Strong Lake Run tradition continues on national Star Wars Day

For most people, waking up to a wet and soggy Saturday morning is not the best way to start a weekend.

But for the almost 1,000 runners who competed in the 2024 Lake Run, the weather was not an issue.

With street closures in place Saturday morning, runners took off from in front of the Lake Theater in waves starting at 8 a.m. (10k runners) and again at 8:15 a.m. (5k runners) setting up for a combined finish for both groups on Evergreen Road just behind Our Lady of the Lake church and school.

And because this year’s Lake Run was being held on May 4, national Star Wars Day, many runners came dressed in Star Wars attire — including one runner with Yoda on his shoulder and another, Will Cath of Lake Oswego, who ran the entire 5k with a Storm Trooper helmet on and still managed to place 10th overall with a time of 21:21.59.

This year’s overall 10k champion was Kaleb Keyserling from Portland with a time of 33:53.63. In the women’s division, Lake Oswego resident Pamela Rush won in a time of 40:45.18.

In the 5k, Lake Oswego’s Jeff Thibodeau was the overall winner with a time of 19:42.83.

For the women’s 5k division, friends Megan Larson and Olivia Smith finished holding hands and in a virtual tie with a time of 21:94. Larson edged out Smith by .13 of a second to be named the overall women’s champion.

The pair of Lakeridge seniors stood out at the start of the race, both wearing white short skirts with white tops — similar to what a ballerina might wear.

According to Larson, the two friends have made running in the Lake Run an annual tradition — both having competed in some fashion in the race since they were 5 years old. Smith added that they stive to do the “twinning thing” and run with their music playing. They both said they enjoy the fun of running the race and how supportive people are cheering them on along the course.

The pair of graduating Pacer seniors compete on the school’s varsity cross country and track teams, and each will head off to college in the fall. They both doubt they will be able to run next year to defend their title due to college life, but both definitely would if they were in town.

For future runners of the 5k and 10k, the ever-popular Kids Dash took place on Evergreen Road with a couple hundred kids competing in different age groups and running distances of approximately 200 to 400 yards.

In addition to the parents cheering their kids on, more than a dozen uniformed police motorcycle officers were scattered throughout the kids course cheering and high-fiving kids as they ran up and down the street.

According to Trell Anderson, executive director of Northwest Housing Alternatives — the group organizing the race as well as the beneficiary — the day overall went well even if the weather didn’t cooperate.

During his remarks to the crowd to announce the race winners, he thanked the sponsors, racers and the community overall for their ongoing support of this annual community tradition. He said he was proud that Northwest Housing Alternatives could help kick off the summer event season in Lake Oswego by organizing the annual Lake Run.

As a fundraiser for Northwest Housing Alternatives, proceeds from the race help to build new homes and new opportunities for seniors, families, veterans and people with special needs across Oregon. With more than 1,900 homes across the state, NHA is one of the largest providers of affordable housing in Oregon including two senior living apartments in Lake Oswego and three apartment complexes in Wilsonville.