Portlandathon Train Snafu Leads To $10K Donation To Union Gospel

PORTLAND, OR – When you are a charitable organization providing 700 meals a day to people, every donation helps. So, when Portland's Union Gospel Mission received a $10,000 donation from Union Pacific on Friday, it was a welcome visit.

Union Pacific is trying to make up for the fact that last October one of their trains delayed runners in the Portlandathon marathon for 22 minutes.

"We regret disrupting the fall Portlandathon and recognize the important role the race and its charitable partner, Union Gospel Mission, play in the community," a spokeswoman for Union Pacific told Patch in a statement..

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"We hope our $10,000 donation to the Union Gospel Mission helps in a small way. We again apologize to the impacted athletes."

Union Gospel Mission was the designated primary charity for the marathon, which was a qualifying run for the Boston Marathon. As a result of the delay, many runners did not qualify.

Union Pacific has promised to work with whomever organizes next year's marathon.

Photo via Portlandathon.