In only two years, the Lithia Loop Marathon in Ashland has gone from a new race that needed to prove itself to a national championship event.

Birds of a different feather landed in Lithia Park Saturday — 254 of them to be precise.

The 2009 TransRockies race came down to mastering the real estate.

For the second straight year, a pair of runners from Ashland and Bend may win the grueling six-day, 113-mile TransRockies stage race in Colorado.

On Saturday, 250 runners will attempt to race 5,600 feet, about a mile, and a lucky few may break two hours.

Blistering heat made the hills seem even steeper Saturday for the 77 runners who entered the eighth annual Britt Woods Firehouse 10K Run in Jacksonville.

Some days everything just falls into place.

Before the marching bands, floats and tossed candy made their way through downtown Ashland, a parade of 667 runners took over Main Street and the plaza for the Fourth of July two- and six-mile runs.

Mountain bikers converged on Sam Brown Campground in the Southern Oregon mountains between the Redwood Highway and the Rogue River last weekend for a two-day, three-race event called Return of the Jedi.

Horse racing has the Kentucky Derby. Bicycling has the Tour de France. Ultramarathoning has the Western States Endurance Run.

Granite Man Endurance Weekend at Applegate Lake started Saturday with four running events: the Grouse Gap 5K, 11-mile Mountain Run, 30K Trail Run and 60K Ultra Trail Run.

Before the warm air lifted into thunderclouds and lightning, 69 runners heated up the roads in Ashland Saturday morning for the inaugural Pompadour Half Marathon.

More than 200 competitors will gather at Applegate Lake Saturday and Sunday to battle the elements in a widely expanded version of Granite Man weekend.

Unlike first kids Malia and Sasha, my brother and I never convinced our parents to let us adopt a dog. "I'm allergic," lied my dad, while my mom came up with a more creative excuse: "We don't believe in species subjugation." Actually, they didn't believe in picking up poop. Which, in hindsight, is understandable.

Saturday morning's weather was just right for a bunch of mountain goats wanting to see how strong they were in the Tough As Nails Mountain Run, featuring 10-mile and 5K races.

Nearly 250 athletes flooded the Bear Creek Greenway in Medford Saturday morning for the annual Bridge The Gap Run — a fundraiser for Mobility Unlimited — up from 172 entrants last year.

Valentine's Day is for friends, lovers, families, spouses ... and running.

Ashland is fast becoming known as the nation's top spot for a culture that has nothing to do with Shakespeare.

Instead of taking advantage of the Thanksgiving holiday by sleeping in, 402 athletes worked up their appetites Thursday morning at the annual Turkey Trot 7.5- and two-mile fun runs organized by Southern Oregon Runners.