Rock ‘n\‘ Roll Portland Half Marathon Announces Race Route

PORTLAND, Ore. – Competitor Group, Inc. (CGI), organizers of the Rock ‘n' Roll Portland Half Marathon, have unveiled the race course for the inaugural event. Approximately 15,000 runners are expected at the half marathon that will kick off the Rose Festival with a uniquely Portland flavor when it debuts for its first running on Sunday, May 20.

"The Rose Festival is proud to partner with an event that will showcase Portland, promote a healthy lifestyle and most importantly, bring even more visitors to our great city," said Jeff Curtis, CEO of the Rose Festival. "We thank the City of Portland and all of our community partners involved with designing a course that both local and visiting runners have never had the chance to experience, including downtown, the waterfront, two bridges and inner eastside neighborhoods."

The half-marathon start venue will be located on Naito Parkway, which is adjacent to downtown Portland's scenic Tom McCall Waterfront Park alongside the Willamette River. After a short tour of downtown, runners will enjoy the first of two bridge crossings as they head to beautiful east Portland. There they will experience an eclectic mix of Portland neighborhoods, gorgeous Laurelhurst Park and a wonderful downhill finish heading back towards downtown on Lloyd Blvd. After the final crossing on the iconic Steel Bridge, runners finish back at the Waterfront Park on Naito Parkway at the corner of Salmon Street.

"Portland is a beautiful city with a strong local running community and this course was designed with the runner experience in mind. I truly believe it's the best course the area has to offer, given the unique layout of the city, mass transit and our goal to be sensitive to churches and bus routes," said Alan Culpepper, two-time Olympian and Operations Director at CGI. "The route offers an abundance of scenic views, including the Willamette River bridges, East Portland and Laurelhurst Park highlighting the very best of the City of Roses."

A free two-day Health and Fitness Expo will kickoff event weekend on Friday, May 18 at the Oregon Convention Center. The expo is free and open to the public featuring the latest health and nutrition information with a variety of products for sample and sale, as well as a series of interactive fitness clinics.

Event weekend concludes with a finish line concert at Waterfront Park. Past Rock ‘n' Roll Marathon headliners have included SEAL, Blues Traveler, Journey, B-52s, Goo Goo Dolls and Bret Michaels. The headline act for Rock ‘n' Roll Portland will be announced at a later date.

For more information or to register for the event, please visit www.Competitor.com