On Sunday, April 27, Hayward Field transformed into a finish line for the Eugene half and full Marathon. The 5k was held the previous day in the same location.
At 7:00 a.m., spectators lined down Agate Street to watch the waves of runners start their race, many of whom were University of Oregon students.
Lauren Englet, a lifelong Eugene resident, began her running journey after she wandered upon the course by chance.
“As a sophomore in college, I actually ended up walking into where the course was for the half and the full. It was the most incredible thing I’d ever seen,” Englet said. “I knew in that moment, ‘Oh my gosh, I have to come back and race.’”
Englet described the energy on the starting line as “electric.”
“Right before the gun goes off, they played ‘Thunderstruck’ by AC/DC,” Englet said. “It was this really electric feeling just coming from the people that were standing on my left and right side, also in front of me and behind me,” Englet said.
Englet said she was nervous about the race.
“I always feel a little bit nervous when I’m at the starting line, but what really helped center me is focusing on the fact that I’m not running alone,” Englet said.
The sense of community was shared by UO freshman Heidi Thalman, who ran the half marathon for the first time this year.
“If I went down my floor, one of every five doors I knocked on, someone in that room would be running,” Thalman said.
Thalman said that she was “surprised” that everyone who participated came from a different running background.
“I didn’t expect them to be running, because they’ve never mentioned anything about being interested in it before. It’s just really fun because a lot of us are coming from a beginner foundation, and there are other people who are just freaks of nature and have been running forever,” Thalman said.
Thalman said her experience was improved by the community.
“People (were) literally trading gels or sharing music. They’ve made it a way happier and more joyful experience than I thought something like running could ever be,” she said.
Sam Coronado, a sophomore, started training with little experience in distance running.
“I’ve always been running, but like in sports, like in soccer and basketball. Never just running. Like, I never just ran casually any distance,” Coronado said. “This is definitely something different, but it’s good. I’m excited.”
Thalman echoed Coronado’s sentiments, explaining that she had not run regularly since middle school. Her first time back, she took to the Hayward track at 10:30 p.m.
“I walked over to the track, and it was pouring with rain, and I did my little laps, and that was the first time I was like, ‘Oh, wait, I actually have a competent body.’ So now every time I start freaking myself out about distance, I just go back to that track, my little laps in the dark,” Thalman said.
Thalman, an avid Olympics watcher and daughter of two runners, said that walking around Hayward made her “giddy” when she toured UO. Now, she said she wakes up each morning to a view of the track.
“I don’t think I would have tried for a half… if it was like two hours away, I wouldn’t have thought anything of it, which is crazy to think of now, because I really love it,” Thalman said. “That’s all because of where we are, the fact that I have to stare at Hayward Field every day.”
Thalman said this race shifted her perspective on running and her personal identity.
“I used to avoid pushing myself in running because the rest of my family had so much experience with it,” Thalman said. “I didn’t think it could be something I truly enjoyed; it felt like it belonged to them. But coming here and seeing so many people running at different levels and from so many different backgrounds made me realize I can claim a little piece of running for myself.”
With the finisher’s medal around her neck, Thalman expressed her excitement.
“I’m feeling pretty fabulous! I’m ready for some chocolate chip pancakes,” Thalman said.
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