Sixth Portland Marathon, and second since running my planned last time
down there at the 2006 Boomer Reunion.

NOTICE:
1. Any resemblance to real running is inadvertent and coincidental.
2. Any resemblance to really having fun on an otherwise miserable rainy day is true and accurate.
3. However, being so slow provides too much time to think about it to warrant a short-and-succinct RR but, since I don t run enough for a running log, this is it.
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SUMMARY
1. met four new RA runners for the first time who had been virtual friends
for many years and were even more so in real.
2. Rare rainy Portland Marathon didn t dampen the reunion at all,
3. Actually, I’m not but, if I was a weather whiner, I proably wouldn’t be able to whine about it anymore as rainy days seem to produce better times than not.
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ST. JOHN S SUSPENSION BRIDGE ASCENT
Unlike many marathons that blend together after 40 years, each of now six Portland Marathons since 1990 has been special in its own way. That first year I not only found out that a regular runner, not just Olympian elites of Abebe Bikila stature, can run 26.2 miles without shoes and but also learned that regular runners can also run all the way up the daunting half mile ascent up to the scenic St. John’s Suspension Brdge over the Willamette River without that much training.
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Though it’s been slower and slower every time for the last five Portland Marathons, St. John’s hadn’t defeated me yet. However, running the first 12 miles without any rest stops with my long-lost running brother barefoot todd (see below) and pretty much most of the four miles down the St. Helen’s Highway had taken its toll by the turn up Hill to the bridge at mile 16.5..

Thus, one look upward to the monster icon of every Portland Marathon looming almost 200 feet over the river made me realize that, at this stage, running up its height in a blaze of personal glory was not going to be an option any more. Therefore, I resigned myself to a thoroughly defeated mode in the long walk to the other side with all the other back-of-the-packers, . . . . until an adjacent runner shifting into low gear to start passing dozens of wilting walkers was all the incentive I needed to follow suit and run all the way up to the top of the bridge once more without stopping. Yippee.

BAREFOOT TODD.

Sixth Portland Marathon, and secon

. . ..

kk

I hadn t seen Barefoot Todd since a meet-up and pic at the midspan of the out-and-back on the floating bridge over Lake Washington in the 2008 Seattle Marathon so was delighted when the runner overtaking me at mile three commented on us both having the same cheap shoes.

We ran together for the next nine miles but I got ahead on a sharp descent from a residential neighborhood at mile 12 and, knowing he would soon catch up, ran as strong as possible for the four miles down the St. Helen’s Highway and on up to the top of my St. John’s Bridge nemesis at mile 17.. With only 40 miles of running in the last two months since my hometown Frank Maier Marathon on 7/31, it wasn’t a surprise that the theretofore 12-13m/m pacings with Todd quickly deteriorated to over 15m/m for the next three miles along the East Bluff overlooking the city (and Mt. Hood on better days)..

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Then, at mile 20, just as I was girding up to try to run as much as possible the rest-of-the-way down to the Broadway Bridge at mile 24 and back into downtown Portland for a PW finish here, Todd belatedly caught up. As a Team-in-Training coach, he often also assisted other runners he came across along the way too and, this time, had in tow a very tired half-fanatic goddess. She’d been hoping the Portland Marathon would be the second of the two marathons in eight days she needed for her one-time attempt to qualify for Marathon Maniacs too.
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However, she d been badly beaten down by the St. John s ascent but, now on the homeward trail, kept encouraging me to try to keep up with her and Todd’s timely pacing. But six more miles of running was not going to happen, ... except for her regular, cheery shout-outs as I’d start slipping back “Don’t let Todd beat you” brought us all to a joyous arm-in-arm-in-arms finish, nearly fifteen minutes faster than last year. Thanks Pam and Todd.
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MARIPOSAI S PORTLAND MARATHON 2006
Portland 2016 was mariposai s 40th or so marathon since her inaugural marathon here coincided with the 2006 Boomer Reunion. Felicidades! Nothing like a rare rainy day in Portland to make it especially memorable. I hope it was.

It took me 22 years to run that many marathons but, though the end is probably in sight as more-and-more of my fellow AG ers are hanging up their running shoes, a weekend like this one pretty much guarantees I won t be hanging up my running shoes any time soon, . . . especially since 1990 I haven't had a pair to hang up anyway!
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RA RUNNING FAMILY.
If I wasn t me though, I d probably like to be (a) MikeE with his love of coaching kids he d do for free, and had been until becoming a paid assistant coach this year, to say nothing of his super fast running and his father-son running duo, (b) cookie lady econo (thanks) in the center of the running universe in Eugene (and exchanging ideas with mama econo on our struggles just to get in and out of a bathtub at our ages), ( c) starr getting to go out the front door and run around a lake any time she wants or (d) ziggy never having to run on pavement, even if she wanted to.
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However, as for holly, after a 99-cent plastic poncho ensured that a rainy day would not ruin her long flight out here for an Oregon marathon, I m admiring her even more for all the multiple tasks she seems to accomplish in a single day as homemaker, paralegal, mother, posting three 40/40 threads at the same time, arranging and long-distance locating and organizing the Reunion House in Portland, etc. to say nothing of fitting in some running too.
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MISERABLE MEMORABLE RAINY RUNNING
All the RA gang were too fast to see anyone on the two out-and-backs but I did hear mariposai s cheery encouragements somewhere from within the misty, rainy fog enveloping us on the second out-and-back from miles 6 - 11.

Nevertheless, because I d threatened to catch up to them otherwise, I will take a little credit for Holly finishing just fine with all her ailments and skimpy, if any, training and Mike with tendinitis and double plantar fasciitis.
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Congratulations too to two RA halfer s, Starr and Enke, almost on the button in their 2:30 finishes in the Half option. I wonder if they got to run together at all? However, sorry you missed three or four more hours of rain in the marathon distance. . Nevertheless, your good half running might portend becoming rain-runners too, you know.
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RA SUPPORTING SPOUSES
Though we have a lot to be thankful for in our running lives, little of it would be possible for some of us without the support of understanding running spouses who accompany and support us in our guilty pleasures on weekends fair-or-foul. Thanks for making them feel welcome too.
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PORTLAND 2026
After exchanging encouragements on the out-and-back with 83-yo Marvelous Mel Preedy in his 30th Portland Marathon or so, maybe in 2026, rain-or-shine, when I’m his age, I can look up at the St. John’s Bridge again for posai s 20th anniversary of running marathons? We ll see. In the meantime, thanks to all for making Portland 2016 so special.
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Year (age) / time (pace)
1990 (47) - 4:03:04 (9:17) - sunny
1992 (49) - 4:10:10 (9:33) - sunny
2006 (63) - 4:30:15 (10:10) - sunny
2015 (72) - 6:21:20 (14:34) - sunny
2016 (73) - 6:07:35 (14:02) - rain yippee

I enjoyed reading your interesting report, thanks for sharing.  It's good to see you're going strong - keep it up!