波特兰马拉松周末拉开帷幕：近1.5万人报名创纪录 台湾观光署摊位成亮点
第54届波特兰马拉松于10月3日（周六）正式拉开周末序幕，赛前博览会在俄勒冈会议中心开幕，成千上万名跑者在正赛前一天前来领取号码布、逛展备战。主办方表示，本届赛事报名人数接近1.5万人，创下这项创办于1970年代的城市招牌赛事的历史纪录；赛事由耐克跑步冠名呈现，设全程马拉松、半程马拉松、10公里和儿童跑四个组别，正赛于10月4日（周日）清晨鸣枪。
今年的赛前博览会上有一个格外引人注目的新面孔：台湾观光署首次赞助波特兰马拉松，在博览会和次日的终点嘉年华设立台湾旅游摊位。摊位搬来了台湾庙宇求签的习俗——跑者抽一支签，就能对应开启一段台湾之旅：自然山林、温泉或茶文化三大主题任选其一。工作人员介绍，台湾的温泉遍布北中南东，既有海底温泉也有泥浆温泉；抽到"茶"主题的访客还能获赠茶包。现场还提供半日过境游、Taiwan PASS、环岛路跑与骑行等实用信息，中华航空西雅图分公司也在博览会设摊参展。
俄勒冈州在美国跑步文化史上地位特殊，当地人热爱户外、讲究身心平衡，也乐于长途深度旅行，这正是台湾观光署看中太平洋西北市场的原因。此前，台湾观光署已在今年稍早冠名赞助丹佛科尔法克斯马拉松5公里赛事，这次把体育行销的版图从落基山脉延伸到西海岸。
周日的正赛中，首次参加全程马拉松的康纳·福特（Connor Ford）以2小时27分14秒夺得男子冠军；女子冠军由波特兰本地跑者玛格丽特·格拉德（Margaret Glad）以2小时52分32秒夺得。
资料来源：EIN Presswire（台湾观光署新闻稿）；Running USA；KOIN 6 Portland。
Portland Marathon Weekend Kicks Off: Record Nearly 15,000 Entries as Taiwan Tourism Booth Draws Crowds
The 54th annual Portland Marathon presented by Nike Running opened its race weekend on Saturday, October 3, as thousands of runners packed the pre-race expo at the Oregon Convention Center. Organizers said nearly 15,000 people registered for this year's event — the largest field in the history of the city's signature marathon — across four distances, with racing beginning on the morning of October 4.
Making its debut at this year's expo was the Taiwan Tourism Administration (TTA), which sponsored the Portland Marathon for the first time and hosted a Taiwan travel booth. Borrowing the everyday Taiwanese custom of drawing fortune sticks at a temple, the booth invited runners to draw a stick and discover the Taiwan journey that suited them best, built around three wellness themes: mountains and forests, hot springs, and tea culture. Brochures also covered half-day transit tours, the Taiwan PASS, running events and cycling travel around the island. China Airlines' Seattle branch also exhibited at the expo.
In the race itself, Connor Ford won the men's marathon in 2:27:14 in his first-ever marathon, while Portland local Margaret Glad led the women in 2:52:32.
Source: EIN Presswire (TTA press release); Running USA; KOIN 6 Portland.
图片来源：James Cohen from North Beach, San Francisco, U. S. of A. / CC BY 2.0 / Wikimedia Commons
