Oregon Marathon 2014 Review

There was a deal between Boston and Portland, OR, so naturally I found a mileage run that fit with the marathon. Luckily, the marathon was scheduled on a Saturday and also offered race day packet pickup so I could fly in Friday night and then leave Sunday morning, which was cheaper than flying out Sunday night.

The Oregon Marathon is in its second year in 2014 and there have been some good reviews of the race from last year so I thought it would be a good race. The race occurred on September 13th.

I flew into Portland at night and picked up some food at a restaurant in the airport. I had it to go and ate it at the Sheraton Portland Airport. I have stayed here before, but got an upgrade this time to a suite.

It was a 1 bedroom suite, with a nice sitting area and couch before the bedroom.

The next morning, I had to get up early in order to drive an hour south towards Silverton for the Oregon Marathon. They recommended we get there by 6am, but I got there around 6:30am. The race day packet pickup was right besides the start line in the community center.

There are also tables and bathrooms so you can stay dry or warm, and use the facilities before the race.

The start was right at 7:30am, just a bit after the sunrise. The weather this year was hot. It started off around 50F but rose up to 90F around noon. The half marathoners would start about 30 minutes after us and also in the downtown area just a few hundred feet away. The marathoners would run through the crowd of half marathoners so that was very cool.

Most of the course was fairly flat with a few short uphill sections. There was almost no shade along the entire course so make sure to bring sunscreen, despite being in September. I knew the weather would get hot so I made sure to push the pace for as long as I could earlier in the race and then walk the rest.

The course was fairly scenic. The race support stations were numerous and well placed. Luckily I brought along a small water bottle (16oz) with me and it kept me hydrated towards the later parts of the race because the stations are two miles apart. Keep that in mind if the weather is above 80F as I can’t go that long without a water stop.

The first half of the course was with the half marathoners and the halfway point is near the finish line for both half and full marathons. The second half of the marathon went through some more farm land. I just remember seeing a lot of corn, among other crops.

Despite cramping up on the last 2 miles, I ran the first 20 at a very good pace and finished the marathon in 4:27, my second fastest time ever. Here is the link to the MapMyRun recording of the race: http://www.mapmyrun.com/workout/730451443

My training haven’t been consistent so my time shows it. I had the speed but just needed some more endurance. I will try to work on it over the next few weeks so I can try to get something better for the Rock ‘n Roll Marathon in Vegas in November.