News, updates, tips, and true stories as we countdown to the 39th Annual Portland Marathon on 10·10·10.

Portland Marathon Likely to Close In July!!

Create your own team for this year's Portland Marathon!

The Portland Marathon is proud to provide a program developed for sponsors, charities, non-profits and corporations of all kinds to run for a cause while implementing a corporate wellness program to benefit any organization. Implement the program to establish an employee wellness program or compliment a program already in place.

The Portland Marathon "PLUG IN" Program For Success will take your run/walk experience to a new level!

How Do I Get Started?
Create a team with your co-workers, company departments, corporate alliances, or sponsors. A Team event is designed to help build teamwork across departments and promote fitness and giving within the workplace. Your co-workers and associates will train to run or walk in any of the Portland Marathon events while having the opportunity to raise funds for a cause of your choice.

How Do I Create A Team?
To create a team you must first choose a Team Captain.

Team Captain Instructions:

1. Register your team using the "Team Captains – Create Your Team" button, BEFORE you register for the event. When creating your team you will select your team name, category and division. During the team creation process you will agree to pay the $100 one-time Team fee, which will be charged, to the credit you use to register for the event.
2. Provide your Team Name to all individuals who want to be on your Team.
3. Create a team password (optional) and provide it to those who wish to be on the team. (As Team Captain you will have access to the team information via the back office feature of Team Registration, once this team is created. See: Additional Information at the end of this page)
4. Maintain contact with team members and manage your team roster online. Roster changes are accepted until September 15, 2010. No exceptions.
5. Designate a meeting area for team members before and after the race. The Marathon does not have a designated meeting area for teams.
6. Verify team information by visiting the event info booth at the expo on Fri/Sat before the event

How Do I register for A Team?
Once a Team Captain, as above, has created a Team, the Team Captain must then go back to registration to register for their event, select their team name from the drop down menu on the registration form and enter the password (if password protected). Team Members will also register for their event, select their team name from the drop down menu on the registration form and enter the password (if password protected).

Which Events are open to Team participation?
All Marathon events are open to Team participation. Teams members can register in any combination of Events. Teams may also be competitive or non-competitive. Only competitive teams will be eligible for timing and awards. Events include: Marathon Run, Marathon Walk, Half Marathon, 10K-Non Competitive Walk, and the Kid's Marafun Run

What Categories and Divisions are available?
Team categories include:

Open
Any group of people who are members of a club, civic organization, political candidate, neighborhood, church group, etc

Corporate
Any group of people who are members/employees of the same corporation, business or government agency

Military
Any group of people who are members of the armed forces or are employed by the federal government- all teams considered mixed male and female

Masters
All team members must be at least 40 years old

Family
Any combination of family member vs. family member i.e.: father/son, mother/daughter, sibling/sibling, etc

Specialty Teams
Any group who wants to compete in a category not listed above may submit teams into a specialty category of their choice. The Event reserves the right to approve and sanction said category and team as participants. (IE: Kaiser Hospital Teams, corporation vs. corporation) Note: Specialty Teams will be given a registration code once their team has been approved by the event.

Divisions for each Category include:
MALE: Any group of men
FEMALE: Any group of women
CO-ED: Any group of men and women

Special Divisions for the Category of Military also will include:
Brigades, Battalions, Companies, Platoons, Squadrons, Squad, Other

How many can be on a Team?
Teams must be a minimum of 2 people for non-competitive and 3 people for competitive. There is no maximum number for any team. However, individuals can only be a membe r of one team.

Competitive vs. Non-Competitive Team Information:
Non-competitive teams can have members who are participating in any combination of Events and will not be eligible for awards. Competitive teams members must all participate in one event. Only the first three (3) finishers times in that event will count toward the team score and division award.

Run for a Charity
All teams are encouraged to choose a favorite charity to run for, donate

to, and/or actively fundraise for. Teams can also choose a charity from the Official Portland Marathon Charity list on the official website. The Event Official donation and fundraising program offered by the Portland Marathon is a fully administered program that provides individualized fundraising pages in an electronic format. If your company already supports a charity on our Official Charity list, the Event program will provide your employees, sponsors and affiliate partners with a fully administered program to increase donations and fundraising. Have a real impact on the community, invigorate your employees, and elevate your visibility in the community.

Personalize your Team
Teams are encouraged to print a team t-shirt or singlet and invite their co-workers, friends and family to participate as volunteers for the race. Pictures and human-interest articles submitted by teams become the property of the Event and will be reviewed for publication in post event electronic publications and other media formats by the event.

Team Registration Deadline
All Team Captains and Team members must be registered on-line by September 15, 2010 to be considered part of a Team.

Register your team today!

Portland Marathon Likely to Close In July!!

Connect with our online community of runners and walkers!

Join us on Facebook (Portland Marathon) or Twitter (@pdxmarathon) to share your thoughts, photos, stories, and to pose your questions about running, walking, sweating, the Portland Marathon, aid stations, and gear. The list of topics changes by the minute!

Have questions or comments about our newsletter or email blasts? We'd love to hear them. Just email your thoughts to info@portlandmarathon.org.

Half Marathon Entries Still Available through Ray of Hope Foundation!

Runners and Walkers, you can still obtain a coveted registration slot for the Half Marathon through the Ray of Hope Foundation! The Ray of Hope Foundation is a grassroots, nonprofit organization dedicated to promoting global health, healing and education through the exchange of volunteers, technology, training, medical supplies, and educational programming. Ray of Hope currently has programs in regions of Kenya that deal with extreme poverty, HIV/AIDS, and lack of resources.

Come run or walk for the Ray of Hope Foundation! You will have a fantastic time while helping a worthy cause. If you sign up for our team and fulfill our very reasonable fundraising requirement, you will receive these great benefits:

• Free registration to your marathon event
• Ray of Hope singlet or tee shirt
• Pre-Race Pasta Party
• Free massage and treats for our runners and walkers in our finish line tent after the race
• Special prizes for the top 3 fundraisers! (Think spa, beauty treatments, massage, etc.!)

Please contact Andrea at admin@rayofhope4all.org to obtain more information. We look forward to having you on the Ray of Hope Portland Marathon and Half Marathon team!

The Portland Marathon is filling up fast!

Registration for the Portland Marathon is up this June compared to years past. Despite a tough economy, the Portland Marathon and many other distance running events in the country are seeing an increase in participants. Be sure to register before it's too late. Sign up now for the 39th Annual Portland Marathon before it's sold out. Visit www.portlandmarathon.org to register today.

Tell us about your tunes

We continue to update our statistics on what runners are listening to and how they use music to train and run events. This helps us continue to be the MP3 Player-Friendly Portland Marathon. Take our iPod MP3 Survey Now!

Click here to take the survey now!
https://www.surveymonkey.com/s.aspx?sm=zcusqW2P4GUNt_2f4OJRFvaQ_3d_3d