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Home » Fitness » Running

July 7, 2016 (Updated April 19, 2023)

Brooks Run Happy Blogger Ambassador Trip in Eugene, Oregon!

by Anne Mauney, MPH, RD

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Hey guys – I’m back with part 2 of my Eugene, Oregon adventures! If you missed part 1, check it out: hiking in and around Eugene.

And now – for the Brooks Run Happy Blogger Ambassador trip recap! After saying goodbye to my friend Ashley on Friday morning, I hung out and caught up on work for a few hours before meeting up with the Brooks gang in the afternoon. As I’ve said previously, this is my 4th year being an ambassador for Brooks and their annual trip is always one of my favorites. The blogger crew is awesome and so is the Brooks team, and we always have a blast together! For this year’s trip, we were lucky enough to get to travel to Eugene to spectate some of the USA Track + Field Olympic Trials – what an amazing opportunity!

tracktown 2016 olympic trials

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Clockwise from top left in the photo above:
me,
Tina, Kristen, Emily, Lora, Dorothy, Meghann, Jesica, Janae

Brooks took over a massive frat house on the University of Oregon campus right by the stadium for the occasion and we stayed there along with all the Brooks staff on site, too. One big party! Apparently they had to have a cleaning crew come through 3 times AND paint the walls before it was presentable enough for everyone – ha!

brooks running frat house oregon

In true college style, we had roommates and our names on our doors – too cute! There were even shower shoes and shower caddies waiting in our rooms. 🙂 Took me back! Janae was my roomie – heart her!

hungry runner girl janae

As you guys can probably tell I’m a big extrovert so I loved that we were all sharing rooms and in one big house! <3 I miss the days of getting ready with a whole bunch of girlfriends and spending hours chatting to my roommates before falling asleep! Speaking of beds – the Brooks logo was on our pillows. Too cute!

brooks frat house olympic trials

We were also gifted some fun patriotic gear to cheer in – how awesome are those shoes?! And the adorable socks, which they designed specially for us with our input!

brooks patriotic running shoes

The patriotic shoes are part of their limited edition “Victory Collection” – you can buy them here – and there are some other styles, too! Love them! Crazy comfortable in addition to being cute – I ran 10.4 miles in them on Friday!

We spent the rest of Friday watching the action over at the stadium! What an honor to be able to see such amazing athletes compete in person for the chance to punch their tickets to Rio.

eugene olympic trials

I loved watching their strides – so long and elegant! It was hard to get good photos because they were moving so quickly!

eugene track trials

eugene track trials olympic

In between the action, we wandered around and checked out the vendors and participated in some fun activities that were definitely meant for kids – whatever, we’re kids at heart. 🙂

tracktown shot put

tracktown hurdles

Meghann and I somehow found ourselves separated from the group and right down by the track for the exciting men’s 10,000 final – amazing!

mens final 10000 olympic trial

mens final 10000 olympic trial

mens 10000 olympic trial final eugene

After the excitement, we headed to dinner at a nice spot walking distance from campus called the Excelsior Inn. It was so good – loved the fresh figs, the mozzarella and fresh tomatoes from their garden, the tuna special, and the berry tart for dessert! I wasn’t able to make it through everything – so much food!

excelsior inn eugene dinner

On Friday morning, Brooks hosted a big group run leaving from the frat house that was open to the public; it wasn’t until 9 a.m. so Janae asked if I was up for some miles beforehand to try to make it to double digits. Sounded good to me – I knew I should probably do 10 miles for Marine Corps Marathon training anyway! And I wanted to take advantage of the nice humidity-free running weather as much as possible. 🙂

hungry runner girl

Janae and I had fun chatting away, and between the conversation and the beautiful scenery the miles flew by.

running eugene oregon

We made it back to the house just as everyone else was leaving for the group run and tucked in with them having already done 4.5 miles. Nice!

brooks frat house group run eugene

Traveling with other runners is the best – getting in a long run was a breeze with such great company!

brooks run happy blogger ambassadors

Lora and I were twinning in the Brooks Ghost racerback tank and Chaser 5” running shorts – I bought both in multiple colors I love them so much!

brooks bloggers

UZYK7334

Man, Eugene is such a beautiful place to run – there were cool trails everywhere!

running in eugene

running in eugene oregon

10.4 miles – done! Awesome! I tested out my new patriotic shoes for the occasion and they felt great – I love the Launch 3 shoes – so lightweight but cushiony.

P7020124

After our run and some snackage, a few of us checked out the Run Signature gait analysis booth Brooks had set up.

brooks run signature gait analysis

The team recorded me doing static squats and then lightly jogging. Interestingly, my knees tend to tilt in a bit when doing squats but out when I’m running. They recommended support/stability shoes for me, which makes sense since that’s what I usually wear for distance (the Ravenna or Adrenaline), although I do love the Launch, PureGrit and the PureConnect (being discontinued – saddest thing ever because these are my go-to track and shorter distance shoes) which are all neutral – interesting.

P7020138

We spent the rest of the morning through mid afternoon back at the trials, rocking our spirit squad matching tanks. 🙂 (Photo stolen from Tina!)

carrots n cake tina

eugene olympic trials

mens 800m final eugene trials

Our late lunch (at The Cannery) had a special treat: we were joined by Brooks Beasts and Olympic hopefuls Riley Masters and Garrett Heath! They were SO nice – all of us really enjoying chatting with them and learning what it’s like to be a professional runner, and we’re now all officially huge fans! They both competed in the 5k prelim race on Monday and we were all group texting like crazy about how “our guys” were doing. 🙂 They are both advancing to the final which happens this weekend – fingers crossed big time for them!!

brooks running bloggers and beasts

Riley and Garrett both compete primarily in the 5k and do about 75 to 80 miles per week (often at altitude) to train – wow. We also talked about running/race day superstitions – Riley said his is that he always leaves the TV on (set to SportsCenter) in his hotel room when he leaves for a race. Too funny! There’s a cool article on the Brooks blog sharing all the Brooks Beast’s superstitions! Do you have any running/race day superstitions? Apparently I need some! 🙂

P7020151

While chatting with the guys and the rest of the ladies I chowed down on some fish tacos, plus an unpictured side salad. 🙂

fish tacos the cannery eugene

Our final adventure as a group was a special one: we had dinner out on Friday at the stunning King Estate Winery about 45 minutes from downtown Eugene. This view – insane.

king estate winery eugene

All dolled up! The blogger ambassadors + our fearless leaders Lauren and Danielle from the Brooks team. 🙂 My flowery dress is a new favorite from Stitchfix – I got a box from them about a month or so ago that was on point – tons of cute summery stuff!

brooks run happy bloggers

king estate winery menu

When at a winery… drink wine, of course! I especially enjoyed their Pinot Noir.

king estate winery

The food was excellent, too! We shared a bunch of appetizers, then had salads. I had the salmon with pea risotto (YUM) for my entrée.

king estate winery dinner

Another berry fruit tart for dessert – half was the perfect amount of sweetness to end the night!

king estate winery dessert

What a fun trip with a fabulous group! I loved spending time with everyone and having the opportunity to watch some of the trials was amazing. It went by too quickly! A HUGE thank you to Brooks for having us and for covering our trip expenses. It was an honor to be there! Until next time, ladies! Missing you already!

brooks run happy blogger ambassadors

Have you ever had the opportunity to watch the Olympic trials (or the actual Olympics!) in person?

—

Please note there are affiliate links in this post.

- anne
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28 comments
  • Fiona @ Get Fit Fiona
    July 7, 2016 · 10:39AM:
    All the food you had on your trip looks delicious - especially at the winery.
    Reply
  • Kelli @ Hungry Hobby
    July 7, 2016 · 10:44AM:
    Funny I never thought to wear different shoes for track workouts! I wear brooks glycerin with custom orthotics! Looks like you had an amazing time!
    Reply
    • Anne
      July 7, 2016 · 10:49AM:
      It makes a big difference to wear lightweight/more minimal shoes for the track! :) Try it!
      Reply
  • Kori
    July 7, 2016 · 10:48AM:
    What an incredible experience!! All of the food looks amazing, and I love the shot of the winery! <3
    Reply
  • Ash Diamond
    July 7, 2016 · 12:03PM:
    It looks like you guys had a BLAST!! Such gorgeous pictures!
    Reply
  • Lauren K July 7, 2016 · 1:19PM:
    What a great trip! Maybe we can spectate the marathon trials together in 4 years!
    Reply
    • Anne
      July 7, 2016 · 2:33PM:
      Yes please! :) xo
      Reply
  • Erin @ Her Heartland Soul
    July 7, 2016 · 4:17PM:
    What a fun trip! LOL that they had to clean the house three times and paint the walls! Can't say I'm surprised given it's a frat house! haha
    Reply
    • Anne
      July 7, 2016 · 5:10PM:
      Right?! Gotta love frat houses!
      Reply
  • Roadrunner July 7, 2016 · 4:19PM:
    Wow! Awesome trip. Sign me up!
    Reply
  • Liz July 7, 2016 · 5:47PM:
    What a great experience to see the Olympic Trials! That's one to put on my bucket list, for sure. And those views…makes me love Oregon even more. Side note: I'm super sad they're discontinuing the PureConnects! Those are my track shoes, too. Bummer...
    Reply
    • Anne
      July 8, 2016 · 9:39AM:
      I'm seriously devastated. I already bought myself a new pair while they still have them... hoping that if enough people are really upset they might bring them back. That was what happened with the Launches, apparently! I know SO many people who love the PureConnects!
      Reply
      • Liz July 8, 2016 · 10:03AM:
        Hmmmm...maybe I should air my grievances more to help get them back. I seriously wear the PureConnects for all my short-distance runs, races and speed work. They aren't discontinuing the PureFlows, too, are they?
        Reply
        • Anne
          July 8, 2016 · 10:13AM:
          You should!! The PureFlows are staying -- I need to try those to see if they are similar enough to switch...
          Reply
          • Liz July 8, 2016 · 10:20AM:
            I have the PureFlows, too. I don't find them to be as cushiony or springy feeling, but they're what I wore before I discovered the PureConnects. That was one of those "I didn't know this could be better" moments.
            Reply
            • Anne
              July 8, 2016 · 10:21AM:
              Oh man. Sigh! Sidenote -- if you're a hiker/trail runner, check out the PureGrits - they are super similar to the PureConnects!
              Reply
              • Liz July 8, 2016 · 10:44AM:
                Thanks for the tip! :)
                Reply
  • Jesica @rUnladylike
    July 7, 2016 · 7:10PM:
    It was such a fun weekend! I'm so glad I got to spend it with you! And love all those pics from when you were doing the games at the trials. I totally missed that and it looked fun! Can't wait for another meet-up soon! Good luck with MCM training! xoxo
    Reply
    • Anne
      July 8, 2016 · 9:40AM:
      Thanks my friend - loved seeing you again! Can't wait until next time! xoxo
      Reply
  • Sam @ Grapefruit & Granola
    July 7, 2016 · 11:16PM:
    It looks like you guys had a great trip! I've read HRG for a while and bet Janae was a fun roommate.
    Reply
    • Anne
      July 8, 2016 · 9:41AM:
      Yeah she's awesome! :)
      Reply
  • Amanda
    July 8, 2016 · 8:54AM:
    No, I haven't but I love watching on TV. I have had the opportunity to see the races at University of Pennsylvania's Penn Relays. It looks like your trip was a blast! Those fish tacos looked awesome! Thank you for sharing!
    Reply
  • Jill @ RunEatSnap
    July 8, 2016 · 2:31PM:
    This looks like so much fun! I lived in Eugene for a couple months one summer. What a great place to go for a running retreat!!
    Reply
  • Amanda July 11, 2016 · 1:33PM:
    I've often wondered…when you travel and run with different/new people, how does your pacing work? Do you find the other bloggers/friends have similar paces or does one person end up slowing down/speeding up? Just curious. I love running with someone who has a similar pace but I know it's tough having to adjust up or down (in my case, I'm usually slower than most people so trying to speed it up a bit makes it hard and I'm winded and then not enjoying it…). Thanks! P.S. I'm running the RW Festival hat trick this weekend up in Boston. I remember introducing myself to you when it was at Boston College a couple of years ago!
    Reply
    • Anne
      July 12, 2016 · 9:47AM:
      Have fun at the RW Festival! :) Yeah, when I run with other people I think it's important to just manage expectations - for example, Janae is way faster than me so I made sure she knew we'd be going slower, and she was fine with that! I always just go into social runs knowing that it's more about the chatter/social aspect than a specific target pace, and just go with the flow! I don't mind going slower. And running with faster people means I run slightly faster which is always a good challenge!
      Reply
      • Amanda July 12, 2016 · 7:02PM:
        Thanks for the reply!
        Reply
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about Anne

anne mauney fannetastic food
Hi, I’m Anne! I'm a Washington D.C. based Registered Dietitian, mother, runner, and lover of travel, adventure, and the great outdoors. I've been blogging since 2009, sharing a mix of lifestyle content, recipes, and fitness tips. Come for the recipes – stay for the fun!
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anne mauney

I’m Anne, a Registered Dietitian and mother. I've been blogging since 2009 and love showing others that eating nutritious foods and staying active can actually be fun rather than overwhelming!

When I’m not writing or cooking for fannetastic food, you can find me running, coaching nutrition clients, or on an adventure with my family. Feel free to reach out - I'd love to hear from you!

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