Even though this year was my best time for the three Boulder Marathons I have run, the experience was the worst. Moving the start from 7 a.m. to 8 a.m. makes no sense at this time of year in Colorado. It gets too hot and there were more ambulances leaving with sirens on than I have ever seen. Some of the aid stations were out of water or Gatorade in heat that hit the mid-80s. We stood around and waited for the delayed start while they put together the start/finish line apparatus, all while the temperature rose. The Velcro band with the timing chip for your ankle ended up leaving me with a cut just above my shoe line so I switched ankles mid-race. I saw others who just removed theirs entirely. Then, the run up to the finish line was really poor, through a parking lot in a field, not on a path, trail or road, with three 90-degree turns, and you could not see the finish line until you were right on top of it. The finish line chute has been different all three years that I have run. Can't they get this figured out? There was very little to eat at the finish but I did find enough water there.

The course is beautiful and the Buffalo Gold beer tasted great at the finish, but the organization and logistics are poor and I won't be doing the Boulder Marathon again.

Parking was pretty far from the start. The start line wasn't obvious until only a couple of minutes before the race, and it was delayed since they didn't even have the start/finish line up. The weather was hot, and they RAN OUT OF WATER! And some stations ran out of cups. Absolutely no excuse! I saw the hardcore runners walking a lot more than usual.

With the relay situation, it meant a lot of traffic on the dirt roads, which kicked up rocks and dust and was an extra pain in the butt.

To add insult to injury, for the slower runners the post-race food was PITIFUL! Green bananas, sliced bread, cold cereal, and some oranges. Beer was packed up. There were no chairs or places to sit other than the ground.

I ran this as a half in '08 and a full in '09. The organizers made a big deal about how good the food would be in '09. Wrong! I finished over 4 hours, and all they had were some white buns and weak bagels. "Real" food? Pizzas you could BUY for $1. Are you kidding? For your $80+ fee you don't get food? I would have paid at that point, but DUH. I don't carry cash during a race and my car was parked too far away to go get it. VERY disappointing. Medical support looked good, however, as I saw at least a half-dozen people being treated, likely for heat-related injuries. They should start the marathon at 7, not 8.

This was my first marathon so I am in no way qualified to rate it as compared to other marathons. I had no problems figuring out where everything was and I felt like there was always enough water/Gatorade/fuel. It was super hot and sunny, but I trained for that because I know how Colorado is; September can be wicked hot or freezing cold.

This was my first half-marathon experience, and I was shocked to find that they were OUT of water at both the 5-mile-mark and the finish line. I wouldn't be surprised if people passed out. Looks like I need to start running with my own water supply. Disappointing organization. You should NEVER run out of water. EVER.

The race started at 9 a.m., but needs to move back to 8 a.m. like last year. The heat was an issue this year and the late start only made things worse. Also, it's Tuesday and no results are up? The ankle straps that we had to wear for timing were really uncomfortable; I preferred the chip that goes on your shoe like last year.

Otherwise, everything else was nice. I loved the t-shirt, parking was easy, and there was a good assortment of food.

Whew! This was a tough one! I've never run in such heat, but the next day it was 50 degrees, windy, and rainy, so I guess we were lucky. The hills and altitude were overwhelming for a flat-lander from Illinois. Yes, some water shortages were a problem, but handing out bottles of water worked great. Carrying that water bottle and knowing that I had water at all times was reassuring in the 80-degree heat. I wished for food at the end that wasn't the same as what I found throughout the race, but there was still food for old, slow people like me!

I loved the dirt/gravel roads, the open space, the views, and the countryside. As a trail runner, this was perfect.

This was the most difficult race of my 20 marathons, but I would recommend it.

It was hotter than expected. Many people struggled. I like the back road-course, and spectators were there at times, but this is not the race to run if fans are a priority. It was a well supported course until mile 23 when water/Gatorade seemed low. I got what I wanted but I was surprised that at this crucial time, the support was lowest. The parking situation was not ideal.

I enjoyed the dirt roads. Around mile 2 or 3, the course turned onto a paved road that was still open to traffic - horrible runner congestion! The little boy dressed as Batman near mile 6? Awesome. Why was the mile 13 marker so far from the finish line (like 0.2 miles instead of 0.1)? Why aren't results posted yet??

Suggestions:

1. The only thing I could find on all of the info I received was that packet pickup would be at the expo in the 29th Street Mall. Mentioning that it would be upstairs, at the east end of the mall would have been really helpful, as from the mall entrance I took, it took a good 40 minutes to find where this expo was.

2. Have enough food (and water and cups for water!) for all 3,000 finishers! Pizza Kitchen was selling pizza for $1 since they ran out of the sandwiches, but with the parking situation, getting to the car and back with any money was not easy. Then it was difficult to find any water when I finished, as they ran out of cups.

Then, and this is my fault for not checking more closely on the start times, if a half-marathoner starts at 8:00, there is no good marking of the half turnaround. I ended up accidentally doing my first full marathon today. The announcer asked at the start, "Who is doing their first marathon today," and many hands went up. Then he asked, "Who is doing their first half-marathon today?" ...no hands. Maybe that should have been my clue, but he also could have added, "Good, because you guys don't start until 9:00?" :) According to some volunteers I spoke to, this has happened more than a few times.

I did think that this was a beautiful course. It was better in the way of scenery than the half, which I ran last year. And there were plenty of porta-potties and aid stations, which is nice for someone like me who was 50% unprepared. I will do this again next year, on purpose, but would really like there to be enough food and water at the finish.