Adrian, Oregon

Have you ever heard of Adrian, Oregon? I never have until last month. Adrian is home of the Antelopes, with green and yellow colors. With a population in July, 2021 of 177, Adrian became last weekend's destination.

When I started doing half marathons 5 years ago, I regularly search on-line for races in my area and beyond. My favorite is a half marathon calendar site. I search by date or state, Washington, Oregon, Idaho & Montana mainly. Last month one called Owyhee off-road challenge caught my eye. It had a 55K, half, 10K and 5K option. With the 55K (34.175 miles) in the works, I knew I'd have plenty of time to complete a half. With a 6 hour drive it took a bit of thought. This would be my first half since October, and with quite an elevation gain of 1377. But after looking at what I've done in the past I thought I could manage. If I got there and changed my mind, I knew I could drop down to a 10K. I should have dropped down to the 10K, but more on that later.

It promised breathtaking views of the Snake River and Owyhee Valley. And all proceeds from this 7th annual event are going to help fund the track field for this small town. Ok, I'm in. This tiny community in the middle of nowhere, off of any main road has found a way with the support of the entire town, and the resources around them to fund their needs.

With a 1st through 12th enrollment of 199 students, the district must draw from a large area. The proceeds from all 7 years of this event have been going strictly to fund their track field, which is apparently nonexistent. With the price tag increasing with each year, this is an ongoing task. They did have an endorsement from Nike at one point that had promise of funds coming their way, but that got pulled. When they started this project the price tag was 600,000, now it's nearing a million. Here is an exert from their web site.

Run for the runners!

Proceeds from the Owyhee Off-Road Challenge and all donations will go towards a new track facility for the small rural community of Adrian, Oregon.

The small, rural community of Adrian and their track athletes need your support. Adrian's current track is NOT a standard shape or length and is made of dirt. The poor surface makes it difficult for community members to exercise during seasons when the track might be wet and muddy. The shape and dirt surface also makes it extremely challenging for track athletes to perform basic training routines such as starts and hand-offs and makes practice for hurdles nearly impossible.

With no sidewalks or walking paths in town, community members do not have access to safe walking or running facilities. In addition, Adrian's track athletes must travel to use neighboring schools' facilities for practice after those teams have finished. Not having adequate practice facilities puts the Adrian athletes at a disadvantage when it comes time to compete.

A standard-size, rubberized track and safe facilities should be accessible for all young athletes and residents. Please join us in our efforts to provide a real track for the Adrian Community.

The start, finish line in small town America

After my climb up overlooking Adrian.

Now on to my race, if you could call it that. Man was it hard. The first mile was flat, then we climbed up 3 miles onto the Owyhee Mountain top. I got that done, slowly, and hoped the worst was behind me. It wasn't. We walked through a lot of powdered dirt, annoying but okay. What I didn't anticipate was the sand. Sometimes quite deep in the ruts of the road. By mile 5, I started to feel by calves seize up just a bit. I have had that happen twice before, but towards the end, not this early in a half. And the elevation increase didn't end there. I could see a hill looming in the distance with little stick people walking up it. I found out they call that Swear Hill, and it was part of my trail. I kept going, through a few more aid stations, stopping just enough to get more energy which was waning fast. One thing this event had, was lots of aid stations and helpers. The trail had volunteers on side by sides going back and forth making sure all was well. I told them I might just have to take a DNF on this one. My legs were like rubber, my calves were feeling it, and my energy was gone. By mile 6 I told them I would keep going, but not sure I could make it up Swear Hill. We were following a well-worn track made by 4x4's that grinded their way through the terrain, hence the deep sand that was a struggle to walk through. The track was flanked by sage brush and rocks, so you really didn't have much option but to keep in the road. Up and over more hills then Swear Hill loomed in front of me. They say after Swear Hill it's all downhill from there. I started up, then I threw in the towel at 8.72 long tough miles.

My views from up top

My first DNF. As I sat in the side by side and continued in comfort, I was glad I stopped. Parts of it may have gotten easier, but more deep sand, and a few rolling hills, I don't think so, not for another 4 plus miles, 3 of which would have been tough. My driver told me he pulled 2 thirty-year-old guys off here 2 years ago. They started too fast, burned out and didn't make it as far as I did. If he was trying to make me feel better, it helped. I have seen DNF's in other races, usually from falls and twisted ankles. Many people find their limits, their breaking point, their line in the sand. Well, I found mine at the base of Swear Hill.I did get to go somewhere I have never been before, got a cool shirt, just not one of their hand-crafted medals. Their after-race meal was actually one of the best I have had with chicken, rice, beans, corn, nachos and assorted desserts. This was the first year they included the Ultra 55K with 21 completing it. 305 people completed all 4 distances. Those Ultras bring in a lot of athletes, so I hope the word gets out and this continues to grow. It was reported they took in $13,000 that day for their track field.

The dirt roads, the easy part.

I didn't get pictures of the sandy parts.

As I road down the rest of the way my driver, who has lived here his entire life, told me the town made national news recently. Their school got fined for some Covid violations and fired their superintendent. He was following too closely Governor Kate Browns mandates, and not what the school board wanted so they got rid of him. I think I know why Nike pulled their funding. They received the largest fine of a school in Oregon. Search 'Oregon School District facing $11,000 in fines' if the below video doesn't load.

Following is a YouTube video I found.

www.https://youtu.be/6SDR5ECm7Uw