Driving to God’s Country
Our team left Portland early afternoon on Friday, August 16 and traveled to Ordnance Brewing in Boardman Oregon. Boardman is a town of about 3,300 roughly 2.5 hours east of Portland on the Columbia River. Boardman is a rural, mostly flat part of Oregon where the evergreens turn into scrub brush and the fields of berries, onions, watermelons, and other crops, go on and on and on. It’s lovely.
After two stops for gas (our new trailer is a gas guzzler), one wrong turn, and a lot of conversation about the changing Gorge landscape, we arrived in Boardman. We dropped off the trailer, made one final inspection of the course, checked-in to the hotel, then enjoyed pizza and beer at the other brewery in Boardman, Burnt Field Brewing. We then got the crazy idea to head into Hermiston for some Karaoke. There’s a video somewhere of some fantastic singing.
On Saturday morning before the event, our tired group of 8 took in views of the Columbia River on our modest 5-mile run. We grabbed “breakfast” from the hotel (pop-tarts, sugary cereal, biscuits, and gravy) then made the 1.2-mile drive to Ordnance to get setup.
Not only was it a perfectly beautiful day for a run, but the people we met were equally as warm and hospitable. Nearly 80 runners and walkers showed up for a 5K fun run that ended with excellent Ordnance beer. We raised about $400 for local nonprofit, Made to Thrive, and also enjoyed cold brew coffee and goodies from The Farmer’s Cup, tacos from Tacos Xavi, and all-star service from the team at Ordnance. I can’t wait to get back in 2020!
Listen to our podcast episode to hear a few clips from participants, volunteers, partners, and from the founder and president of Made to Thrive, Kriss Dammeyer. We’ve been working with local nonprofits at several of our events outside of the Portland metro area, and are excited to further our mission of being active, having fun, and giving back.
Cheers!
Event Images
About Ordnance Brewing
With roots growing back to the early pioneers who cleared the land to grow fruit, corn, wheat and yes…hops, our founding partners come from a long line of Oregon farmers. The Coleman family landed in the Willamette Valley in 1849 and soon purchased a plot of land to
Runners & Walkers
We don’t care if you’re a runner, walker, or something else. We just care that you’re active! Nearly 20% of our participants at Ordnance chose to walk this one, and we love it!
About Us
The Oregon Brewery Running Series is about inspiring Oregonians to Be Active, Have Fun, and Give Back. We host untimed family-friendly 5K fun runs that start and end at some of Oregon’s best breweries. LEARN MORE >>
