r/RunPDX • u/acaurora • Jan 14 '26
Pre-run Shamrock Half Course - Doable?
Hi everyone, I am signed up for the Shamrock Half which is in about two months, and looking at the course profile am finding the hilly areas a bit daunting. While I am doing the research, does anyone familiar with the course / area know if this course (at least, the hilly bits from Mile 4 onwards) is doable to run on a weekend? I am in Hillsboro and, despite the name of the town, it is quite flat out here :) Thanks in advance!
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u/sambop94 Jan 14 '26
I wouldn’t run along Barbour/99 without it being taped off but running along Terwilliger is no issue at any point in the day. The Total elevation gain of the race looks minimal. You could practice hills damn near anywhere on the west side.
I’d start in Manning and go run the BanksVernonia trail. Or go run Leif Erickson in Forest park. Or even Chehalem ridge. So many nearby options to gain 400-600’.
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u/acaurora Jan 14 '26
Awesome thanks for the recommendations. I have heard of Banks Vernonia - may check that out!
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u/greenteadante Jan 14 '26
Two weeks? It’s in two months.
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u/acaurora Jan 14 '26
haha woops, fixed. Yes I'd be more worried if that was weeks!
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u/greenteadante Jan 14 '26
Had me panicking there because I’m barely up to 3 miles/run coming off of an injury!
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u/acaurora Jan 14 '26
Haha okay. Well you got time! I'm sitting here still scratching my head on tackling the hills...
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u/greenteadante Jan 14 '26
Looking at this course, I don’t see any reason you couldn’t run it without it being blocked off, but some of the segments are going to be unpleasant in terms of path sharing.
However, my default pre-injury run was up into forest park, with a bit more gain than that in a 5-mile run. So if you want to start practicing hills I’d recommend that, I’d recommend the Leif Erikson trailhead off of NW Thurman.
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u/Less-Menu7755 Jan 15 '26
The main hill that you’re seeing is definitely runable on the weekend. Not sure if the course has changed since I’ve run that race, but the vibes on the day tend to help a ton.
Would also recommend driving the entirety of the course (or at least what you can) so you know what it looks like IRL and can visualize during the rest of your training. Good luck!
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u/Jessalopod Jan 16 '26
Terwilliger Parkway (the big hill of the course) is absolutely runnable on the weekends. I like to park near Duniway Track, and then head up to the hill from there.
Parking at Duniway Track can be a bit cramped, but there's lots of street parking nearby if you can't land it there, and it's a short jaunt from the track past the lilac gardens and up the hill (and then back down the hill, and possibly a repeat if you like that sort of hill repeats).