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May 3, 2024

American Discovery Trail Marathon Runner Comments

Back to American Discovery Trail Marathon Information & Reviews

Course 4.4

Organization 4.3

Spectators 3.5

Number of comments: 58 [displaying comments 21 to 31]

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

A. K. from Denver, Co (1/28/2011) "I will do the full next time!" (about: 2010) 3 previous marathons COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 Even though I did only the 1/2 marathon, I feel confident my comments will be of help to some. The day of the race was a miracle for anyone doing the full marathon, with a good north wind of 10-15 knots the whole time giving quite a boost at your back the whole time in the full, or 1/2 the distance of the half. Recovering from an injury, I had to bow out of the full marathon and felt nothing but envious of those completing the full distance. The weather was amazing, the course was fun, with kind of backroad/park feel to and, yes there were others on the trail, but there was ALWAYS plenty of room to go around the few park walkers/bikers who were enjoying this beautiful day. The course organizers were prompt in answering my text messages the day before, as I did not wish to get my bib the day before. Sara, the race director, was top-notch and delightful in person as well! Great band at the finish, and decent party atmosphere with lots of cute families hanging around at the finish. My only regret was sidelining myself with plantar fasciitis and being unable to train above a 15-miler to complete the full in style. I'll definitely be back next year to run the full.
T. S. from Indianapolis (9/11/2010) "Purple mountains' majesty" (about: 2010) 11-50 previous marathons \| 1 American Discovery Trail Marathon COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 3 "America the Beautiful" was written in the 1890s after a hike up Pike's Peak. For anybody doing this race - and especially us flatlanders - you can see how the author was inspired. Beautiful day, beautiful course. I had some cramping issues the last four miles, but just about the time I'd feel bad, I'd simply look at the scenery and start grinning. Coming from about 800 feet, I was concerned about the elevation, but because it's a net downhill, you get more oxygen as you go along. (Of course, for those of you from Colorado, this probably isn't much of an issue anyhow.) I ended up being 8-10 minutes slower than my times at lower elevations, which I was OK with. For the most part, the path was fine to run on, though I tripped a few times on the steeper downhills. Posters from previous years complained about non-competitors using the path, but I didn't have any problems with them. In fact, many were quite encouraging as we went by. Lodging hint for those who have somebody who can pick them up at the finish: Grayson's Pineview B&B in Palmer Lake. It's a half-mile from the start. No worrying about catching a bus in the wee hours of race morning; innkeeper Paula let us check out at our leisure after the race and even saved breakfast for me; and there's a lovely, inexpensive Italian restaurant a couple of blocks away where we had our pasta dinner.
G. S. from Georgia (9/14/2009) "Too much traffic both ways for the trail." (about: 2009) 50+ previous marathons \| 1 American Discovery Trail Marathon COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 2 FANS: 3 The course was open to hikers, bikers, and four-wheelers going in both directions. This would have been better if the foliage had been trimmed off of the course. There was no clock anywhere on the course, and the half was not marked. We were warned about cramps, but there were no bananas or oranges to help this. The course itself was great.
J. L. from Austin,TX (9/9/2009) "Nice downhill trail - mostly crushed granite path" (about: 2009) 11-50 previous marathons \| 1 American Discovery Trail Marathon COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 2 I really enjoyed this race. There were very few road crossings, the scenery in the first 16 miles was outstanding, and the course was very well marked except for one spot where five paths came together. The finish line had more than enough pizza and sodas for even the slower runners. I couldn't find a lot of information about the course on the web site, so here: the first 20 miles or so are on a wide, crushed-granite trail; then there are about three miles on pavement or concrete; and then about three miles of crushed granite and concrete to the finish at America the Beautiful Park. For 2009, I felt that the course got a little hot - it can be very exposed. Another complaint would be that the course is open to bikers - it's a bike path, and there are a lot of them near the finish, some of them with very poor etiquette. The aid stations were about every two miles, and they were well stocked with water and Gatorade, sometimes Heed, and most aid stations had lots of Hammer gels. I really like the race medal - it's a nice design and it feels solid. This would be a great first marathon, or for getting a goal time.
D. M. from Fort Collins, CO (9/8/2009) "Nice trail run" (about: 2009) 50+ previous marathons COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 2 Pluses: + Gentle grade (net downhill; few hills) + Packed cinder/some asphalt + Pizza at the end + Aid stations - everything promised + Host hotel Antlers Hilton was nice and a good value given the quality + Attractive, quality medal (though no 2009 designation) + Cool finish location - stunning park Minuses: - Very long line to pick up packets (all of the packets got mixed up, so it took a long time to find them) - They bussed everyone out so early that there was almost an hour of waiting before the race started - Running by the same sort of grass, trees and foothills got a little boring, especially for non-locals (though overall it was quite scenic)
j. v. from The great state of Texas (9/8/2009) "Great race that you need to do!" (about: 2009) 50+ previous marathons \| 1 American Discovery Trail Marathon COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 3 What a wonderful race! New course this year (was my first time, so it would have been new for me anyway!). Very nice course all on a trail. Very scenic. I hate altitude, and my time sucked worse than normal, but I jogged with a lot of nice folks. Let's start with what I did not like - a short list. Give me a second... I am still thinking.... Maybe there could have been a few more porta-potties at the start? Or bottles of water at the finish to take for the walk back to the hotel? Man, I am struggling to find the negatives. Oh! I hate that most races use school buses! I knew that I could find something to complain about if thought about it long enough. My legs are too long for school buses. There! I found a negative to post! Postives: Everything else. Great course. Great location. Great volunteers. Good rest stops, and tons of them, especially for being a trail run! Nice medal and a clean race shirt - not a billboard for every company within 50 miles of the race. Sex specific shirts (not that I can being a guy, but I am sure that if I was a female that I'd like a shirt made for a female). Lots of food at the finish, a great park finish location... and did I mention the views yet? Things out of the race control: it was warm. We were at altitude. Elevation charts never reflect what I feel while running a course. The staff at the host hotel were very friendly... hey, good things can be out of your control as well. Very friendly public users of the trail; they all cheered us on. The course must be a huge net downhill. I saw the numbers. There a several tough bumps to negotiate along the way, though. Don't be fooled by the "net" downhill to think that it is all downhill. I was brought to walk a couple of times once it got warm. This is a great event in great location. Come early and do some of the tourist things. It is an amazing location for a race - the small towns, the views, everything. I choose restaurants poorly and had okay food at best, but everything else more than made up for it. It was even affordable to get to Colorado Springs and the host hotel was a good deal too! I'd recommend this race to everyone. It is at altitude, but most mountain state marathons are... duh!
J. P. from Colorado Springs, CO (10/16/2008) "Fun course, great volunteers" (about: 2008) 3 previous marathons \| 1 American Discovery Trail Marathon COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 4 I am from Colorado Springs, so I'm used to running in the altitude, but the later start (7 a.m.) and the heat were tough for me. The first part of the course is very scenic, as it starts up at Palmer Lake and winds through the Air Force Academy. There are some hills to deal with, but most aren't too long. After about 17 miles, the path is more urban and not as pretty, but still interesting in sections. The volunteer support was fantastic and I really appreciated everyone who helped. There was more crowd support along the trail than I expected, and especially at the finish. I liked running a smaller marathon and not needing to run through a crowd of runners. I had trouble getting information from the organizers through email, though. Overall, I really enjoyed the race and would run it again.
J. B. from Denver, CO (9/16/2008) "Good and bad" (about: 2008) 6-10 previous marathons \| 2 American Discovery Trail Marathons COURSE: 3 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 4 First of all, the volunteers were fantastic!! Also liked the finish area. As for suggestions, please lose the trip around the lake at the start... way too narrow! Also got thrown off by the misplaced early mile markers. That should be easy to correct. All in all, an enjoyable experience.
d. l. from SC, USA (9/3/2008) "great organization; nice and scenic course" (about: 2008) 11-50 previous marathons \| 1 American Discovery Trail Marathon COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 This was my first time running a marathon at altitude, and I was not disappointed. It was tough, although the course runs on trails and downhill. Do not try this course if you are looking for a PR; however, it is less hard on your joints and muscles than a road race. There was just enough sun to enjoy the gorgeous, scenic paths, 6:30 is the right time of the day to start (although for some reason, we started at 7 a.m. only). the organization was great in regards to the shuttle buses, all aid stations were well planned and food and drinks were plentiful, volunteers were incredible; thanks much to all, including Pikes Peak club members pacers and the race director! I will be back next year.
Marina White from Irvine, CA (9/2/2008) "Discover a treasure of CO at ADT" (about: 2008) 6-10 previous marathons \| 1 American Discovery Trail Marathon COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 3 FANS: 4 The course run this year ('08) has not been used since '01, and I can't imagine the one used in those years could have been as pretty as this one! The vast majority was on gravel trails (with the downside of this being that rocks can get in your socks - be prepared!) overlooking a gorgeous valley of trees or streams. Except for a couple short and very steep uphills, it was flat or downhill. The finish was right past a lovely fountain in a pretty park full of families and happy people. :-) Course support was abundant and great - very supportive and helpful handing out water and Gatorade (which was always cold and not watered down thankfully!). The organization was a bit poor - we started half an hour late due to some late buses, and they also had too few restrooms at the start. However, they allowed same-day packet pick up, which is always helpful.

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