23-24 mile mark.

SOR: Did you go through any rough patches during the race?

Hal: Surprisingly no? Of course there were moments of extreme fatigue but I kept my stomach together and my legs felt great all day. I tried to keep up on Salts and GU and GUBRew and water as best I could and that strict fueling really helped.

SOR: Anything else that you can think of that would be interesting?

Hal: I had some tough competition from the 2011 Wasatch Front 100 winner, he was about 7-10 minutes behind me all day and on each of the loops, it's a washingmachine type loop, I could see him. It was unnerving at times but he definitely helped push me to the new CR time. To run 8:05 miles for 100 miles is never easy but I was happy with the effort.

For more information:

What a great day for an event! Oregons oldest run lived up to it's billing. Today under awesome weather we ran the Pioneer Road Run 2011. This years field was very fast, including what we think is the Rogue Valley's first sub-15 5k.. There were many students from the local high schools. With 9 mile, 5K, and a kids run there was something for everyone. This was the final time race director Jan Griffin will direct this event because she will be moving to Eugene. We will really miss Joe and Jan. Read the results here

Pioneer Run 2011
The weather was amazing! It looks like a summer day

This past weekend the Rogue Valley Runners hosted the USATF National Trail Marathon championships at Lithia Loop Trail Marathon. The runners were not only challenged with 3,000 feet of elevation gain in the first 8 miles of the marathon but winter weather to boot! Even with all of that, Max King broke his course record by over 10 minutes. This picture of Jenn Shelton says it all. For more information and race results click HERE.

Lithia Loop

Jenn Shelton at mile 15 Lithia Loop Trail Marathon 2011

Grants Pass Half Marathon

On Saturday October 29th Competitive Athletics put on the Grants Pass Half Marathon/10K/5K. They had a great turnout and many SOR members dominated the results. The course was very scenic and included several bridges. If you have not done this event, it's a great way to see Grants Pass. Here is a link to the results and the pictures.

Many SOR members ran the first annual Rogue Run half marathon recently. Check out the article in the Medford Mail Tribune written by our own Daniel Newberry here. The results are located here.

Who we are
Oregon's oldest running club, the Southern Oregon Runners, has been an integral part of the running scene in Southern Oregon promoting health and fitness through running, for the beginning runner and the prospective Olympian alike. ~ Club History ~
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Come Join Us Tuesday, March 6th 6:30 PM at 2105 Roberts Road Medford, Oregon 541.773.3708
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