T-Minus 10 Days

We're back!

Man, how the months have flown by. We were on the fall/winter cusp as we pondered the possibilities for CIM race morning. What an interesting day that turned out to be—hardly frightful, but definitely not without challenges. The below-freezing chill at the start wasn't unusual, but the molasses-like climb of the mercury—it was barely nudging 40F when I finished—kept us on our toes. Or kept our toes numb. Worse was the wind, gusting well over 15 mph on those long southbound stretches. Then again, the rain held off until later in the day, so all in all not that bad.

Onto Eugene.

Let's start with a little climatology....

May 2 Historical Averages for Eugene

High: 64
Low: 41
Rainfall: 0.10 inches

So it's generally mild, maybe a little wet. But let's dig deeper. This will be the fourth Eugene Marathon. What have conditions been for the previous three?

Race Day in Eugene

2009 (May 3)
Temperature
7 a.m.: 48
10 a.m.: 52
Sky
7 a.m.: Light rain
10 a.m.: Overcast
Wind
7 a.m.: Calm
10 a.m.: 4 mph WSW
Rainfall
7 a.m. - noon: 0.04 inches

2008 (May 4)
Temperature
7 a.m.: 40
10 a.m.: 49
Sky
7 a.m.: Clear
10 a.m.: Overcast
Wind
7 a.m.: 6 mph NNE
10 a.m.: 12 mph NNE
Rainfall
7 a.m. - noon: 0

2007 (April 29)
Temperature
7 a.m.: 44
10 a.m.: 53
Sky
7 a.m.: Clear
10 a.m.: Scattered clouds
Wind
7 a.m.: Calm
10 a.m.: 6 mph N
Rainfall
7 a.m. - noon: 0