(who was one of the amazing volunteers who braved the heat) it sounds like the Chicago event was a horrendous black eye for the Race Management, possibly the Second City itself, and an absolute fiasco for many (but not all) of the participants. Either way – again – thanks to all for your concern. And….I have to say – I’M GLAD I WAS IN PORTLAND!!!It was interesting when I started sharing my plans to do the Portland Marathon with my friends and Colleagues. At least half of them asked me “What are you going to do about the altitude?” Now, I am as geographically impaired as the next person, and as a result was quite nonplussed by this question. Consider the name - “PORTLand” This name implies proximity to a large body of water. How can you have a “Port” that is at altitude – unless it is a landing spot for extra-terrestrials? (Well, hold that thought for later..) Having been to Portland on numerous other non-running occasions, I was fairly confident that it was close to sea level. I’m very altitude sensitive and hadn’t experienced any of the symptoms in my past.
So…while there are some really nice hills and mountains surrounding Portland, there is no altitude issue there. FYI…
Got up at 4:00 am on Saturday morning and made my way to MKE for a 6:30 am flight. Northwest Airlines, to Minneapolis and then on to Portland, arriving at 11:10 am local time. (love the extra two hours you get going west!)
Short wait for my traveling running colleague Scott (who is actually the Stellar TOUR Guide who planned every detail of the amazing trip we took to Toronto, Quebec and now Portland) who arrived from Chicago about an hour later, and then we made our way down to the Light Rail system to head downtown. After an interminable line at the automated kiosk, watching non-local people (like myself) fumble for change and figure out fares, we sprint out to the train, catching it just as it closes it’s doors behind us.
Portland is a great city. I’ve been there four or five times for various reasons over the last 15 years or so and had a great time each visit. I don’t know what the population is, but the people are pretty amazing. There are hills, the big Willamette River, and lots of bridges. Public transportation is great; we used both the bus lines and the light rail system while we were there and it was a really fast and easy way to get around.
We got downtown and had a very short walk to the hotel to check in. Then, it was off to the Expo to pick up bib and packet and all. Again, the expo was just a few short blocks away; thanks once again to Scott’s excellent logistics, there was minimal commuting to all of the areas.
The expo was at the obligatory downtown Hilton Host Hotel. The Hotel itself was surrounded by a sea of construction barricades and diversions – apparently they are adding another light rail line to the downtown area. We followed the queue of people into the hotel, and joined a lemming-like line to some non-operable escalators, that took us to the basement expo area.
Bib and chip pickup was typical, a cadre of senior citizen volunteers presided over the numbered envelopes. All I had to do was find my number and I soon had a blue colored bib with my name on it, as well as instructions to pick up my chip across the room. And, another interesting development…Pink colored fliers announcing that “Finishes Shirts must be picked up TODAY! NO Exceptions!!” The volunteer instructed me to make sure I went down to another lower level to pick up my “Finishers” shirt. “Today?” I asked. “Today!” she confirmed. I refrained from pointing out to her that I hadn’t finished the race yet, and, technically, was not eligible for a finisher’s shirt. Bad Karma, ya know. But, something told me that she had probably heard that line before. Probably several times that day.
So, after picking up an activated chip (mine was number 213 – which had no correlation to my bib number 3872) we proceeded down “The Ramp” which had several volunteers directing traffic, down to the expo proper. Of course we were immediately vectored past the Portland Marathon Merchandise Store (one of several they had set up) so we would be tempted by the fine logo’d apparel, mugs, and luggage displayed there. I managed yet again to refrain from buying anything there, though I was tempted by some cool gym bags they had. Probably though, it’s a $12 gym bag that was now $25 with the logo. I saved the dough.
Proceeded to T-shirt pickup where, it seemed there was only one place to go. I went and picked up a large shirt, and immediately upon the volunteer draping it o
ver the table, I felt my gorge rise. The “Finishers’ Shirt” was a long-sleeve technical shirt in a gawd-awful not-teal, not-blue, not-green color. This is a color definitely not found in nature. Probably if Pepto Bismol came in blue that would be the closest I can come to describing the shirt.Scott was actually not running Portland, due to a recent injury, but he did accompany me to the expo. He was standing across the room waiting patiently for me to pick up my shirt. I caught his eye as I raised the shirt up in front of me. He instantly burst out laughing, causing me to lose it as well. “That’s the worst shirt I’ve ever seen! We both agreed it was terrible. And indeed, as we went through the rest of the expo, we saw that someone had actually abandoned their blue shirt on top of a trash bin. So, our opinion was probably shared by others as well
(Here is one of those things that make you go Uh! The next day in the race, I started seeing WHITE versions of the finisher’s shirt on some of the runners. So, at mile 16, I caught up to a Philippine man who was wearing the White version and asked him, “How did you get a white one?” “Oh, sir, they let me choose!” he said between breaths. Crap! I should have paid attention……but ya know I’ve run so many marathons, it’s never about the shirt anymore…..)
So, stuffing the horrible shirt way down in the packet, we proceeded around the expo, picking up the obligatory sack full of coupons, and trial size things, and sampling the goodies. Portland is a very healthy town, and it was reflected in the fitness expo. There were two different kinds of Sports Replenishment drinks, neither of which had dyes, additives or anything else. There were vendors passing out amazing Granola, home-baked cookies, Almond Milk, Knudsens’ Natural Juice, and all kinds of healthy fare. I really have to hand it to the Pacific Northwest, they know how to support healthy eating choices and I don’t think there was one fast food or junk calorie vendor there supporting the race. How cool is that?
I won’t give you blow-by-blow on the carbo loading strategy for the evening, except to tell you that (Again, a Scott researched activity) we bused to Hawthorne where we ate at a Food Network-featured Pizzeria called A Pizza Scholls, an amazing hole-in-the wall place where the 90 minute wait was more than worth it for the Pizza. And, we sat next to two other guys at the bar, one of whom was wearing a Wisconsin Badgers Sweatshirt, being a native Wisconsin. Small World. Great Pizza.
Okay…Here is a Prime Peter Marathon Recommendation. When doing an out-of-town marathon, stay as close to the start line as you can. Believe it or not, I don’t think I’ve ever been able to do that in any of the races I’ve done. Generally, I have to get up at 3:30 am or so, rush around, take some interminable drive to either get to parking before streets get closed, or get on a start line shuttle bus. By the time the race starts, I’m 4-5 hours into the day and tired as hell. By contrast, in Portland, I got up at 5:45 am for a 7:00 am start after a very restful night…..and probably could have slept in for another 45 minutes. The start line was a brief four minute walk from the hotel, and really easy to find. I just followed the noise.
The weather that morning was overcast, humid and not too cold. At 6:30 am, it was still dark out. The Gear Drop area was difficult to find, and when I got there were dozens of runners stacked up trying to check their gear. As I felt overdressed I was obliged to return to the hotel to drop off my extra stuff. And – cool thing - as I walked through the crowd of thousands, I immediately ran headlong into a fellow runner and Shamanic Astrology colleague, Laurence Taoman. Laurence was up from Corvallis, Oregon to run the accompanying Five Mile race that morning. We passed the time to the start catching up and yucking it up with other runners.
I didn’t actually hear the starting gun go off. I was back in the crowd at the 4:00 finisher’s area, which was the best I could do. I had just met a three-time marathoner named Luke from San Francisco and a first-timer named Tim from Seattle, and we were trading race and training stories, and I think we even talked right through the Star Spangled Banner. I do remember that Tim was somewhat surprised to learn that the Wheelchair racers got to start in front of us. Apparently, it hadn’t clicked that it is good to have someone on wheels in FRONT of you, not behind you, running you down. Hah, youth and inexperience…
Anyway, the crowd surged forward….and stopped……surged….and then stopped. Finally, I crossed the mats about 3 ½ minutes after the official start time, and it was a few blocks before I actually got up to cruising speed. Narrow streets and lots of runners.
By then it is light out, and the first few miles are through downtown Portland. At the first mile marker, there was this absolutely incredible Drum Line just hammering away on different drums. They were rocking the whole area, and the reverberations were cannoning off the buildings – you could feel them through the soles of your feet, keeping a fast-paced beat. I literally wanted to stop and do some tribal dancing of some sort, they were exceptional and perfect for the first mile.
So, on to the course.
The course was a meandering loop out and back, with two or three sections where the race doubles back on itself. My overall impression, when looking at the course was that it would run the gamut of urban, suburban, and industrial. And, indeed it did.
The weather, by the way was letter-perfect – Mostly cloudy, and low 50’s. There was at times a stiff headwind, but it was only for a few miles and did not trim me down for long. I brought my sunglasses, but they rode the entire race perched on the top of my head.
I think that there were about 8,000 marathoners and I was never really out of a crowd of them. The course started out heading north, then a hairpin turn south, a right and up a mile and a half long hill, then another hairpin turn into a straightaway downhill mile, doubling back on the original out portion, and then off along the Willamette river for a piece.
Around Mile 6, we headed into an industrial area skirting the river…..and stayed there for a long time. On one side were endless industrial warehouse buildings, shipping companies, manufacturing companies, and who knows what else. On the OTHER side…were the Railroad yards, with slow-moving trains and rail cars being slowly connected and moving around. A sharp smell of Diesel Smoke and Burnt Plastic (and Burnt Toast, of all things) hung in the air.
We were in the Industrial Park for four miles, to the Nine mile mark, and then the course once again doubled back on itself, running back through the industrial park for another two miles. There was a constant stream of runners on both sides of the road, shouting encouragement to each other. And also, among the many bands that were along the course (more on this later) there was an enthusiastic-but-not-talented Christian Rock Band singing “Gospel Rock” in the middle of the Industrial Area. What they lacked in talent, they made up for in Volume. So, we got two doses of Brady Bunch-like “Praise Jesus” both going and coming…….
The Pacific Northwest is the stomping grounds and home turf of the Marathon Maniacs organization. (For those of you who haven’t done so, check out http://www.marathonmaniacs.com/ I’m number 486 in the “Insane Asylum”, having joined last February) The organization itself is rooted in Seattle, Washington where the original founders live.
Anyway, my Maniac Brethren were out in force at the Portland Marathon. There were 54 of them signed up per the Race Calendar and it seemed like during the stretch where we were passing each other, there was a constant stream of yellow Maniac Singlet’s both running with me and coming at me, going the other way. “Hello Maniac!” We shouted at each other. “Go Maniacs!!” I shouted at the groups of them as they passed me going the other way. They obviously had their own spectators throughout the crowd, because I lost count of how many people shouted “All Right Maniac Peter!” to me as I traversed the course. That Yellow Singlet is sooooo cool.
Indeed, after the infamous first encounter of the Brady Bunch Jesus Band, it was my privilege to have one of the founding members of the Maniac Organization – Chris Warren, Maniac Number 2, catch up with me and introduce himself. That was really great. We chatted for about a mile, and he shared that he had done a 50K the day before….that he actually got lost on, so he ran “more than 50K” He passed me up pretty quickly, and I’m thinking….this is a guy who ran 31-plus miles yesterday. Eventually I caught and passed him on a hill a few miles later, but it was a non-existent victory……I sure hadn’t run 31 miles yesterday – I took Trains and Busses for god’s sake. These guys are, well, MANIACS!!
After leaving the industrial area, we wound uphill for the next few miles through an older residential area that was reminiscent of Haight-Ashbury. Indeed, people had set up stereos on the wide front porches of the old homes lining the route. There was a lot of “ink” and “piercing” on the spectators. Remember, the Pacific Northwest is also the roots of “grunge” and I’m here to tell you that Kurt Cobain’s legacy is alive and well – remember the aliens that I talked about earlier? Here they were that day providing crowd support between miles 12 and 14. And also, incongruously situated at mile 12.5 was a full Swing Band just wailing away on 1940’s dance music. Great Big Fat Sound, it was like Glen Miller on Steroids. I totally dug that portion. Was proud to be sporting my pony tail in that crowd. Lots of cool cats.
The course meandered vaguely upward for awhile and after sweeping down a huge hill, we meandered again upward along a busy roadway and again through a “light industrial area” There were plenty of bands along this segment, some of which were competing with each other to be heard. It was a good distraction to the Truck Yards and abandoned Gas Stations. At some point, I started seeing signs referring to “Entrance to St. John’s Bridge” - They said something to the effect of “Entrance to St. John’s Bridge restricted to Runners Only! No Bib, NO Entrance!!” I’m wondering what the Gestapo tactics are all about. Then, past mile 16, we are diverted up a ramp, to “the Bridge”.
Okay, this was a B-F hill, kids. It went straight up and up, about a grade 8. I hit it pretty hard and felt myself starting to slow, and then as my heart started taching out, I figured, okay, time to walk. So, I dropped to a fast walk, which in fact kept me level with all of my fellow runners trying to keep running. Hah.
At the top of the hill, we hung a sharp right and headed out over the huge, bright teal-colored St. John’s Suspension bridge, spanning the Willamette River. The sun broke through the clouds almost the moment I hit the crest and started out over the water. An amazing view of the river, the hills and the surrounding countryside – and well worth the hard uphill slog to get there.
Across the bridge, there was a sharp turn that took us down to a suburban area and through the 18 mile marker. There was an aid station there – and actually there had been ample aid stations all the way. All of the aid stations served not one but TWO types of Sports drink – the same ones that were at the expo. I soon vied for the second one “Glucein” or something, it was good stuff. Two, no three other unique things in this race. One, there were regular “Gummi Bear” stops where workers passed out individual or cupfuls of Brightly-colored Gummi Bears. The only problem was tiptoeing through the discarded little sticky buggers on the ground. Mixed with water and Sports Drink, they were nasty little obstacles that you could either slip on, or have adhere to the soles of your shoes, causing an annoying sucking sound as you ran on.
The second thing was that instead of Gel Packs, they passed out ‘Honey Stinger” packs, which were basically…..Honey in a gel pack. I was hesitant to try this, but thought, what the heck….and it was liquid rocket fuel, when I downed one at mile 19. All natural too!
The last thing was that at mile 20, they had a “Red Bull” stop, where they handed out FULL CANS of Red Bull to the runners. Having never tried a Red Bull (I think they are basically Quintuple Caffeine, Sugar and Red Dye) I didn’t think that today was a day to experiment. I passed on through.
One quick comment on my fellow runners. While the spectators were incredibly upbeat and supportive, particularly in the later miles, many of the runners seemed to be taking this race way too seriously. Excepting my start line conversation with Tim and Luke, and my conversation with Maniac number 2 Chris, which was between miles 9 and 10, before and after the bridge at mile 17, I attempted on more than one occasion to share a comment, start a conversation, or share a witticism and each time was met by grim silence. Even from non I-pod sporting runners. Apparently, there was nothing funny about this race. Especially, not me…
It seemed to be a gradual uphill (with some steep blocks) up through mile 21. We were running through a residential River View Subdivision, complete with lawn chair spectators, and also several High School Bands tootling away on people’s driveways. By now, I’m starting to calculate my finish time. I had hit the halfway point in my usual 1:55, and once again, as in Quebec and Fox Cities, I was past the 20 mile marker at 2:58:29 or under 3 hours. So…..was this to be another sub-four hour finish? As I had made my point two weeks earlier at the Fox Cities, I had not thought about nor was I attached to any particular finishing time.
Maybe it was the Honey Gel. Maybe it was the weather. Maybe it was all the crowd support and excellent bands. (Possibly it was the three evenly-spaced Aleve Tablets I took?) Who knows what makes a good race? Either way, I kept waiting for my friend, The Wall to show up, but by Mile 21, in spite of the rolling course and the bridge crossing I’m still feeling pretty good. Actually….REALLY Good…
So the question became…am I in under four hours?
Then, the question became…Am I as fast as two weeks ago?
And then…Maybe faster?
And finally….How much faster??
The course seemed to be heading to a crest just short of mile 22. At the water stop just prior to 22, I downed half a banana, a few cups of sports drink, and then it was time to open up the taps and push it through the gate.
I hammered through the 22 mile mark and into a long steep downhill stretch, passing runner after runner. “Slacker!” one of them yelled at me as I blazed by. By this time, I’m feeling the finish line sucking me in. Blew through 23, then 24, and then Uh-oh, another bridge – this time the “Steel Bridge” taking us back over the Willamette. Luckily, the grade wasn’t terrible, but by this time, nothing’s stopping me. I zipped over the bridge, still passing runners, through the 25 mile marker, and hammered down the hill, to another hairpin turn. Then, the straightaway, (which was about the third time that day I’d been on that stretch of road) for the last mile to the finish. A right hand turn, up a hill past a sign that said “Non-Registered Runners Exit Here” and a quick left and then suddenly I was through the finish line. Clock read 3:55:56, but my watch read 3:52:36. Four minutes faster than Fox Cities, and my fastest time again, in the last 10 years. Hot Damn!! My instant conclusion is that, the best Marathon Training is ….to run another Marathon, two weeks before!
GREAT finishers area….a big block and a half loop, where, after we received the Finishers Medal (not the best – a little flimsy and chintzy compared to, say Quebec!) and the obligatory Mylar Blankets, we were treated to a raft of food, including all kinds of fruit, fruit juices, bagels, cookies, and even Nestle Quik bottles for the kid in us. There was space to get your picture taken, and here is a nice touch – everyone got a Rose, a Spruce Sapling to plant (Local tree, ya know!) and also a Finishers PIN as a souvenir.
I’m never hungry right after a marathon – all of that gel and sport drink and pounding usually kill my appetite until about four hours later, when I’ve been known to start ripping off refrigerator doors and sinking my teeth into raw steaks – so I got through all of the festivities pretty quick. A smart touch was that at the runners exit was a “chip sensor” to make sure you had turned your chip in. Indeed, there was a box full of chips by this sensor – I know the feeling, you can be pretty delirious when you hit the finish line and walk right past the 30 chip-cutting volunteers. I’ve done this, I know…..
Laurence had hung out to watch the race and snapped several pictures of me at the finish (included on the blog page here – Thanks Laurence!) so we retired to the local Chipotle grill to down a few gallons of soft drinks (I’m a closet Coca-Cola addict right after a race) and I chattered, I’m sure, non-stop with all those endorphins (and sugar and caffeine) coursing through my system.
A great race!
And, the coup-de-gras – Later that afternoon, after a shower and costume change, I ventured out again with Scott for some post-race libations. Our objective was another Food Channel recommended spot – Voodoo Donuts and Wedding Chapel, a Portland landmark. Their signature offering is a Bacon Maple Log, and also for $175 you can have a legal wedding ceremony in the upstairs chapel complete with coffee and donuts for you and 10 of your friends. (Seriously – check it out http://www.voodoodoughnut.com/index.html)
Oh, and NO I wasn’t looking to get Married! Just reporting in the interest of Journalistic completeness!
Unfortunately, they didn’t have any BACON Maple logs, but I managed, in the interest of Carbohydrate replenishment, to down, over the course of the evening THREE regular Maple Logs. Damn good donuts!
So in conclusion – I’d say. GO TO PORTLAND! Even though the Course, T-shirt, and Medal weren’t the best I’d ever experienced, there is just something about this city and the race in particular that really made me feel great. (The fact that I hammered out a great finishing time MAY have something to do with it!) And even if you aren’t going for a running event, the city itself is fantastic. Great transportation, great eats, lots to do and people to see.
And, it’s great to have a friend like Scott Jerard, Tour Director Extraordinaire. Thanks for an incredible Portland experience Scott!
And another recommendation to all of my other Marathoning brethren. Consider joining Marathon Maniacs. It’s a great community, and I would really enjoy having a bigger Wisconsin Chapter so we could proudly wear the Yellow in our big races. Again, check out the criteria at http://www.marathonmaniacs.com/
So, Marathon number 38 is in the bag, it was a good ‘un. I’m not signed up for another one until Tucson on December 2nd, but there are a few “lesser” races, like a 10K in Wales this weekend, and the Badgerland Striders 15K at the end of October. I’ll be traveling a lot in the next month so we’ll see what’s next.
….Though I noticed that the Glacial Trail 50K/50 Mile race in Greenbush, Wisconsin is Sunday the 16th, and as of this writing there are still openings.
A Trail 50K a week after Portland? Hmmmm………..
Stay tuned!
And also want to remind everyone to continue sending healing energy to my colleague Gregg Herman, who is still on the mend, starting PT for an injury this week. Not running is driving him nuts and you all know how that can be!
Thanks to all for your support and for reading my ramblings. Blessings to you all and hope to see you at a race (or anywhere else!) soon!
This Certifies That
PETER KLEIN
Has Successfully CompletedThe Portland Marathon on October 7th, 2007
in 3:52:33
Overall Place: 1447 / 7724
Division Place: 141 / 434
Gender Place: 1049 / 3529
