Hood River residents run in Olympic marathon trials, set the tone for women’s racing

“It’s [a] crazy fast marathon, but it’s like in Duluth, Minnesota in the middle of nowhere,” Reiter said, who ran collegiately at Eastern Washington University (EWU). She was a superstar on the racecourse, but also in the classroom where she was named to the Big Sky All-Academic team eight times at EWU.

Today, Reiter works for Sightline Applications in Hood River and Phillips is a counselor at the Hood River Options Academy — an online education option for students in the Hood River County School District. The two hold different occupations but maintain their training regimen with the Cascadia Elite Running Club. The club brings runners from around the Pacific Northwest together to organize group runs and workouts when schedules match up. 

“So [our workouts are] typically in the morning, which was really challenging in the dead of winter, because you’re dealing with darkness. We had that little bit of snow,” Reiter said. “We do a ton of our workouts on the waterfront.”

There are trails and paths in Oregon and Washington that are great for running, but when you must run 10-20 miles a day in Hood River County you have to get creative. Steep hills and harsh winter weather tested Phillips and Reiter.

“The farthest loop possible to get to Odell and then we go out and come back around across [Highway] 35,” explained Phillips. “It’s tough. It’s making us tough.”

“I think it’s made me a better runner for sure,” added Reiter.

Phillips’ day starts at 4:30 a.m. when she runs 12-15 miles a day and 80-90 miles in a week. She described training for a marathon as very ‘mathematical’ and ‘prescribed.’ They will have 12-week training blocks. The first four weeks are meant to build mileage whereas the second four weeks are spent doing “threshold runs.” During this block they will maintain their marathon speed as they transition into the final four weeks of their most mileage at their fastest pace.

“I‘m not going to lie, sometimes marathon training can feel like a grind,” said Reiter.

“I would say an overarching concept of marathon training is teaching your legs to run fast and tired,” added Phillips.

Eventually, in the final three weeks they slowly off taper off their training plan, as they prepare their body for the 26.2 mile race. 

Data and advanced technology have become an important player in the lead up to race day. 

“We were even a part of a research group these last trials,” said Phillips. The two worked with the Nike Sports Research Lab and the Project Dreamweaver to help develop products and strategies to primarily help female runners improve efficiency.

“It was more about product research and data, a lot of heart rate, a lot of running biomechanics stuff,” Reiter said.

Phillips added that another goal of the program was to encourage and inspire other women across the country in their own pursuit of a qualifying marathon time.

“They supported us in a lot of ways through giving us product and shoes throughout the trials, but also, supporting us traveling to races and our mental health,” she said.

When February 3 rolled around in Orlando, Reiter and Phillips said the skies — and their goals — were clear: finish the race. Phillips was forced to drop out of the 2020 trails due to injury and Reiter told herself to keep everything in perspective.

“There was lady that was, like, seven months pregnant... And I’m out here with all these amazing women that have worked so hard to be here... This is just going to be one of those days where I just got to get to a pace that I can finish this thing,” Reiter said.

They both accomplished their goal. Phillips finished 46th with a time of 2 hours, 37 minutes and 33 seconds, while Reiter finished 80th with a time of 2 hours, 42 minutes and 36 seconds.

Although the two did not qualify for the World Olympics, they are appreciative of the support they have received.

“This is a super awesome community,” Phillips said. A watch party was held at Ferment Brewing and local running clubs and race organizers showed their support. With the unmatched support, Phillips has her sights set on the Boston Marathon and Reiter wants to do some shorter “more fun” races, with the Berlin Marathon on the top of her to-do list.