2025 Eugene 5k and Duck Dash inspire finishers, provide pancakes
Lauren Ross breaks the tape at the Eugene 5k. Photo by Rian Yamasaki
by Owen Murray, TrackTown USA
There are a couple things that are different about the finish line at the Eugene 5k.
It’s at the heart of Hayward Field — the centerpiece of track and field in the Pacific Northwest.
For a special group, it also means pancakes.
The 2025 Eugene 5k sold out for its third-straight year as more than 2000 runners stacked the start line on Agate Street on Saturday morning — some in their best kit and others with strollers-in-hand. For some, it was all about competition; for others, it was about the promise of free pancakes. Every finisher, though, wrapped their race at one of the nation’s most historic finish lines.
“I’ve raced here before, a couple of times,” men’s winner Eric Beyerle said. “It’s a special place.”
Beyerle used to work out at historic Hayward Field. “I’ve been training for 5ks and 10ks on the road this winter,” he said. “I got sick at the beginning of April, so that set me back.”
It didn’t matter. Beyerle outleaned second-place finisher Nickolas Russell to finish in 15:00.30.
“It’s always nice to break the tape.”
- Eugene 5k winner Eric Beyerle
“It’s hard — the hill at mile 1 up University Street was difficult, but fortunately the last mile was downhill,” Beyerle said. “It’s always nice to break the tape.”
Women’s category winner Lauren Ross checked an item off her bucket list at her first Eugene 5k. She got the word that she was in front by a small margin from a spectator — so she picked it up as she entered the stadium.
“I’ve won some races in my time, but I’ve never broken the tape,” Ross said. “That was highly motivating.”
Ross, who finished in 17:28.00, usually opts for longer distances. She’s a frequent finisher in this Sunday’s event, the half-marathon, but she decided that a 5k was what she needed in 2025.
“I’ve actually been training specifically for the 5k,” Ross said. “Just slightly different workouts, a little bit less mileage and higher intensity.”
Ross was one of two women — with second-place finisher Annie Boos — to beat both the Krusteaz mascots on Saturday.
Flap Jack and Flap Jill, the pancake-clad mascots, were the bar; those who beat them earned a supply of free Krusteaz pancakes for the next year. 11 men and 17 women beat their respective counterpart and secured the supply on Saturday. It’s this Flap Jill’s second year running, and she said that this year, she nailed down the technique.
“I didn’t get stuck in the syrup this time,” Flap Jill said afterward. “It’s a little bit of a technique, a little bit of squeeze-your-arms.”
Non-binary category winner Kate Lewandowski, like many of the pancake winners, had big plans for the year of pancakes.
“We can probably make endless pancakes,” Lewandowski, who finished in 25:48.40, said. “Pancake cakes…I don’t even know — pancake burritos?”
Like Ross, Saturday was Lewandowski’s first Eugene 5k — and the win was unexpected.
“I run maybe twice a week, but just for fun,” Lewandowski said. “I wasn’t planning on winning — I was standing, and I heard my name. I was like, ‘Oh, I must’ve placed!’”
The sold-out Duck Dash, a 1k race for kids aged 2-12, wound through the University of Oregon campus less than an hour later. The medal rack was restored, and finishers picked their style: one leaned across the line while another chose a cartwheel to cap the morning’s action.
Sunday’s half and full marathon start on Agate St. tomorrow morning at 7:00 AM.