Portlandathon Stumbles Out Of The Block, Train Delays Runners

PORTLAND, OR – Hundreds of runners filled the streets of Portland on Sunday for the 47th year in a row to run a marathon. Minus a train on the course that delayed most runners by more than 22 minutes, the whole thing went smoothly.

Tomonori Sakamoto led the pack, crossing the line in 2:25:02.

The next runner to finish was Yosuke Kato, who followed more than 26 minutes later. Get all the latest information on what's happening in your community by signing up for Patch's newsletters and breaking news alerts

The reason for the gap was a Union Pacific train that caused a more than 20 minute delay.

Union Pacific, which has apologized, said that they knew the plans for the race and had planned to keep trains off the course but another train suffered mechanical problems, making the delay in Portland inevitable.

The race was run by Paula Harkin's Run with Paula company. She and her husband own Portland Running Company. They agreed to take over the race – previously known as The Portland Marathon – when organizers dissolved the board of directors amid questions of financial impropriety.

Organizers say that they are investigating the train delay and reaching out to organizers of other races to let them know what happened. Potlandathon is a qualifying race for the Boston Marathon.

Paula Harkin told the Oregonian that she won't be organizing the race next year.

Photo via Portlandathon.