Running News Daily

Two-time Olympic champion Ashton Eaton embraces distance running

It’s been seven years since two-time Olympic and world decathlon champion Ashton Eaton called it a career, but he has not hung up the running shoes quite yet. The 35-year-old ran in the Portland Half-Marathon over the weekend and tweeted about how taken aback he was by the toughness of distance running.

Eaton finished the half marathon in just under an hour and 50 minutes for 530th place overall. Eaton took to social media post-race to share how his body was feeling. “I think I ran 1:49. During the run, I felt fine, but now I feel like I can’t move at all. Insanely painful.”

During Eaton’s professional career, despite being the only decathlete to break the 9,000-point mark twice, he was never particularly dominant at distance events. His weakest event of the 10 was known to be the final one—the men’s 1,500m—an event where he only had a personal best of 4:14.48.

Eaton wasn’t only surprised by how painful half-marathons are; he also posted that he was astonished by the variety of running styles. “Runners are basically like fingerprints,” wrote Eaton. “I’ve always admired the mental toughness of distance running, and now even more so. It was a very cool experience.”

It’s clear that Eaton is now embracing life as a distance runner in his retirement. Last week, Eaton was named an event ambassador at India’s Vedanta Delhi Half Marathon, scheduled for Oct. 15.

Eaton and his wife, Canada’s Brianne Theisen-Eaton, retired from the sport at the prime of their respective careers in 2017. Eaton was coming off defending his Olympic gold medal at the Rio Olympics. While Theisen-Eaton won bronze in the heptathlon at the same Olympics. The multi-events power couple now live and reside in Oregon with their three-year-old boy.

(10/03/2023) Views: 425 ⚡AMP
by Marley Dickinson

Portland Marathon returns October 3

The Portland Marathon is set for October 3 with no foreseen COVID restrictions.

The marathon’s organizers said the race can happen restriction-free after Gov. Brown lifted all COVID-19 restrictions last month.

This will be the 49th annual Portland Marathon. The 2020 marathon was canceled due to the pandemic.

This year’s marathon is presented by OHSU Health. Racers can either do the full marathon, 26.2 miles, or a half marathon, 13.1 miles.

(07/16/2021) Views: 1,159 ⚡AMP
by Kohr Harlan

The Portland Marathon will not be held until next year 2021, due to the increase cases of coronavirus in Oregon

The Portland Marathon will not be held in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

In a statement on the Portland Marathon website, officials say the decision to cancel the race and related events was due to continued COVID-19 spikes and tightening restrictions.

The race was scheduled to take place on October 4.

All registered participants will receive an email about their options.

Officials say the Portland Marathon will happen next year on Sunday, October 3.

(07/29/2020) Views: 1,167 ⚡AMP

Kallin Khan, 22, Claims Victory At Portland Marathon on Sunday

For 22-year-old Kallin Khan, Sunday’s race wasn’t even close.

From mile five all the way to the finish line, Khan led the pack of more than two thousand runners participating in the Portland Marathon. Another 3,600 opted for Sunday’s 13-mile route.

“Everyone was telling me I had a big lead,” Khan told reporters a few minutes after being crowned Sunday’s winner. “I was confident through the finish line.”

It took Khan, a Chicago native, just over two hours, 25 minutes to finish the course, which took runners through the city’s four quadrants. A second place winner would not be announced for another 20 minutes. That’s when Kunitaka Imaizumi, a student at the University of Oregon, sprinted over the finish line.

Khan said he’s been working toward the victory since moving to Portland two months ago, running more than a hundred miles each week with the Bowerman Track Club. He hopes to soon qualify for the Olympic trials, a feat that would require him to shave six minutes off his Sunday time.

First place for the women’s division – and third place overall – went to Jamie Gibbs, an analytics director at Nike, who ran the route in two hours, 48 minutes.

There were no Olympic-level runners in Sunday’s event, according to Jared Rohatinsky, the CEO of Brooksee, a Utah-based race producer which oversaw the event for the first time.

The former race and route were scrapped in 2018 after lackluster attendance and a state investigation into the finances of the then-marathon director. A long city search for a new producer meant marathon registration didn’t open until this spring. Typically, the schedules of Olympic-caliber athletes are booked a year and a half in advance, Rohatinsky explained.

In past statements, Portland Mayor Ted Wheeler, a runner himself, had said he hoped the new company would energize turnout and turn Portland’s marathon into “a world-class event worthy of a host city that’s known for running.” Wheeler came in 883rd at Sunday’s event.

Runners interviewed Sunday agreed that the new course, which moved runners through some of Portland’s most beloved areas, had taken a turn for the better after decades of lingering too long in the more industrial parts of town.

(10/07/2019) Views: 1,849 ⚡AMP

Leah Olson will be running the Portland Marathon for her marathoner dad, who was diagnosed with Lou Gherig’s Disease

"He'd always give me the rose at the end": A Portland Marathon dream changes after an ALS diagnosis.

Leah Olson is running the Portland Marathon this weekend for her dad Marc, who was diagnosed earlier this year with Lou Gherig’s Disease, the debilitating illness most often called ALS.

While it’s been a difficult time for the family, they’ve found a way to channel their energy into a fundraiser to find a cure, and the support around them keeps growing. The 26-mile race holds emotional memories. Leah grew up watching her dad run the Portland Marathon, where every finisher gets a rose.

“He'd always give me the rose at the end,” she said.Over the years, Marc has finished 35 marathons. His personal record is less than three hour. Running is something he’s always done.

Leah's dream has always been to run a marathon with her dad, but that dream changed on February 5th of this year, when Marc was diagnosed with ALS.

Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis weakens muscles. For Leah’s dad, the effects started out small. “May of 2018 he began to have a little problem speaking and it was a tiny slur in his voice,” said Gina Olson, Leah’s mother. Now swallowing and speaking are difficult. Also difficult to deal with is the news that the average life span after diagnoses is typically two to five years. “Two neurologists my parents went to essentially told them, spend time with loved ones. My dad has a lot of fight in him and he wasn't ready to take -- and we weren’t ready to take -- this diagnosis as a death sentence,” said Leah. So with Leah leading the way, the family jumped into action committed to doing something positive and raising money to help researchers find a cure. “We sent over 600 mail letters that I hand signed,” said Leah of the effort to inform family and friends.

While Leah and her dad won't be running the Portland Marathon together, they're both facing marathons, just of a different kind. “I'm running a physical marathon, the 26.2 miles. But dad is running a metaphorical marathon through his fight to defeat ALS,” said Leah. Marc's marathon is his hardest yet. But he's got the support of many.

“All you can do is try and solve it and help other people, and that's what they're doing by being so supportive of me,” said Marc, whose speech is affected by the disease. But despite the scary prognosis, the Olson family is maintaining their spirit, and doing something to make a difference in not only their own lives, but the lives of others who are also suffering from ALS. They’re hoping their fight will inspire others to do the same.

Marc is currently involved in a clinical trial for an experimental drug that could help. It’s possible he could be a part of the placebo group, but the Olson family remains hopeful that he's getting the drug.

(10/04/2019) Views: 1,891 ⚡AMP
by Christine Pitawanich

Some runners at the Portland Marathon were delayed by as much as 22 minutes due to a train crossing the course

The Portland Marathon returned Sunday under a new name. It may be running into complications out of the gate though as some participants were delayed by a freight train downtown.  The race is under new management after it was initially canceled in April when the company Next Events disbanded. The group RunWithPaula Events and Portland Running Company founders Paula and Dave Harkin took over the marathon in June, rebranding it the “Portlandathon.”  The race got underway early Sunday morning, with runners in the full and half marathons competing on a similar out-and-back course as previous Portland Marathon routes. Videos posted on social media show dozens of runners waiting on Naito Parkway at the Steel Bridge as a freight train crosses the Willamette River -- a few miles from the finish line at SW Salmon.  The course is a qualifier for the Boston Marathon, and is approved by the USA Track and Field Association. However, finishing times for first and second place vary by 20 minutes, which could be attributed to the train delay. That delay could also impact qualifying times for the Boston Marathon. RunWithPaula Events tells KATU news that they reached out to Union Pacific when organizing the race to request that trains would not be running across the bridge during the race. Paula Harkin also tells KATU that the longest the delay could have been would be about 22 minutes. KATU News reached out to Union Pacific and they said, “Mechanical issues on a prior train resulted in a train crossing the tracks during the Portland Marathon. Unforeseen delays can affect Union Pacific’s efforts to accommodate community requests, and we apologize to those who were impacted by this situation.” (10/07/2018) Views: 1,670 ⚡AMP

Adam Gorlitsky sold T-shirts that said I Got Legs is going to run the Portland Marathon

This weekend the Portland marathon kicks off a new era with a new name—the Portlandathon. Thousands of people will participate and among them, is Adam Gorlitsky. His goal? Improving the lives of the disabled community one step at a time. Gorlitsky flew into Portland from South Carolina to walk the half marathon, even though he’s paralyzed from the waist down. “It's going to be an awesome day,” he said. “I used to run track and cross country in high school.” That was before a car accident in 2005 turned him into a paraplegic. Gorlitsky never thought he'd race again until a doctor's appointment two years ago and new technology that changed everything-- the robotic exoskeleton. “Honestly, from the second I stood up I was like, ‘I gotta do road races!’,” Gorlitsky said. To help afford the $85,000 exoskeleton, Gorlitsky sold T-shirts that said: “I Got Legs." Last year, he turned that slogan into a non-profit with the same name. “Our mission is to improve the lives of the disabled community,” Gorlitsky said. (10/05/2018) Views: 2,003 ⚡AMP

Race organizer has been found that meets the requirements to produce the Portland Marathon

Portland has turned to a local race organizer in its search for an operator for the city's 2018 marathon. Mayor Wheeler and the Portland Bureau of Transportation say the October 7 marathon will be overseen by the Run With Paula events firm. The firm's leaders, Paula and Dave Harkin, also own the Portland Running Co. The married couple has operated the Hippie Chick and Helvetia half marathons in Washington County.  “I believe our great city deserves an equally great race,” Paula Harkin said. “Fall just would not be the same without a marathon in Portland.” The Portlandathon will include the showcase 26.2-mile event, as well as a half-marathon, the Mayor’s 5-mile race, and a 4-mile river walk. The former Portland Marathon group informed the city in April that it would be canceling the fall race. Earlier that month, the Oregon Department of Justice reached an $865,000 settlement with Les Smith, the Portland Marathon's former race director. The agency's investigation found that Smith had illegally received hundreds of thousands of dollars in loans from the race organization. The race was canceled but the Portland Bureau of Transportation put together an expedited, 7-question application process that attracted several interested event organizers. In the end, only Run With Paula was qualified based on the city's criteria.  Paula and Dave Harmin operates two running retail locations (800 SE Grand Ave. in Portland and 10029 SW Nimbus Ave. in Beaverton).  Dave is a dynamic speaker and coach who inspires hundreds of athletes every year through seminars for a broad range of groups and his work with Portland Fit.  His wife (and co-owner), Paula, is also the race director of Run with Paula Events. They put on four award winning races around the state each year.  Now it will be five races.   (06/02/2018) Views: 2,245 ⚡AMP

The 2018 Portland Marathon is back in play, details should be announced in early June

The city of Portland Oregon will select a race organizer to keep the Portland Marathon running in 2018. The former board of directors for the Portland Marathon announced last month the race would be canceled for 2018 and the organization would be dissolved. Mayor Ted Wheeler and the Portland Bureau of Transportation reported Friday that several event producers have contacted the city to express interest in hosting a marathon in 2018. The city is asking interested applicants to respond to seven questions that assess whether they have the experience, organizational capacity and financial resources necessary to successfully organize a marathon for October 2018. Response are due by May 25.  City officials want to know if organizers could recruit at least 170 volunteers to staff the barricades and whether they'd be willing to use the 2017 Portland Marathon route. Applicants will also need to prove they can provide a $25,000 deposit to host the event. Submissions that meet the qualifications will be tossed into a "blind draw," which city officials will conduct June 1. (05/19/2018) Views: 1,674 ⚡AMP

47-year-old Portland Marathon cancels 2018 race, will dissolve organization

The Portland Marathon board of directors has canceled the 2018 race and plans to dissolve the 47-year-old Portland Marathon organization, according to an open letter the board sent Friday to The Oregonian/OregonLive.  “There will be no Portland Marathon in 2018," began the letter, attributed to board members Richard Busby, Julian Smith, Andy Ritchie, Jim Schaeffer and Gina McVicker.  The same letter was sent to the City of Portland at 11:30 a.m. Friday.  The move comes more than a week after former Portland Marathon event director Les Smith reached a settlement with the Oregon Department of Justice. Smith was found to have illegally borrowed money from the Portland Marathon and was required to repay $865,000, of which $50,000 would go to the Oregon Department of Justice to cover the cost of the investigation. In Friday's letter to The Oregonian/OregonLive, members of the new Portland Marathon board, assured the 2,500 people already signed up for the run that they would get a full refund, through the race registration platform, Active.com. "Our decision was based on a number of factors, including a decline in race registrants for 2018 and the Board's understanding of the City of Portland's desire to move in a different direction," wrote the board. (04/28/2018) Views: 1,959 ⚡AMP

Former Portland Marathon Race Director agreed to pay $865,000 in penalties

Under a settlement with the Oregon Department of Justice, the former race director of the Portland Marathon agreed to pay $865,000 in penalties. The DOJ found that Lester Smith had taken hundreds of thousands of dollars in loans from the Marathon for himself or his companies. The practice is illegal and occurred at a time when the Portland Marathon nonprofit lacked adequate oversight of a board, as required of nonprofits. In all, $50,000 of the settlement covers costs for the state investigation. The rest will go back to the Portland Marathon, Inc. Smith disputed the findings, according to a copy of the settlement documents, provided by DOJ. But in addition to the monetary settlement, Smith has agreed not to lead or serve on the boards of any nonprofits, operate any foot races in the future, and, as a lawyer, will not seek to be reinstated to the state bar. He also agreed to dissolve his company, his for-profit company Next Events, LLC. The investigation into the nonprofit began around the time the race was facing an uncertain future in Portland. Under Smith's leadership, the permit for the race last year was initially rejected by the city. The race proceeded last year, and the Portland Marathon nonprofit is now under new leadership. (04/18/2018) Views: 1,825 ⚡AMP

Portland Mayor Plans To Work With Scandal-plagued Portland Marathon

Portland Mayor Ted Wheeler will allow the Portland Marathon to hold a race in 2018, his office just confirmed. "We are proceeding in 2018 according to the status quo," he said. In 2017, the Oregon Dept of Justice opened an investigation into the nonprofit's corporate structure and financial relationships with other businesses owned by two Portland Marathon's two board members. In 2017, fights with the city over course layout and policing led to a delay in the marathon getting a permit to operate. (01/23/2018) Views: 1,569 ⚡AMP