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Portland Marathon: Experience The Rose City
- Mar 9
- 7 min read
The Portland Marathon is a great way to get to know Oregon's 'Rose City'. With four epic bridge crossings, a downtown start and finish, and a tour through some of the most iconic landmarks and neighborhoods in town. Taking runners along a loop of Portland along the east and west sides of the city’s Willamette River, the Portland Marathon starts and finishes at Waterfront Park and showcases the best the area has to offer.
The Destination
A city of 632,309 people with a metropolitan area population of about 2.4 million Portland is the largest city in the state of Oregon. Known as the 'the City of Roses', it's known for its scenic beauty, enhanced by the stunning Mount Hood, only 50 miles away, that gives it a picture postcard backdrop. It's a more laid back place than many on the west coast, with a thriving food and drink scene, boasting numerous breweries and wineries in close proximity. Its music and arts sector is booming and it has one of the largest collections of independent publishers in the US. Its light-rail and streetcar system is the envy of comparable cities nationwide and its mix of past and present architecture has been well managed. The Parks offer gorgeous views and the colour offered by the fir trees in Fall attract visitors from far and wide. Forest Park and Washington Park are two of the best.
There are some wonderful museums here, such as the Portland Art Museum, the largest museum in Oregon, with collections of prints and drawings, photography, Asian art, Native American art, and Northwest art, as well as European and American collections, with some priceless items from the 19th and 20th centuries. Needing the most time to explore is the OMSI, the Oregon Museum of Science and Industry. It has a planetarium, a giant-screen theatre, a retired navy submarine and much more and you'll pass this three miles from the finish of the Marathon. In Washington Park is the World Forestry Center Discovery Museum, a family-focused attraction with interactive exhibits, that's designed to teach visitors about the sustainability of forests and trees in the Pacific Northwest and around the world. There's even a kayak museum and a puppet museum!
Downtown is home to some intriguing shopping opportunities. There's the Portland Saturday Market, the perfect Providence Park, gorgeous boutiques and galleries, and not far away is the Old Town Chinatown. Here you'll find the Lan Su Garden, a perfect place to chill after a morning of shopping. When you're ready for more browsing head to Nob Hill where you'll find some of the most fascinating stores in the city. When it's time for a relaxing drink nearby northwest 23rd Avenue is perfect, or why not start touring the microbreweries, the biggest being Deschutes, back in the Pearl District, part of the marathon course. Goose Hollow and the West End are the places to head if you want a place to celebrate after the Marathon (not before!).
There's plenty of sports to watch here too, with the Timbers MLS team and the Trail Blazers NBA side who play at the Moda Center, also on the marathon course.
History
The very first Portland Marathon took place on Sauvie Island in 1972. There were 86 runners! It is one of the longest running consecutive marathons in the country and as with most events the course has changed over the years as its popularity increased. Since 2019 it has been managed by a new operating company and a new long term sponsor has been agreed. As a result of these recent changes the 2019 event was run on a completely new course.
Race Organiser
Brooksee LLC
When?
The race is held annually in October
Distances
Marathon, Half Marathon and a kids run
Is there an Expo?
The Health and Lifestyle Expo is held on Saturday before the race at the Oregon Convention Center in Portland. There's plenty of gear to buy after picking up your bib, plus talks from the event's coaching team. Bibs can be posted for an additional fee.
How many runners?
9,000
Course
The marathon begins at 7:00 am and half marathon at 7.15 am and there are no waves or corrals. The start line is at the intersection of Naito Parkway and Salmon St at Portland's famous Waterfront Park on the banks of the Willamette River, near the World Trade Center skybridge. Both courses are flat, with elevation of just 178 feet and the start/finish line only 36 feet above sea level.
The first five miles of the course are a fascinating loop tour of the downtown area of the city, covering Old Town, Broadway, the Pearl District and the Northwest District, including Nob Hill. Everywhere you look there are famous Portland landmarks and by the time you hit the Broadway Bridge to cross the Willamette River for the first time it's hard to imagine you're nearly a fifth through the race. The Broadway Bridge is what's known as a bascule bridge, or a drawbridge, that opens to allow boats to pass through. Built in 1913 it's one of the largest of its type in the world.
It's over the Bridge and into the Rose Quarter, home of the historied Veterans Memorial Coliseum and the Moda Center, the home of the Portland Trail Blazers, and then looping back around and back onto the Broadway Bridge at the 6.5 mile mark and back into the Pearl District again. From there it's through Old Town onto Naito Parkway, following the banks of the river south along Waterfront Park and passing directly by the start/finish venue at Salmon St just after reaching mile 8. The route then continues south on SW 1st Ave and Naito Parkway to access the South Waterfront at mile 10. For the next two miles there are great views across to Ross Island. one of four islands here it's home to at least 50 species of birds including ospreys, eagles, and herons. It's then across the Sellwood Bridge, just after mile 12, to the Sellwood-Moreland neighborhood. Just three miles south of downtown Portland this neighborhood is full of unique shops, cafes and restaurants and is well worth a visit after the marathon. At halfway there are stunning views from Sellwood Blvd to prepare the spirits for the next half and then it's into the beautiful Eastmoreland neighborhood just before mile 16. Eastmoreland has far more than its share of trees and parks, with the Crystal Springs Rhododendron Garden and Eastmoreland Garden two of the finest. The route follows the golf course to the south on Crystal Springs Blvd and hits tree-lined Reed College Place at mile 17. It's then north across Woodstock Blvd to the campus of Reed College, passing the stunning Tudor-Gothic style architecture and soaking in the atmosphere of one of the most unique and esteemed colleges in the world. Finishing the mile loop around campus, the route returns south down the opposite side of Reed College Place past the 19 mile mark, before heading west to re-enter Sellwood-Moreland.
It's then through Eastmoreland again continuing north and onto another of the city's quaint neighbourhoods, this time at mile 22 it's Brooklyn, an area that has been transformed over the last fifty years from one that was poverty stricken in the 1960s to one of the most desirable. It's then underneath the Ross Island Bridge at mile 23, and onto the beautiful Eastbank Esplanade, running along the banks of the river as it passes underneath the Tilikum Crossing Bridge half a mile later. While on the Esplanade runners will pass directly between the Oregon Museum of Science & Industry (OMSI) and its famous submarine, the USS Blueblack, just before mile 24, before passing under the Marquam Bridge.
With just over one mile to go the route crosses the Willamette River for the fourth and final time as it heads over the Burnside Bridge, running directly towards the iconic White Stag sign in the distance. Runners take a final loop around Old Town and then head south on Naito Parkway for the final sprint to the finish at Waterfront Park. It's a good course, with a really great finish.
The Half Marathon route has two bridge crossings, a downtown start and finish, and a tour through some of the most iconic landmarks and neighborhoods in town. It follows the marathon route, heading west on Salmon St to Lownsdale Square before turning right to travel north on SW 4th Ave through the heart of downtown. Crossing Burnside Street, the route does a quick loop through Chinatown and returns to Naito Parkway via Davis St.
The marathon has an aid station every two miles between mile 3 and mile 15, and an aid station every mile between mile 16 and 26, so 18 in total and for the half marathon there will be an aid station every mile beginning at mile 2.5, a total of 10. There's also plenty of good course entertainment and cheer zones. Crowd support is good from start to finish.
The finish line festival offers a free bar for runners of legal age, as you'd expect in a city with so many micro breweries and there are also protein drinks, electrolyte drinks, fruit and water. A bonus here is that finishers get free photos and videos taken during the race. That is very unusual.
What's unique?
Free photos and videos taken during the race and emailed to runners afterwards!
Do charities benefit?
The Portland Marathon places extreme importance on reinvesting funds and providing other assistance to charitable causes in the city. It focuses particularly on benefiting organisations whose missions serve youth in economically disadvantaged communities, people with disabilities, communities of colour, LGBTQ2SIA+ communities, and women and girls. Support for any charity is appreciated.
Our verdict
There's a lot to see on the course and many of the city's landmarks are passed en-route. 26 miles is a long way and there are parts where there isn't quite so much to see, but generally the views are good and the support is strong and that makes up for those spots. It's very well organized though and it's an event that has a strong future ahead and that should see good growth in numbers. Definitely worth a look.
How to register
Online via the race website. There is a tiered pricing system depending on when you enter, so the earlier you enter the cheaper it is.
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