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Ottawa Marathon (National Capital Race Weekend) Runner Comments
Back to Ottawa Marathon (National Capital Race Weekend) Information & Reviews
Course 4.4 
Organization 4.3 
Spectators 4.3
Number of comments: 193 [displaying comments 91 to 101]
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t. o. from New York
(5/28/2007)
 "Enjoyable and fun!" (about: 2007)
4-5 previous marathons
| 1 Ottawa Marathon (National Capital Race Weekend)
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 4 This is my 4th marathon. It was also my 1st time doing Ottawa, and not my last time either. Only issue I had was the marathon expo being out in what seemed to be nowhere! It was quite a pain trying to locate it, and for such a small city it took a shocking 90 minutes to find. I found the course route to be enjoyable. Few hills but not that bad. Running surface was mostly on the paved road. No cobblestones, no trails. The 7:00 a.m. start time makes it a bit tough for the spectators to come out and cheer, but is a great time to start a race. At least that way you beat the sun and the heat, have the rest of the afternoon to see the sights. I also enjoyed how the 1/2 marathon and the full marathon courses crossed. At times I found myself running along with these "fresher" 1/2 marathon runners, which got me to kick it up a notch. I would recommend doing the race to anyone. It was a lot of fun - and especially fun to watch the 5K and 10K the night before. | |
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T. M. from Toronto
(5/28/2007)
"very good" (about: 2007)
4-5 previous marathons
| 2 Ottawa Marathon (National Capital Race Weekend)s
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 4 This is a very good marathon. I have run New York, Toronto and Mississauga, and this is my 2nd time running Ottawa. The atmosphere on Saturday for the 5K and 10K is amazing. The organization is first-rate and the aid stations are fantastic. Yes, the first part is a bit hillier than before, but nothing to fret about. Overall, this is a fantastically run marathon. I will definitely pencil it in with New York (if I can get in) every year. It is the premier Canadian marathon. | |
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S. M. from Syracuse, NY
(5/28/2007)
 "Could be better" (about: 2007)
4-5 previous marathons
| 1 Ottawa Marathon (National Capital Race Weekend)
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 2 FANS: 4 I ran the half this year. Negatives: 1) The course isn't exactly flat, especially the portion that runs through Quebec. I would describe it as "gently rolling." 2) Although I pre-registered by several months, they had no shirts in my size at packet pickup. They apparently do not reserve shirts for those who pre-register and give away whatever they have to late registrants. 3) They moved around the corrals at the last minute to adjust from the full to the half marathon. This was poorly organized and resulted in a very unorganized and potentially dangerous crush of bodies at the start. Positives: a beautiful course through a beautiful city with a great crowd. With a little better organization, this could be a much better experience. | |
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B. M. from Toronto
(5/28/2007)
"The BEST Canadian event I've ever done" (about: 2007)
4-5 previous marathons
| 1 Ottawa Marathon (National Capital Race Weekend)
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 Just got back from running Ottawa and I have to say that this is *the* best running event I have ever experienced in Canada - and that includes Ironman Canada, which is run like a well-oiled machine. Everything about this event was well planned, well managed and effectively delivered. I really got the feel that the directors approached this event from the standpoint of runner experience first and then designed everything else around it. The expo was huge (for a Canadian race) and well organized and kit pick-up was quick and easy. The weekend was full of a number of events from 2K family walks to 1/2 marathon, so there was something for everyone to participate in. With over 30,000 people participating in some run or walk event over the weekend, this strategy obviously worked. Race-wise, as far as some of the other comments posted below, either things have seriously changed or these people are just plain grumpy, hard to please and should take the stones out of their shoes. The course does have some hills. So what? It also has A LOT of long, flat and long, steady, downhill sections. The hills it does have are short and painless. The course is closed and the police are very adept at controlling the traffic situation. The reason I gave it a 4 out 5 is because Ottawa isn't an "A" city like Paris or New York, etc. There was a huge staff of volunteers - all quite happy in the pouring rain - and the feed stations were well run and well stocked. The spectators were plentiful and very engaged (unlike Toronto spectators) and stood out there all morning getting soaked. For those expecting the crowds of big US races, remember that this is Canada and we have small populations - a few thousand spectators constitutes an excellent turnout - so if your expectations are for an experience akin to running through the Five Boroughs, you may want to look elsewhere.... The race end was also well organized, orderly and efficient, with blankets, water, medals and food all received before exiting the gates to meet friends and family. The expo was one of the biggest I've been to and kit pick-up was quick and easy. Net-net, a great weekend that can involve everyone in your entourage, a nice course in one of our prettiest cities, a lively and enthusiastic spectator crowd (Ottawa is a young and physically active city) and an excellent race that makes you feel like everything's been thought of. At no time before, during or after the race, did I have to guess or worry about anything... other than what my finishing time was going to be. Definitely planning on doing this one again next year. It's now become my favorite marathon and my partner loves the 10K course... and we both love the city. | |
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C. W. from Gananoque, Ontario
(5/28/2007)
"The course this year was awesome!!" (about: 2007)
2 previous marathons
| 2 Ottawa Marathon (National Capital Race Weekend)s
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 4 The course this year was very nice and less boring because we did not have to wind through a parking lot like in 2006. The course should keep this route for next year. Plus, I think that the runners didn't mind the few hills we got to coast down. The spectators were awesome to stick it out when it came to the rain and continued to cheer us on. The volunteers at the water stations were organized and well prepared for the mass group of runners. Well done, EVERYONE!! Great job!! The organizers of the Ottawa Race Weekend do an awesome job every year!! See you next year. (PS: This is the half-marathon that I am referring too.) | |
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C. A. from Boston, MA
(5/28/2007)
"Beautiful course, one major problem at finish" (about: 2007)
6-10 previous marathons
| 1 Ottawa Marathon (National Capital Race Weekend)
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 3 FANS: 4 It was a wonderful day to run and the course, even with a little rain, was beautiful and flat enough with enough hills to entertain and keep one honest. Overall, the people of Ottawa were out in force to cheer, though the parts into Gatineau (Hull) saw thinner crowds. It would have been nice, pace-wise, if the half-marathon had begun about 15 minutes earlier. Where the two courses converge, there are two pace levels trying to run at once. My big problem: they ran out of blankets at the finish. After running for almost 5 hours (I'm slow!), I really could have used the warmth for my walk from the finish. (I was fairly wet from the rain!) The number of blankets is a simple matter of adding up the number of runners and ordering that many; it isn't rocket science. The rest of the race seemed well organized (many volunteers, good course marking), but this was a serious problem in my mind. I hope the race director can learn from this. | |
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M. S. from Philadelphia, PA
(5/28/2007)
 "Above average mid-size race" (about: 2007)
3 previous marathons
| 1 Ottawa Marathon (National Capital Race Weekend)
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 3 Registration: Simple and efficient Expo: a bit crowded, use the shuttle buses from downtown, clothing options somewhat limited Race T-shirt: excellent Pre-race support/setup: nicely organized Weather for 2007: cool, cloudy, a bit rainy for finishers at 4+ hours Course: mildly hilly, nice scenery, spectator support a bit sparse but weather for 2007 (chilly and rainy) may have kept folks away, water/Gatorade available at appropriate intervals, some of the bands had to leave because of the rain Post-race support: Mylar warming sheets were a bit challenging to find, food/fluids were plentiful Medal: excellent Location: easy to fly into, downtown Ottawa was a bit of ghost town on the weekend, had to travel to some other sites for some fun, stayed at the Marriott - they were very supportive | |
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P. M. from London, ON
(5/27/2007)
 "Hot!" (about: 2007)
11-50 previous marathons
| 1 Ottawa Marathon (National Capital Race Weekend)
COURSE: 3 ORGANIZATION: 3 FANS: 2 What a weekend. Ottawa is a beautiful city with very nice people, but the heat caught me by surprise. Friday and Saturday were scorchers and Sunday was hot and rainy. This is a new course this year and it's not bad; however there were very few spectators and parts are kind of boring. The expo was terrible. Like a furnace in there and I heard it was just as bad last year. Please, please spend some money and move to a place that has air conditioning! The merchandise at the expo was expensive and not a great variety or quality, but still had to buy some stuff. The dinner was disappointing - food and speakers, and I would pass on it if attend next year. I would not recommend this race for new runners as they will find it too crowded and the finish area was a disaster. They lost my bag, there were big line-ups for food and water, and I couldn't find the medical for an hour. The volunteers needs to be better briefed on where things are. | |
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M. W. from ottawa
(3/7/2007)
"Great Canadian Marathon - and Improving" (about: 2007)
11-50 previous marathons
| 4-5 Ottawa Marathon (National Capital Race Weekend)s
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 3 I would agree that this is not longer a flat, fast course and with the new changes it seems the first half will be a bit hillier. But it is a fair and beautiful course, with a nice tour of most of what is nice to see in the nation's capital. The change in the half marathon start time should address the heat, which was problem with the old 10 a.m. start. With all the events, there were nearly 30,000 runners - mostly in the half marathon and 10K (Saturday night). There is real excitement at the start and finish lines but there are long stretches with few fans (this isn't Boston or New York)... and the early Sunday start means you see more yawns than cheers. Organization is great. It really is probably the best Canadian marathon. | |
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J. J. from Kingston, Canada
(2/6/2007)
"Great event - new course planned for 2007" (about: 2007)
6-10 previous marathons
| 3 Ottawa Marathon (National Capital Race Weekend)s
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 4 This is such a great event. I have run it 3 times now and it just keeps improving. For 2007 I see there is a change to the course planned and the 1/2 marathon will start earlier, which is good if you end up running on a warm day like we did last year. The new course extends further into Quebec (French part) and should be entertaining. Definitely worth the trip, as this is definitely Canada's best marathon destination. |
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