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☰
Portland Marathon Runner Comments
Back to Portland Marathon Information & Reviews
Course 3.5 
Organization 4.2 
Spectators 4.3
Number of comments: 295 [displaying comments 161 to 171]
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B. F. from Vancouver BC
(10/9/2007)
"This is a great place to run a marathon" (about: 2007)
6-10 previous marathons
| 1 Portland Marathon
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 4 The organization was flawless; and the run was safe and well stocked with water, supplements, volunteers and folks looking out for our safety. The fans were great and the finish was perfect, just around the corner and you're done. The finish area was well stocked with food and people to help us get over the run. But the best was: ice cream at the finish. This is why I run! | |
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T. C. from Tampa, Florida
(10/9/2007)
"Fantastic job, all around" (about: 2007)
1 previous marathon
| 1 Portland Marathon
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 First, I want to rave about the volunteers who staffed the race. All stations were well-supplied, and I especially liked the Red Bull station near the end. The finish area was very well organized, and I've never seen cleaner porta-potties in my life (and I was at the back of the pack!). The marathon literature covered all the essentials; any questions we had were answered right away; everyone was great! This race was especially meaningful to me, as one of the race directors recently passed from MS complications, and I have MS and run with a disability. I kept Nadine in mind when the going got tough. The musicians, cheerleaders, and spectators were also first-rate. I really liked the fact that the start line, expo, and finish line were all close together, too. The only downside for me was that the walkers were shifted onto sidewalks after 1 p.m., and we had to stop for stoplights and even two MAX light-rail trains before the finish. Otherwise, a great event! I hope to return again within a year or two. | |
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M. K. from Lakewood, Washington, USA
(10/9/2007)
"Portland Embraces It's Marathon and The Runners" (about: 2007)
3 previous marathons
| 1 Portland Marathon
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 5 Had a great day!!! Course provided interesting changes. Plenty of aid/water station with fluids, goodies and friendly, encouraging volunteers. Friendly pacers, Great entertainment, Excellent weather, Wonderful support at finish, Friendly runners. Vibrant, encouraging Spectators. Nice shirt, metal, pin, rose and seeding. Tasty foods and fluids at finish. The Expo needs more space. | |
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Steve Stillman from Redondo Beach, Ca.
(10/9/2007)
"Great Marathon Weather" (about: 2007)
6-10 previous marathons
| 1 Portland Marathon
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 5 Loved the weather (nice and cool with a few minor sprinkles) and the course. Nice views along large portions of the course. Two bridges. Easy to get to start via MAX light rail system. The only con I found was the confusion over where to drop your clothes bag and where to pick it up at the end. | |
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Natalie Whitson from Eugene, Oregon
(10/9/2007)
"Not as pretty as Eugene but had a great time" (about: 2007)
1 previous marathon
| 1 Portland Marathon
COURSE: 3 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 This was my second marathon - first was Eugene this spring. I joked that Portland has good enough self-esteem that it doesn't mind showing visitors its ugly side (whereas you run along the river and through Pre's trail in Eugene.) Everything was as they described it, I had no dissapointments about the route or the start, food and water were good except that they ran out of gummy bears on the course for us slower types. Seems that the shirt was improved, as they did not give out turtle necks this year. Perfect weather, no deluge and no Chicago-style heat either. People were great! I'll be back. | |
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5. R. from Southwest, USA
(10/8/2007)
"OK race" (about: 2007)
11-50 previous marathons
| 1 Portland Marathon
COURSE: 3 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 4 For the most part the race was good. The shirt is decent and it was nice to have a choice in color (blue or white)and they actually had size small. The start line needed more entry points to get into your pace area. You either needed to elbow your way thru loads of people or hop the fence. Most were hopping the fence. The course is ok- typical for a city race but not terribly scenic. The water stations were spaced differently each time, from 0.4 to what seemed like 3 miles in the hilly section, which made it hard to plan gel strategy. The city of Portland is great though and the weather was good. | |
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Nicholas Konkol from Portland, Oregon
(10/8/2007)
"Excellent event! My second favorite marathon!" (about: 2007)
4-5 previous marathons
| 2 Portland Marathons
COURSE: 3 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 5 There are aid stations with a perfect spread throughout the course along with everything a runner could want in an aid station - gummy bears, sports drinks, gel packs at mile 18, etc. The scenery is nice on the bridges and in downtown Portland. The scenery in the neighbor hoods is average. The bands, cheer-leading squads, helpers, and spectators are superb. I have run it twice now, and it has not rained. And the temperature has been great each time. The hills are tough, but build character. | |
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T. B. from Portland OR
(3/2/2007)
"Great race but ugliest shirts ever for finishers" (about: 2006)
1 previous marathon
| 1 Portland Marathon
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 5 Portland is a great race on a pretty level course. There is one minor hill, but for the most part the race is a breeze. Spectators are great and you get just enough of them along the way. Race could be a little more scenic if it did not go through the northwest industrial area, but rather ran up and out over Terwilliger - just a suggestion for course designers. The run through NoPo is great and the guys handing out PBRs at mile 24 are pretty funny. Food after the finish is great; fruit and drinks and ice cream and yogurt, and the list goes on. I liked the little Doug Fir seedling given to everyone, as well as the rose. Now for my dislikes, there is only one: the finisher's shirts are the most god awful, ugly creation I have ever laid eyes on. I was hoping they would change them this year, seeing they have had the same design for the past few years, but nope. It is this cheesy-looking, mock-turtleneck, cheap-wicking shirt. I have never worn mine due to the fact that I think mock turtlenecks died out around 1997, along with pinch rolling my jeans. So if anyone is looking for a size small finisher's shirt, please take mine, or I will wait ten more years when it has a vintage look to it, and I will be the talk of the town. | |
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C. A. from Otis Orchards Washington
(10/17/2006)
"Great race; I'll do this again!" (about: 2006)
First Marathon
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 The Portland Marathon was the perfect fit for my first marathon. Not too flat, not too hilly, plentiful support and the spectators were entertaining. The only thing I would change is the merge at the two mile, the location of the expo was too small for all the people, and lastly, the reunion area needed to be spread out. The finisher's chute was very nice with lots of snacks and it was filled with only the finishers and volunteers. The seedling and rose were the frosting on the cake for me. | |
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T. K. from Seattle, Washington
(10/14/2006)
"An Excellent Race!" (about: 2006)
4-5 previous marathons
| 1 Portland Marathon
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 I'm not sure what all the whining is about! People! This is a marathon, not a dinner party on Nob Hill. The course is great... very flat (the person who said it is difficult must be joking). The only hills were one biggie at mile 17 and another rather small one. You want hills, head north and run Whidbey! Difficult course... ha! Spectators were awesome! There were hardly ANY spots where there wasn't someone cheering us on. I love having my name on my bib because hearing people yell "Go T!" makes a fantastic difference! The water stations were, by far, the best organized stations I've seen. I've run five marathons and a number of halves and shorter races (and one 30K). I've met up with no water at water stations, passing by because the volunteers were chatting rather than passing out cups, or stations that were so small that you had to wait in line or just run on. Not once did I even have to walk through a water station. Porta-potties were plentiful if you showed up to the race early, as was gear drop. The book given out at the expo clearly showed the best places for spectators to meet us on the route. My husband was able to cheer me on in a number of areas. They even had a procedure for handling "towers" who ran in their runners to the finish, as my husband did. The entertainment was SO much fun... great variety and lots of energy. I don't think I've run a single marathon where there hasn't been SOME nasty looking areas, so running through the industrial area was no big deal. I'd hardly call the slowdown at mile two "dangerous," as another runner did. Yes, we had to slow to a walk... but oh well! About mile six (if I recall), some were even stopped by a train! It's not something controllable, so chuckle about it and run on! The finish line was awesome. I appreciate a race where they keep spectators out of the food area as that is one of my BIGGEST pet peeves. If I have just run 26.2 miles, I don't have to fight someone's eight year-old for the last donut! In SLC a woman actually walked up and handed the last two cartons of milk to her children - with me, just having finished a marathon, standing there just gaping! Feed your children at home! It's also hard enough to get through a bunch of runners, but to have to dodge children after a marathon can be painful! The rose, the tree, and the pin were GREAT touches. I actually really like the shirt... since it is a PNW race and we do get chilly and wet winters, it'll be a GREAT shirt for November runs; perhaps I'll wear it in the Seattle Marathon! I think my only minor complaint would be that the people who took the pictures did not "find" a single picture of me. A friend had to search for them. Also the finish-line photo didn't show up. What a bummer! But that was VERY minor! Overall this was a GREAT race! If I were going to do a repeat, I'd definitely do Portland again. |
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