The weather was spectacular this year with a very cool start, no clouds and warmish-finish. For the most part, the full marathon course is also spectacular as you run along the river where you can see house boats, fishermen, etc. We passed a lavendar field, ostriches and lots of farms along the way. The last five or six miles are a little boring as you are running back inland but still pretty. Very well organized race. Packet pickup was at the running store and there really wasn't any swag. It's an inexpensive race but the marathon shirts were extra (still only $25) but while attractive, they were far too small to actually wear, even after trading in for a larger size. The host hotel happens to be near a fun district with great restaurants, good shopping and nightlife. There was plenty of water and electolytes on the course which were stocked even late in the a.m. Really no spectators to speak of though so take your music or plan on communing with nature - there's plenty of that. Porta-potties along with way were also sufficient. There are fantastic waterfalls, shopping and lots of things to do around Portland. Definitely visit the coast. All in all it was an extremely enjoyable time!

I agree with many of the comments here. The course is nice and great volunteers, but this marathon is way overpriced. I paid $80.88 for the marathon and $9.50 for the shuttle bus...no t-shirt. That would have been another $10, which I opted to not get. The buses need to leave earlier and provide a system where they are rolling as they fill up.

The finishers medal is cute, but cheap and filled with a piece of cardboard inside the chain links. I like the concept, but please use something other than cardboard.

Overall an okay event&it has potential, but the race director needs to step up the ante and improve the shuttle process and incorporate more swag for the price of this race.

What a great race! Well organized. Don't expect an expo-there isn't one. Course is very flat but beware the heat-ended at 75deg. Post race there is shortcake and hot dogs. Overall had a blast, tacked on two days on the front and toured seattle. You can go fast on this course if you are looking for a particular time. Aide stations are about every two miles but that was ok. Very few spectators and your family will have a hard time seeing you on the course. I took the shuttle and my family met me at the finish. Worked out well.

The course is beautiful, but tends to get warm in the many open areas where you are running with the breeze. The event is growing, and is already beyond the capacity of Sauvie Island's roads. The marathon start confined a race of 1000+ to a single lane for the first 2 miles, and you are breathing the exhaust of the cars lined up in the other lane trying to park and get to the Half Marathon start. Aid stations were plentiful, and friendly. This is the third race I've run where Nuun was the only electrolyte offered, and it seems to cause stomach upset. My personal preference is to have an electrolyte drink with sugar. Spectator support was weak, but there is really no easy course access for them. But if you want a beautiful rural setting, with views of Mt. Hood, Mt. Saint Helens, and Mt. Adams, come on down.

Ran the Foot Traffic marathon yesterday and I was very impressed. Great course, albeit a bit lonely at times. Well run race. Aid stations had water and electrolytes. I had a ball and would recommend this race as a casual, fun, fast marathon

I enjoyed the marathon and met my BQ time! Packet pickup was great, as was the hotel. Rode the bus, as recommended, and the course was scenic and flat, as advertised. The atmosphere was very friendly and runners and volunteers all appeared to be having fun. The half-marathoners were walking in groups; but that's to be expected at 4+ hours. I was thrilled with my time and every aspect of this race. I hope to do it again.

This was the third year I've run the Foot Traffic Flat Marathon, and probably it will be the last. There is a lot to like about this marathon, but ultimately the poor organization is a dealbreaker for me. This year we had:

* Energy drink advertised at every aid station (about 2 miles) after the first. The first aid station with energy drink was at M13! Then, only every other aid station after that. By M13 I had already given up caring about this race. Running a marathon without fuel is not cool.
* A large hill in the middle of the course that was not indicated on the course map.
* Poorly placed mile markers.
* And the usual issues - horrendous traffic and a course clogged by the slower half marathoners. (They start after the marathoners, but the marathoners do an out-and-back, winding up behind them.)

This course is beautiful, and there is a farm at the start/finish area where my family had a great time seeing the animals and walking around while I ran. The post-race refreshments were tasty (and fun for the July 4th festivities), and the medal is one of the coolest I've seen in my 18 marathons (it's made from a recycled bike chain). The course is on an island, so the traffic was crazy, and a lot of runners were late for the start, but that is not the fault of the race directors, who offered shuttles, encouraged car pooling, and warned about the traffic. The one downside is the price; it's a bit pricey for the size of the event, and the t-shirt is not included in the event cost. The race directors said it's equivalent to a Rock 'n' Roll marathon (it's not, in size or entertainment), and the price seems a little steep for this level of event.

Getting there was a hassle, and by the time I started the full marathon, the start was almost 20 minutes past. So for the first 6 miles or so, I was almost completely alone. I chose this race knowing there would be few crowds or real sights (the scenery is beautiful but isn't very diverse), so it was kind of nice to run by myself for a while. Once I caught up with the back of the pack of marathoners, it was nice to slowly weave through all of the walkers and slower runners. The vibe is much different at the back, and kind of nice - no one is throwing an elbow as they cut you off; people are just plodding along (myself included). The course was flat, the weather was great, there were no crowds to speak of, which all meant a relaxing morning marathon.

What more could you want, especially in one of the only July marathons in the U.S.? This was my Oregon marathon in my 50-mile quest, and although I had thought about Eugene, I'm glad I picked this one. Here's why:

Pros:
1. Great area to visit, especially in the summer. I stayed at the Holiday Inn next to the hotel where the buses left at 5 a.m. (since that hotel was sold out). It was convenient, and next to a cool area of Portland (Nob Hill) with lots of good restaurants. Moved to a nice downtown hotel after the race and saw an impressive Fourth of July fireworks show about a half-mile away; then I drove out to Mount Hood and stayed at the Timberline Lodge and skied on Tuesday after a stop at the fun McMenamins Edgefield - great par-3 golf course, restaurants, etc. Then on to Hood River to see the wind surfers and the wonderful Skamania Lodge and Multnomah Falls, etc., if you need any vacation ideas....
2. Course was pretty, mostly flat, and easy to run. Fewer than 400 runners. Mile markers were accurate. Plenty of aid stations and nice volunteers. All your needs were provided for. The half walkers were only a minor irritant.
3. Cute start/finish area. Good enough food at the end, with the shortcake being unique. Nice farmer's market.
4. Nice, small-town feel. The anti-Rock 'n Roll experience.
5. Lots of money raised for the local fire department.
6. Nice temps - 54 at the start?
7. I spotted a bald eagle flying over.
8. No expo to mess with. Just showed up at a running store, picked up my bib, and was out of there. No obnoxious commercialism. No t-shirt unless you wanted to pay for one.

Cons:
1. Traffic coming in was kind of bad, although my 5 a.m. bus went quickly and we were there by 5:45 for the 6:30 start. Runners were sprinting to the start as we had headed out, and there was a long line of traffic. But we were all warned to get there early. And they started using buses this year and will presumably increase the number.
2. The medal is a little weak, but still cute.
3. The name is weak, and why emphasize flatness? Chicago could be called the Chicago Flat Marathon, right? Oh, for marketing, I get it.
4. No AG awards.
5. Results took 2 days to get online.