The idea for Team Athena arose in early 2006 in a meeting amongst several women runners who live throughout the Portland Metro area. At this meeting, it was proposed we create a team environment, providing camaraderie, support, and potentially, coaching assistance for women runners. Additionally, these women believed it would be prudent to use our team energy in a positive light and give back to our community. This meeting consisted of over 60 women who all whole-heartedly believed in this concept. From there, we put the thoughts into motion.

As part of creating Team Athena, we believe it is important to be recognized by the IRS as a 501(c)(7) entity in order to gain acknowledgment and respect, not only from fellow runners, but more importantly, from outside the running community of the Portland Metro area. By broadening our audience, we believe we will be that much more effective in fulfilling our mission and have many more resources to assist us in giving back to the community. It is our belief Team Athena will fulfill both a charitable purpose and an educational purpose for the participants directly involved in Team Athena, as well as for the community in which we are all living and running.

Today, Team Athena has approximately 50 active participants. Our participants include women of all levels of running, from beginner to advanced. We are a group of women who genuinely have an interest in running, are looking for a supportive team environment, and share a common goal of contributing back to our community. And, we have a lot of fun together! If you’re looking for a group of women to train or race with, a way to get involved in some unique volunteer opportunities, or just a social outlet, we invite you to check us out! Get in touch with one of the board members, or join us on the track for our Tuesday workouts at Duniway Track -coach led (we are usually there from 5:45pm - 7:15pm, but occasionally we change things up, so get a hold of us first to make sure we’ll be there).