Newport, OR: Olympic Trials Marathon Qualifier

I ran Newport a few years ago. It's a good course, but can get warm. It hasn't gotten many runners your speed though likely because Eugene is around the same time of year.

I've ran it as well - can definitely be a boring, lonely course - hardly any spectators. Weather is normally fine, but running anything sub-2:35 even and you will for sure be all alone.

Ran it a few years ago & agree with everything everyone else has said. Since it's a small race, maybe you can reach out & see if you can bring a pacer or something to help out? That would be my advice. I think 2:30-flat won it the year I ran. 4 or 5 under 2:45. Flat course tho. Not much crowd support but if that doesn't bother you you should go for it. The weather is usually pretty good. The race is early and the Oregon coast stays cool at that time of year.

Ran this many years ago and highly recommend it. It was my first marathon and I did little specific training but still ran a decent time. I think a group tried to get qualifiers there back in 2016. It has the potential for very fast times but there is no money so true elites don't show up. You need some rabbits or fellow runners who can easily run under 2:25 to keep the race honest and meet your goal. Course is truly flat.

I don't want to assume gender, but I assumed the OP is going for 2:44, not 2:18. I'd be very surprised if a 2:18 marathoner didn't prepare enough in advance to get into Grandma's or CIM. Without getting into that discussion, yes, 2:44 is soft. It should be 2:38.

Assuming you are male. Apologies if not.

I have one, possibly two athletes who will take a shot at a trials qualifier July 4th, at the Sauvie Island Foot Traffic race. We actually considered Newport, but ultimately the Foot Traffic race is a better fit for us.

If you have any interest in running a month later, leave an email address and I'll get in touch. The more quality guys, the better.

What's going on with this race? No one runs it anymore. Is it the weather? The wind? The addition of the half marathon in 2014? The preference to roll the dice on a cheater course like Grandma's with a likely tailwind the whole way?

Here's the stats from findmymarathon.

Race Size

2018: 395 Finishers

2017: 440 Finishers

2016: 502 Finishers

395 finishers? This race is slowly dying. A shame.

is Newport actually fast? wrote:

What's going on with this race? No one runs it anymore. Is it the weather? The wind? The addition of the half marathon in 2014? The preference to roll the dice on a cheater course like Grandma's with a likely tailwind the whole way?

Here's the stats from findmymarathon.

Race Size

2018: 395 Finishers

2017: 440 Finishers

2016: 502 Finishers

395 finishers? This race is slowly dying. A shame.

Yes, the race is actually fast. I believe they have to cap the race each year & it comes pretty close to selling out. It's more of a small town marathon. Newport, OR is not a big city. You likely have to fly into Portland or Eugene and then rent a car and drive. It's very late in the marathon season -- most people look at March-May for spring marathons. My Strava had it at 450 ft. of climbing the year I ran. Much of that comes in the first few miles and then the little hill close to the finish. It's a pancake flat out & back. Again, if folks were looking to go for an OTQ I'd reach out to the race directly. I bet they'd allow you a pacer. You're almost guaranteed a good day. Mornings are grey & cool on the Oregon coast in early June.

We'll see if he runs tomorrow. 55F @ 9am with 10mpw head wind from the NW. This seems not ideal. If the strong winds come earlier it'll be downright nasty. 18mpw at noon.

The race runs east and then west. Honestly sounds like it should be a cross wind. But yeah, not sure how ideal that is.

The marathon starts at 7 tho & low/mid 50s for a June marathon is great.

There's two big south and north sections. OP should be just finishing if he's actually running this.

NERunner053 wrote:

The race runs east and then west. Honestly sounds like it should be a cross wind. But yeah, not sure how ideal that is.

The marathon starts at 7 tho & low/mid 50s for a June marathon is great.

52F now. It looks like it was a great day out there. Except for some wind.

Don't think anyone was looking for an OTQ. Overall winner was 2:46. A pair of women went 2:56 + 57.

244 or 218 wrote:

I don't want to assume gender, but I assumed the OP is going for 2:44, not 2:18. I'd be very surprised if a 2:18 marathoner didn't prepare enough in advance to get into Grandma's or CIM. Without getting into that discussion, yes, 2:44 is soft. It should be 2:38.

2:18 is soft for men. The qualifying should be 2:11. The women's standard is fine.

Fastest gradual downhill course I know of.

Forgot the link lol

Not useable for OTQ. But is it really faster than St. George's or CIM? I've run on packed gravel roads and it slows you down at least 0:15 min/mile.