The Portland Grindfest - August @ 6pm at Benson High School!
About this race
Grindfest is one long progression run originally developed in Milwaukee, Wisconsin in 2013. The race/workout has now been spread all over the world, arriving in Portland in 2019.
The rules are simple - start at either 9 minute mile pace (wave 1) or 8 minute mile pace (wave 2) or 7 minute pace (wave 3) and progress 20 seconds every mile (3 laps to a mile at Benson!). You stay in as long as you can until you can no longer grind the pace down any further and you wave the white flag.
Benson's newly resurfaced track is a one-of-a-kind 4 lane 535 meter track where 3 laps is around 1 mile. It's a beautiful facility that is perfect for grinding out a long progression run.
This year the Portland Grindfest will serve as a fundraiser for Benson Cross Country as we’re raising funds to help cover travel costs for end-of-season meets where runners have the chance to compete against top talent and create lasting memories. Your donation helps provide transportation, lodging, meals, and the opportunity for every athlete to finish the season strong—no matter their financial situation. Thank you for supporting Benson Cross Country!
Pick your distance
Running
Grindfest Wave 1 (9 minute pace start)
Wave 1 = 1600 meters (3 laps) starting at 9 minute mile pace (3 min / lap) and advancing 20 seconds / mile (every 3 laps)
Grindfest Wave 2 (8 minute pace start)
Wave 2 = Athletes will jump in when the race gets to 8 minute pace. 3 laps to a mile so this will be approximately 2 minutes and 40 seconds / lap.
Grindfest Wave 3 (7 min pace)
This is the last wave to jump in as the pace gets down to 2 minutes and 20 seconds / lap.
Typical race-day weather
Based on 3 years of Open-Meteo archive data for this event's race dates in Portland, plus the 3 days either side.
The sun rises at 6:10 AM and sets at 8:20 PM local time (PDT) in Portland on August 14, 2026 — 14h 09m of daylight.
Course
No course map published yet.
The organizer hasn't released a route for this event, and we don't publish guesses. If you're the organizer, send us a GPX file and we'll draw the profile.
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🏃 Plan Your Next Race in Portland
Find upcoming events by distance:
- Portland 5K Races 24 races
- 10K Run Events in Portland 6 races
- Portland Half Marathons 3 races
- Portland Running Calendar 2026 33 races
Where this page comes from. Race details were last updated on . We re-check listings regularly and again in the week before race day.
- Entries, prices, waves and inclusions — the event's official registration page
- Temperature and humidity — Copernicus ERA5 reanalysis via Open-Meteo (CC BY 4.0)
- Elevation and terrain relief — Copernicus DEM GLO-90, ESA (CC BY 4.0)
- Comparisons and counts — Race Discovery calendar, 36 Portland events
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