Portland's most popular fun run, the Starlight Run, is moving to a new start time at a new start and finish location. The wacky warm-up act for the Portland General Electric/SOLVE Starlight Parade will now start and finish on Naito Parkway at the Rose Festival's CityFair.
Lincoln High School is the next Portland Public School scheduled for massive reconstruction; making the athletic field that the run previously started and ended at unavailable for two years. New run organizers decided this would be a good time to give it a makeover and move down to the CityFair location.
“The Starlight Run has been a longtime staple of the Rose Festival and the Starlight Parade, and these new course changes are designed to enhance the experience, atmosphere and inclusivity with the Rose Festival’s CityFair," said Alex Bennett, Event Operations Executive for the Starlight Run. "It truly was a win-win scenario, as runners will still be able to experience the parade route and enjoy streets lined with thousands of spectators cheering them on to the finish line.”
The 41st Annual Starlight Run will start at 7:00 p.m. instead of 7:45 p.m. The traditional costume contest will be held at 5:45. The Run will start near Morrison Street at Naito, go north, then turn up SW Harvey Milk Street (formerly Stark Street) and join the Starlight Parade route at 4th Ave. Runners will follow the parade route up to 14th AVE where they will loop around Lincoln High School and race down to Burnside, then to 4th Ave and back to SW Harvey Milk Street returning to Naito Parkway. All runners will get a medal and enjoy free access to CityFair following the race.
"We are very excited to have the run begin and end here at CityFair," says Jeff Curtis Portland Rose Festival CEO. "We appreciate the work that the new organizers, the City and Tri-Met have done to make this new concept work. With the Portland Timbers grand re-opening of Providence Park happening at almost the same time this year, it seemed like a perfect time to move out of that neighborhood and try a new approach."
This year's run will be carefully coordinated with the Portland Timbers game and the Starlight Parade that will still happen in the immediate neighborhood near Lincoln High School. Timbers fans should be well inside the stadium by the time the runners arrive and well on their way home when the parade arrives. Whether fans of soccer or runs or parades, it will be a wonderful time to be in downtown Portland.
Starlight Run registration is now open at: www.motivrunning.com/starlight-run/