5/5 Stars

Getting up super early was a little rough but well worth it. My group normally runs at 5:30 everyday anyway, so to have a start time this early was the best!!! Also, receiving a cold, wet towel at the finish line was the most welcome surprise! I swear salt like crazy, so to be able to wipe my face was so refreshing!!!

Yes!!!! I set a new PR by 4 minutes. No BQ for me, but I did the half not the full. So happy with my new PR!!

The course was perfect. Downhill 95% of the time. Beautiful run by the river. Winding roads completely in the shade were a welcome surprise. Enough downhill to be fast, but not painful!

We live in Sandy and trained on Mt. Hood. We train on lots of hills because that’s all there is around here! Getting enough mileage is key! But this was downhill enough to make it fun.

It’s chilly up at the start that early in the morning. But you won’t need you coat. You’ll warm up quickly enough!

I live here. So nothing exciting! Went to bed early to prepare for the extra early wake up call.

5/5 Stars

Starting the race a day break was amazing, running through the beautiful trees with the colors of the sky changing was perfect!
The ultra positive environment of the race was awesome!

Nope, I am still getting back into shape after an injury so it was more like a training run with my sister!

The scenery was gorgeous!! The first 10 miles before going onto HWY 26 were so perfect, secluded back roads with many many happy, encouraging volunteers along the way. The grade was kinda perfect, slow gradual downhill with some surprise inclines that were very manageable.

I run usually 20-30 miles a week. I would encourage others to train for this half marathon.

Travelers Tips : Stay close to the start, Gresham, Troutdale or Sandy to make the shuttle process easier and not so early for race day if you can.

Farmer's Market in all the local towns is on Saturday.

3/5 Stars

was great if you did not count the run between mile 8-25

no

The long run on Highway 26 was horrible

I was totally prepared for the race

Make sure to do long downhill runs in your training and do not go out too hard in the beginning

Nothing -- we were there for the race and headed back to LA after the race

5/5 Stars

On pace til about Mile 22 then the quads started screaming.

Yes. The half marathon by 9 minutes and the full by 22 minutes.

Loved it. The 2nd half had more uphill than I expected.

I had enough road training but need more training in the trails and hills. I'll do more hill/stair repeats to train for next year.

Train on downhill and strengthen your quads.

We just went to visit the Columbia River.

3/5 Stars

Nothing special

Yes. Half marathon PR to 1:59:12, previous was 2:15:53 so over 16 minutes off

The course was OK. I liked that the downhill was not too steep a grade - it was a good drop. The only painful parts were in mile 7 climb, and the last little hill to break your spirit at the finish line.

I didn't do much different - I actually was nursing an injury for a couple weeks prior to the race and wasn't sure how hard I would run it. I did not do any hill-specific training.

For my next one, I do plan on doing hill-specific training to gauge the difference.

N/A - just common sense and commonly spread running wisdom. Nothing new or special.

Explored a bit of Portland and enjoyed an amazing brunch at Elephants Deli. Traveled to PDX from SFO

4/5 Stars

the beginning of the race was so beautiful. the early start time was great because it was still cool, and the sunrise was absolutely stunning! it would have been nice for the finish line to be more spectator friendly so loved ones could watch us finish without taking a bus to and from it.

yes! PR'd by 4 minutes, and qualified for Boston!

first few miles were breathtaking; rolling hills at the end were unexpected and hard!

ran 2-3 times a week, focusing more on speed than mileage. made sure to incorporate both uphills and downhills in my training.

bring a throw-away shirt for the first few miles while your body is warming up.

we explored Timberlodge after the race and it was lovely!

5/5 Stars

really early but great!

yes- BIG TIME! Pr'd by almost 35 minutes and BQ'd by almost 5 minutes over my time.

beautiful ,down hill, great support.

I train and most run on trails so this was very different and fast for me.

practice down hill running form and recovery- DONT think about it- DO it!

Powells books store, breweries, shops, etc. We traveled from Austin!

4/5 Stars

The bus ride to and from the start was great—bought the hotel shuttle.

No. I signed up for this race while registering for the 2019 Mt Charleston so I had less than 6 weeks to prepare.

Good. Pretty. Not too excited about runnning on the shoulder of the highway.

I’ve run 30 marathons previous to this one and I only had less than 6 weeks to prepare. One long run of 18. Mostly focused on downhill running and speed/turnover work. Felt like it helped.

Not thrilled with the No Headphones rule. I observed the rule but many people did not.

From Kansas. Went to check out Multnomah Falls the day before. Voodoo Donuts after.

5/5 Stars

Early start gave us perfect temperatures in the low 50's for the first 16 miles or so. Was amazing how the moon lit up Mt Hood. Stunning. First 5 miles on Timberline access road was neat with streams and old growth timber close by. Road surface from start to finish very smooth asphalt with surprisingly little angle or side hill so no issues with IT band from uneven surface. Really enjoyed the course. Never felt boring even while running without headphones. We ran in the shade most of race with only miles 22 to 25 in full sun. Very happy with this race and thought it was very well organized.

Did not PR, but I did BQ!!! Time I had to beat for my age was 3:30 and I ended up running my 2nd fastest marathon ever with a 3:11 finish. So happy to be going back to Boston! Should note that I missed my PR by only 1 minute and that PR was 8 years ago when I was much younger and 10 pounds lighter. Running 3:11 at Mt Hood was amazing accomplishment. Highly recommend this race if you need to BQ or want a fast PR.

First 14 miles average 6% grade. There are a few steeper pitches, but none are as steep as you have at Big Cottonwood Canyon. I think max grade was 9% within the first mile or so. Miles 15 to 20 still felt most of time like you were running downhill with closer to a 2 or 3% average grade. There are a few short uphill stretches at miles 5, 16.5, 20 and 22.5, but they are so short (1/4 mile or less) that you can maintain speed knowing any increase in HR will drop as soon as you crest the top of hill and get to coast again on more downhill. The last 3 miles is mostly flat with some slight uphill grades. If you prepare mentally for the last 6.2 miles being rolling hills you will be fine. My average pace was same at the end as it was during the first 10 miles of steeper downhill.

I'm fortunate to live in Park City so we have lots of hills and I did a lot of my training on single track running up and down long steep hills with runs that had 3,000' or more of elevation gain and similar for loss. I also ran the first 18 miles of the Big Cottonwood Marathon course that is 4,000' elevation drop over 18 miles with steeper pitches than Mt Hood. If you are training for Mt Hood, you need to do at least 2 long training runs on hills that are 10+ miles long of sustained downhill and a 6% or greater grade. I felt very prepared when I got to the finish line and it paid of with a BQ!

Run hills the 2 months prior. Up and down. Cannot emphasize this enough. You need to do long training runs on steeper grades so your quads are used to it and you learn how to run most efficiently on downhills. Travel wise, staying in downtown Portland worked out great for me. Amazing food options and Uber's are cheap for transportation around town or to the airport. I paid for the bus that took racers from downtown to race start and it was great.

Before the race we went to Sugarpine Diner in Troutdale, which is at the beginning of historic highway to Multnomah Falls and Columbia River Gorge. Amazing sandwiches, soft serve ice cream, etc. A shake out run/hike followed by lunch at Sugarpine Diner was perfect pre-race prep for me. Look it up on Yelp. After the race I took a shower, grabbed burger at The Nines Hotel, then met friends at the Oregon Brewers Festival. Was an Oktoberfest-like beer tasting event in Portland's waterfront park in downtown. Super fun and convenient.

5/5 Stars

Good. Hot. Long

No

Downhill!!!!

Decent

Train!!!!

I can do hard things