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Apr 29, 2024

Boulder Backroads Marathon Runner Comments

Back to Boulder Backroads Marathon Information & Reviews

Course 4.1

Organization 3.5

Spectators 3.3

Number of comments: 89 [displaying comments 31 to 41]

More Comments: [ < 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 9 > ]

C. G. from Aurora, Colorado (11/4/2008) "no-frills, beautiful course" (about: 2008) 6-10 previous marathons \| 1 Boulder Backroads Marathon COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 3 This was my first year running the half in Boulder. Most of the race was on dirt-packed roads, which is nice on your joints. Not a ton of fans; no fanfare but you don't need any of that because the scenery is amazing. The course is limited to, I think, 2,500 persons, so it is smaller in size, which makes it nice too. The goody bag was nice, with a technical t-shirt, hat and socks, etc. Good deal. My only negative was the parking situation. I got in early so that was not a problem, but leaving was a nightmare. Took me at least an hour to get out of the actual parking lot and onto the road. Just did not seem like it was managed well.
W. A. from Colorado (9/30/2008) "Much improved. A few more improvements needed." (about: 2008) 4-5 previous marathons \| 1 Boulder Backroads Marathon COURSE: 3 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 3 I'll jump in with the first comment on the 2008 race. After reading the '07 comments, I had written this race off. I think many of the wrongs were "righted" and the organization was much better. I decided to run it and had a very good experience. The weather was perfect (cloudy and cool)! Positives - Amazing goody bag (excellent tech shirt, hat and two pairs of socks). - Beautiful scenery. The race photographers took a lot of great shots all around the course. - Lots of porta-potties at the start. - Aid stations were well stocked. - Great post-race food/drink. The Chipotle burritos were cold... and delicious. - Nice, quality finishers medal. Cool race logo! - Well organized and good pre-race communication via email. Negatives - Hilly course and got a little boring at times. Since "backroads" has been removed from the name, it would be nice to have the course take in more Boulder sites closer to town. - Parking - those who showed up early were penalized by parking the farthest away. It took us an hour to get out of the parking lot after the race!! Sitting in traffic for an hour isn't what one needs after running 26.2 miles. - Fan support was sparse. - By starting the half-marathon an hour after the marathon, the marathoners ended up joining the "slower" half-marathoners for the last five miles. There was a lot of navigating around the slower runners.
m. m. from Copper Mountain, Colorado (3/17/2008) "Very disappointed" (about: 2007) 6-10 previous marathons \| 2 Boulder Backroads Marathons COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 1 FANS: 1 I participated in the half in 2006 and the full in 2007 and I must say that 2007 was so disorganized and disappointing. The porta-potties were disgusting, with bile and filth everywhere. The aid stations were not well stocked; in fact, a few just had warm water and no volunteers at all. They ran out of medals, but we weren't told that... the medal came in the mail about a month after the marathon and the shirt was cheap! 2006 was much better with plenty of food afterwards, a cool shirt and better organization overall. On the positive side, I did like most of the course; it was very scenic and pretty. I emailed the "person in charged," but never received a response from them. Imagine that. I hope this year's will be better since it is the anniversary of the marathon. Come on, Boulder, you do such a great job with the Bolder Boulder; let's try and do better with this one.
M. F. from Boulder, Colorado (1/29/2008) "More porta-potties, please" (about: 2005) 2 previous marathons \| 1 Boulder Backroads Marathon COURSE: 3 ORGANIZATION: 2 FANS: 3 I ran the half marathon several years ago and I hope that it has gotten better. However, during my race, porta-potties were extremely limited. Being that I am from Boulder, the scenery was not new to me, and I found the dirt roads long and boring. Not many spectators either. I hope that it has changed, but I was disappointed in my experience.
Z. J. from Denver, CO (12/28/2007) "Disappointing for my first marathon" (about: 2007) 1 previous marathon \| 1 Boulder Backroads Marathon COURSE: 3 ORGANIZATION: 2 FANS: 3 This being my first shot at a marathon, I didn't know much what to expect. Unfortunately, I was continuously disappointed, from the expo/packets, to the pre-race/parking/porta-potties, to the non-existent post-race festivities. Maybe my expectations were higher than they should have been with a smaller race like this, but next year, I'm going to try a bigger, more established race.
S. W. from Colorado (10/12/2007) "Great Marathon!" (about: 2007) 11-50 previous marathons COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 4 Well, I felt compelled to write some comments after reading the ones already posted. I have never run this marathon before, so my comments are not a comparison of old vs. new. I had a great time at this marathon! I have run almost ALL of Colorado's marathons and this one ranks as one of the best. Like someone mentioned, the support (aid stations) along the course was abundant and that is huge. I ran Steamboat and had one water station from the start to mile 10. I suffered from dehydration later in that race. The Clif Shots and drinks were always there when I needed them. The course has a nice balance between ups and downs. It was also perfect weather. I thought the giveaways were great because I can only wear so many Dri-Fit, so the cotton shirt is nice. (PLEASE KEEP IT COTTON!) Plus, the shirt is part of our bragging right and I don't wear Dri-Fits to dinner, or lunch, or anywhere for that matter. Overall, I felt great and had a great race, so that may have a lot to do with my overall good experience! But either way, it was just that - a good experience.
J. K. from Colorado (10/12/2007) "I agree with everyone else...." (about: 2007) 1 previous marathon \| 1 Boulder Backroads Marathon COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 3 FANS: 3 This was my first marathon and I was very excited for this race. The course had plenty to look at and the aid stations were fully stocked. Parking is backwards; I parked probably a half mile from the start. I didn't consider that to be a problem since I enjoy the walk before running to loosen things up, so to speak. I am also questioning the distance. My trusty Garmin 305 showed a distance of 26.43 miles. While this watch is not 100% accurate, it has never been that far off from actual mileage. The food issue after the race was also a bummer. I feel that I paid for a meal that was not served. The beer kept my temper in check over that issue! Overall, I really enjoyed the race, but will probably find something else for next year.
R. A. from Arvada, Co (10/10/2007) "disappointing as compared to previous years" (about: 2005) 4-5 previous marathons \| 4-5 Boulder Backroads Marathons COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 3 FANS: 3 I have run this race 4 times and it has always been one of my favorites. The beautiful view and soft surface is a major plus. I was very disappointed this year that there was no tent with food (soup, etc.) this year. We had a "lunch tab," but no lunch except a white paper bag lunch they were selling for $10. The band never played while we were there and we left around 11:30. The porta-potties were nasty. It looked like they had been turned upside down and the doors even had dried toilet paper all over them. One of them had poop all over the floor!!! I almost threw up!! In comparison to the previous years, I was disappointed. I had talked it up so much and had 2 new runners participating with me for the first time this year and I was apologizing that it had been much better in the past but under new management. Please take all these comments into consideration when planning next year's events.
Rob Klein from Aurora, Colorado (10/5/2007) "A Truly Backroads Experience" (about: 2007) 6-10 previous marathons \| 1 Boulder Backroads Marathon COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 3 FANS: 4 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.
K. O. from CO (10/4/2007) "Here Here" (about: 2007) 50+ previous marathons \| 1 Boulder Backroads Marathon COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 1 FANS: 1 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

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