A consortium of Portland area race directors met over the winter and, after many hours of vigorous debate, agreed upon a set distance for all of their 2017 marathons. After much back-and-forth, several of the city’s most well-known race companies decided on exactly 26.2 miles as the standard distance for any race they put on with “Marathon” in the name or any event otherwise promoted as a “marathon”. “After going around in circles about various…