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Apr 27, 2024

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 61 to 71]

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B. N. from thunder bay, canada (5/29/2008) "my first half - very fun" (about: 2008) First Marathon COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 4 Fast course (I trained in cold and hilly north-western Ontario), and great people in Ottawa (and Hull) helping out and cheering. A few quiet spots, but what do you expect? The last few miles offered a steady roar from the crowd and this is the only reason I was able to finish - thank you, everyone!! This was my first half, although I've cheered at others, like Grandma's in Minnesota. Gatorade and sponges were great, but water was a little fishy at spots. They gave some kind of GU/gel that I didn't use. I also seem to remember some folks handing out PowerBars at the start line. Love the belly dancers around 11KM. One of the musical bands along the course had quite a sense of humor. "On the road again?!?" I came with my wife and two young boys and there was lots for them to do. There's even a kid's fun race, if you're so inclined. Also, there's some kind of play center for them off of the finish area. The course layout allowed them to see me three times while traveling on foot. They say "more washrooms, please." I tend to agree, but the cops turned a blind eye to watering the bushes. At the start, if I had arrived earlier I would have found more washrooms a little farther from the start line. There was a bottleneck in the last few miles, as well as a complete traffic jam just past the finish line. And the family wasn't allowed to come see me in the recovery area, but I'm told this is common at many races. Oh yeah, and Ottawa is not a cheap place to stay. With an earlier start to the full (7 a.m.), I was able to see them take off before my 9 a.m. start. Speaking of starts, some of the corral signs were confusing because arrows on one side of the road pointed in the opposite direction of the signs on the other side of the road. I was mid-field anyway, so it didn't matter too much. They let me line up wherever I wanted. I heard one of the days was crazy at the race kit pick-up. The day/time I was there was no problem, though. Overall, I loved it. Thank you to all the volunteers and friendly runners!!
H. W. from Toronto, ON (5/29/2008) "Expo a nightmare, start corrals a zoo!" (about: 2008) 4-5 previous marathons \| 1 Ottawa Marathon (National Capital Race Weekend) COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 1 FANS: 4 I have never seen such a poorly run expo/race kit pickup. Getting the chip and bib was good, but the t-shirt pickup involved elbowing your way through a mass of people, in no discernible lineup. I didn't elbow for ten minutes or so, and after realizing I'd never get to the front that way, since everyone else WAS elbowing, I had to do it too. Highly stressful, especially with the volunteers screaming at each other about which bags go to which runners. The start corral signs (for the half, at least) had their arrows going in the wrong direction, such that the fastest runners would be at the back, but since people just lined up wherever they felt like it, I suppose it wasn't an issue. Except it was, somehow. I'd heard really good things about this race, and the race itself was fine, but the chaos the day before really left a bad taste in my mouth. I bring my own food/drink, but my sister told me one of the aid stations provided HOT water. Oops!
P. B. from NY (5/28/2008) "Great course, but weird water" (about: 2008) 6-10 previous marathons \| 1 Ottawa Marathon (National Capital Race Weekend) COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 This was a great marathon - well organized, with plenty of support. I have one question for others who ran it. I had a cup of water at the water station by the Museum of Civilization and the water had a sour taste and it upset my stomach. Did anyone else have this experience?
K. K. from Washington DC, USA (5/28/2008) "Excellent Course" (about: 2008) 4-5 previous marathons \| 1 Ottawa Marathon (National Capital Race Weekend) COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 I loved the course. I have run the 1/2 twice before and really enjoyed it. I ran the full marathon this time and enjoyed it even more. The organization was very good.
S. D. from Charleston, South Carolina, USA (5/27/2008) "Fabulous Day! Fabulous Marathon!" (about: 2008) 6-10 previous marathons \| 2 Ottawa Marathon (National Capital Race Weekend)s COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 5 What a great course! This is by far one of my favorite marathons. I think I will come back to Ottawa every year to return to my Canadian roots and run this great event! My sole complaint is the bottleneck with the merging of the half and full marathoners at the finish line, and then the bottleneck to get through the runner's village - that was a nightmare! Otherwise, fabulous!
Kim Friese from Iroquois Falls, Ontario (5/27/2008) "Awesome race!" (about: 2008) First Marathon COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 This was my first half-marathon and I had a blast. The people were friendly and up-beat. The crowd was amazing. I was really glad to have started the race at 9:00 a.m. I can't imagine running in the heat any later than that! A real memorable experience!
B. B. from Connecticut (5/27/2008) "Wonderful, just needed a few tweaks" (about: 2008) 2 previous marathons \| 1 Ottawa Marathon (National Capital Race Weekend) COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 5 This was my second marathon. I had a great time and really enjoyed the City of Ottawa. I would highly recommend this race! It is worth a trip. Pros: 1. Great crowd support. Having my name on my jersey was a plus. 2. People cheering in French and English! A great international experience. 3. The beautiful parliament buildings. Think French Gothic architecture meets Big Ben. (You would swear you're in Europe!) 4. The crossover into Quebec and back had amazing views. 5. The park loop provided a lot of shade. 6. The tech shirts are awesome. 7. Best marathon medal I have seen. 8. Lots of fluid stops. 9. The City of Ottawa was an excellent host. Cons: 1. I think the chip 20K marker was actually at about 21K. There were two 20K signs. I got really confused about my pace. I am still confused and I think something was mis-marked 2. The Carleton University section of the course became boring. I would have enjoyed staying in Quebec for longer and shortening that loop. 3. Could have used better post-race food. 4. Needed more porta-johns. Overall, really nice job, Ottawa!
S. H. from Ottawa (5/27/2008) "Thank you for such a great event" (about: 2008) 1 previous marathon \| 1 Ottawa Marathon (National Capital Race Weekend) COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 4 I ran the half, and I've got to say that the organizational aspect of this event was great. Everything was well thought out and executed to a tee. A big "thank you" to all of the hundreds of volunteers and sponsors; without you, there really would be no event. This is a win-win for the community, as well as the participants. I will be back. Cheers... Only suggestion for next year is more porta-potties for the athletes in the athletes' village. There were huge line-ups before/after the race. And I vote to keep the athletes' village closed to racers' friends/family. Theres enough scarcity of space and services already without having to cope with thousands of more people visiting the runners. If an athlete needs a hug after the race, hug one of your fellow participants. I'm sure they could use some lovin' too. LOL.
J. K. from Toronto (5/26/2008) "Well Supported Canadian Race!" (about: 2008) 2 previous marathons \| 1 Ottawa Marathon (National Capital Race Weekend) COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 This is the third year I've made the trip out for the marathon weekend and the first year I did the full. I had a great experience this year. This is one of the best organized and supported races in the country! There are plenty of small races, so if you're not interested in crowds, this race isn't for you. The merge with the half in the last 4K is a great compromise after the last few years (ran the half in the previous two, which changed due to the incredibly hot, rather dangerous conditions in 2006 - when I think every medic I saw on the course was overloaded). It is annoying for a full marathoner to get stuck in the crowds with the half runners at the end for chip removal and food (which we skipped this year due to the line-up), but I still thought the race was great! The early start is perfect for the end of May when the weather can be hot. There were lots of spectators in the 10-20K range when we went through Sandy Hill. Just the thing to pump a person up. It got quiet around the 25-30K mark where it's away from the residential areas, but thankfully the aid stations were well-stocked and organized! I happen to remember a Mardi Gras theme from the hospital social workers around kilometer 24. I realized how fantastic the volunteers were. They woke up really early and didn't get medals for their efforts! By the time we crossed the canal, I was really suffering, but there were sponges, which felt great to squeeze all over myself. The crowds really picked up again for the last 5K, although I was too exhausted to appreciate the sheer volume of people cheering! If you do your hill training, you won't even think that this race even has any - except for the bridge at kilometer 32. The rolling hills in Gatineau are early enough that the legs are very fresh! Thanks for the crowd support and all of those volunteers!!!
J. R. from Roch, NY (5/26/2008) "boring course, spotty crowd support" (about: 2008) 4-5 previous marathons \| 1 Ottawa Marathon (National Capital Race Weekend) COURSE: 2 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 2 The organization was fairly good and the course was fairly flat. Nice city to visit. However, I've seen enough of the Rideau Canal to last me a lifetime. In other words, a boring course that simply runs along the canal for almost the entire second half. I expected more from a capital city marathon. I would have preferred that more of the race was actually run in the city, and not along the canal. Very little crowd support with the exception of the last couple of miles or so. Expo was okay, but if you're coming from the US forget about getting good deals on anything. The prices were through the roof on just about everything. The running clothes and shoes were about double what you can get them for in the US. Finish area was a zoo, food lines were extremely long, but there was a Starbucks right across the street, so I went there for refreshments.

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