The 54th annual Portland Marathon presented by Nike Running is on track for another notable race year. Last year’s event sold out with nearly 12,000 registrations, and the event organiser Brooksee is expecting an even earlier sell-out for the 2026 edition with registration reportedly up 24% year-on-year.
This year’s event takes place on October 4, 2026. Alongside high demand for entries, local companies are signing on as partners at all levels. This includes Nike’s elevation of its sponsorship from official footwear and apparel sponsor to title sponsor, making the Portland Marathon the only event where Nike Running is the title sponsor.
Phil Dumontet, CEO at Brooksee, said “Our goal with the Portland Marathon presented by Nike Running is to not only provide an amazing racing experience for our participants, but to also showcase the incredible running community that is right here in Portland. Our efforts to spotlight and build that community are translating into major growth and major partnerships.
“Through our partnerships and local community engagement efforts, we are able to truly immerse our race into the local running community year-round, and build up a race experience that continues to draw a growing crowd.”
In addition to producing all event merchandise, Nike will curate pre-race experiences for runners, extend volunteer opportunities and offer registration discounts to employees. Nike’s partnership will also feature pre-race experiences, including multiple group long runs in partnership with Foot Traffic to support runners on their journey to race day, as well as a race weekend shakeout run.
The Portland Marathon presented by Nike Running offers four distances – a marathon, half marathon, 10km and the 1-mile Kids Run – which all offer scenic tours of Portland, Oregon.
The event also offers a spectator experience through its annual neighborhood cheer station competition, where running groups and neighborhood associations can gather to cheer on participants. This can include signs, music, dressing in costumes, or other ways the groups encourage the runners. Participants on the course vote for their favourite cheer station, and the group with the most votes receives US$1,000.
The Portland Marathon was established in 1972 and has grown into one of Oregon’s largest marathon events, hosting up to 15,000 participants. Event producer Brooksee is an endurance event production and services company founded in 2012 that organises premier road races such as the Portland Marathon, the Phoenix Marathon, the Las Vegas Marathon, the Mesa Marathon and the REVEL Race Series.
www.portlandmarathon.com
www.brooksee.com
