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Apr 28, 2024

Carlsbad Marathon Runner Comments

Back to Carlsbad Marathon Information & Reviews

Course 4.2

Organization 4.3

Spectators 3.7

Number of comments: 188 [displaying comments 31 to 41]

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B. F. from Los Angeles, CA (2/19/2011) "super" (about: 2011) First Marathon COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 3 FANS: 4 Decent course; the parts along the beach were epic. The hills added character. Much more spectator support than I expected, especially really early before sunrise! The only complaint I have is that the marathoners merged with slower half-marathoners, which is just annoying.
J. B. from United States (2/15/2011) "Great, and getting better!" (about: 2011) 11-50 previous marathons \| 2 Carlsbad Marathons COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 This is one of my favorite marathons - the scenery, the fans, and the organization are tops! I always PR at this course - it does have a few hills, but nothing too steep. The expo was one of the best, the medals are awesome, and the shirts are some of the best out there. If you have not run this, it is a must!
C. R. from Saskatchewan (1/26/2011) "Beautiful course" (about: 2011) 4-5 previous marathons \| 4-5 Carlsbad Marathons COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 4 I've made the trip to Carlsbad four years in a row now, having run the half three times and the full once (I ran the full last year). The full course is challenging due to a large long hill in the first half of the race and a few rollers after that. This was my favorite of the four marathons I've run, but only because the course along the ocean made it so wonderful. This year, back to the half marathon to make it more of a vacation. This was the first time that I felt impinged by the many many people who run here. The corral start is good, but I still had great difficulty getting into a rhythm. I pretty much had to shift my pace the whole time. Next year I will run again, but will run it purely as a training run rather than go for a fast time. The vibe is great, people are friendly, and the volunteers are great. One change I would love to see is a much longer finishing chute (like in Fresno - that one is great), and more efforts to keep family and friends out of the recovery areas (e.g. where the food is). I could barely stand up as I was so tired but had to fight through the crowds to get out of the chute. Not good.
B. R. from Southern California (1/26/2011) "Beautiful & Scenic Run" (about: 2011) 11-50 previous marathons \| 1 Carlsbad Marathon COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 4 Having run the half-marathon for the past three years in a row, I decided that it was finally time to run the full marathon. From the registration process through driving away from the finish area, my experience was all good. Registration Fee: Very reasonable compared to other marathons, especially the price-gouging Rock 'N Roll Series. Expo: A little crowded and difficult to access some aisles, but the vendor booths were diverse. There was a lot to choose from. T-Shirts: The marathon offered a separate t-shirt from the half-marathon. I just love it when marathoners are not lumped in with half-marathoners... after all, we are running twice the distance. Porta-Potties: Based on the size of the field, there were more porta-potties for this marathon than any other marathon that I have run. There was no waiting, even shortly before the start. Although I did not need any, there were plenty of porta-potties along the course as well. Starting Area: The marathon began at 6:00 a.m. and the half-marathon began at 7:30 a.m. These guys had the most important thing right from the beginning. Kudos to Carlsbad for starting the races separately. From my vantage point it looked as if runners lined up in the proper areas. The walkers and joggers were near the rear where they belong. The Course: Beautiful, beautiful, beautiful. How else can you describe running along the ocean for 13 miles and having ocean views for more than 15 miles? The smell of the Pacific was fantastic. The terrain can be described as minor rolling hills with a couple of challenging climbs. Course Support: Aid stations were reasonably spaced and adequately stocked with the usual water, sports drinks and occasional energy gels. Spectators: Very energetic throughout the entire marathon. Of course there were some areas without spectators, but when they were out, they were loud. The Finish Line: Although it was a shared finish line, the marathon finished on one side of the road and the half-marathon finished on the other side of the road. An announcer was yelling out the names of the runners as they approached the finish line. Recovery Area: More than adequate. There were plenty of goodies to snack on, plenty of water to drink, and a large enough area in which to recover. Finisher's Medal: The medal was very nice as compared to some of the others I have received. Overall Experience: I am glad that I finally ran the marathon. From beginning to end, Carlsbad is a model for other marathons to follow: Recommendations For The Organizers: Don't change a thing.
R. K. from KY (1/26/2011) "Even better than expected" (about: 2011) 11-50 previous marathons \| 1 Carlsbad Marathon COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 4 Carlsbad goes on the "hope to do again" list. Pre-race logistics were easy. The darkness in the first 2 miles was a little much for the initial density of the pack; a few well-placed lights or a slightly later start could help. The course is definitely prettier than most, with the 10 miles or so along the ocean a real plus. On course support was very good except for some stations running out of cups later in the run. Personnel were very friendly and helpful. The gels were perfect and made up for some of Ultima's limitations. Traffic control was very good. The stretch with a separate lane for marathoners was greatly appreciated, given the large number of half marathoners sharing the road. The finish area was OK. Shirts and medals were better than average. Traffic flow after the run is still the weakest link, although from our distant parking spot, we got a nice post run walk and an easy exit. Thank you to those who seem to be trying to make this run even better!
D. S. from Vancouver Canada (1/26/2011) "Loved it!" (about: 2011) 6-10 previous marathons \| 1 Carlsbad Marathon COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 This was a great race, in a beautiful part of the world. Hats off to the organizors allowing bib numbers to be sold and transferred by early Jan. If you're from somewhere cooler and wet and need to get some sun and run a great race in the last minute as I did, there were lots for sale on Craigslist! Painless and very well done; why can't other marathons do this? They need to learn from these guys! Great course, but challenging. Scenic - loved running along the beach when the sun was coming up. Fans were awesome, volunteers were everywhere, and there was plenty of water, GU, oranges. I recommend host hotel (Hilton) as my family was able to walk 5 minutes and cheer. I saw them at three different spots during the race. Shuttle service got me to the start and back - all you can ask for. Great one to start season with; see you next year!
M. W. from Irvine, Ca (2/17/2010) "Carlsbad Good" (about: 2010) 11-50 previous marathons \| 1 Carlsbad Marathon COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 4 The course is relatively challenging, with a few whopper hills. But to see the ocean at your side through much of the way is beautiful. The organization seemed pretty good; it was easy to get to the start, and it was also a pretty simple finish area (although, for slower runners, there was not much post-race party happening). Spectators were really awesome; there were long lines of friendly faces at every station. At one point a volunteer ran with me for a few minutes, and at one aid station, some kids ran with me as a i passed through. Just a very friendly enjoyable day.
T. S. from New Jersey (1/27/2010) "Beautiful course, fun race, no GU at mile 9" (about: 2010) First Marathon COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 5 This was my first half marathon and, for the most part, it was a great event. Running along the beach was fantastic. The hills were really not bad at all. The spectators were awesome. There were a few areas for improvement: 1) The race info indicated that there would be GU packs at miles 4 and 9. I was REALLY counting on them. I got one at mile 4, but they were nowhere in sight at mile 9; I suspect they had run out. Now I know just to carry my own and not count on the race to provide them. 2) The post-race food was a real letdown. I've run triathlons before that included Philly pretzels, pizza, cookies, sandwiches, and even bacon and eggs after the race. Here we got a banana and two protein bars. 3) Trying to get out of the parking lot was pure insanity. Cars were just sitting, not moving. It took me about 45 minutes, and I think I got off easy (I picked the right line at the right exit - others were there a lot longer than I was). Would I run this race again? Definitely. Next time I would just bring my own GU packs along, and might consider parking somewhere besides the mall parking lot.
A. E. from Seattle, WA (1/27/2010) "Exceeded Expectations" (about: 2010) 6-10 previous marathons \| 1 Carlsbad Marathon COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 4 So much fun! The 6 a.m. is an early start, but I loved starting separately from half marathoners. The scenery throughout the course and rolling hills kept it interesting and the 3 out-and-back loops never seemed too long. The merge back with the slower half marathoners at 20 miles wasn't as bad as expected, as they kept it separated by cones and rope for a mile or so until the road widened and I didn't have a problem running my line. Great water and GU support. Amazing weather. There are spectators throughout the course, and I love that they put your name on the bib. Also, because the marathon loops a few times in the same vicinity, my husband saw me four times simply by walking a few blocks rather than driving all over. He even made it (driving) from 20+ to the finish in time to see me cross. The entire race exceeded expectations and I ran a personal best. Yes, getting out of the finish area and onto the road was a bear, but I expected it (10,000-plus people trying to get out of a mall parking lot).
C. R. from Canada (1/27/2010) "Lovely course, well organized, great crowd" (about: 2010) 2 previous marathons \| 1 Carlsbad Marathon COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 5 I have run the half here twice in '08 and '09, and and I enjoyed the race quite a bit. I moved up to the full this year and really enjoyed running that at Carlsad as well. The course is beautiful with the ocean in view for a good chunk of it, especially now that more of the course is along the ocean than previously. The course is hilly and if, like me, you are not able to train on hills regularly (I live in a flat-as-a-pancake part of the world), the accumulation of hills will catch up to you eventually. There is one big climb and several smaller ones, but I found that the long false flats (1-2 miles in length) after about mile 18 or so were where I felt the challenges of the course the most: the steeper hills from earlier kind of bit me there. Still, I am glad I ran this race. Crowd support is tremendous: there are not huge numbers of people out there but boy do they cheer every runner on heartily and, yes, having one's name on the bib is great. They did a great job of organizing the course so the full and half marathoners get sectioned off for several key miles as they come together. That was good so that one could maintain pace while joining up with slower runners. One small con is that they ran out of water at the very last water station by the time I got there (about a mile from the finish). I finished around mid-pack, so there were many others who would have wanted that stop too. I didn't really need it at that point, but focusing on the next water stop helped me get through that tough mile. Other than that small issue, the organization is top notch. I'll be back to run the half again next year and will likely choose a flatter marathon course for the next 26-miler.

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