I [Heart] Mt. Tabor

I didn't need more reason to love Portland's Mt. Tabor Park, but running today's Mt. Tabor Challenge added to the sum of my affection. While it was only 8k (~5 miles) in length, the hilliness of the course, especially the half-mile stretch leading up to the mile 4 marker, fully justifies the word "challenge."

I didn't stick around for the official results or standings, which will in any case be posted online soon enough, but I finished somewhere toward the front of the pack, with a time somewhere close to 33:30, for a per-mile pace in the 6:40's -- good enough to solidify my place among the most accomplished and modest athletes in the history of our species.

Notwithstanding the above, don't move to Portland! It's so ugly here! This photo is a fabrication! Don't believe it!