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May 4, 2024

Yakima River Canyon Marathon Runner Comments

Back to Yakima River Canyon Marathon Information & Reviews

Course 4.8

Organization 4.8

Spectators 3.1

Number of comments: 74 [displaying comments 11 to 21]

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E. H. from Washington State (4/4/2011) "Awesome marathon for first-timers" (about: 2011) 1 previous marathon \| 1 Yakima River Canyon Marathon COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 3 This was my first marathon and I can't wait for next year. Lenore Dolphin has to be the best race director anywhere. There are two challenging hills late in the run but they are doable. The fantastic scenery and enthusiastic, supportive volunteers make the miles fly by. Every marathoner should seriously consider this race.
R. M. from New York State (4/2/2011) "Awesome Run through the Canyon!" (about: 2011) 11-50 previous marathons \| 1 Yakima River Canyon Marathon COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 1 Great, scenic course, mostly downhill, with a little wind at times. Good aid stations every couple of miles.
L. H. from College Place, WA (11/17/2010) "Great race" (about: 2010) 11-50 previous marathons \| 2 Yakima River Canyon Marathons COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 4 Pros: This is a terrific race. Incredibly scenic course; I saw several deer and hawks during the run. There are not a lot of spectators. However, the course volunteers are very friendly and enthusiastic. The course has several hills, so this most likely won't be a good PR-course. Cons: The shuttle service is confusing and may not run often enough, especially towards the latter part of the day when more finishers are coming in. They have loud music at the last hill. This may be a matter of personal taste, but I found the blaring music distracting and rather unpleasant. However, it may have helped some folks get to the top of the hill. Overall, it is a well done race and well worth running.
F. B. from Midwest U.S. (4/5/2010) "Par - Excellent" (about: 2010) 11-50 previous marathons \| 1 Yakima River Canyon Marathon COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 4 Great run. I strongly disagree with the comments/attitude of M.L., from Walla Walla, WA in a previously posted review. I fail to remember a single car passing fast. There may have been only 20 or 30 cars along the entire 26.2 miles. In my view, all appeared careful and slow. This course, for a road, was possibly the safest run provided I have ever been on over several dozen races. I also want safety. Next to a trail run, Yakima Canyon Marathon is about as safe as it gets. My one suggestion is to clarify the bus shuttle timing. From where do they leave, and where do they drop off? I wasted a lot of time, along with others, hoping to catch a bus to the showers and back to the start line after the race. The buses were a great provision, but even the volunteers could not tell us what the bus routes included.
T. F. from Charlestown, IN (3/29/2010) "GORGEOUS SCENERY! HOMETOWN FEEL!" (about: 2010) 11-50 previous marathons \| 1 Yakima River Canyon Marathon COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 3 Gorgeous scenery. I love the personal touches that race directors Lenore and Bob did for all of the people who came to the race! They gave out flowers at the end, and recognized the first marathoners, or marathoners who'd run all 10 races, or people doing their 100th, 200th, etc. Love the pics available on the site for $10 - instead of Brightroom or ASI charging $5 shipping just for a picture! The pasta dinner was good, and the speakers were entertaining. Beautiful age awards for all categories! Lots of door prizes. I love the Dolphins (RD's), and love the course! Highly recommended!
B. F. from Illinois (3/28/2010) "Beauty, Organization, Hospitality, Integrity" (about: 2010) 11-50 previous marathons \| 1 Yakima River Canyon Marathon COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 4 I chose this race because of previous reviews I had read. The natural beauty was awe-inspiring to the max. The volunteers seemed like family - maybe more so. Many elite runners were recognized at the pre-race dinner. You read of some in Runner's World. Race directors, Bob and Lenore, are immortals. They have experience, dedication, and huge respect from every participant. They will take care of you, and are not money-hungry like many race directors. They are very generous. Thanks to all who made this a huge success. I recommend this race to any first-timers who need a memorable "first-time" race experience. P.S. The way-out location of this course prevented large numbers of spectators from coming out, and thus prevented me from giving that category 5 stars.
H. T. from Olympia, Washington (3/28/2010) "Great race" (about: 2010) 6-10 previous marathons \| 1 Yakima River Canyon Marathon COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 3 This was a great race with a few challenging hills. Not a lot of spectators, but the volunteers were wonderful! The run along the river is very peaceful and pretty. Weather was excellent and the support at the finish line was fantastic!
J. M. from Mill Creek, WA (3/28/2010) "Is this marathon heaven? No, but..." (about: 2010) 4-5 previous marathons \| 3 Yakima River Canyon Marathons COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 ...it might as well be marathon heaven. If you are reading this review, looking for a West Coast race to do, read no further, click the link above and register. You can read the other reviews, but they will say pretty much the same thing: wonderful, great, perfect.... If you want a city race with marching bands, 30,000 other runners, and half marathon walkers walking 8 abreast, go elsewhere. If you want a point-to-point marathon (no back-tracking, no half marathon, 5K, etc.) in a peaceful setting, this is for you. This is on the dry side of Washington, so rain shouldn't be an issue (I've done it 3 times and each time it was overcast/partly sunny, with starting temps around 35, and finishing temps around 55). There are about 500 competitors. For the first half-mile, you have to avoid other runners for a bit, but that's it. A few things stand out. First, the race director runs the race. Second, the shirt isnt covered like a race car with sponsors logo. Third, the people who participate in this race are probably the happiest, friendliest people I've seen in any race. Bob Dolphin (co-race director) runs the race, while his wife, Lenore (other co-race director), is a bit like Where's Waldo, as she keeps popping up along the course checking in on everything. At the end of the race, she's there to give every finisher a hug. Where else would you get that kind of attention? On the course I heard people talking about the hill at 20, 21, 22 and 23 miles (same hill). For the record, the summit is about 100 yards before the 23 mile marker. It is not steep, but it is about 1.3 miles long. As far as I know, there is no name (Doomsday, Heartbreak, Queen Anne). Maybe at the finish line next year they can have balloting among the finishers to name the hill. About the only things I would change is: add a Clydesdales division (I'm over 200 pounds). My only concern is that it may get too big. If you're reading this in Topeka, wondering if your spouse will want to come with you, there are about 100 wineries in the Yakima Valley. Whether for your first or fiftieth marathon, this is the one to do.
M. L. from Walla Walla, WA (3/27/2010) "So beautiful... so many cars?" (about: 2010) 11-50 previous marathons \| 3 Yakima River Canyon Marathons COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 2 Even though my last two finishes at this race were some of my worst times ever, I came back because the course, race directors, and other runners are amazing. The scenery is spectacular, and everything about this race seems to be put on for runners, by runners: " Well-placed water/PowerAde stations " Food on the course " Great spread and personal congratulations at the finish " Free showers with soap and towels provided In short, I do this race for great time. But much unlike other races (where everything was perfect), one thing seemed amiss this year: There were TONS of cars on the course. That's not a big deal if you're warned about it ahead of time and everybody knows to run in a certain (coned-off) lane or on the shoulder. But in this curvy race, which is advertised as being run on a closed road, runners plan to run the tangents, and having cars there unexpectedly kind of puts a cramp in that plan. The thing about it too was that most of the cars had spectator passes - but despite this, they were going pretty fast and were kind of impatient. Several cars came right up on people's backs. I estimate there were around 5-10 cars driving the course the other two years I did this race, but this year there were probably 25-30. It was pretty crazy, and was especially troublesome when: " They came along at a strongly-cambered section of the road, and you had to run on the least flat part " They came from both directions at once " They zoomed by during the later stages (the two-mile hill, and seriously, like less than a mile from the finish line) Anyway, I've probably said enough about it. It just struck me as a curious development that I hope was some sort of fluke or one-time problem. I still think this race is amazing and would recommend it to anyone. I just hope they come up with a fix for the high traffic.
Adam Rose from Madison, WI (9/26/2009) "Gorge-ous!" (about: 2007) 3 previous marathons \| 1 Yakima River Canyon Marathon COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 4 This was my first marathon, and I loved it. It was hard, but I attribute that more to my lack of training than the race itself. True, there are two hills, the second of which comes late in the race, but they are nothing extreme. The scenery was spectacular, with steep, grassy and rocky canyon walls above, and the river with some trees down below. I loved the solitude of the course, and the number of runners is perfect: enough so you don't feel alone, but there are only space issues during the first mile or two and then the pack dissipates. The race was well organized, and the volunteers were great. There were enough crowds for me on this course. We got a lot of encouragement from them, and the little bit of music coming from a DJ at the top of the first hill around mile 16 and a few other boom boxes was perfect to add a sprinkle of sound to the pervasive silence. The food at the pre- and post-race dinners was junk, but it was probably typical of these kinds of functions. I thought that the towns near the marathon were pretty boring places, but coming from Portland was a fantastic drive along the Columbia River. If you are looking for a beautiful course and solitude, don't skip this one.

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