2023 Saturdays on the Grass (fall XC!)

The 2023 cross-country season looms, and with Labor Day on the horizon (as in, this coming weekend) it’s time to think about this year’s Saturdays on the Grass cross-country workouts.

So here’s the good news: they are back. The schedule is below, but please realize that this is subject to change depending, among other things, on the vagaries of weather and who knows what else. So bookmark this page, and return to it for updates.

Workouts begin at 9:00 am, warmed up and ready for strides.

Sept. 2. Sellwood Park. Meet at the gate 1 1/2 blocks north of the historic church. Expect a 2K to 1.3 mile loop with pace changes and a steep hill at the finish. Great course for a solid workout.

Sept. 9. Glendoveer. Meet near the practice green, at the west side of the main parking lot off of Glisan. We will run 800m hill reps on chips. This is always popular.

Sept. 16. Sellwood Park. This will be a repeat of Sept 2. It’s the best course around for a hard trainer when there’s not a race the next week.

Sept. 23. Mary S. Young. Practice on part of the course. Meet at the “upper” parking lot. Not that it is “upper” by a lot. It’s on the left, just as the road turns right to swing around the soccer fields.

Sept. 30. Mary S. Young. RACE.

Oct. 7. Gradin Park preview. I’ve never been there, so I don’t know a good meeting place. Let’s assemble at the starting area for the race, for which the map should be posted by today.

Oct 14. Gradin Park. RACE. (Note: this will be during a 95 percent solar eclipse.)

Oct. 21. Pier Park preview. Meet at the traffic circle near the start of the disc golf course, near where we have registration for the race.

Oct. 28. Strawberry Island. RACE

Nov 4 Pier Park. RACE

Nov 11. Fernhill, preview. Meet near the track.

Nov 18. Fernhill. RACE

Nov 25. TBD

Dec. 2. Wilshire Park. This is small enough we’ll easily find each other, but start on the Skidmore side. This is an all-weather chip course, flat, about 1K around. Great for a taper workout. Workout is 6 x l lap (very, very close to 1000m) at tempo effort on 45 sec recoveries. Plus 4 x 30 sec hard.

Dec 9. USATF Club Cross-Country Nationals. Tallahassee, FL. RACE

Dec. 16. TBD. The next five workouts will be targeted on Richmond, if anyone is going. That race will probably be back in the West in 2025 and 2026.

Dec 23 TBD

Dec 30, TBD.

Jan. 6. TBD

Jan 13. TBD

Jan. 20. USATF Cross-Country Nationals. Richmond VA, RACE. End of season.