From Portland, For Portland

Photo by Ryo Gokita

From Portland, For Portland

Words Jeff Merrill

You know the story, last year a number of pro teams left Portland, their clubs reconfiguring or disbanding. Sinclaire Johnson stayed. She loves the city and the community here. This is where her friends are, where her familiar training places and hangouts are. It’s home.

We live in a digital age, where online follows and like counts can take up a big chunk of brain real estate and be driving indicators for big business looking to cash in. But there’s no replacement for real connection. Portland belongs to Sinclaire and Sinclaire belongs to Portland.

There is something special about an athlete from your city winning something of note. It shows that someone who was forged in the same place as you can do great things. That all of the troubles and experiences unique to your city can eventually and necessarily lead to greatness. It’s an invitation for you to find your greatness.

This connection is made locally, in-person, by showing up and showing what’s possible. Sinclaire is the 6th fastest American 1500m runner of all time, she’s run 3:56, she’s a US Champion. She’s made World Teams. She could have gone to Rome, or Oslo, or Mars, but she is racing in Portland. Her presence gives the people here a real rooting interest. Gestures like this over and over are what strengthens a bond and cultivates something truly special. A fanbase.

Impressive marks occur all the time in this sport. We marvel at them and scroll past. It’s an instantaneous hit and then you forget you were going to tell your friend about it and move on. People aren’t looking to be impressed by things as much as they’re looking to belong.

Competing in the place where she lives, in front of the people of her city is an invitation to belong, and to claim a part of that achievement as your own, because you are also from Portland. That’s something you can talk about for years to come, every time the Portland Track Festival rolls around on the calendar, that you were there to see it. Maybe there will be a mural painted on the side of the wall commemorating the performance… Maybe there will be a food cart dish named after her.

Win, lose or draw, Portland rides with Sinclaire because she ponied up for us.

Enough about what’s good for the sport. The question we should be asking is what is good for us? You and me. Sport is a vehicle to bring us together, to celebrate unique gifts in others and inspire us to find what is unique and special about ourselves that we can then share with the world.

Sinclaire Johnson racing at the Portland Track Festival is good for us.

There are 2.5 million people in the Portland metro area. One day they’ll all be track fans.

Come on out to the Electric Forest.

The Portland Track Festival

June 14th & 15th

Tickets at Portlandtrack.com