Free, 4.5-mile run starts at 8:30 a.m. Saturday near Oregon Shakespeare Festival

The 49th Ashland Run takes off Saturday morning, May 28. The start and finish is near the corner of Hargadine and Fork streets, just up from the outdoor Allen Elizabethan Theatre. Registration is at 8 a.m., and the race starts at 8:30 a.m. There’s no charge to take part.

The Ashland Run is the oldest continuous competitive run in Ashland. Founded and still organized by brothers Steve and Doug Hoxmeier, this is a low key, informal affair and always plenty of fun, and a great tune-up for the Ashland Fourth of July Run, organizers avow.

For almost a half century, since the first Ashland Run in the mid-’70s, the race has been held every Saturday prior to Memorial Day. The rugged, roughly four-and-a-half-mile course runs through several neighborhoods, alleys, trails and winds through Lithia Park.

Organizers recommend that runners wear their own individual tracking devices. The approximate halfway point of the race is 500 feet higher than the low point, the Ashland Public Library, which is a quarter mile into the run.

After the race, runners can enjoy refreshments, camaraderie and a random prize drawing, which includes a gift certificate from The Great American Pizza Company of Ashland.

See SelectSmart.com/ashlandrun for course map and race details.

Race results

May 29 update: The 2022 run winners were Patrick Honsinger in the men’s division, and Amy Twiest and Robyn Janssen tied for first in the women’s division, the first tie in race history.

Source: Ashland Run news release. Email Ashland.news Executive Editor Bert Etling at betling@ashland.news or call or text him at 541-631-1313.