Several things deserve comment. The parking was backwards - the early birds parked the farthest from the starting point. That was dumb. Then the volunteer who parked me, did not know where the starting line was - and neither did I. That was bad. The port-a-potties were abundant, but they were disgustingly filthy. Perhaps the University of Colorado students came and tipped them over to celebrate their win over Oklahoma. I can not imagine that the port-a-potties were delivered in the condition they were in the morning of the race.

This was a laid back marathon. With a couple of minutes until the starting time, folks were still casually strolling down the road toward the starting line. The admin people brought warm up clothes back to the registration area. That was great, because it was really cold. The race course was truly a backroads experience - lots of farms and country estates to see. And the hills were not too bad either. I made the mistake of stopping on one hill later in the race to stretch. It was really tough to get going again. Fan support was okay, but Omaha fans were better. The weather was about as good as it could have been. A cold start, as I mentioned, then clouds on the eastern horizon obscured the sun early on, but even later in the race, with the sun up, the temperature was just right for running and it was not too windy.

This race had an abundance of Clif snacks & shots. I am not certain, but it seemed like they were available from mile 8 until the end. Most stations had one or the other; some had both. That may be where the extra money went that they charged for this race. But it was really great having so much access to these carb delights. Also, the Gatorade was not watered down, which was a big plus.

The shirt and medal were rather ordinary. At the end, there were bananas and bagels - both cut into quarters, as I remember. And of course, the exposed banana ends were turning brown and getting nasty. Next time, whole bananas, please! Overall, it was a good race, and I am glad I participated. Met lots of nice, pleasant folks too, but I have found that is pretty typical with running marathons.

Here Here

I have to concur that this was a very disappointing marathon. Jeff, the race director didn't respond to any of our pre-marathon emails. We did notice the misplaced mile markers and the extended course which ended up being about 2 tenths of a mile longer than 26.2. The gatorade was very strong at all aid stations with no pattern for water/gatorade. There was no food along the course and virtually nothing at the finish line.

However, my wife and I made the best of the situation and enjoyed the excellent assistance from the volunteers along the very scenic course. In summary, you don't get your money's worth for participating in the Boulder Backroads Marathon. Extremely, anti climatic for my wife's 100th marathon. We will not be back for awhile. Recommend the amateurish race director be more runner oriented!!

KO from CO

You can't beat this course! Having run this race before and trained regularly on these roads, this is my top pick for races to run; however, this year I went to my car after the race feeling ripped off - not by the beautiful scenery and having an awesome run, but by the new organization. I couldn't help but feel like someone made a lot of money off this race. I guess my expectations were up there since last year we received great schwag! Go-lite shirts, giveaways, good food and lots of goodies.

This year it was a cheap cotton T, a pint glass, and a cheap hat that no distance runner can use. And the real disappointment was the lack of food! Why was a lunch ticket printed on the bibs and NO LUNCH? Thank God for Avery Brewing, so we could at least drink some carbs, and thank you to Power Sox for giving out free socks. At least it felt like we got SOME schwag. The volunteers and support at the aid stations was great. You can't knock good people out there volunteering their time and helping people out. They were very supportive and having a good time. It appeared that the directors spent more on a big stage set up (that no one was going to hang around for, since we all had to leave to get some food) than supporting the runners.

COME ON! Boulder is the running mecca - we should be able to put on a marathon bigger and better than most, don't you think?

Maybe next year I will save my $95.00 and volunteer instead, or maybe spend it on the Denver Marathon!

I have run all 8 of the Boulder Backroads Marathons and loved every one of them (especially the one in the snow). After reading the article in the Boulder paper on the new race director and his plans for the new "Boulder Marathon" I was hopeful that my 9th race would be the start of something even better. I was very disappointed! Where did my $90 entry fee go? The organizational miscues form a list too long for this space. To name a few: Cheap, cotton, short-sleeve t-shirt, no bag drop for gear at the start of the race, imprecise mile markers... and do 2 booths constitute a pre-race expo???? Also, below-average food at the end. I loved the fact that they kept highlighting the band after the race but they didn't start until most of the crowd had left. And it would have been nice to have at least some water near the band stage if that is where they wanted us to "hang out." The 2007 event reminded me of one of the first Boulder Backroads Marathons... but those were half the price. Body willing, I will be back for #10 next year. I just hope that the race gets back on track. Boulder is too good of a running community and the course is too beautiful not to have a world-class marathon.

It's a beautiful course, but there weren't enough aid stations, there was NO FOOD after running the marathon, there was poor traffic control, and at one point there were less than two feet on a street with marathoners and half marathoners trying to run their own pace. Disappointed, considering the cost!

Good:
- Well stocked rest stops (many with Gu; lots of shots and Cliff bars)
- Way-cool, high-quality Go-lite technical hat (matches the cool sunburst graphic on the race t-shirt)
- Beautiful course

Improvement possibilities:
- Two places had unmarked turns with no volunteer present to point the way (at least when I hit these spots). Fortunately enough runners knew the course route so it was easy to follow the other runners.
- Just bananas and bagels for post-race food. (Previous years they served tasty, hot food.)
- Medal handed off at finish (vs. having it placed around the neck). A small deal, but this makes the finish less special.
- No announcer calling out each finisher's name and town (at least when I went through at just over 5 hours). Sort of takes some of the thrill out of finishing.

I have run 63 marathons and have raced marathons all over the world. The chip timing was a nice added feature. Most marathons have them and it is nice to have the Boulder Marathon step us to have it as well. In the 63 marathons I have run, I have only received about 6 shirts that were not cotton. Most races provide cotton shirts like PF Chang's Rock and Roll, New York, Chicago, Honolulu and many others. Even the coveted Boston Marathon provides cotton shirts! To say that Boulder Marathon missed the mark is not fair. The only race where I have received a beer glass and a technical hat is the Boulder Marathon. This is not the standard. As far as expo, give me a break. All races that have expos are the same thing you can find in your local running store - and 98% of the stuff you find there is worthless. The course is great and unique to the area. The dirt road is easy on the legs and the volunteers were outstanding. I ran Paris Marathon and there was so much cigarette smoke on the course I almost choked to death. I am happy to see that there is a new owner of the race that is an established runner himself. He knows what runners need the most: a good course and support on the course. The other things are extras that many races with VERY big sponsors do not supply to the level as the Boulder Marathon.

The event was a bit disappointing. The mile markers were off so much that I used them for general reference only. Age groups were not as posted on the website (website had 5-year age groups with awards for the top 3 in each; in reality they were 10-year increments and I heard awards only went to the top finisher in each - though didn't stick around the awards). I thought I had a good chance of placing in this marathon and this thought was one of the primary reasons for running....
Results are still not posted on the website... as of noon 10/1. The website in general was out of date. Volunteers and aid stations were great. Post-race food was OK. In general I was disappointed with the new race management/direction and hope the director can rise to the challenge and elevate the event in the future to the status of "Colorado's premier distance running event." (Quote from the website.) I'll be glad to help.

I'm very disappointed in the 2007 race. I've run this race 5 times and have plenty of experience racing and training on the course. This year the pre-race expo was almost nonexistent, and the medal was cheap and said, "Marathon, half marathon, marathon relay, and 5K." Full marathon runners should have a nice medal, in my opinion. And the race shirt was of the cheap cotton variety that's useless to runners. There was a drinking glass in the goody bag, but little else compared to previous years and other races. The age groups were weird too, and organized for maximum cheapness. My group was the 45-54 group. Plenty of porta-potties but the ones I saw were filthy. One had been dropped and the contents sprayed all over the inside, another had wet toilet paper, and others had hand sanitizers that didn't work. I actually overheard someone vomiting in the one next to me. There was no food out on the course other than Gu. Oh yeah, the price for this rip was a cool $95.00. Race management has their work cut out for them if they want my entry fee next year. I'm not angry, just disappointed.

I flew in from Dallas the day before the race. Really enjoyed this marathon for the relatively soft running surface, excellent GoLite tech shirt, great weather (though I was COLD waiting for it to start), and Boulder ice cream and local beer at the finish. The course is not fast due to the 5K altitude, but it's relatively flat at least. The parking is difficult and as another commenter said, "wrong headed," in that those who arrived earliest were forced to park the farthest from the start/finish.