I’m a fair weather runner. From May to early October, I consistently get 3 to 5 runs in a month. Then, when the darkness dominates, my willingness to get out there wanes noticeably. I know, I’m a wuss. But a fact is a fact.

However, today was a beautiful day in Portland. After some morning clouds, it reached the mid 70s and was sunny all afternoon. Lucky enough, I had the ability today to get out there and enjoy it. I decided to go to one of my favorite spots, the trail along the east bank of the Willamette River, between the Sellwood Bridge and the Ross Island Bridge. I assume most Portlanders will know where I am talking about. In my notes, I locate these runs as ‘between the bridges.’

On a day like today there were tons of other runners out there, as well as a slew of bikers (both the tight pants variety and the more laid back folks rocking the casual SE PDX look). My favorite aspect of this particular locale, besides the gorgeous views of the river the appear here and there, is how flat it is. My other favorite running spots are great, but they all force me up and down too much (Tryon Creek, I’m looking at you).

I neglected to take any pics today (running was hard enough that it focused all of my attention). However, I have taken some nice pics in the past. Two are below. One is from summer 2025 and one is a mid-November shot from a few years back. Having enjoyable places to run definitely helps with the motivation.