PORTLAND, Oregon — The 51st running of the Portland Marathon is this Sunday, and pacing yourself is the key to a successful race.
"A marathon is two halves, 20 miles, and 6.2. Those first 20 seem easy, the last 6.2 are pretty darn hard," said Greg LeBlanc.
LeBlanc is a member of the running club Team Red Lizard. He's also the pace coordinator for the Portland Marathon.
Pacers hold up signs with a goal time, and they run the exact pace to hit that time, precisely. It's not easy, and it's especially hard to do for runners planning to run a personal best, or first timers tackling 13.1 or 26.2 miles.
"The hardest part is to do a pace, what you wanna do is not run too fast at the start, so you have something left at the end, and what we do as pacers, what our team does, is make sure you stay as even as can be to help get you to the finish line with the least amount of effort as can be, so you don’t burn out at mile 10 or mile 20."
The Portland Marathon has a full set of pacers for both the full and half marathon distances. You can find a group running at your goal time here.
"Sometimes just distracting them, and having them listen to us, is what helps them get through mile to mile to mile," LeBlanc said.
Essentially, the pacers are donating their fitness to help runners cross the finish line.
"I’m past my prime of getting a PR (personal record)," LeBlanc said. "If our group can give people PRs, that’s all the satisfaction."
With good weather in the forecast, the crowds should be vocal.
"We're expecting about 8,000 runners" said Chris Braun, brand director for Brooksee, the producer of the Portland Marathon.
Brooksee took over the Portland Marathon in 2019, pulling it from beneath the cloud of former mismanagement, navigating the pandemic and re-growing the race to what it is now.
The start/finish is at 1000 Southwest Naito Parkway near the Salmon Street Fountain. The full marathon starts at 7:00 a.m. and the half starts at 7:15 a.m.
Traffic impacts and bridge closures
The marathon course crosses three bridges and winds through 20 Portland neighborhoods.
The Broadway Bridge will be closed to all traffic from 6:30 a.m.-9:30 a.m. The Burnside Bridge will be closed to westbound traffic between 7:30 a.m.-1:30 p.m. The Sellwood Bridge will be closed to westbound traffic from 6:30 a.m.-10:45a.m.
For a complete list of traffic impacts, see this section of the marathon's website.
