Courses
EXPLORE THE COURSES
Click on the courses below for interactive maps and thorough course descriptions.
6k Course
Quick Facts
- Distance: 6k
- Elevation: + 60 - 60 ft
- Aid Station: Yes
Wetlands, Waterways, and Wildlife Preserves
The 6k Worst Day of the Year Run course (3.9 miles) is the perfect course for both athletes and sightseers, runners and walkers, adults and kids of all ages. With only 60 feet of elevation gain over the entire course, the course is smooth, fast, and flat, flat, flat. This even terrain will allow your eyes to wander to the beautiful scenery and wildlife along the course.
The Worst Day of the Year Run is a bird watching bonanza. It winds through wetlands, waterways, and wildlife preserves. Beginning with the aptly named Heron Lakes Golf Course, you will see gaggles of hardy geese who waved goodbye to their migrating brethren and hunkered down to weather the Oregon winter. With the rolling hills of the golf course on your right and the fields surrounding Portland International Raceway on your left, ducks are everywhere; braces on the ground, flocks in flight, and paddlings on the water. Speaking of water, look carefully for Great Blue Herons along the banks of the Columbia Slough.
8k Course
Quick Facts
- Distance: 8k
- Elevation: + 72 - 71 ft
- Aid Station: Yes
Paths, Preserves, and Portland International Raceway
The 8k Worst Day of the Year Run course (5.2 miles) is the bigger brother of the 6k course. With only 71 feet of elevation gain over the entire course, this course is also smooth, fast, and flat, flat, flat. The extra 11 feet of elevation will allow you to gaze down upon the Heron Lakes Golf Course, Columbia Slough, and Portland International Raceway track.
Not only does the course wind past beautiful scenery chock full of wildlife, it also showcases some of Portland finest recreational infrastructure. After mile #1 on Marine Drive, runners turn onto the wide pathway of the Peninsula Crossing Trail, uniting North Portland with the scenic wonderland of Smith and Bybee Lakes. Turn left, dip under a railroad trestle, and pop up on the Columbia Slough Trail. This trail, atop the dyke, meanders along with the slough on your right the entire way. Numerous varieties of ducks, some hardy geese, and Great Blue Herons will be on display as you run. The view to the left changes from the rolling greens of Heron Lakes Golf Course to the racetrack and infrastructure of Portland International Raceway.