Spectator Tips: the Portland 10 Miler

Portland, Maine is an excellent destination for runners, but it’s also an ideal place to bring family and friends along to enjoy the spring and all the city has to offer! For visitors and locals alike, a road race is a fun way to get outside and enjoy a type of camaraderie and fun that is unique to the running community. Hand-operated noisemakers such as cowbells, funny costumes, music, and signs are great ways to cheer on all of the 1,800 participants in the Portland 10 Miler. We ask that spectators avoid driving on the actual course as much as possible — when able, please take alternate driving routes to the spectator spots!

Click here for a full course map

Click here for a map of the spectator spots listed below

Start

One of the perks of a looped course is that spectators can watch both the start and finish without traveling, if they don’t wish to! With ample parking at Edward Payson Park, it’s a great spot to cheer your runner on at the start line, wish them luck, and enjoy the park while you await their return. The first portion of the course is right along the Back Cove, making for some great shots of runners along the water, as well as an excellent place for a walk while you wait!

Back Cove Park

Just after Mile 2, and just before the Mile 8 marker on the way back, this waterfront park is a great spot to set up camp to watch your runner(s) before the head into Portland’s East End. One tip: if you wait for your runner at mile 8, chances are you won’t be able to return to the finish in time to see them cross the finish line.

Eastern Promenade

The course takes runners along the bottom, and then the top, of Portland’s beautiful Eastern Promenade. This park, which overlooks Casco Bay, has a number of different spectator spots from Miles 3 to 4 and again from Miles 6 to 7. East End Beach and the eastern side of the park (around Mile 4 and Mile 6) also overlooks Fort Gorges, a late 19th-century military fortress on Hog Island. Street parking is readily available here – we just ask that spectators park on side streets rather than directly on the race course roads.

Finish

There’s simply nothing more inspiring than a road race finish line! Runners and walkers from around the country will be completing this challenging course at Edward Payson Park, collecting their finishers medals and celebrating their accomplishment. Friends and family are welcome to join the athlete finish celebration, featuring Rising Tide Beer (for runners 21+, the first beer is on us!) as well as athlete food. See how many high fives you can give out to our runners!