The Foot Traffic Flat has been a nationally recognized, preeminent Fourth of July tradition here in the Northwest. Flat, certified courses, gorgeous scenery, and a fantastic start and finish venue at the famous Pumpkin Patch on Sauvie Island! Situated just 15 minutes north of downtown Portland, Sauvie Island is an …
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The Foot Traffic Flat has been a nationally recognized, preeminent Fourth of July tradition here in the Northwest. Flat, certified courses, gorgeous scenery, and a fantastic start and finish venue at the famous Pumpkin Patch on Sauvie Island!
Situated just 15 minutes north of downtown Portland, Sauvie Island is an outdoor wonderland with small family farms, tons of wildlife, and views of the river. All participants receive gorgeous medals and a certified & chip-timed courses. The races start early to avoid the heat and temperatures hover in the low 60’s at the start to mid 70’s by the finish (even if there is a daytime high expected to be in the 90’s!).
The “Flat,” as we affectionately call it, is about the flattest half and full marathon on the West Coast. It is the perfect place to complete your first ever full or half or to set a new PR and hit a qualifying mark. In fact, the race continually ranks in the top 10 or 20 marathons in the country for percentage of Boston Qualifiers!
Race highlights include:
– Beautiful farm truck medals, cute shirts and bibs!
– Chip timing and Boston-qualifying, certified courses for the half marathon and full marathon.
– Gorgeous, flat venue out on Sauvie Island, just 15 minutes north of Portland, Oregon.
– Wave starts return based on popular demand! Easy start line with less congestion and smooth aid stations!
– Quarter Marathon course returns with popular half island loop!
– Giant Ice Cream Sandwiches from Ruby Jewel return at the finish!
– VIRTUAL OPTION FOR EACH DISTANCE!
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A Distance for Everyone
This is a good 4th of July race for anyone because of the many distance options. The farm where it takes place was cute and fun to explore after running. … MORE
This is a good 4th of July race for anyone because of the many distance options. The farm where it takes place was cute and fun to explore after running. The shuttles from downtown Portland ran smoothly on the way back, but plan extra time to get onto the island. Traffic was backed up causing the bus to arrive not long before the start of the half and some marathoners missed their start time. If you pick an earlier bus, you will be fine.
Best run in Portland!
They do a great job of organizing this race. The finish line area and events are wonderful, the course is scenic. At race start the moon was setting in the … MORE
They do a great job of organizing this race. The finish line area and events are wonderful, the course is scenic. At race start the moon was setting in the west and the sun was rising in the east and you could see them both.. a really neat sign.
Meh - not enough bang for your buck
The race is well planned overall, no day packet pickup but they offer it for several days before which helps. They offer buses to the start which is great. The … MORE
The race is well planned overall, no day packet pickup but they offer it for several days before which helps. They offer buses to the start which is great. The course is okay, pretty views, and they offer an early race start as they otherwise have a 5.5 hour cutoff for the marathon. Will say that it’s a smaller field and due to it because a Boston Qualifier it’s a very fast field, so if you’re a slower runner be prepared to be alone a good portion of the time. It’s an expensive race, and don’t know that you get your moneys worth. No finisher photos, a standard t-shirt, decent medal, an ice cream sandwich, but no other finish line food/drinks.
Fantastic race
Incredibly well organized. Multiple pre-race packet pickup days and locations. Helpful volunteers. Ample porta potties at the start. Espresso cart. Safe course. Very little vehicle traffic. Post-race nutrition, ice-cream, and … MORE
Incredibly well organized. Multiple pre-race packet pickup days and locations. Helpful volunteers. Ample porta potties at the start. Espresso cart. Safe course. Very little vehicle traffic. Post-race nutrition, ice-cream, and fresh produce at the market. If I were to mark it down for anything it would be almost zero on-course spectators cheering, but it certainly was peaceful.
Very expensive, very much not worth it
Race was very expensive for a short distance, pretty unorganized and the course wasn't even measured. The finish line was around a tight corner behind some trees about half a … MORE
Race was very expensive for a short distance, pretty unorganized and the course wasn’t even measured. The finish line was around a tight corner behind some trees about half a mile further than it should have been which made it hard to plan a good finish. We sat on the shuttle bus for almost an hour because the driver wouldn’t leave Portland til every seat was full, so we couldn’t warm up for the race. We asked around about an awards ceremony for about 30 minutes before someone handed us a piece of wood with a sticker glued on sideways without asking who we were, lol. Unsure why they didn’t just plan and measure a 10k but this was a random 7 miles in the end. Friends who were there to easy run and get some great selfies on the island liked it but I’d never choose it again for something I’ve trained hard for. You can go to Sauvie any day and run, no need to pay almost $90 for something that turned out to be not much of a race.
The Cherry on Top
Foot Traffic is the right name for this run. Besides the obvious reason of running, its name is fitting for to the course and the traffic (pedestrians and cars). While … MORE
Foot Traffic is the right name for this run. Besides the obvious reason of running, its name is fitting for to the course and the traffic (pedestrians and cars). While doing an awesome job of keeping runners safe while running against traffic, the traffic leaving the island, mainly busses which transported runners, pulls up the rear of the run until leaving the island between mile 1 and 2; while runners continue straight.
The next traffic jam is shortly after passing under the American Flag hanging from the bridge. The Foot Traffic takes priority once again as traffic comes to a complete halt, and occupants cheer the runners on; while runners thank the officers for their service. Continuing on until you reach the road which takes you out and back, runners come upon volunteers and medics directing them to what is undoubtedly the most spectacular part of the course. Simply stunning scenery and huge bird nest may cause you to forget you’re actually running a marathon. Just hope you’re as fortunate as I was to see the man picking cherries from his cherry tree. He asked if I wanted some, and of course I wanted some then even more. I grew up in the age where fruit trees were everywhere. You need to know that these were the best cherries ever — Ocean Springs got nothing on them.
Sad to say, there exist many other farms of which I wasn’t as fortunate to partake of. And neither will you. That is unless you plan to visit them yourself after the run. But you might just be a little too tired to walk and pick your own food. Don’t worry, they have some farms that’ll pick for you realizing you might be tired from all the running.
Speaking of tired, I must warn you about the retired tire place. I don’t care for the smell of whatever was going on with the mountain of tires. And because it’s an out and back, you’ll pass this area twice. Just keep rolling right along, and you’ll pass it quicker then you think.
Race that Lives Up to its Name
There is just one hilly section on a short out and back, otherwise this race is flat, flat, flat. The number of runners seemed to be down this year, which … MORE
There is just one hilly section on a short out and back, otherwise this race is flat, flat, flat. The number of runners seemed to be down this year, which was surprising to me given that there still aren’t very many marathons offered after the Covid-19 pandemic of 2020. None-the-less, there were plenty of well-supplied aid stations that were adequately staffed, but few spectators. The heat wasn’t too bad this year, and strawberry ice cream sandwiches were substituted for the traditional serving of strawberry shortcake. Otherwise, it was pretty much back to normal. Finishers were given a nice medal and short-sleeved shirts were given out at the packet pickup.
New State Oregon
Hey, it looks like things are pretty much back to normal in Portland. We ran this race sponsored by Foot Traffic. They had put in limited numbers for this year … MORE
Hey, it looks like things are pretty much back to normal in Portland. We ran this race sponsored by Foot Traffic. They had put in limited numbers for this year 2021. We were 112 in the Marathon. The first par of the race is from the Pumpkin Patch to the levee. So it was completely flat then up a tiny bit to the levee. I really enjoyed the run down the levee and back. This was the scenic part of the race. However, most of the race is not shaded so the early start and your speed controls how much you bake in the July sun. After those two parts we ran the half course back to the start. As people woke up so did the traffic on the road. Most of the time we had traffic only one direction but when drivers entered the course between roadblocks we were scrambling out of their way. So it is done and number 35 state is in the books. Happy running to all.
Great small race
This is a fun race to do on the 4th! It had beautiful scenery of fields and fields of berries. Not a lot of room for spectators until the end. … MORE
This is a fun race to do on the 4th! It had beautiful scenery of fields and fields of berries. Not a lot of room for spectators until the end. Great swag, great support on the course, and a smaller race production. Expect the weather to warm quickly, but the start was nice and cool which is to be expected in July.
Good, mostly flat summer race
1.Scenic and mostly flat course. a short out and back but otherwise its a loop course. 2.Strawberry shortcake at finish. 3. little to no traffic 4. if you are into … MORE
1.Scenic and mostly flat course. a short out and back but otherwise its a loop course.
2.Strawberry shortcake at finish.
3. little to no traffic
4. if you are into running races that are peaceful, aren’t too crowded and runs by farmland and scenic areas, this is one such race.
it really is flat
Small, low-key race on paved roads around Sauvie Island. Lots of food at the start and finish. I was lucky it was overcast and cool; on a hot, sunny day … MORE
Small, low-key race on paved roads around Sauvie Island. Lots of food at the start and finish. I was lucky it was overcast and cool; on a hot, sunny day there is literally no shade. If driving, give yourself plenty of time to get on the island before the race starts.
Not as flat
This is a very fast course, but not really as flat as advertised. Lots of osprey. There is a long out and back, then a loop around much of the … MORE
This is a very fast course, but not really as flat as advertised. Lots of osprey. There is a long out and back, then a loop around much of the island. Nice farmland. Great swag and food at the finish.
Flat, flat, flat
This is a great race if you want a PR without "cheating" by doing a downhill point to point course. It is about 98% flat and the only hills are … MORE
This is a great race if you want a PR without “cheating” by doing a downhill point to point course. It is about 98% flat and the only hills are short and not very steep. It is mainly though agricultural land, so might be refreshing for city slickers, but could be boring if you’re from a rural area. It’s still a great course if you want a fast time. The only possible downside is the time of year. It can get hot, even in NW Oregon in July. I lucked out this year with near perfect weather though. It was nice and cool with no real rain. The medals are large and well designed, and they didn’t run out of strawberry shortcake this year.