5/5 Stars

Getting a PR!

Yes! 12 min PR!! No BQ

Fast & beautiful

Worked good - Long downhill repeats

Train for downhill.

Met new friends

4/5 Stars

The sea of space blankets at the staging area was the highlight of my race. I have never seen anything like that.

I did set a PR. I only did the half marathon so no BQ.

Very pretty with a gentle slope.

Because the net drop wasn't that big compared to other downhill races, I didn't do anything special.

Have fun at this race. Don't do it just for the PR or the BQ.

Drove from Seattle. Was by myself and didn't do anything, unfortunately.

5/5 Stars

Loved race from Government Camp down until mile 16-18

Yes

Very fast and quad burner, but beautiful

Did downhill repeats

Do lots of downhill running

Columbia river gorge, the coast, Portland and the trails. I’m from Arkansas

5/5 Stars

Try to sleep early the night before so that I can wake up at 2am to prepare for a 3:15am bus ride. Woke up a little after 2am, drove to Sandy High School, park there and headed to the bus. The bus went up and I slept another 20 minutes. Started stretching and use the porta potty and prepare for the run. Great first half was great, became tired the 2nd half and those hills are killer.

No, I did not PR, my PR was still at Canyon City with a time of 3:21, I ran 3:28 here, 7 minutes off my PR, 13 minutes off a BQ.

Great first half, need more downhill 2nd half!

Listen to Coach Paul on Wednesdays Facebook Live, asked questions, try to follow the Hanson marathon the best I can, but hard to find time to do 10+ miles on Tuesday/Thursday. Do long runs with a group Saturday mornings and Sunday also do some long runs.

Listen to coach Paul, join Revel Races, hope that Revel find more downhill in the 2nd half of the marathon!

Look around Gresham, slept after the marathon, then find something to eat, fly back the next morning.

3am wake up. Hotel 1/2 mile from buses. 1hour bus ride. Fortunately not too cold at start. Adequate bathrooms. Course was beautiful. Shoulder was narrow. Finish line area small & crowded. Not enough bathrooms. Poor post race food. Long wait for buses to parking.

No

Incredibly beautiful mostly shaded wicked downhill

I’ve been running a marathon every 3-5 weeks for > 20 years. I run 60 miles each week. 2 runs of 16 miles & 2 runs of 14 miles. I bike 60 miles the other 3 days. Biking builds strong quads & glutes for downhill running

Stay near the sandy high school. Wear Hokas. Bring warm clothes to start.

Shopped at the used bookstore & record store in Downtown Portland. Visited Sauvie Island

5/5 Stars

Fast and went perfectly - very well organized.

Yes. 90 secs faster.

Not too steep, just a fast half marathon course without being too extreme.

5/5 Stars

Was a beautiful place to start. Loved down hill but was tough towards end with 6 miles of hills.

No.

Beautiful, but along HWY 26, traffic was uncomfortable. Hills towards end was no joke.

Going through health issues, my longest mile was one 18 miles.

Pace it properly for down hills and maintain the pace at the hills.

Hung out with a good friends.

4/5 Stars

It was very early but the scenery was amazing. I would love to run that same route again sometime in the future. The finish line, however, was not in an ideal spot. Having to shuttle the spectators in and out caused some major issues and I think a good number of spectators missed watching and cheering their loved ones on when they crossed the finish line.

No, I was 3 minutes behind my PR

Gorgeous. It was such a beautiful course. It was pretty steady downhill the whole way too, the uphill portions were short and not too bad. It was a great course.

I did almost no training before his race. Would not recommend.

Train. Make sure your spectators give themselves PLENTY of time to take the shuttle and get to the finish line before get there. Temperature was very mild. I expected it to be quite a bit cooler but it was actually extremely pleasant. Was fine in shorts and a tank top without any jackets or gloves.

Hiked to Tamanawas Falls. Visited Multnomah Falls. Visited Timberline Lodge. Visited Powell’s City of Books. Originally from Salt Lake City, Utah.

3/5 Stars

Poor directions for parking. Ended up in half lot so had s pretty good walk to the buses. Not the only one from what I observed. And the buses leaving Trout Farm...what a cluster. What s long wait!!!

5/5 Stars

First time ever in Oregon and the Portland area and I drove myself to the parking/commute area without GPS without issue thankfully, so I arrived in ample time. Waiting in the staging area making small talk with the other runners. And just simply enjoying the atmosphere and scenery running in the Northwest.

Yes, I beat my previous PR in an official race for a half marathon by about 2 1/2 minutes. My previous best was just over 1 hour 33 min., I finished the Mt Hood Half in 1:30:48. Came close to cracking an hour and a half! On a side note, I have run many full marathons and while qualifying for the Boston Marathon is not a direct goal of mine, if I did qualify I would plan to run it.

Scenery was absolutely gorgeous for the half going through the less crowded rural roads and the woods/tall trees and small neighborhoods, and the finish area while small was very quaint and picturesque. Elevation downgrade was somewhat demanding, but not too bad. It has probably already been suggested, but along US Hwy 26 towards the end of the race, hopefully the right lane is closed off in future races, running on the highway shoulder with traffic when cars are speeding by in the right lane is pushing it!

Living in the New Orleans area where it is almost all flat, downhill or hill training is actually difficult. Every now and then a few weeks leading up to the event, I ran indoors on the treadmill on a downhill incline. It actually worked out well because I ran at good fast rates on the treadmill, and right now it is too hot/humid down here to expect to run as fast as you want.

Dress in layers or bring a sweater/windbreakers, and also be prepared for the temperature to be all over the place during your trip. It will likely be hot in Portland during the day, but it will likely be cool overnight and in the mountains to start plus you have to wait for a while before start time so your body will get colder accordingly.

Traveled from the New Orleans area. I also hiked in Forest Park just outside downtown Portland, one day I drove to the US-101 Hwy/Pacific Ocean, after the race I wasn't too tired or sore and went along the Columbia River just east of the city to sightsee at a few light hiking trails.