Start Line Stories Week 10 with Eugene’s “Coach Lauren”
Big Timber Running Club Coach Lauren Calcagno.
It’s the tenth and final week of Start Line Stories for 2025 and there’s no better person to bring us over the finish line of this year’s series than local runner, coach and all-around running enthusiast Lauren Calcagno.
In just over three weeks, Lauren will be at the Start Line of this year’s Eugene Marathon with close to 100 of her athletes from Big Timber Running Club — a Eugene run club she coaches alongside 2016 Olympian Ben Blankenship. Lauren’s Start Line Story is a bit different, as she’ll be out along the course, supporting her athletes on their biggest day of the year.
But not to be left without her own race action for the weekend, Lauren will toe the line in the Eugene 5K presented by OCCU the Saturday before the marathon, with a 5K goal of her own.
Read more about Lauren in her Start Line Story below:
Name: Lauren Calcagno
Age: 23
Where are you from and where is home now?
I’m from Sacramento, CA and home is now Eugene, OR.
What’s your local run club or training group and tell us about it?
I am the coach of Big Timber Running Club (local Eugene club founded by Run Hub NW owner and founder Dustin Pearce). Big Timber is a group of about 220 athletes who meet twice a week for structured workouts. We have seasons — spring, summer and fall — and we have goal races that we prepare for during those seasons. In spring we do the Eugene Marathon or half marathon, in summer we do Butte to Butte and Oregon Track Club All-Comers meets at Hayward, and in the fall we do the Run to Stay Warm. It’s a group that includes all paces and all abilities who come together with the common purpose of accomplishing their running goals.
How many Big Timber athletes are doing Eugene and what does their training look like?
It’s super close to 100 athletes doing Eugene! We do a mix of different types of training: repeats, fartleks, and long runs. And for long runs, we’re not huge fans of people just running for a long time without any kind of structure, so we go at different paces during the long runs. That might be a little unconventional, but we think it’s important to incorporate a little bit of speed into training… In order to run far, you have to be able to run fast, so we add in the speed work, because running faster makes us more athletic and more athleticism will carry us through longer distances like the marathon or half marathon.
Why did you decide to run the Eugene 5K in 2025?
I decided to do the 5K this year and have it be my first real race since I graduated college in 2023. I’m really excited that my first race back is going to go through some of my favorite streets in Eugene and then finish on the track at Hayward Field. A ton of people I know will be doing the race too, including some of my athletes at Big Timber; so it will be fun to be in the starting corral alongside them.
Current Total Marathon Count:
None yet, but I did a couple half marathons when I was 13 and 14 years old. And I will definitely do a marathon someday! The 1500 was my event in college (at UC Berkeley) and I also ran cross country.
What marathon do you want to do someday?
I definitely want to run Boston and New York — those are bucket list races for me. I also want to run Eugene and CIM, because I grew up in Sacramento and CIM runs a block away from the house where I grew up.
Favorite road race or racing experience?
I actually haven’t done many road races, but in 2016, when I was 15, my parents took me to Eugene for the U.S. Olympic Trials and I heard that the Buttle to Butte was going on, so I got a bib at the last second and ran the 10k that day. Now that’s a full circle moment for me, because now I’m super involved with the running community here in Eugene and in the Butte to Butte.
What kind of training plan are you following and do you have a specific goal on race day?
I’ve been incorporating one workout a week, plus one longer run. My training is a little inconsistent, because of work, but I’m doing it. My goal is to run under 20 minutes and beat Flap Jill.
Finish the sentence: What I love so much about running is _____
__ the people in the sport. All of my closest friends and my work involves running. I can’t imagine my life without it. I feel so lucky! And I love that with Big Timber, there’s nothing greater than race day and talking to someone who’s just accomplished their goals and even talking to an athlete who’s had a rough race. Running is just such a great tool to learn about yourselves and others. It’s probably the best thing in my life.
What started your running journey?
It started in 7th grade when I signed up for track and field, because my mom had done it. My first race was the 400 and I just remember going out and crushing that race and having so much fun. It just spiraled upwards from there; I ran throughout high school and college and now I get to coach and put on races. It’s been amazing to see all the ways that running can be a part of my life!
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Lauren will be at the start line of the Eugene 5K on race weekend and alongside the course on Sunday cheering on her team. Give her a high five on race weekend and a follow on Instagram: @lauren.cags