Moving to Eugene

I lived in Eugene from 1979 though 1982 while at school there. I also lived in Portland for another 5 years before moving south to Santa Barbara. I lived there for 18 years and then returned to Portland 4 1/2 years ago. I also went to undergraduate school in Boulder. My impression is that Eugene is a good place to train. 

As everyone has said, the running is great. Running in the winter is a great way to get out. It generally does not get very cold, and I don't mind the drizzle, which is what you mostly get in the Willamette Valley. It is the short days of December & January that bother me. During those months I either hike or run in a nearby Park. I like the running the best here, while hiking Boulder was the best. Santa Barbara comes in 3rd in this category.

When I lived in Eugene the swimming facilities were good, not great. With the improvement of their outside pool to 50 meters, it looks a bit better.  In those days I trained primarily as a swimmer so I think you may find the facilities adequate.  I understand the swimming facilities have improved greatly in Boulder, back then I swam at the U of C Rec Center. However nothing would compare to Santa Barbara for pool and OW swimming. Not even close.

When it comes to cycling Eugene comes in dead last. Primarily because I don't like to ride in the rain. I got spoiled first in Colorado. Even in the winter you can have many cold clear days when cycling is a blast. Santa Barbara speaks for itself but there is the California attitude of the drivers.. Another first place. In the winter here in Portland I put my bike up on  trainer for the winter. I actually get great training in watching Tour de France tapes. Summer cycling is fantastic, and while it lacks the high altitude climbs in Colorado, you have wonderful rural back roads with little traffic.

As for the weather, there are a number of false starts in spring with beautiful stretches of warm dry weather in April, May & June. But summer doesn't "officially" start until July 1. From there you have have beautiful warm and dry weather until mid October. Summer racing season is terrific.

Ultimately however, the best place to train is a place where the rest of your life is going so well that you can train as much as you like. In that light, where I live now is the best place I've ever trained.

I agree there are some great places for OWS. Oregon Masters has an OWS series and one of them just outside Eugene. There is also a great triathlon I did last weekend

http://www.uoregon.edu/~ducktri/DBT/