Off Course I Love to Run!
Big asterisk on today's #portlandmarathon . Real big. I was flying for the first 8 miles. Running under my goal pace, feeling great, I decided I probably needed to slow down and take it a little easier for a few miles to prevent burnout. Heading up Barbur Blvd., I was a couple minutes behind the next closest runner. As I plotted my tangents up what looked like a grueling hill, I noticed that cars were entering the course and there were no cones on the lane divider to keep them away from runners. After passing an entrance, and being passed WAY too close by a few cars, I was thinking, "Man, the race organizers are going to get an earful about this. Not safe." But I continued trudging up the hill to keep the guy in front of me, and hopefully the pack in front of him, in sight. Then, from behind me, I heard the growl of one of the little utility trucks I'd seen the race volunteers driving around the course. Then a voice. "Sir!" I looked behind me and saw the d