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☰
Columbus Marathon Runner Comments
Back to Columbus Marathon Information & Reviews
Course 4.4 
Organization 4.1 
Spectators 4.2
Number of comments: 333 [displaying comments 171 to 181]
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J. P. from VA
(10/23/2006)
"Fantastic Course. Highly recommended." (about: 2006)
6-10 previous marathons
| 1 Columbus Marathon
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 4 This course is pretty darn close to being flat. I agree that the hills are very slight and very short. The EXPO could use some better organization for packet pick-up and please include bags for drop-off on marathon day. Also, where were the 35 entertainment stations along the course? I don't recall that many. Even with the minor organizational problems, which can easily be improved next year, I think Columbus is a great marathon and great location. It's a fast course (I qualified for Boston and PR'd by 9 minutes) and the spectators are great at the end. Highly recommend. | |
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J Matthew Paxton from Newark, DE
(10/23/2006)
"Excellent flat course" (about: 2006)
1 previous marathon
| 1 Columbus Marathon
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 4 My first marathon and I picked a great race. Plenty of water stops, flat course, excellent running neighborhoods. We ran through city neighborhoods, farms, and The Ohio State University. Great neighborhood cheering sections. | |
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B. R. from Ohio
(10/22/2006)
"Another Great Day To Run" (about: 2006)
11-50 previous marathons
| 3 Columbus Marathons
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 4 This was my third Columbus Marathon and another great race. The weather was perfect and the course and volunteers and organizations was also very good. This race is under new management and went off without a hitch. This course is flat, not pancake flat like Chicago, but a course with enough slight grades to give your legs a change. For the runner who commented Columbus was a hilly course, if you ever qualify to go to Boston, you will see what hills are all about. | |
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Amy Baker from Florissant, MO
(10/22/2006)
"Flat, Fast Course! Will definitely be back!" (about: 2006)
4-5 previous marathons
| 1 Columbus Marathon
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 4 This was my first Columbus experience and it was everything everybody told me it would be. Fast, flat course with great fan support. I got a PR even with inconsistent training due to sicknesses! Due to the course being mostly downhill, my knees and hips suffered a beating, but the great fan support makes you forget about it pretty easily. The expo was a little disorganized. Maybe, in the future, provide the timing chip, shirt, and bib/goodie bag all in the same line so people don't have to wait in multiple long lines. I will definitely be back next year though! GREAT Boston-qualifying course! | |
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J. M. from Cincinnati, OH
(10/22/2006)
"Flat and fast, but not much else..." (about: 2006)
4-5 previous marathons
| 1 Columbus Marathon
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 2 FANS: 3 This is a great course for a PR. Flat, decent support, and not too crowded (after the half-marathoners peeled off). The weather this year was absolutely ideal. Beyond those attributes, there is not much to say positively about this marathon. The packet/chip pickup organization was not just bad, it was abysmal. They were overwhelmed at the Expo on Saturday afternoon, but there was not one volunteer trying to help get people queued-up correctly. They knew they had a problem, but they did nothing to help the situation. The physical design of the packet/chip pick-up was incredibly bad. Mass confusion, as lines serpentine seeming in endless and arbitrary directions. The very last thing you want to do the night before a marathon is spend an inordinate amount of time standing in line. Once you get through that fiasco, your goodies consist of a nice technical shirt, but that is all. As others have said, if you've run the Pig, you'll be spoiled by the goodies. The inclusion of the half-marathon created more crowding on some narrow residential streets, then they could handle. Some of the water stations were completely overwhelmed. Some were way too short and narrow, leading to huge pile-ups. I hope in the future they completely rethink the packet/chip pick-up process, and don't allow the number of half-marathoners to increase. This is not a crowded marathon, like Chicago, but it certainly was more crowded that I expected due to the number of people running the half. Lastly, a special thanks to George, the 3:30 Clif Shot pacer. He was truly awesome. | |
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J. P. from Columbus, OH
(10/21/2006)
"Great experience" (about: 2006)
1 previous marathon
| 1 Columbus Marathon
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 4 This was my first marathon and I thought it was terrific. I thought it was neat running past the governor's mansion and high-fiving the governor. The military aircraft that flew overhead to start the race were impressive. The course had lots of places where family and friends came to cheer me on. The Gatorade did taste a bit chlorinated but some of the city water here has a weird taste. The one thing I missed was that there wasn't more music along the way. I thought with the number of radio stations signed up to have booths, we'd have more music - but there wasn't much. I would recommend this race to other first-time marathon runners. | |
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B. V. from Northwest Ohio
(10/20/2006)
"Flat" (about: 2006)
1 previous marathon
| 1 Columbus Marathon
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 The course was very flat and well organized. | |
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J. P. from Powell, OH (a suburb of Columbus)
(10/19/2006)
"Great marathon for first-timers." (about: 2006)
First Marathon
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 4 This was my very first marathon and I was not sure what to expect. It was a nice course, and I got to high-five the governor because we ran right past the mansion and he came out to greet us. There was a significant number of spectators to cheer us on, but not very many organizations along the sidelines playing music. I don't know why I thought there would be more, maybe from looking at the map and seeing the organizations that had signed up. There were a lot of slower participants (I don't know if they were walkers because the walkers started an hour earlier so we started passing them) and I ended up almost colliding with one and sprained my ankle at mile 10. But all in all it was a great experience and I am thrilled to have been able to participate and finish. | |
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A. K. from Virginia
(10/18/2006)
"Great PR course!" (about: 2006)
6-10 previous marathons
| 1 Columbus Marathon
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 4 I strongly recommend the Columbus Marathon for anyone looking for a PR course. I signed up for this marathon looking for a small, fast (but well-supported) marathon and this is exactly what I found. I remember reading over previous runner comments earlier this year and I made a mental note that there could be some hills along the way. I found no real hills on this course. This course is very level and fast. Any "inclines" on the course are so gradual and small that they should not be counted as hills. The timing of the race (mid-October) also gives the race a great chance for excellent running weather, which we had this year (upper 40s/low 50s). The course has excellent water/food support. It seemed as though the water stations were closer to every 1.5 miles, which is great! I thought the overall organization of the race was also excellent. The packet pick up/expo was easy to navigate and not too crowded (although I did go early Friday evening). Great technical shirt to marathon participants! Race-day instructions were easy and simple to follow. The course is spectator friendly, although I would note that spectators are not as numerous as you will find at larger races, esp. through the later miles of the course. The finish area was not congested (which I've found at larger marathons), and there was easy access to ample food/water/medical help. I think my only suggestion for this race is related to the starting times of the half marathon and marathon walkers (who started one hour earlier). I found that some of the early miles were fairly congested with runners, esp. as we went along some smaller residential streets. As we approached the walkers (who were great at staying to the side of the course) it sometimes became so crowded that both runners and walkers were getting elbowed and shoved, which was potentially dangerous. I'm not sure what the ideal solution is (or if I was just running with a pack of people), but the early miles of the course are a bit narrow for runners and walkers to share the course comfortably and safely. Overall, Columbus is a friendly city and it is very easy to navigate. I would love to run this race again! | |
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A. G. from Grand Rapids, MI
(10/18/2006)
"Decent marathon, but a bit hillier than expected" (about: 2006)
4-5 previous marathons
| 1 Columbus Marathon
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 4 I came into Columbus expecting a fairly flat run, given how flat in general the state of Ohio is. However, the course was definitely hillier than I expected, especially in the second half. Still, this didn't detract from the course, and in fact, being from Michigan, I'm actually for the most part used to hills like that. I had a very crummy day (tanked only a little over halfway) and still managed a sub-4 hour time, so it was as fast I expected. Except for some headwinds along the way, the weather cooperated as it was in the 40s and low 50s throughout. This was race was only a fraction as big as Chicago - maybe about the size of Detroit, which I actually like. In general, everything was easy to find at the expo, as I spent maybe 45 minutes there (though I try not to make the expo a shopping spree myself). Parking was MUCH easier than I expected for both the expo and for the race, given how big Columbus is. Plenty of aid stations and restrooms along the way. Fan support was a little thin in some areas, but boy were they into it when there were lots. Again, no Chicago, so be realistic. But the fans that were there did not disappoint. Overall, be ready for some hills along the way and for some stretches with little fan support. But as a whole, Columbus did a great job and I would recommend this run, despite my crummy day (not Columbus's fault). |
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