Together with views of breathtaking scenery and miles of trails, Portland has everything for the leisurely jogger, the weekend warrior or the elite runner.
The Nike world headquarters are located in Beaverton, giving the Rose City a nice foundation for runners, as well as an outdoor appeal with miles of trails and beautiful scenery.
Nike was founded with a running emphasis and has grown to be one of the largest shoe companies in the world.
The trails here are consistently viewed as some of the best in the nation, and RunnersWorld magazine has always rated Portland as one of the best running cities in the country.
From Portland State, a person can go north onto Terwilliger Boulevard and enjoy a nice paved path looking over the Willamette River, as well as an army of conifers guiding them along their run.
In the same general area near campus as Duniway Park is the Marquam Nature Park Trail System, which offers a nice and quiet run. However, this run is not for the faint of heart, as it has a brutal uphill portion for part of the way, but once you veer off, it’s smooth coasting for the rest of the run.
Washington Park is another hot spot where people can find miles and miles of available trails. The famous Wildwood Trail begins here, twisting and turning through Forest Park along the way. Wildwood is a 28-mile trail that is entirely on soft surfaces, with blue markings and maps to guide even the most casual runner.
If you make it to The Pittock Mansion while on the Wildwood Trail, you can get a great view of the entire city of Portland. However, it comes at the price of making the hilly trek up the trail.
Also around Forest Park you will find the very busy Leif Erickson Trail. On the weekends, this trail is filled with runners from across the metro area rolling along its 12.2-mile course. Every quarter-mile is marked and runners are engulfed in shade from the trees, making this lengthy and scenic trail one of Portland’s most popular runs.
Another trail system is available on Mount Tabor, to the east of the Willamette River. Do not let the word “mountain” deter you, as Mount Tabor is more or less a large hill that is an extinct volcanic cinder cone, and paved and unpaved paths surround this park.
Finally, there is a set of trails located on the southwest end of Portland. It is a beauty of a run that does not require any giant hills to climb and is known as Tryon Creek State Park. The park has plenty of soft-surface trails winding and twisting through it.
Niketown, located at Sixth Avenue and Salmon Street downtown, offers training runs every Monday and Wednesday at 5:30 p.m. Employees gather a group of people together and go on a three-, five- or seven-mile run, and every kind of pace is welcomed, free of charge. The experience can be a good opportunity to get out and meet some other runners or maybe find a training partner.
With the active community like the one in Portland, you can find seasoned professionals running year round. Oregon Road Runners Club and Team Red Lizard are two popular clubs that the more serious runner can join.
With all of these choices so close to downtown, the Portland runner will never run out of options.