On May 11, 118 participants raced in Central Oregon Community College’s 27th annual Jungle Run. Participants ran or walked a 2 mile loop on the lower Bend campus. Winners of their respective gender, age and distance categories selected prizes like high quality backpacks and Hydro Flask water bottles. COCC students entered the race for free while community members paid $18.25 during online registration, making the Jungle Run the cheapest of its kind in Central Oregon.
Participants lined up on the COCC track to start the race around 5:30 p.m. They ran off the track, through a large mud puddle and as they began to loop back up towards the track the participants negotiated log crossing. Race organizers placed seven rubber snakes on the course, which participants could redeem for prizes. After all the participants finished, racers received prizes and t-shirts and ate dinner from Kefi Fresh Mediterranean Food, a local restaurant run by a former COCC culinary student.
“I was faster than the snakes,” said Kerry Lyons after achieving the overall fastest time for the women’s 4 mile race. Eli Nixon, a Medical Assistant at Summit Health, won the men’s 4 mile race. Nixon said this was his first Jungle Run. The Jungle Run attracts high school track athletes, COCC students and community members looking for a fun way to stay fit and train for other races.
Josh Motenko, Assistant Director of Club and Intramural Sports at COCC, said this year’s Jungle Run was the largest he had seen. Motenko is happy the event is in full swing after COVID-19 slowed operations. The Jungle Run is one of three races that COCC hosts each year. On May 18, COCC will host Storm the Stairs, a race through the steepest parts of the hilly Bend campus, and on Nov. 4, COCC will host the Turkey Trot and Toddler Trot.
Full results are available on Eclectic Edge Racing and more information about this year’s races is available on the COCC website.
Axel Hovorka
Editor
