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Marathon Details - Portland Oregon Marathon

North America Marathons > USA > OR > Portland > Portland Oregon Marathon

Portland Oregon Marathon

OHSU Health Portland Oregon Marathon & Half Marathon

Portland, OR USA

October 6, 2024

http://www.portlandmarathon.com

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2024 2023 2022 2021 2019 Top 3 Finishers

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Runner Reviews (4)

Course 4.0

Organization 4.8

Spectators 4.8

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Number of comments: 4

G. H. from IL (10/4/2023) "A Good Race" (about: 2023) 11-50 previous marathons \| 1 Portland Oregon Marathon COURSE: 3 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 The 2023 race was a nice event on a nice day. I was hoping for a flatter course, but the hills weren't too bad. I was really glad to have all the shade; between the buildings in the city center and the trees out in the neighborhoods, I felt very well protected on what was a relatively cloud-free day. A couple notes for improving this race: * As someone who travels all over the country to run races, I greatly appreciate any opportunity to skip the expo and have my bib and swag mailed to me. That's a huge plus. $40 for this service, however, is pretty outrageous. * Volunteers are great people, and runners should always be grateful for their help. I felt a race of 7,500 runners could have used more people at the hydration stations, especially near the beginning of the course when the pack hasn't spread out yet. * For a 'big' marathon that costs more money than most of the rest, the swag wasn't that great. The shirt and the medal seem to be of lower quality. The arm sleeves were unique, though. * Take this for what it's worth: Portland is not a great city. The homelessness and the lawlessness you hear about in the media are very real. I wasn't expecting to see so many tents along the course. Also, I saw a car nearly run over a race volunteer because she was trying to stop him/her from driving across the course. I truly hope the police caught this person for intentionally endangering the lives of the volunteer and the runners on the course.
A. M. from Vancouver Island, Canada (10/2/2023) "NOT A FAST COURSE" (about: 2023) 11-50 previous marathons \| 1 Portland Oregon Marathon COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 This was my 31st marathon. I set a new PR and won my age group, because I have a coach, not because this is a fast course. You will read why. I had trained for Twin Cities (which IS a fast course) but when I saw their forecast I switched to Portland. Excellent race website except for the course profile which looks more like the monitor they hook you up to at a hospital. Except worse. But the website says it's a fast course, right? How bad could it be? The expo wasn't big but it's not a big race (compared to the majors). They had two speakers at the expo: a doctor to talk about runners health, and a coach to talk about the course. Both were excellent. The coach did not mince words about the amount of climbing, and number of turns, on the course. He also explained the train boxes perfectly. But I knew I had trained for a PR and was very nervous about the hills. Race day had textbook PERFECT race weather. Sunny and cool. My hotel was a 4 minute walk to the start line which was great because the lines for the portapotties were epic. The start area seemed a bit chaotic because there were so many runners crammed under the bridge. But the start chute itself was really easy to self-seed. Once we were done the first 10k, I already knew this was going to be the most difficult marathon course I had run. There was no settling into my pace, because there were so many turns, and I am really careful about running the tangents. The hills were constant. And so, so many train tracks. A runner could not lose focus for a moment. In the second half I will say that the area around Reed College felt like it had more downhill than I was expecting. I actually dared speed up and get in front of the 3:30 pace group. That's because I thought we had already done the Mile 22 hill. I was OH SO WRONG. That hill took it out of me and made the remainder of the race, which had several smaller hills, very difficult. The only truly flat part of the race was running down to the finish. I did give the course 5 stars however because we ran through so many COOL neighbourhoods where the local community members clearly took pride in representing their area and supporting the runners. Downtown was cool because it's downtown. The bridges were beautiful. Reed College was a stunning area to run through. It's a GREAT course. It's just not a fast course. (Why does their website say that!?) I've done New York, Boston and San Fransisco, and Portland is harder than any of those BY A LOT. Huge shout-out to the race organizers for how they handled the logistics of those train boxes. That alone deserves huge recognition. The aid stations were very easy to navigate even though I was in a large pace group. The volunteers were incredible. I think this would be an amazing race to do for fun with friends, not caring about your result. I used to read horror stories about the Portland marathon and they have obviously made a huge 180 since those days. This is a great event to showcase a fantastic American city.
R. A. from Albuquerque, NM (3/30/2023) "Sounds like it's a lot better than it used to be!" (about: 2022) 11-50 previous marathons \| 1 Portland Oregon Marathon COURSE: 3 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 4 I felt that this race needed more comments to encourage people to sign up. It's really a good mid-sized race with great organization. There aren't a ton of spectators for this race but they make up for their lack of numbers with enthusiasm! Lots of tree-lined/covered city street running that helps keep things cool when the sun's beating down on you. There's also not much uphill running and plenty of downhill breaks to help keep your breathing in check. Many residents were out in their yards/driveways with signs, water hoses, and snacks. The expo was a perfect size for those of us who like to browse through new products and sample food/drinks. Everyone was incredibly friendly and there was plenty of room to move around. Our only issue was that the address for the expo and another location in town are the same so we ended up at the wrong place. Post-race pizza, donuts, and beer were greatly appreciated along with cold towels and the usual bananas/milk/snack bars. The lines were a bit long for us mid-pack runners but it was so nice to have those options. The price for the marathon was one of the highest I've paid. It included a fantastic technical shirt that I wear all the time, free finisher photos, and a semi-personalized video. Those were all great but it would have been nice to have the option to save money on registration and then select those items a la carte. Overall a very nice race if you're looking to cross Oregon off of your list.
S. C. from Portland, Oregon (10/10/2019) "Awesome all the way around!" (about: 2019) 50+ previous marathons \| 6+ Portland Oregon Marathons COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 The all new Portland Oregon marathon is fantastic. Everything about it is a huge upgrade from the old days. Fantastic course. Great Swag. FREE Photos. No getting ripped off and gouged. Great finish area festivities on Portland's waterfront. JOIN ME FOR 2020! I've run over 190 marathons. This is in the top ten.



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G. H. from IL (10/4/2023) "A Good Race" (about: 2023) 11-50 previous marathons \| 1 Portland Oregon Marathon COURSE: 3 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 The 2023 race was a nice event on a nice day. I was hoping for a flatter course, but the hills weren't too bad. I was really glad to have all the shade; between the buildings in the city center and the trees out in the neighborhoods, I felt very well protected on what was a relatively cloud-free day. A couple notes for improving this race: * As someone who travels all over the country to run races, I greatly appreciate any opportunity to skip the expo and have my bib and swag mailed to me. That's a huge plus. $40 for this service, however, is pretty outrageous. * Volunteers are great people, and runners should always be grateful for their help. I felt a race of 7,500 runners could have used more people at the hydration stations, especially near the beginning of the course when the pack hasn't spread out yet. * For a 'big' marathon that costs more money than most of the rest, the swag wasn't that great. The shirt and the medal seem to be of lower quality. The arm sleeves were unique, though. * Take this for what it's worth: Portland is not a great city. The homelessness and the lawlessness you hear about in the media are very real. I wasn't expecting to see so many tents along the course. Also, I saw a car nearly run over a race volunteer because she was trying to stop him/her from driving across the course. I truly hope the police caught this person for intentionally endangering the lives of the volunteer and the runners on the course.
A. M. from Vancouver Island, Canada (10/2/2023) "NOT A FAST COURSE" (about: 2023) 11-50 previous marathons \| 1 Portland Oregon Marathon COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 This was my 31st marathon. I set a new PR and won my age group, because I have a coach, not because this is a fast course. You will read why. I had trained for Twin Cities (which IS a fast course) but when I saw their forecast I switched to Portland. Excellent race website except for the course profile which looks more like the monitor they hook you up to at a hospital. Except worse. But the website says it's a fast course, right? How bad could it be? The expo wasn't big but it's not a big race (compared to the majors). They had two speakers at the expo: a doctor to talk about runners health, and a coach to talk about the course. Both were excellent. The coach did not mince words about the amount of climbing, and number of turns, on the course. He also explained the train boxes perfectly. But I knew I had trained for a PR and was very nervous about the hills. Race day had textbook PERFECT race weather. Sunny and cool. My hotel was a 4 minute walk to the start line which was great because the lines for the portapotties were epic. The start area seemed a bit chaotic because there were so many runners crammed under the bridge. But the start chute itself was really easy to self-seed. Once we were done the first 10k, I already knew this was going to be the most difficult marathon course I had run. There was no settling into my pace, because there were so many turns, and I am really careful about running the tangents. The hills were constant. And so, so many train tracks. A runner could not lose focus for a moment. In the second half I will say that the area around Reed College felt like it had more downhill than I was expecting. I actually dared speed up and get in front of the 3:30 pace group. That's because I thought we had already done the Mile 22 hill. I was OH SO WRONG. That hill took it out of me and made the remainder of the race, which had several smaller hills, very difficult. The only truly flat part of the race was running down to the finish. I did give the course 5 stars however because we ran through so many COOL neighbourhoods where the local community members clearly took pride in representing their area and supporting the runners. Downtown was cool because it's downtown. The bridges were beautiful. Reed College was a stunning area to run through. It's a GREAT course. It's just not a fast course. (Why does their website say that!?) I've done New York, Boston and San Fransisco, and Portland is harder than any of those BY A LOT. Huge shout-out to the race organizers for how they handled the logistics of those train boxes. That alone deserves huge recognition. The aid stations were very easy to navigate even though I was in a large pace group. The volunteers were incredible. I think this would be an amazing race to do for fun with friends, not caring about your result. I used to read horror stories about the Portland marathon and they have obviously made a huge 180 since those days. This is a great event to showcase a fantastic American city.
R. A. from Albuquerque, NM (3/30/2023) "Sounds like it's a lot better than it used to be!" (about: 2022) 11-50 previous marathons \| 1 Portland Oregon Marathon COURSE: 3 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 4 I felt that this race needed more comments to encourage people to sign up. It's really a good mid-sized race with great organization. There aren't a ton of spectators for this race but they make up for their lack of numbers with enthusiasm! Lots of tree-lined/covered city street running that helps keep things cool when the sun's beating down on you. There's also not much uphill running and plenty of downhill breaks to help keep your breathing in check. Many residents were out in their yards/driveways with signs, water hoses, and snacks. The expo was a perfect size for those of us who like to browse through new products and sample food/drinks. Everyone was incredibly friendly and there was plenty of room to move around. Our only issue was that the address for the expo and another location in town are the same so we ended up at the wrong place. Post-race pizza, donuts, and beer were greatly appreciated along with cold towels and the usual bananas/milk/snack bars. The lines were a bit long for us mid-pack runners but it was so nice to have those options. The price for the marathon was one of the highest I've paid. It included a fantastic technical shirt that I wear all the time, free finisher photos, and a semi-personalized video. Those were all great but it would have been nice to have the option to save money on registration and then select those items a la carte. Overall a very nice race if you're looking to cross Oregon off of your list.
S. C. from Portland, Oregon (10/10/2019) "Awesome all the way around!" (about: 2019) 50+ previous marathons \| 6+ Portland Oregon Marathons COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 The all new Portland Oregon marathon is fantastic. Everything about it is a huge upgrade from the old days. Fantastic course. Great Swag. FREE Photos. No getting ripped off and gouged. Great finish area festivities on Portland's waterfront. JOIN ME FOR 2020! I've run over 190 marathons. This is in the top ten.

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Marathon Details - Portland Oregon Marathon