PORTLAND MARATHON Running the Portland Marathon on October 5, 2008, was an event that I was looking forward to. I first ran this marathon in 1985, and I’ve run them all since then except for two that I missed due to schedule conflicts. My records show that the 2008 marathon was my 22nd tour of Portland and environs. One important difference this year was that we ran under overcast skies with intermittent light rain and cool air temperatures that ranged between 51 and 59 degrees for the day. This was ideal for me. Usually it’s sunny with temperatures in the 70’s on race day, so this was a pleasant development. Another change this year was the substitution of a re-useable rigid plastic timing chip with a disposable flexible plastic timing tag. The 1 ½ x 6 inch white strip of thin plastic was lightly glued to the running bib, and both had the same ID number. To use the tag, it was looped through shoelaces and affixed by an adhesive. When there was no comforting “beep” as we crossed timing mats, I became concerned that mine wasn’t working. However, it worked fine at the start, the finish and two checkpoints on the course, and I had an accurate set of timing data when the results were posted. Lately, I’ve had to walk most of the second half of the course in other marathons, but I didn’t have to at Portland. Other than walking through aid stations and up steep hills, I ran the rest of the course and finished with a 5:24:40, 5,469th of 7,786 finishers and 3rd of 6 in the 75-79M Age Division. This was my second best marathon time of 2008, and I found it most encouraging. It was great to be greeted by Joe Henderson in the 5th mile on Front Avenue and at the finish line. He told me that 13 of 15 students of his running class at the University of Oregon in Eugene had finished by that time. The race was a close contest, but John Ngigi, 29, of Glide, Oregon, won the marathon with a 2:31:22 time. Close behind in second place was Yasuhiro Karasu, 32, with a 2:31:58. Less than three minutes later, Alan Rozendaal, 38, of Portland finished with a 2:34:22 for third place. Good times were posted by the top three women. Kami Semick, 42, of Bend, Oregon, won the women’s race with a 2:45:24. She was followed by Yumiko Daigo, 37, (2:50:30) and Holly McIlvane, 35+, of Seattle, Washington, who ran a 2:52:45. There were interesting course changes in the early and final miles on the race course this year. In past years, the marathon started in Portland by Lownsdale Park and ran an easy downgrade northward on S.W. 4th Avenue. This year the course started by the park at S.W. 3rd Avenue and ran westward on the S.W. Salmon Street upgrade for four blocks to a right turn onto S.W. Broadway. Running downgrade on Broadway, the city’s “Main Street,” was a treat visually, and the street was wide and well paved. In the 25th mile we croseed the Willamette River on the Broadway Bridge, a better bridge for running and access to Front Avenue than the Steel Bridge that had been used for the event until this year. In between these changes, Miles 3 to 23 were the same familiar course that I’ve know for quite a few years. I like the scenery afforded by the strip park along the Willamette River in downtown Portland. The out-and-back section of several miles in the Commercial Area is great for greeting friends going in the opposite direction. There I saw Marathon Maniac Mel Preedy, 75, of Ravensdale, Washington, who is coming back from injuries. In this race he ran a 5:04:59 for first place in the 75-79 Male Division beating me and four others in this age division. The hill climb to St. Johns Bridge is the only major hill on the course. At the summit there are great views of the Willamette River several hundred feet below the bridge. Thanks go to race director Les Smith, the race committee and volunteers for putting on another great, well-organized Portland Marathon. ………………………………….Written by Bob Dolphin
PARTIAL RESULTS – PORTLAND MARATHON…..October 5, 20082:31:22 John Ngigi, 29, Glide, OR, OVERALL WINNER
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