This was my first marathon, the best experience of my life. The course was generally flat until mile 15 or 16 with a gradual climb to the end, with the last half-mile or so a brutal climb to an uphill finish. I hit the wall aroung mile 18, found my second wind about mile 20, but was questioning my sanity and the logic of so many hills at the end. It ended well for me - the most satisfying, agonizing, and incredible experience. I will run other marathons - this one only if they reversed the course with the incline at the start (wow, what a concept). Good organization, plenty of water stations, porta-potties, and no traffic problems that I encountered. The sponges soaked in cold water at mile 23 helped me finish the race! It was also hot at the end of the race - about 73, man I was feeling it. All in all, as an inexperienced marathoner, I give this race an 8 overall.

There is a line in the movie "Armeggedon" when someone asks what it'll be like on the asteroid. After a very bleak explanation, Owen Wilson says, "Oh, so the worst environment imaginable. That's all you had to say." Well, when you ask me what I thought about the Colfax Marathon, that's my answer. Worst race ever. I think that if I had to choose to run a marathon on Colfax or run a marathon on a treadmill, I'd pick the treadmill. Why?

* Early start
* Not enough bathrooms at the beginning (heard it was worse for the half runners)
* No gel, Gu or fruit at any aid stations
* Not enough aid stations, especially towards the end
* Cost is too high for what you get

* Crowd support, outside of the volunteers, was very poor. Unless you count the high number of "motels by-the-hour" guests that came out to see what the heck was going on outside. There was hardly anyone the finish. And the sound system was terrible.

...and last but not least...

* Whoever thought of running a marathon down (or UP) Colfax should be in a straight jacket. They said that there were some additions this year and that the finish line would be better. Wrong. The loop around Sloan's Lake was nice, but the run back to Colfax wasn't. Folks, it's a straight shot for 26.2 miles. When you crest one hill, you can literally see two miles ahead of you. And the finish is straight uphill. It is so very demoralizing.

This was my 8th marathon. I usually run around 3:30 and ended up 20 minutes slower for this. I honestly almost quit at the half because I was so digusted with the whole thing. From the look of the numbers (fewer than 400 total marathoners), this might not be a race that stays around long.

The "new" Denver Marathon, which is run in October, is SO much better than Colfax, and didn't get nearly the same amount of press and advertisement.

Stay away from Colfax, everyone. If you want to run a marathon out here in the elevation, I recommend Denver, Ft. Collins, Durango, or for the brave, Pikes Peak.

Isn't there some way to rearrange the last part of this race? From Golden Hill on it was extremely challenging. Maybe a couple of more times around Sloan's Lake to take to save us from that treacherous ending? I'm all about pushing myself, but 26 miles is pushing it pretty good! Organizers and stations/volunteers were awesome. Thanks!

Born and raised in Denver, I have spent the last 4 years in Chicago, which probably made the race more difficult for me. We do not have altitude or hills of any kind. What Chicago does have is a AMAZING marathon, and sometimes I need to stop comparing other races to my home town.

Lets start with the expo. It was a good size for this type of race. One thing they could improve upon would be to have an actual marathon guide explaining all of the information about the race including the bus schedule, gear check, etc. They did have a small newspaper with all this as well as the website, but a guide book is ideal.

On the race morning, there were not very good markings of where the parking at the Colorado Mills mall was. The busses did not have clear markings of which one was for the marathon and which one was for the half. I knew that Leg 1 had to be the marthon, but my friend running the half could not find his bus. Another suggestion would be to have a better gear check. Having to leave your bag on the bus and expect it to be at the finish is not ideal.

There were ample toilets to use at the start of the marathon, but my friend running the half did not have any ready when the busses arrived to drop off the first group of people.

There were little fan support, but a little is better than none right? I would aslo suggest having medical tents every few miles. Or at least have some tables with things like Body Glide and Band-Aids. I only saw one of them set up towards the finish.

When they say that it is going to be hot and uphill most of the way, they were not kidding. There was little shade throughout the whole race and the last 5 miles were always at a steep incline. I have never seen so many runners walking the last few miles and especially walking up the last .2 miles to the finish line. Maybe put the finish at an area that will not have such a steep finish?

I hope the race director reads all the information people post and can make minor adjustments to help make the Colfax Marathon a big success in the future.

I felt excellent support from the staff. I would suggest these improvements: 1: More porta-potties at the start, and one extra at each station where they were placed. People should not have to be forced to wait so long.

2: In the last 6-8 miles, when you are trying to meet a time goal, it means so much to know how much distance remains. Could you place BIG signs, at EXACT locations saying, "exactly 5.0 miles to go," "4.0," "3.0," etc.? When we were at the aid station that was at about 21.6 or so, people, referring to a "mile 22" sign a few blocks up the street were proclaiming loudly, "Only 4 miles to go," when it was really more like 4.5 miles. When you are so weary and trying to mentally calculate what pace is going to meet your goal, this is very discouraging when it takes you so long to reach the next mile marker, and still it is difficult to calculate division by 4.2 miles, 3.2 miles, 2.2 miles. In summary, regardless of the aid station location, just have large "4.0 miles to go," "3.0," "2.0," "1.0 mile" signs up. Even going back to 10.0 would be helpful. Thanks.

I said I was coming back, and I am glad that I did. The organization was great, the weather this time was not as hot, and the fans on course were very supportive. Downside: I am pretty sure we ran more than 26.2 miles - I think it was 26.7. My Garmin showed us running 1.5 miles between mile markers 12 and 13. Our pacer had the same issue. Otherwise, every mile marker was spot on. Lots of refreshments, good music, food at the end. This was my second time running Colfax and I plan on coming back next year!

I did the half. Was a fun race. The uphill ending into a parking lot left something to be desired. Biggest issue was that there were only 6 porta-potties at the half start - for almost 1,700 finishers. Not pretty. If we are to hydrate, train and have a good race, someone should see to it that we can use a toilet before the race starts, for heaven's sake. There should be over 30 porta-potties. This is done so well at so many races; hard to believe they can't get this right. I was told there were 5 last year. Easy enough to fix if someone decides to.

This was my first marathon. I really like the history of Colfax Avenue and loved seeing the street so active on a Sunday morning. The organization including the registration, web page, updates and training runs were all well done. I spent little time at the expo, so I can't really comment on it. The start was early since you arrived at the end of the race to take a bus 26 miles to the start - I got up at 4, arrived at the end of the race at 4:30 and was bussed to the starting line around 5:15. But, I'd rather start early and have the bus ride at the beginning than after I finished. This is what happens with a point-to-point race, isn't it? The race was generally downhill with some short ascents for the first 18 miles and then was brutally uphill the last 8.

Temperatures were around 50 at the start but soared to over 80 for the end of the race. There was little shade once you left City Park and the road became really hot when the race started its uphill stretch. Lots of fan support, bands throughout the course, people in pajamas cheering you on, and the large sponges in cold water around mile 22 were the most refreshing things I have ever experienced. I stopped and took a second sponge. The pacer was right on time. The aid stations were well stocked. Well prepared and energetic volunteers. I thought the event was just fantastic and I am already signed up for the 2007 race. Recently I purchased a "Fax is Back" t-shirt that I will proudly wear to other events to encourage people to come in 2007.

As the first time this race has been run, I have to say that it was reasonably well put together. Although I was questioning the logic of a 26.2 course with virtually no turns (besides the park section at the halfway point), I actually enjoyed the uniqueness... even if it is horribly brutal at the end. At over 5,000 feet elevation and with the last 8 miles uphill, you won't set any personal records, but it is actually enjoyable to run from township to township and watch the scenery change. There were some minor things that were lacking in organization, but I expect that of a first-year marathon and I bet the problems won't exist next year. The markers were spot on, the aid stations were well stocked. LOTS of volunteers to help out, and an impressive number of spectators (especially for the ridiculously early start), with bands playing some great tunes along the route.

Basically...
The good:
- Fun route ALL the way through Denver
- Excellent offical pacers
- Excellent spectator and volunteer support
- Excellent and frequent aid stations

The bad:
- Not enough medical support at the finish
- Mild organizational issues (probably won't happen again)
- REALLY early start
- Poor excuse for a goodie bag and post-race expo, especially for a $100 entry fee
- Terrible finish location (steep hill to a huge parking lot, lots of runner congestion, NO SHADE ON ASPHALT!!)

Would I run it again? If the finish was in a different area, or at least had a LOT of cirucs tents and seats for shade, and if it was cheaper.

My only comparison is to Boston. I thought that the race organizers could have emphasized the uphill nature of the second half, rather than say it's a relatively flat course. Also, considering the heat, they needed H2O at every mile from City Park to the finish. I live and train in Denver and the heat + hills = dehydration, and did me in.... I was way off pace, mainly because of the last 5 miles or so. I don't think I'd ever run this one again unless as part of a relay team... which the organizers seemed to favor anyway. I did have the chance to talk with Mayor Hick right before the capitol - cool!