calendar icon Nov 8, 2024

Marathon Details - Coeur d' Alene Marathon

North America Marathons > USA > ID > Coeur d'Alene > Coeur d' Alene Marathon

Coeur d' Alene Marathon

Coeur d' Alene Marathon & Half Marathon, 10K, 5K

location icon Coeur d'Alene, ID USA

calendar icon May 25, 2025

calendar icon http://www.coeurdalene.org/places/idaho/coeur-dalene/outdoor-activities/coeur-dalene-marathon

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Race Details

Scenic course-out and back along the Lake Coeur d'Alene and Spokane River on the Centennial Trail and city streets.

Contact Information

Name: Charlie Miller
Address: Coeur d'Alene Marathon
105 N. First St.
Coeur d'Alene, ID 83814
Phone Number:  (208)292-1634
Email: Email the organizers

Runner Reviews (70)

Course Rating Course 4.0 
 
Oranization Rating Organization 3.9 
 
Spectator Rating Spectators 3.3 
 
 
Number of comments: 70 [displaying comments 1 to 11]
More Comments: [ < 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 > ]

 

L. L. from Twin Falls, ID (6/18/2024)
"Beautiful and well supported 26.2" (about: 2024)

1 previous marathon | 1 Coeur d' Alene Marathon
COURSE: 5  ORGANIZATION: 4  FANS: 5


This was my first marathon in Idaho, my 2nd 26.2 overall.

Weather was cool with slight overcast that allowed for an overall cool race.

Packet Pick Up
Packet pick up was re scheduled to start an hour later than website advertises which was fine. My kids had plenty of time to play at the park while we waited.

Was able to purchase a few items for memorabilia. (Had my size available in the styles I wanted).

Race Day
We stayed at an Air bnb .5 miles from the start line so my wife had plenty of time to drop me off. There was a few dozen porta potties on site and that gave me around a 5 minute wait for restroom.

I pack my own fuel so I may not be the best judge on aid stations however there seemed to be plenty! I did stop twice for extra water to ensure I didn't run out.

The course itself is beautiful. Running along the lake was pretty and there seemed to be quite a bit of spectators from locals. Although not as much as in the Ogden Marathon. (my only other experience in 26.2 events)

The only con is that the course runs you right by the water plant so that was a smelly section! 'Motivation to run faster' lol! The course itself was beautiful.

 

J. M. from St. Louis, Missouri (6/16/2016)
"Not A Good Marathon," (about: 2016)

11-50 previous marathons | 1 Coeur d' Alene Marathon
COURSE: 1  ORGANIZATION: 1  FANS: 2


This just was not a good race. The organization of the run stands out. 1st. They ran out of shirts. So even though i went to packet pick up hours before those closed they said they had been out of shirts and could contact us to ship us our size in mens. That was 4 weeks ago and no response from them (i have tried contacting them).

2nd. It is a loop marathon, you run the same route multiuplue times. When i was finishing they had teenagers volunteering. At about mile 22 about 3 hours into the marathon they started picking up the mile markers!!! I think they meant to pick up the markers (mile 1,3 5 etc) from the 1st loop but they made a mistake and pulled up the last 4. Nothing like running a marathon with no mile markers.

3rd, there was no water. They appeared to only have staff and volunteers for the half marathon. Once that was done, they were done and left.

Just not a good race, don't run this one. Pick Boise, much better ran marathon. STRONGLY SUGGEST Running a different race.

 

C. M. from BC Canada (6/2/2016)
"A beautiful, challenging course" (about: 2016)

1 previous marathon
COURSE: 4  ORGANIZATION: 4  FANS: 3


We drove down from Canada to try the half marathon. It was well organized from packet pick up to awards ceremony. The weather was perfect too. We'll be back next year.

 

R. O. from Idaho (5/29/2016)
"Good race but need more food on the course!" (about: 2016)

11-50 previous marathons | 6+ Coeur d' Alene Marathons
COURSE: 3  ORGANIZATION: 3  FANS: 3


They need more food on the course, as at the end of the race. i.e., Bananas, oranges, etc. We pokies need more than just drink! Thanks for your time!

 

C. G. from Overland Park, KS (5/27/2015)
"Nice small race but could be better" (about: 2015)

11-50 previous marathons | 1 Coeur d' Alene Marathon
COURSE: 2  ORGANIZATION: 3  FANS: 2


Things to like about the CDA marathon:
- Small race so you could park 3 blocks from the start/finish area a half an hour before the start, and the portapotty line was short compared to most races.
- SWAG - the long-sleeve pullover and pint glass included at packet pickup were nice. The medal was also nice, if that matters.
- Scenery was beautiful (but in my experience it doesn't matter how awesome the scenery is for the last hour, if you're racing a marathon.)
- The volunteers were enthusiastic and aid stations were well staffed.
- The course was well marked, and mile markers seemed pretty accurate up to mile 10 which was way long, then pretty consistent from there to the end of the race.

Things not to like:
- Small race (243 finishers) so not much company - During the last 15 miles, I passed 5 or 6 people and was passed by one person, and had no one with 300 meters at the end. Same story for my daughter. It's a lot like a solitary training run.
- The course - four trips over the same piece of pavement is about 2 too many. I realize it's all about the half-marathon, but making the marathoners run 4 repeats over a significant hill was a bad idea.
- Start time: Starting at 5:30 or 6:00 instead of 7:00 would've meant cooler temps and lots more shade. With temps over 70 and bright sun like this year, the last half of the race was a lot harder than it needed to be.
- Aid stations should use bigger cups - Dixie cups that hold maybe 4 ounces before spillage during hand-off and drinking aren't very useful. It would also be helpful to have water and sports drink in the same order from station to station, or not intermingled at the same station. (I realize this is a universal problem but wanted to make future entrants aware that CDA is no exception).
- Post-race foodstuffs were nothing to get excited about - oranges, bananas, and 1 free beer if you were so inclined and had time to wait in line. We had to head to the airport so didn't mind that the post-race stuff wasn't anything special.

All in all we enjoyed the race and our visit to CDA, and would recommend it especially if you have time to enjoy the lake afterwards.

 

W. C. from Calgary, Canada (6/20/2014)
"Really a half marathonIt really" (about: 2014)

6-10 previous marathons | 1 Coeur d' Alene Marathon
COURSE: 3  ORGANIZATION: 4  FANS: 3


I entered the full marathon given that I had some other commitments for my goal race which was the weekend after. The course is scenic and the event is well organized for a small city marathon however it really is a half marathon. The double out and back on the marathon course got old really quickly the second time through. I understand that it is a small location but even a small 10k somewhere else for the marathon runners would have made it a little more bearable.

Finally I thought the course was long. My Garmin, which is normally pretty accurate, had an extra 500 metres which messed with me at the end.

On the plus side the shirt and medal were excellent and Coeur d'Alene is beautiful. I would definitely visit that part of the country again but I wouldn't go just for the marathon unless there was an effort to make it a proper marathon rather than just running two half marathons (and some) back to back.

 

A. R. from Franklin, TN (5/28/2014)
"Good smaller event in a beautiful location" (about: 2014)

50+ previous marathons | 1 Coeur d' Alene Marathon
COURSE: 2  ORGANIZATION: 4  FANS: 4


This was a nice smaller race, ~200 in the full marathon. There was also a 5K and half marathon. The double out-and-back course would have been horrible, if not for the gorgeous scenery. The fourth time through the same ~6.5 mile stretch got a bit old, though. PLenty of water stops with gels, HEED, and water. Expo was small but adequate if you forgot some essentials. It was a very nice ,well organized small run. Would I make another trip to Idaho just to run it? Probably not.

 

S. k. from California (6/4/2013)
"Pretty course, lackluster organization" (about: 2013)

11-50 previous marathons | 1 Coeur d' Alene Marathon
COURSE: 4  ORGANIZATION: 2  FANS: 3


Beautiful course-the best scenery is on the marathon route after the half marathoners turn around. Loved the course, loved the 'morning of' packet pick up. Parking was easy.

Logistically this race needs improvement....it was amateur hour.
-The bag drop was non-existent, which wouldn't have been a problem had a race volunteer not pointed to an area and told me it WAS the bag drop. Glad I didn't use it, my car keys would have been gone.
-They also released over a thousand half marathoners in to mile 3 of the marathon....so just when folks are hitting their pace, you merge with a few hundred runners/walkers. It took a few miles to spread the group out afterwards.
-Finish line, even though it was small, it had more vendors selling homemade crafts than post-race support and was really disorganized.
-Nevermind the lack of medical support - 10 bucks worth of sunscreen, vaseline, and motrin at a few aid stations (I only saw it at the marathon turn around) would have sufficed.

 

T. F. from Los Angeles (5/28/2013)
"Great small-town race! Small full. Mid-size half." (about: 2013)

6-10 previous marathons | 1 Coeur d' Alene Marathon
COURSE: 4  ORGANIZATION: 4  FANS: 3


Overall, great race. If I make it back to Idaho, I'd probably run this one again.

Positives:
1) Most logistics (see below): Expo (small, but efficient), race day organization, parking, water stops, etc.
2) On-course directions: There were lots of turns, but I never once got confused or lost.
3) On course volunteers: at times, there were so many, the near complete lack of 'crowd' was not noticeable.
4) aid stops: lots of sports drink and gel;
5) Post race food: Still plenty left when I finished my marathon, after most after most half-marathoners.
6) Matching finisher hat: Very nice touch. It would have been fantastic if it said 'Finisher,' but pretty awesome nonetheless.
7) Scenery: Out of control of the organizers other than choosing to do a race here, but this was one of the most beautiful races I've run.

Issues/Needs improvement:
1) Mile markers: similar to the 2011 feedback, mile markers came up early until the last 'mile,' which I clocked at 1.2 miles. I know GPS watches aren't perfect, but it really seems like there is a legitimate issue here.
2) Start time/overlap with half: The marathoners start 30 minutes ahead of the half (which has over 1000 folks) and run a 3-mile loop back to the starting area, then join the half course for the next 6 or so miles. I am a 4-hour marathoner (9 min/mile) and I calculated this into my start, thinking I would avoid the throng. Unfortunately, the marathon started 6 minutes late, which deposited me (and almost every other marathoner) in the sea of humanity that was the start of the half. The organizers could have recognized this and considered starting the half a little later as well. My issue was probably a one-time thing, but slower marathoners will want to consider this.
3) Pre-race audio: I was about 50 feet behind the start line, but could not hear any pre-race announcements, national anthem, etc.
4) On-course medical support: Maybe it was there, but I didn't see any. I didn't need it, but wondered what would happen if I did.

Neutral feedback:
1) Gels: The pre-race email stated gels would be at particular water stops, but they weren't at all stops identified. There were a ton of stops with gel, and I always carry all I need just in case, so there was plenty, but I met one guy who was particularly annoyed at this.
2) Medals: I'm not into fancy medals, and this one wasn't.
3) Shirts: I don't like white tech tees, but the long sleeve and color stripe was nice.
4) Hills: these weren't as hard as I figured with all the feedback below and the profile, but they weren't a cakewalk either. Get in some hill workouts folks.
5) There were only a couple pockets of spectators during the long out and back after mile 6, so if you need crowd support, consider another race. It's a small race in a small town.
6) Don't think the big hills at mi 12/13 and 16/17 are the only ones. There is a short, steep hill in mi 23 and one right at the end.

 

M. V. from Maryland (5/28/2013)
"Beautiful race that's worth the trip!" (about: 2013)

11-50 previous marathons | 1 Coeur d' Alene Marathon
COURSE: 4  ORGANIZATION: 4  FANS: 2


Traveled across the country with my fiance to run the Coeur d'Alene Marathon (my 31st and her 10th overall marathons). Made a weekend of it by staying at the Coeur d'Alene Resort (HIGHLY recommend). The people (volunteers, specatotrs and runners) could not be more friendly and welcoming. The course is breath-taking along the lake from miles 12-19! Don't be intimidated by the elevation map: double hills at miles 12/16 (out and back) look daunting but are not! Not much crowd support to speak of but the vistas cover for that. Overall an awesome experience!

 

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