To celebrate the beginning of a new (federal) fiscal year, I decided a long time ago that it would be great to get out of town.  Better yet to make a running vacation out of it.  So why not jet off to Portland, home of "The Ultimate Guide to Marathons" top-rated race in 1996 and 1998?  Take Sara and have some fun!

Thus was the die cast back in June.

Our grand adventure started early in the morning of Friday, October 1.  A search on the Internet for the lowest price resulted in our booking tickets with TWA.  Their nonstop "red eye" flight from Anchorage to Portland sported the best fare at the time.  Apparently not many had caught on or brand loyalty to Alaska Airlines is strong because the cavernous B-757 airplane was pretty empty on the way down.  We didn't have too much time to ponder that, as strong tailwinds pushed us into Portland 25 minutes ahead of schedule (in a lightning-fast flight time of 2 hours and 55 minutes).  Not much was going on in the Portland Airport at 5 o'clock in the morning, so we got out of there fast and headed downtown to our lodging venue at the Hilton (which served as official race headquarters for the marathon).

The decision to come to Portland in October presented the additional bonus of being able to attend the International Race Director's Conference.  Founded and conducted by Les Smith, the race director of the Portland Marathon, this conference brings together some of the big names in U. S. and Canadian running event organization (most notably New York and Marine Corps (Washington, D.C.) Marathons.).  Les moderates the session and offers a number of valuable goodies for the entry fee paid, including a trip to the Nike employee store in Beaverton and a steak-and-salmon feed at Pittick Mansion.  The Friday session was so interesting and enlightening that I managed to stay awake for the whole thing in spite of the glorious midnight transportation experience.  Attendees got to hear first-hand what works and what doesn't with regard to putting on races.  There's never a shortage of good ideas - or opinions - at these sessions!

Friday evening Sara and I had dinner with my first cousin, Larry Epstein, and his wife Cheri.  Larry and I grew up in the same neighborhood and used to play cowboys and Indians together.  Now he's an attorney in Portland.  They took us to a really good sushi restaurant in the neighborhood - a welcome change of pace from the carbo (pasta) loading I had subjected myself to the previous week.  Timing is everything and we were lucky to be able to spend some time with Larry and Cheri, as they were off the next morning on a well-earned and much anticipated vacation of their own.

On Saturday, I tried to stay off my feet as much as possible because I was going to be on them plenty the next day!  Sara's goal during this trip was to find some antique stained glass.  Alas, a visit to the nearest store downtown did not satisfy.  We'd just have to try again later.  So it was back to pushing water and noodles, and worrying about the task on Sunday.

With the race starting Sunday at 7:00 a.m., I arose at 4:00 a.m. to have a bagel and a banana - and more water.  Take a shower, worry some more, and get dressed.  The weather was great - mid-40's for the start and forecasted to be pushing 70 or higher by the time I would finish.  To keep warm during time before the starting gun and through the first mile or two, I brought the best in runner's chic - a garbage bag with holes cut out for my head and arms.  This was the first time I had tried this technique and it worked well.