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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 211 to 221]
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C. W. from Walla Walla, WA
(10/10/2005)
"Most fun, best org'd, nicest people, great course" (about: 2005)
6-10 previous marathons
| 2 Portland Marathons
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 Thanks to all of you wonderful volunteers and Race Committee. This is a great, fun, happy race. The descents come just when they're needed, and the views are great. | |
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B. D. from Just moved to Portland
(10/10/2005)
"Improve the food and it's a winner" (about: 2005)
11-50 previous marathons
| 1 Portland Marathon
COURSE: 3 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 Finished the 2005 race yesterday. Very well organized, fans were fantastic. I didn't even mind the 'non-scenic' parts of the course. Weather perfect. HOWEVER, the biggest gaffe was the food. Please, please, please provide runners with real food earlier in the race. I think the first banana I saw was at mile 18 or 20, something like that. Your choices prior to that included an obscure bar that probably almost no one trained with. Bad time to be experimenting. Plus, not everyone can choke down bars, and chewy candy like gummy bears. I need something easily digestible that goes down with minimal chewing effort. I bet a lot of others feel likewise. The other issue was beverage choices. The 'glucose' beverage was not offered frequently enough. As such, it was difficult for runners to get liquid calories in unless they brought their own. Please offer a calorie-replacement drink (with electrolytes) at EVERY water station. Otherwise, a great race!! | |
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D. N. from Vancouver, WA USA
(6/26/2005)
"Great organization, good music, ugly-ish course" (about: 2004)
1 previous marathon
| 1 Portland Marathon
COURSE: 3 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 4 I grew up in Portland and live nearby, so I ran the PDX Marathon as my first marathon in 2004. I agree with previous comments that the course has ugly spots and has a good 8 miles in industrial areas, but I think the reason is that Portland is quite hilly and that's about the only flat spot in town. Picking up the packet pre-race was a snap and the after-race goodies were great. There was a lot of different entertainment during the race and it was great to hear the drums at the first .25 mile. One of the private homes we ran by was playing the theme from Rocky over and over and I (with probably 500 other people) yelled 'Adrian, Adrian' while passing it. I'm kind of perplexed at the number of people complaining about the lack support by spectators. Personally, I don't see why not having a cheering crowd every step of the way is a problem. I guess that I kind of zone out while running and do it for the accomplishment more than for the cheering. All in all, a fun time. | |
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D. H. from Portland, Oregon
(4/30/2005)
"Not the greatest, but not the worst" (about: 2004)
11-50 previous marathons
| 6+ Portland Marathons
COURSE: 2 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 1 Having done Portland 9 times (I live here!), I can confirm the following for those considering this marathon: Course: poor scenery but relatively fast. Large sections are in industrial areas that are ugly and boring. Traffic control is the main reason for this selection of routes. Few of the beautiful areas of Portland on included in the course. Most of the course is reasonably flat. One big hill and one moderate one. The rest are minimal. Most of the miles are very flat and truly fast. Organization terrific. It is well known for this, so this makes it a good run for first-timers who need and appreciate the easy logistics. Spectators are few and very quiet. I have never seen such a lack of support and enthusiasm in any of the other marathons I've done. Not sure why this is... Post-race goodies and finisher's shirt are great. For what it is worth, this event has a very high proportion of female runners and also a very high proportion of runners achieving a PR. Amazing but true: despite the wet climate, this race has rarely had any rain at all. Usually it is cool and cloudy or sometimes sun breaking out during the mid-morning. Also, the norm is no wind. The organizers have touted their incredible good fortune on the weather front. Overall, worth trying for many runners, particularly rookies, PR seekers, and those in search of a BQ time who want an easy course, high probability of excellent running weather, and no glitches. But for veterans seeking new and interesting events, this may not be the one for you. | |
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Gerald Rivas from Covington, Washington
(2/23/2005)
"This is a mediocre race." (about: 2004)
11-50 previous marathons
| 1 Portland Marathon
COURSE: 2 ORGANIZATION: 2 FANS: 2 The organization, the course and the scenery are at best average. It took them four and a half months to send me my finisher's certificate, and it is the cheapest looking piece of paper of all of the races I have participated in. Never again. Do yourself a favor and stay away from this overhyped turkey!!! | |
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T. E. from Houston, Texas
(10/28/2004)
"Fabulous experience in Portland!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" (about: 2004)
2 previous marathons
| 1 Portland Marathon
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 This was my second marathon, first in Portland. I appreciated the course which was scenic, except for the industrial area. KUDOS to the many volunteers, water stations, spectators, etc. At the finish line the warm welcome and food were much needed and appreciated. Thanks again; I'll participate in Portland's Marathon again after I've participated in other marathons across the US. | |
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L. B. from Kodiak, Alaska
(10/27/2004)
"Where was the GU at mile 9? " (about: 2004)
1 previous marathon
| 1 Portland Marathon
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 4 It was a well organized marathon with a lot of energy from the 7,000 runners that were out there, but the health of the runners should be the most important thing, and not providing Gu (the honey stinger was crap) until mile 18.5 was not in the best interest of the runners (and then not providing water with it for another mile was not in good judgment). I did have fun and would end up bringing my own fuel belt the next time. | |
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WWU Sputnik from Bellingham, WA / Russia
(10/26/2004)
"A- Grade Marathon" (about: 2004)
3 previous marathons
| 1 Portland Marathon
COURSE: 3 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 The marathon has decent organization without any major setbacks but the course scenery could be improved. I have no complaints about the organization of the marathon but the on-course supplements weren't the best. The sports drink that was provided wasn't sugary enough and gel was only provided at mile 18-19. Most people burn off their supplies after about 90 minutes of running and taking gel at miles 8-12 (as well as the gel provided later) is a good idea. Carrying your own gel could help. Can't go wrong with more energy. I didn't take points off for this because not many marathons provide gel in the first half. Industrial part of town seemed boring and long(~6-11 miles). The gap between the person ahead and the person behind me left an awkward feeling of running alone. At about mile 9 you turn around and the boredom of running back through the same boring place is compensated by the fact that you get cheered by the slower runners that are running towards you. Oregon is a beautiful state but Portland isn't the most urban city in America. Industrial parts are ok since you only run through in the beginning. The start and finish are still in the nicest part of the city. A few notes: If you want your pictures taken during the race you need to sign up at the Expo. I almost missed that. Signing up doesn't require you to purchase something. It is possible to admire yourself online for free later. Portland also has a lot of decent sports stores. One of them(forgot name) is within the walking distance of the Race headquarters (Hilton) and has a lot of information about Oregon's best athletes. An entire section is dedicated to Steve Prefontaine and is very inspiring. It is worth a visit. Overall the race is a great, Worth a trip to beautiful Oregon. | |
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A. H. from Indiana
(10/21/2004)
"blah, I've seen better" (about: 2004)
2 previous marathons
| 1 Portland Marathon
COURSE: 3 ORGANIZATION: 3 FANS: 1 This was only my second marathon, and maybe I had my hopes up a little too much, but I was disappointed with the Portland Marathon. I thought that the course would be scenic, but rather, I mostly remember the industrial areas. It was nice that the marathon had bands along the course, but much of the music was slow, folksy, and had little beat. This is fine when I am relaxing at home, but when I am pounding the pavement with my feet, I need something that gets me and keeps me motivated. Probably the biggest disappointment was the crowd. The places where people cheered ALL the runners on were few and far between. At the previous marathon I ran, people were lined on the streets for more than half the course cheering for everyone and anyone. That is very motivational for a runner. The crowds in Portland mostly just stood around and watched without any encouragement. I was befuddled by this. The best part of the Portland Marathon was the finish area. I had never seen so much food. I was starving and the food was AWESOME. Also, the T-Shirt, sapling, rose, pin, and everything else received after the race was a great gesture. I probably won't be running Portland again, but we'll see how it stacks up against future races. However, I know there are better races out there. | |
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Cherie Harrington from Spokane, Washington
(10/16/2004)
"Fun, fabulous time! Very glad I did it for my 1st!" (about: 2004)
First Marathon
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 4 Thank you so much for a wonderful experience. Everyone has shared that Portland is a good 1st. I made so many friends, used the water stations (no Ultima), found 3 porta potties in good use, loved the post race food and rubbing elbows with the others. I think every food there was sampled by me--no ice cream although I did a frozen fruit bar! The shirt, medal, pin, rose, seedling, and pictures are all perfect for my memories. Thank you again for a great memorable run! |
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