Click Here: Please visit our Sponsor

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 51 to 61]

More Comments: [ < 1 .. 4 5 6 7 8 .. 19 > ]

D. I. from Gainesville, FL (1/26/2009) "Well done marathon!" (about: 2009) 11-50 previous marathons COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 I really enjoyed my marathon experience in Carlsbad. I understand that this marathon might be changed for next year to include more beach in the course. The course was hilly in places, but well marked and well supported. The views of the Pacific Ocean were fabulous so it is a good thing if they are looking to include more of the beach in the course. The crowds were so supportive. There is an alternate course at mile 24 for walkers or slower runners. It is also well marked and supported. The expo was great. The host hotel (Sheraton) was wonderful! I stayed extra days! I enjoyed the experience. Well done!
N. S. from Hopkins, MN (1/26/2009) "Still trying to do a little too much at one time" (about: 2009) 11-50 previous marathons \| 4-5 Carlsbad Marathons COURSE: 3 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 3 This was my 4th running of this marathon. I keep coming back for the weather and the views of the ocean. This is not an easy course and I think they added hills this year. Traffic control and volunteer support are always excellent - water, Ultima, GU, and Vaseline are plentiful. The expo is easy to get to and happens right near the race start and finish line. Fans are fewer than most marathons, but enthusiastic. In previous runs, the marathoners started with the half-marathoners, then split off and rejoined them later. The main problem in this design was that the marathoners would catch up with the half-marathoners who were walking, unfortunately getting in the way sometimes. This year I thought would be different, as the marathon started early (6 a.m.) with a separate start from the half-marathoners. Unfortunately, towards the end (mile 20 something), we again joined the half-marathoners who were faster (which did help keep the energy level high) but very plentiful. This made for more hazardous aid stations... and forget pace teams - unless you were running on top of your pacer, there was no way to judge where you were in relation to the pacers or other marathoners. According to the announcers at the beginning of the race, next year's race will be run in three towns all along the coast and the marathon will be renamed. I hope that this will improve this recurrent issue.
Dotty Maddock from Phoenix, AZ (1/25/2009) "Awesome Ocean Views!" (about: 2009) 11-50 previous marathons \| 1 Carlsbad Marathon COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 3 FANS: 2 This was a very nice marathon that I would recommend. The ocean views were absolutely breath-taking, especially with thousands of runners in the forefront (view coming into the merge with the half marathoners). I was prepared for the hills (especially miles 8-9), so I didn't find them too difficult. The long-sleeved (white) technical shirt is nice, and the finishers' medal is attractive and solid. I found that, with all the changes in scenery and course variety, the miles really flew by. They started the 1/2 marathoners (8,000 of them!) 90 minutes after the marathoners, so there wasn't the usual congestion at the start. The merging with them on the second half of the course wasn't a big problem for me, as I took inspiration from passing them in the final miles! This also meant there were plenty of port-a-potties both before the race and on the course (anticipating the 8,000 half marathon crowd to follow later). The post-race pasta, salad, and roll were a nice touch, but beer would have been appreciated. We stayed for a long weekend and enjoyed the area. I would be remiss if I didn't mention some areas for improvement/concerns too: 1. The marathon started about 7 minutes late. That's a big organizational faux pas, in my opinion. I'm not sure why there was this delay. 2. We were told the results would be posted in the information tent, and age group awards could be picked up after the race. To get to the information tent, there is only a narrow opening in a chain link fence, and it was MISERABLY congested! Then, once I got to the tent, only the half-marathon results were posted. When I asked one of the volunteers, they had no idea where the marathon results were. There was one computer terminal outside, where you could wait in line to get "instant results" but there were about 25 people (almost all half-marathoners) waiting, so I just left. 3. With prior comments about the parking and congestion, we parked right near a mall exit in the far corner of the parking lot. We still waited a good 30 minutes with the lousy traffic pattern trying to exit the mall. My suggestion is NOT to park at the mall, but park across the street, or at another business (there's a bank, that's closed on Sunday, for example). Bottom line, this is a nice race, but could be amazing if they started on time and did something to reduce the post-race congestion and results posting. Even opening up the chain link fence more would help! But if you're looking for ocean views, cool temps, and long weekend in southern California, this will fit the bill.
RONALD MARTIN from California, USA (4/24/2008) "The views throughout the marathon course were grea" (about: 2008) 11-50 previous marathons \| 3 Carlsbad Marathons COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 2 Rated as one of my favorite marathons, Carlsbad has great organization and an expo that's worked out. The start and finish was organized very well. The course route is a very difficult and challenging obstacle, and is a very good training course for hill-running marathons seekers. This will be a marathon I will be a part of until I turn 90 years-old. Excellent.
S. L. from San Diego, CA (3/17/2008) "Solid organization, great scenes along ocean" (about: 2002) 2 previous marathons \| 1 Carlsbad Marathon COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 This was my 2nd marathon (first was San Francisco), and in comparison to the first, it was relatively flat. The course takes you along mostly residential streets, but the best part is along the street that runs alongside the Pacific Ocean. The ocean breeze is constant throughout, which helps a lot. It's always sunny in San Diego, so there was plenty of sun; bring sunblock and lots of hydration. The end portion has a freeway on-ramp, which was a bear since it was at the 25 mile-mark or so. The start and end in a parking lot of a mall was not very scenic.
Michael Amschel from Corona, ca (2/9/2008) "Amazing Race!" (about: 2008) 1 previous marathon \| 1 Carlsbad Marathon COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 This was my first marathon. I picked the Carlsbad Marathon because I love Carlsbad and there is an early start for us novices. The course is beautiful, much of it along the coast, and the support you get from those at the water/first aid stations is amazing. The whole atmosphere is that of unity, community and encouragement... like nothing I have ever experienced. Love this race and will absolutely do it again. Note: They do "discourage" the use of headphones in their races rules and before the race they announced headphones were not allowed. I ignored this "rule" - as did hundreds; just be courteous and stay to the right of the course.
j. l. from san diego, ca (2/4/2008) "My favorite finisher's medal" (about: 2008) 6-10 previous marathons \| 1 Carlsbad Marathon COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 4 Very nice finisher's medal... looks like a lot of thought was put into the design. Beautiful course along the coast. Nice touch how they gave slow people like myself an earlier start time. As a result, I got my first glimpse of world-class runners in action. Everyone's jaw just dropped as the "gazelles" flew by us on the hill. My main complaint is that they could've used more port-o-johns coming back down Palomar Airport Rd.... I had to hold it a good 5+ miles before finally seeing some when I got back on the coast (bushes are sparse on Palomar Airport and the out-and-back that runs parallel to Interstate 5). I got so desperate that I even considered ducking into the In-n-Out Burger.
Roger Dufresne from Derry, New Hampshire (2/4/2008) "Beautiful Scenery - Loooong Inclines" (about: 2008) 6-10 previous marathons \| 1 Carlsbad Marathon COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 Coming from the East Coast in the middle of winter, this race was great, however, I think the temperature differential from my training to the actual run affected my performance just a little. I'm not complaining about your weather, but mine in the Northeast. What I think impacted my performance quite a bit was the Ultima sports drink. That stuff was and is VILE. I couldn't keep it down - so I suffered from leg cramping for the last 3 miles. I think this was one of my favorite marathons because of the views, people and organization. The only knock to the organization is that I wish there would have been more food out for the mid-pack marathoners (the bags were a good idea to get food for every runner - I've been to others - listen up, Boston!!!! - where there has been little to nothing left for had mid-packers}; however, tables of cookies, like Miami hin previous years would have been nice. Damn, I wish I had the chance to run longer with Paul Timm from Utah {great conversation}. (Paul, I'm The guy who was celebrating my 60th birthday with this race.) That's what I like about smaller marathons: the conversations and support between runners. Now to my constructive criticism. PROS: 1. Weather and scenery can't be beat - even by Miami, in my opinion. 2. Well run expo for such a small marathon. 3. Great civic co-operation between the citizens, police, etc. 4. Staggered starts - loved your 6:30 start and the chance to see the elites. Usually in other races they are done, showered, fed, etc. by the time I reach the half-marathon point. 5. Great staff support. The number of water stops was impressive. Even offered you Vaseline in case you didn't use your own Body Glide. 6. Walkers were considerate of runners - guess the pre run/walk talk really worked (other races like Boston the walkers refuse to get out of the way and sometimes walk 6 to 8 abreast). 7. Loved getting the cross at about mile 8 (I can use just about anything to help me finish - no blasphemy intended). Those who didn't want one could refuse it - I just wish I didn't lose mine during the race. 8. Great shirt - symbolic of a well organized race. 9. The medal - while not as classy as Boston, Miami or the Marine Corps - was well made and impressive. Friends were impressed with its size and weight. 10. Pace setters were so helpful at near the finish line with all of their encouragement, even though I wasn't part of their pace group. With leg cramps: "Try to change your gait a little," one said. Thank you, 5:00-hour pace setter!!! It worked somewhat. 10. It was great how the finish line announcer gave out names and home towns - and he didn't even mispronounce my last name. Thank You! 11. GREAT RACE! CONS: 1. The course had so many of those long, long inclines that I really wasn't aware of or I would have modified my training somewhat to better cope with them. Mention should be made in the literature about the inclines (that shouldn't keep any marathoner away - but make them better prepared). Elevation charts really don't indicate the length of the inclines. 2. Ultima Sports drink tasted like something I really can't write here!!! Use Gatorade or PowerAde. 3. No poster. I usually frame race posters and hang them in my office. A lost opportunity for publicity. 4. Something you can't control - the distance from my home in NH to your race. I really would like to run it again next year but the 6-hour-plus plane ride home and its cost might stop me!!! 5. Hotels should offer some sort of a promotional race rate like other cities, Miami and Washington). This would help keep some of the costs down. (To run this race cost me over $1,800 in hotels and airfare - yeah I just didn't stay 2-3 days. My wife and I made a vacation out of my run for a period of 8 days - the only way I could justify it to my "boss"). 6. Just a pet peeve of mine: having the half marathoners and full marathoners run for such a long distance at the end kind of depresses me and doesn't allow me to focus on the runner(s) ahead of me . It's too confusing, although it was pleasant talking to so many determined half marathoners who desperately wanted to finish. All in all, you ran a great race and I really have little to complain about other than the inclines. GOOD JOB!!! WELL DONE!!!
L. S. from Charlottesville, Virginia (2/2/2008) "Fifth and Favorite Marathon" (about: 2008) 4-5 previous marathons \| 1 Carlsbad Marathon COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 The course is beautiful and the people are friendly. I had just done the Outer Banks of NC Marathon in November and it was so much fun to be on the opposite side of the country for these "back-to-back" coastal marathons. I was disappointed that there wasn't a poster for purchase and I was also disappointed with the post-race food and party. Luckily, the mall was right there and since the traffic wasn't moving anyway, you could take time to go in for a quick snack! I'm building up from 100 percent walking to almost half running and half walking, so I really appreciated the early start and the opportunity to see the elite runners and have them pass me! Great marathon - great volunteers. Thanks to all the real runners for putting up with walkers and slow runners - I admire your strength and do my best not to get in your way!
D. B. from Seattle, Washington (2/1/2008) "A Sunny, Warm Mid- Winter Marathon" (about: 2008) 6-10 previous marathons \| 2 Carlsbad Marathons COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 3 The Carlsbad Marathon is a well-organized, sunny, warm, mid-winter marathon. The route is gorgeous along the Pacific Ocean beaches. The massage therapist in the recovery area was phenomenal! The finisher's medal is the best I have seen. The only change needs to be in the recovery food at the finish line. It is sparse and inadequate for people who just ran 26.2 miles. Set out tables of food and drinks (like the Portland Marathon) rather than handing out small brown bags and it will make a good marathon into a great one!

More Comments: [ < 1 .. 4 5 6 7 8 .. 19 > ]

Become an Advertiser

Click Here: Please visit our Sponsor

Click Here: Please visit our Sponsor

Click Here: Please visit our Sponsor

Click Here: Please visit our Sponsor

Become an Advertiser

© 2000-2024, All Rights Reserved by MarathonGuide.com LLC

Privacy Policy Refund Policy Terms of Use