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Apr 28, 2024

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 11 to 21]

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R. R. from Memphis, TN (10/11/2016) "Unbeatable Swag! Great Location. OK Marathon" (about: 2016) 50+ previous marathons \| 1 Portland Marathon COURSE: 3 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 4 Portland is one of the most beautiful cities in the world. Scenic Mt Hood towers over the hipster cityscape and a visit to the Colombia River Valley needs to be on everyone's bucket list! Great Wineries surround the city itself and amazing vistas await you on the nearby Oregon Coast. Thus as a destination Marathon few places can compete with Portland. The race also has great swag for bling chasers like me. The finishers' medal and other keepsakes are phenomenal and worth the price of admission all by themselves. The reputation as the best swag Marathon in the country is well deserved. But as a stand alone Marathon, Portland is a little disappointing. The course itself is not so scenic. There is a long industrial out and back section that makes up a lot of the race. If you know a lot of the people running in the event then I suppose it might be fun to see them during these miles. But as an out-of-town visitor there is nothing to distract you from the mind-numbingly boring landscape. Running over the bridges and along the upscale neighborhoods on the bluffs was great, but all too short, and was immediately followed by more dull industrial sites. In a city that has such a vibrant downtown, not to mention the wonders of Washington Park right at your fingertips, why not reinvent the course to showcase the best of what the city has to offer. Other marathons in cities far less blessed with such abundant natural beauty as Portland manage to find interesting and scenic courses. Maybe it's time Portland reimagines it's Marathon much as LA did a few years ago. And I've not even mentioned the disaster with the course this year. Every corral after corral B ran a very long course. There was supposed to be a turn on Counch St off of 4th St at about mile 0.6. There was no one there to guide the runners to make that turn after the first 2 corrals went by, so we all ran the full length of 4th street and added an extra 0.6 miles to our journey (roughly.) Accidents happen, but that turn should have been well staffed and well marked as it was the first major turn in the race and it is easy to see how it could be missed in the pre-dawn darkness. So,bottom-line, Portland is a great place with great swag and a supportive and vigorous running community that could put this race on the top tier of running events. It only lacks a great course and a few more details attended to like well marked turns, diversion of light rails during race hours, spectator friendly finishers area, and a little work on the expo (confusing.) Portland has a lot of potential! I hope I get a chance to see the day Portland takes those bold steps needed to showcase all it has to offer the world. I'll be first in line!
S. R. from New York, NY (10/10/2016) "Over-rated and disappointing race" (about: 2016) 11-50 previous marathons \| 1 Portland Marathon COURSE: 1 ORGANIZATION: 3 FANS: 1 Unfortunately, this marathon is over-rated. It touts awards such as 'best organized', best in October, etc. but the reality is that it is simply mediocre at best. There are numerous reasons: 1. Organization: Overall, it was fine, but there is no bag drop. They say this is because of security, but there is NO security at the start - people were just wandering in and out wherever, no one checking anything, so clearly it is just about making their logistics easier. On a rainy day like yesterday was, no bag is a disaster. Advertising for a local running company to charge $10 to store a bag the day before is ridiculous. 2. Transportation to start: The 'strongly encourage' taking public transportation to the start by 6am. However, there is NO public transportation running that will get you there by then! When I asked the about this, they suggested I get an Uber (don't do this - unavailable and expensive surge pricing!). 3. Course: I used to live in Portland, so I know it is a truly beautiful city. The course manages to show none of this. Most of the course is industrial areas with train tracks and warehouses. Ugly, often smelly. Water stops were poorly organized, too few, too small, and erratically spaced - sometimes very close together, other times several miles apart. The course featured Ultima drink - this is a sugar-free drink. Personally, I think it tastes bad, but also: why a sugar free drink on a marathon? We need the calories. Spectator support was non-existent (it was a rainy day, but, miles of the course runs along highways and spectators are banned anyway, so regardless of weather, you won't have people cheering most of the way). Do not be fooled by the course elevation: it is a hard course - the hill up to St. John's bridge is long and steep and very tough. The view from the bridge is pretty great. 4. Finish Area: chaotic. I had to ask for a medal and the disposable jacket thing they were giving out (which is nice - I will save it and use it at my next pre-race). Dixie cups of water or ultima were available right at the finish, then no further drinks (other than chocolate milk) available anywhere. They had animal cookies and twizzlers, but no water?? My advice to the organizers: Save the flowers, tree saplings (yes, they handed out roses and baby trees; I don't know about you but when I've just finished a marathon, nothing helps me recover like a sapling!), coins and pendants, and replace it with a simple bottle of water. It was raining hard all day, so everything was soaking wet - rain isn't their fault, but Portland is well known for being rainy and it often rains on race day. Not being prepared for rain IS their fault: because of no bag check, you have nothing dry to change into, and the shirt they gave out was wet. So I was forced to remain cold and wet until I could get all the way back to my car. Bottom line: Skip it. There are so many other fall marathons that beat this one. It just isn't worth the time and effort.
M. W. from Dallas, TX (10/9/2016) "Great race but organizer don't care" (about: 2016) 6-10 previous marathons \| 1 Portland Marathon COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 1 FANS: 5 DO NOT RUN THIS RACE IF IT IS YOUR FIRST RACE! This race does not care about its racer. I don't think this race cares about their racers. I will start with what is good. Whats good 1. The volunteers are troopers it was 45 degree and raining the whole race. They were troopers being outside supporting the runner. The water station was every mile which is great! 2. Smaller race and the corrals were spread out pretty well. There is also official pacers who are awesome! What is bad 1. The package pick up was not easy to figure out. especially when i need to change from a full to half cause of unforeseen medical issues with a doctor note. They wanted 150 dollars change fee in the name of charity. It seem like very deep I end up paying 300 dollars for a half marathon. I think this race organizers are greedy. 2. the race markers are white and small you can barely tell. On some of them it is hard to see. They could spend a little more money on that. its been 45 years in the making come on! 3. They need to have more official race people instead solely dependent on volunteers. My husband had hyperthermia because of the weather asking people to help him. The volunteers turned him away he couldn't find a single official to help him. He just wander around in the cold for 40 minutes by himself. This is super dangerous for race participant. This race does not care about its runners and again lack of official organizer people at the finishing line shows again they DON't care about their racers. He is not alone. I talked to multiple people who said the finishing line was so disorganized.
C. B. from Colorado (10/9/2016) "A little overpriced and over rated" (about: 2016) 6-10 previous marathons \| 1 Portland Marathon COURSE: 3 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 2 The Portland Marathon wants you to believe it is a destination race. It has a few deficiencies and doesn't live up to the hype. Pros: 1. Good start and finish area. 2. Course support and entertainment was good. Cons: 1. The expo needs to move to a better location. 2. The course is below average which was made worse by the rain. 3. The weather was bad on race day.
J. S. from Atlanta, Ga (10/10/2015) "Good, not great race in great city" (about: 2015) 6-10 previous marathons \| 1 Portland Marathon COURSE: 3 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 3 I went out too fast on a warm, sunny day and the steep climb at mile 17 bonked me for good but, other than the inopportune bridge climb, I thought the course was pretty fast and at times scenic. Expo was okay but it remains a little weird that they hand out bags at the end of it. Didn't get caught by the trains but it's hard to understand why a big city marathon would even have that as a potential problem. Really nothing quaint about it and very 1926 for a metro race. Fan participation was good in the last few miles and thought the finish line food/drink was adequate, although bottles of water would have been good because a lot of folks (like myself) overheated. There is zero shade on the course for 26.2 so it's easy to get a little hot on a sunny day. Was my first trip to Portland and loved the city, although the trip is very pricey coming from the East. Our hotel was stupid expensive. On the plus side, the rail system is wonderful and you don't need a car, and the restaurants are great.. Overall the race is probably a bit overrated by national running publications but it's one I'd probably do again sometime if I had the chance
S. C. from Eugene Oregon USA (10/10/2015) "Some Great things a few clunkers" (about: 2015) 50+ previous marathons \| 6+ Portland Marathons COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 103rd marathon 8th Portland marathon. What I love about Portland: Course Finishers shirt at the finish! New medal is great. Better entertainment than a Rock-N-Roll, BY FAR! No finisher's mylar; a good disposable jacket instead. MUCH easier to manage. Well organized start, even with all those 1/2 marathoners I love the out-n-back at mile 7-10, you get to watch for all your friends, see the leaders, etc. NEEDS IMPROVEMENT: Expo in the Hilton parking garage. YUCK. Nobody allowed at the finish line. HEY, move the finish out to your awesome waterfront just 2 blocks away! I've done this 8 times and never been stopped by a heavy train and only once very briefly by the light rail. Maybe I have good luck.
R. M. from Salt Lake City, UT (10/9/2015) "Wish there were more and better spectators" (about: 2015) 6-10 previous marathons COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 3 Pros: - Well organized race - The loop course made getting to and from the start finish very easy. It allows out-of-towners to relax in their hotel room and use the bathroom much easier than having to wait forever for porta potties. - The St Johns bridge was cool to go over. - I thought the course was solid. It's tough and isn't very fast but there is a nice downhill around 22-23 that is a nice little boost heading to the end. Some have complained about the course but I think it's very good. If they were to have it routed elsewhere in the city it would be a very hilly and very difficult course that not to many people would be thrilled about running. It's tough enough as is. The only issue I think people could have with the course would be the out and back among the warehouses, but that is early on in the race and the last 15 miles or so are really nice. - Someone giving out beer at about mile 23. - Lots of food and drinks at finish. - Weather was perfect. - Lots of on-course bands and music playing throughout. - Corrals worked well - Large race without being overwhelmingly huge. - I actually liked the half marathoners being with us the first 10 miles. CONS - They give you a lot of stuff at the finish but I didn't find a bag or anything to put it in. Carrying a shirt, rose, medal, coin, pendant, tree and the food and drink I was trying to take didn't work out very well. - The lack of a gear check is only bad if you did not stay nearby. If you're from out of town and staying downtown it really doesn't matter. - No spectators allowed in the finishing chute!!! I don't understand this one at all. There are a bunch of fans and then you turn the last corner and they don't allow people in. This needs to change. - Spectator enthusiasm and support was only marginal. At times it was good and others completely vacant. They close off sections of the course to specters for some reason, the bridge included. - Trains. I did not get stopped personally but the #4 female in front of my got stopped for about 15 seconds by a light rail train at about mile 24.5. I caught her as did the #5 woman but she powered on and still beat us both. That would be frustrating and there appeared to be multiple places where that could happen. - No Beer garden afterward! In a city like Portland, that should be a major draw for the Marathon. Overall it is a very good race to run. If you are looking to get your first BQ or a PR, there are better choices on this weekend. If you are looking for a good size marathon, a good overall experience and a well run race this is a good choice.
M. W. from Cary, NC (10/8/2015) "Average medium city marathon, but not great" (about: 2015) 50+ previous marathons \| 1 Portland Marathon COURSE: 3 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 3 I read most all of the reviews, so I sort of knew what I was getting. That said... This was my 75th marathon or ultra, and I've run a lot of medium-sized city marathons, and overall this one really ranks average at best. It reminded me of Charleston for the amount of industrial running, and Charlottesville, VA for being over-rated. The course overall isn't that attractive, and while the bands were fun on the first half, there were very few in the second half. Ultima and NO gels is below average for course support. And I've been at 5K's with better food at the end. Since I'm not a big schwag guy, the overabundance of schwag didn't offset any of this for me. What really got me though is as I was hammering in the final couple miles to hit a time goal, several of us were stopped around Mile 25 by a police officer to let cars through. That is just ridiculous for a professionally organized marathon. Their marketing seems to be cutesie around 'you might be stopped by trains, some people consider it quaint', but it's not acceptable, the course should be closed for the runners. Overall, I say come to Portland, enjoy a wonderful city, get out to the Gorge, go see Mt. Hood. And maybe run the marathon. But, I'll still consider it one of the most overrated races I've done, and I've done hundreds.
D. M. from Phoenix (10/8/2015) "Great event in a great city" (about: 2015) 4-5 previous marathons \| 1 Portland Marathon COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 4 The PM is extremely well organized. The volunteers were attentive and dedicated. The start was seemless and well designed. Aid station were plentiful and well stocked. I have read a few critical reviews of the course, to which I say, you've got to be kidding. It incorporates an urban area with tons of spectators, a river front, a suspended bridge and residential neighborhoods. Sure there are industrial areas too...get over it. Its a marathon not Disney. Overall I was humbled by the generosity and dedication of organizers, spectators and volunteers. Some criticize the lack of gu on the course. So bring your own. No big deal. I found that the salt and carbs of the pretzels helped me and I carried shot blocks. The Chinese drums early in the race are amazing. Imagine a sleepy city street on sunday morning and booming drums resonating through the street. Pretty amazing. Thank you Portland. Beware of the St Johns hill - It's no joke but the bridge is worth it. Last comment...maybe I missed it but I didn't see any water at the finish. I would have killed for a water bottle walking back to my hotel but there was plenty of food even for a late finisher like me.
Judy Fisher from Auburn, WA (10/7/2015) "My 100th Marathon!" (about: 2015) 50+ previous marathons \| 6+ Portland Marathons COURSE: 3 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 Exceptional! That's why I decided to make this marathon my 100th. The organization, encouragement and excitement of the volunteers, the bling, and the weather (at least this year) couldn't be better. The Rose City does treat every finisher as a winner!

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