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May 5, 2024

Okanagan Marathon Runner Comments

Back to Okanagan Marathon Information & Reviews

Course 3.1

Organization 3.3

Spectators 3.4

Number of comments: 48 [displaying comments 21 to 31]

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

j. j. from calgary alberta (10/19/2007) "failing to prepare is preparing to fail" (about: 2007) 11-50 previous marathons \| 1 Okanagan Marathon COURSE: 2 ORGANIZATION: 2 FANS: 3 As you have previously read,the race route was changed. Was prepared for flat but fortunately did train hills. Just not mentally prepared for these - and that is what marathoning is, mental preparation. This was long up, winding up, sharp steep down hill quad/ham killer, rolling rough terrain not great for recovery before heading out to repeat route. Nothing wrong with a challenging run, but prep is essential. Organizers were way behind 8ball.Very poor. NOT international marathon quality. Start gate too narrow, no mile markers (remember, international!) km markers very few, board walk was not marked at all with anything or anyone. The only clue to the route was the two runners ahead of me and the sound of the finish line somewhere across the water. The steps down just about crippled the poor guy behind me as he crumpled in pain hugging his calf. The finish was amazingly...NOTHING! what's with this? a couple of scrambling volunteers and more water? after a marathon you need more than water. Stumbling through the gate into parking lot and spectators trying to find the finishers tent only to discover very congested entrance where results posted, had to step up to get into tent, only to find old dried up 'Dad's' bulk bought cookies and a few banana's -where was the juice? coke? chocolate milk? fresh okanagon fruit? was offered coffee...??? what did I pay for? - shirts? not. medals? no dates. Weather was perfect, just beautiful. Park area was nice. So much potential. the volunteers out on the course and the police were all fantastic - HUGE kudos to them all -thank YOU! Medics and helpers - awesome!great job! Organizers- remember the runners, clients, customers. It's not ALL about the $$$
J. E. from Fraser Valley (10/14/2007) "Big Disappointment" (about: 2007) 2 previous marathons \| 1 Okanagan Marathon COURSE: 1 ORGANIZATION: 1 FANS: 5 When I got to Kelowna and drove the route on Saturday, I knew that it was not the route I had signed up for. The double out-and-back of the marathon was certainly not the flat, fast Boston Qualifier I was led to believe that it was. The start of the run was a zoo, with full and half marathoners cramming up a narrow finishing chute. The race side supporters were fabulous, as were the volunteers and police officers guiding us along the confusing route. The double hill was NOT 100 meters in elevation; unless my Garmin was totally out to lunch, it was more like 200 meters. The decline on Cross Road was a hamstring-killer. The final kilometer along the bouncy, uneven wooden waterfront wharf/path was really, really appreciated, as was having to run down stairs. The hour-plus wait for prepaid post-race massages was also appreciated. Oh yeah, thanks to the lovely locals who drove by us shouting obscenities and flipping us the bird.... Classy. I chose Kelowna over Victoria because Victoria was "too hilly." My mistake. Eighteen weeks of training for a flat marathon.... sigh
D. M. from BC (10/13/2007) "Choking Confusion" (about: 2007) 4-5 previous marathons \| 1 Okanagan Marathon COURSE: 2 ORGANIZATION: 3 FANS: 2 I was totally confused regarding the KM markers - it wasn't until I was back down to Richter Rd. that I knew approximately how far it was to the finish. Running beside idling vehicles and choking in fumes was really awful. Even with doing a route tour I was thrown by the 12K uphill grade. "Would I do Kelowna again?" I am not sure.
A. T. from Calgary (10/11/2007) "Would Not Recommend This Race" (about: 2007) 11-50 previous marathons \| 1 Okanagan Marathon COURSE: 1 ORGANIZATION: 1 FANS: 1 I thought overall the race was very bad. The start gate was ridiculouly narrow and crowded for a marathon of 700 people and a half of 1200 people. We actually ran through the finishing arch which is the most ridiculous start to a race that I have ever seen. Other participants were not willing to let marathoners through to join their appropriate race pacing group. It took me 2 minutes to cross the start which is nuts for this size of race. They changed the marathon course to two double loops of the half-marathon which made it very un-exciting for those of us that ran the marathon. The course was changed AFTER I already registered which was really frustrating. This course is now hilly which is not what Kelowna was known for. The food at the finish was marginal. There were minimal spectators. Oh, almost forgot, the t-shirt sucks too!!
R. M. from Calgary (10/11/2007) "Consider other marathon options" (about: 2007) 3 previous marathons \| 1 Okanagan Marathon COURSE: 2 ORGANIZATION: 3 FANS: 3 This was my third marathon, and the first running Kelowna. I completely agree with all the comments made already. With all the training that goes into race day, next year I'll consider some of the other options out there (Calgary, Vancouver, Victoria).
w. e. from calgary (10/11/2007) "The organizers should have kept the flat course" (about: 2007) 4-5 previous marathons \| 1 Okanagan Marathon COURSE: 2 ORGANIZATION: 2 FANS: 4 I would have expected the organizers to update any web pages of a course change from last year, especially one as big as this was. The 100-meter hill was good for one shot run but adding it a second time only showed a lack of imagination to show off the city. I train running on roads with traffic but never expected to do it in an actual marathon. Having everyone follow the same route was not only confusing for me, but for some of the volunteers trying to direct us to the proper route when it was changed. And having a policeman direct a car to cross an intersection right in front of me and making me stop so he could clear up some of the congestion did not make me feel very confident about crossing further intersections. Other cities I have run in close off the road or intersection entirely until the marathon is completed, so why not in Kelowna? There was at point on Valley Rd. where a car was driving right in the lane with us runners.
L. V. from South Surrey, B.C. (10/11/2007) "Won't be coming back" (about: 2007) 11-50 previous marathons \| 2 Okanagan Marathons COURSE: 1 ORGANIZATION: 3 FANS: 3 This is my second time to run Kelowna, I came back this year because last year was great. Unfortunately the course is no longer flat and fast but rather hilly and slow and you did the same loop twice as if once wasn't bad enough. Could have used more km markers (and a couple of mile markers too) and what was with having the fulls cross over the halves at Richter, this was very confusing. Everyone, 10K, half and full, got the same medals and shirts and there were no dates on either, if you are going to have such a challenging course then at least reward us with a great medal and shirt. On a positive note, the crew that was out there stopping traffic, handing out water and yelling encouragement was amazing in all ways, thank you.
C. S. from the Kootenays (BC, Canada) (10/10/2007) "Room for improvement" (about: 2007) 2 previous marathons COURSE: 3 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 5 I'd like to start off by saying that overall I did enjoy the run. I have run a 16K, 25K and a bunch of 5 and 10's. This was my first experience with the Okanagan Marathon (of which I ran the half). I thought the food was decent (what do you really expect when there are 3,000+ runners to feed?); I didn't think the hills were too challenging (I'm from the Kootenays); I loved the crowd support (even though none of my family showed up); The Weather Channel falsely predicted rain (beautiful sunny skies graced our presence); and I thought the shirt was alright (let's face it - at least it wasn't 100% cotton). My beefs are in regards to the road-raging-intersections; lack of KM markers coming home (they seemed to be very visible every KM going out); and lastly the confusion with the different-colored KM signs for the different categories (I never did figure out what color I was). All in all the positives outweighed the negatives for me and I had a great run! I plan on running it next year and might even try the full.
A. C. from B.C. (10/10/2007) "OK Let's be positive!" (about: 2007) 4-5 previous marathons \| 2 Okanagan Marathons COURSE: 2 ORGANIZATION: 3 FANS: 2 Ok. Lets try to be positive! The weather was great- thank you organizers for that. The course was hilly which was very well received after training for a flat, fast course. An out and back course allowed me to enjoy the same scenery twice! The drivers were very encouraging with their honking and yelling at the backed up intersections. Not providing a split time made me worry less about my performance. After the race I was not tempted by the post race refreshments to ingest too many calories - a great race for anyone on weight watchers! It was wonderful to see that the organizers avoided any class distinctions by giving all racers (10k, half, full) the same shirt, the same 'unisex' sizing for men and women, and to save money, there was no year on the shirt so they can use it again next year! A job well done! Great weather!
m. m. from canada (10/9/2007) "This Race Needs a Serious Review" (about: 2007) 6-10 previous marathons \| 2 Okanagan Marathons COURSE: 1 ORGANIZATION: 2 FANS: 2 The course was changed this year and was a double loop with some hills to tackle. Almost all the times posted as a result are slower than previous years. However, the choice of route needs some serious review by the organisers, apart from the obvious questions of why a double loop and why the hills. The police tried to keep control of the traffic, which crossed a major road artery, but they had to let traffic through for fear that there would be serious and dangerous congestion. At times, you felt you were playing chicken as you crossed over the very busy junction twice. This course did nothing to show off kelowna and the name international is pushing the realms of imagination. The kids, volunteers all did there best and I appreciate them turning up to assist. The organisers though, should be sitting down with runners to get some honest feedback on this event,

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

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