Coach's Update
Next week!
Hello, UO Running Club
Saturday, September 13, 2026
We’re just a week away from our first running together this fall! The week before classes start, beginning Sept 21, we’ll meet at 10am on the intramural field next to the rec center, Monday through Friday.
Starting the first day of classes (Sept 28), we’ll meet in the same spot at 3pm.
‘Show up any day that fits your schedule. We know that many of you will be really busy!
We have two volleyball matches to cover as ball crew this week. Read below...
WHEN WE START IN THE FALL… (same as last week)
The Running Club is a great way to get together with other students to enjoy … running!
‘Show up when you can! Everything we do is optional! You race if you wish. And the races are really varied!
September races are on your own. We will not provide entries, fees, or transportation. To race cross country unattached, you’ll need to create an account on AthleticNet.
Sprinters have other workout times but everyone is welcome at 3pm on school days!
Our sprint coordinator, Ananya Khanna, will have details. Fall term sprint workouts once school starts will be Tuesday and Thursday at 5:30pm on the square track around the tennis courts.
Tuesdays our distance runners will have a “hard day” option, a workout everyone can do. Thursdays (or Fridays) we will have another chance to do something more than a relaxed run, if you wish.
We have a race opportunity every weekend for the first month of school. You choose which (if any) you want to do. Some are very low-key; some are more competitive. No races at all? Fine!
We’ll have our traditional day-trip up the McKenzie in October.
THIS YEAR’S STUDENT LEADERS
We’re in good hands with our student leadership!
Rosie Baquie, coordinator, <rbaquie@uoregon.edu>
Ananya Khanna, sprint coordinator, anagetsmail@gmail.com
Jacob Long, coordinator, <jalo@uoregon.edu>
Alan Kolesnikov, webmaster, <alko@uoregon.edu>
VOLLEYBALL CREW …THURSDAY, SUNDAY...
If you’re in Eugene, please help us.
The women’s intercollegiate volleyball team asks us to be their ball crew for home matches. We’ve been doing it for 20 years! The Running Club gets $125 per match, so it’s a good fundraiser for us…
There are two volleyball matches the next weekend and we are committed to provide our ball crew.
We provide 5-6 people for each match. We can have two newcomers for each match and we need to have four veterans (people who’ve worked a match previously).
The matches might be done in 90 minutes but can last over two hours. They’re in Matt Knight Arena.
We roll balls along the sideline and toss a ball to the next server. It’s fun!
Matches:
Thursday, September 17, 6:00pm, UO vs Portland State
Sunday, September 20, 1:00pm, UO vs Oregon State
You’d need to arrive 45 minutes before the scheduled start time.
If you can help, please contact me at <heino@uoregon.edu> or text me at 541-954-0263.
$50! (same as last week)
We will charge $50 to be in the Running Club for the whole 2025-26 school year. We have a fundraising requirement to be a Club Sport. And every van which we drive to a meet in Oregon or a weekend excursion costs our Club about $100.
So, your first week of Club attendance will be free. After that it’s $50 for the rest of the school year. What a bargain!
Cash is always good, but we’ll have a couple of ways you’ll be able to go online too.
WEEK #8 WITH FASTER RUNNING
Summer buildup Week #8, beginning September 14.
Here are two “hard day” workouts which you can do any day this week:
Minute runs -- These are race-paced reps of one minute with just 30 seconds of jogging between. No walking. Do at least 12 one-minute runs, no more than 18. It’s a short workout, which gets intense, and is very effective. If 30 seconds of rest is just too little, increase it to one minute. Do it on a soft surface!
Tempo run -- 14:00-20:00 at lactate threshold. This is slower than your XC race tempo, but faster than your steady run. Physiologically, it is the fastest pace at which you produce lactate in your working muscles and clear it at the same rate. It starts off feeling brisk and easy, then is more difficult to sustain, but doesn’t feel like a race effort. It’s okay to do this on pavement.
All other days are for relaxed, aerobic runs. Fun! Increase your longest run by one mile this week if you feel ready to.
If you have NOT done any of the first seven weeks of faster running, do NOT do these workouts. Just get out for an easy run most days!
SEPTEMBER: WEEK #7 OF HARDER RUNNING
We now have three weeks until school starts.
Here is Week #7, beginning September 7:
Hill reps -- Do 20-30 minutes of hill running, like two weeks ago. Run up, jog down. Don’t run faster or harder than race effort uphill...very easy on the downhill unless the downhill is very gentle. The 20-30 minutes is total running time including both uphill and downhill, excluding warmup and cooldown.
Later in the week:
Cruise intervals -- 3-5 x 4:00 with just 1:00 jog recovery. You should know now that these reps are run at lactate threshold, the same as tempo run pace (“One hour race pace”). Cruise intervals are a tempo run broken up into repetitions with very short rest. Some people feel that cruise intervals are less stressful than a tempo run. Others feel that it’s easier to find a groove doing a tempo run, and that the speeding up and slowing down in a cruise interval workout is challenging.
Long run -- same as last week.
—— Week #6 is below ——
a) 4-5 x 3:00 (current XC race pace) with 2-3:00 jog-walk. Do this on a soft surface, not pavement.
b) On another day, do relaxed strides...10-15, with 1:00 of walk and jog between. Do every third stride harder than the others. Run this on track, grass or dirt...not pavement.
c) On another day, during your easy run, do two brisk reps of 4:00...these are just at lactate threshold. They should feel good! Remember, that’s “one-hour race pace”. You don’t look like you’re just out for an easy run.
d) Increase your weekly long run by one mile if that seems reasonable. The goal is to be able to do 12-15 miles routinely during the season, on the weekend.
POSSIBLE RACES THIS FALL (same as last week)
The September cross country races listed below are mostly before we even start running together this fall. For both the races through September 26, you would need to register yourself, pay that meet’s entry fee and provide your own transportation.
For the Willamette Invitational on Saturday, Oct 3, and the George Oja Invitational on Saturday, Oct 17, we WILL provide two vans, pay the fee, and enter you, if you wish to race. Entries will probably open two weeks before the race.
The Platypus cross country race vs the OSU Club is on Saturday, October 10. It’s 5km on Amazon Trail here in Eugene in mid-morning. Both schools have home football games that day. We’ll make it work! This race is very informal.
These races are all cross country races except the last two. Most of you won’t be on campus until the October races. Men run 6km or 8m in all the collegiate races. Women run 5km or 6km. Platypus is 5km for both. All races are optional!
Fri Sept 11 Ash Creek Collegiate Ash Creek Preserve (WOU host)
--on your own
Sat Sept 26 Mike Johnson Classic Ash Creek Preserve (WOU host)
--on your own
Sat Oct 3 Willamette Invit ational Bush Park, Salem
Sat Oct 10 Platypus Dual UO Running Club vs OSU Running Club 5km Amazon Trail in Eugene … probably 10am. Combined race
Sat, Oct 17, George Oja Invitational outside Salem, women 6km, men 8km
Fri, Oct 30, Run with the Duck road race, FREE, “5km” usually short, 12 noon
Sun, Nov 22, Run-to-Stay-Warm … read below!
BIG FINISH FOR FALL TERM (same as last week)
‘Need a culminating event for your fall term running? How about the Run to Stay Warm on November 22? It’s in Eugene, just two miles from campus! There is half-marathon, also a 10K and a 5K. Details at: https://runtostaywarm.com/
NEWCOMERS … NOW FIFTEEN
We have 15 newcomers for 2026-27:
Marcella Palmer, Sioux City North HS, Sioux City IA, <Cella.Josephine@outlook.com>
Amos Unger, International School Bangkok, Thailand, <ungeramos7@gmail.com>
Izaak Mardon, Franklin HS, Portland, <izaakm@uoregon.edu
Torsten Zornes, Oregon City HS, <tzornes@uoregon.edu>
Brendan Anstead, Yorba Linda HS CA, <banstead@uoregon.edu>
Jaelyn Wilkins, Heritage HS, Brentwood COLO, <jaelynw@uoregon.edu>
Yasmina Moore, Santa Fe Christian HS, Solana Beach CA, <yasmina@uoregon.edu>
Paxton Buelow, Lakewood HS, COLO, <wbuelow@uoregon.edu>
Charlotte Herman, St. Michaels HS, Santa Fe NM, <charh@uoregon.edu>
Liam Gibson, Neah-Kah-Nie HS, OR, <gibsonliam270@gmail.com>
Lexi Minard, St. Ambrose U, Davenport IA, <aminard@uoregon.edu>
Audrey Davidson, Mountain View HS, CA, <acdav@uoregon.edu>
Ryan Nations, Sherwood HS, OR, <ryannations700@gmail.com>
Bennett Bhatia, Redmond HS, WA, <bbhatia@uoregon.edu>
Gianna Matranga, West Ranch HS, Stevenson Ranch CA, <matranga@uoregon.edu>
Welcome, all!
‘See you on the turf field,
Tom Heinonen
coach
cell 541-954-0263
Add "Platypus Run" to your calendar! 10/10/2026
