PORTLAND, Ore. — The Shamrock Run returned as an in-person event in 2022 after it was canceled and held virtually the last two years due to COVID-19.
The run made a triumphant return Sunday at Tom McCall Waterfront Park in true Portland fashion: with rain.
That did not dampen Dan Cruz's enthusiasm for the day. The event organizer waited a long time for this comeback. "This is the first Shamrock Run Portland in over 1,000 days," said Cruz.
The last in-person race was in 2019.
More than 15,000 runners from 19 countries and 46 states donned their best green outfits for the 44th annual Shamrock Run Portland.
The race kicks off the traditional beginning of the running season for most runners and it's an opportunity to bond for father-son duo and first-time race participants Shane and John Lee.
"It was fantastic he blew me away at the end," said John Lee of his son Shane.
At any pace, it was a chance to get back out in the community. "Just being cooped up at home for the last two years and this year being around all these people I fell more alive," said Lee.
A feeling shared by runners and organizers as the St. Patrick's Day running tradition returned to Portland. "The same weekend the mask mandates are going away everything just feels really full circle, from the start of the pandemic to the light at the end of the tunnel for the end of the pandemic," said Cruz.