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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 71 to 81]
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T. T. from Pittsford, NY
(5/26/2008)
 "Beautifully done all around" (about: 2008)
11-50 previous marathons
| 2 Ottawa Marathon (National Capital Race Weekend)s
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 4 What a great day! The weather at start time was perfect, with a beautiful course. It got a bit warm at the end, but the sponges at the water station were a lifesaver. The only negative was the very silly closed-off runners' village, which made it very difficult to find friends and family at the end. | |
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R. T. from Mississauga
(5/26/2008)
 "Disappointed with the merge" (about: 2008)
11-50 previous marathons
| 2 Ottawa Marathon (National Capital Race Weekend)s
COURSE: 2 ORGANIZATION: 3 FANS: 5 I last ran this race is 2001. I had heard so much good about the course and loved it - I would have given it a 5 if not for the MERGE. I was on the course for a BQ (missed by 35 seconds), but with the added people from the 1/2, I could not get around enough people (at one point had a group from the 1/2 running almost across the entire road who only moved after being berated by a number of us stuck behind them). I much preferred the 2001 edition. | |
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P. W. from Ottawa
(5/26/2008)
"Most organized event ever...." (about: 2008)
1 previous marathon
| 1 Ottawa Marathon (National Capital Race Weekend)
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 4 It's run like a military operation, except the focus is on fun. | |
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J. C. from USA
(5/26/2008)
"Best Marathon in Canada" (about: 2008)
3 previous marathons
| 1 Ottawa Marathon (National Capital Race Weekend)
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 4 What an amazing day and course - over 32,000 runners were there this weekend, with 3000+ in the marathon. Volunteers were amazing, the expo was great, and they have a beautiful, fast course! They had live tracking and text notification. I will be back in a few years - this is a PB course. | |
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D. G. from Gatineau, Quebec
(5/26/2008)
"Good until you reach the finish line" (about: 2008)
4-5 previous marathons
| 1 Ottawa Marathon (National Capital Race Weekend)
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 3 FANS: 5 Good: - wonderful course, fairly flat with minor hills to break the monotony, nice scenery - great volunteers - many well-staffed water/Gatorade stations - sponges, gels, Vaseline stations - great crowd support, especially in certain neighborhoods - 7:00 start worked out well because it got hot as the day progressed - Great expo - Great technical shirts, different for all events, and gender specific so women actually get women's shirts Needs improvement: - crowded start could be improved by waiting a minute or two between the corrals - there could be more port-a-potties Bad: - Finish line was a nightmare. Merged with the half marathon means the 4:00 marathoner compete for space with the 2:00 half-marathoner and so forth - anti-climactic finish: too many people, no one announces your name, no one gives you a medal, no one gives you a blanket - tired marathoner have to open the water bottle packages themselves to get water. If you miss it then, there is no more - big bottleneck after the finish to remove chips, even though there are enough volunteers (the ones at the end are not busy) - to get your medal, you have to find a volunteer with the right medal (once again, because of merger with half and full) and they don't put it around your neck - they just hand it to you without so much as a congratulations - then another huge bottleneck to get to the food tables - and by the way, there was no more water - post-race food was inadequate; my table ran out of bananas and bagels (the only thing they had were oranges, yogurt and some granola bars). - I never saw the mylar blankets - they were apparently right at the finish but you can't go back. No one was handing them out and they were folded in little plastic bags, so as a result, most people did not get one. After a great race, it was the most annoying, frustrating and anti-climactic finish ever. I would think twice about running again in the current format because of the finish. | |
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S. M. from ottawa, Canada
(5/26/2008)
"Great race, but where are the fans?" (about: 2008)
11-50 previous marathons
| 4-5 Ottawa Marathon (National Capital Race Weekend)s
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 2 Challenging race - lots of hills in the first half. Lots of Vaseline stations. Some of the bands left early. The fan support was non-existent in the Hull side and very patchy on the Ottawa side. Overall, a great experience. Maybe more porta-potties from 20 - 30 KM, and water stations every 2 KM. | |
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D. S. from Montreal
(2/18/2008)
"Org. gets 4 stars due to the merge and finish." (about: 2007)
6-10 previous marathons
| 3 Ottawa Marathon (National Capital Race Weekend)s
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 5 Loved the 2007 race. Enjoyed the trip to Hull/Gatineau, including the hills. Due to the cold weather I had to run fast to stay warm. It worked - a PB! However, merging with half marathoners did slow us down and finishing photos have them under marathon times. The split finish of some years ago worked better for all, I think. As well, there was a delay at the finish - the 2K race perhaps? We were cold and wet and the holdup did not allow us to pass through the food station or outside. Small glitches that can be corrected. Thanks for a great weekend! | |
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M. W. from Toronto
(1/5/2008)
"Did it last year and can't wait to again!" (about: 2007)
6-10 previous marathons
| 1 Ottawa Marathon (National Capital Race Weekend)
COURSE: 3 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 Did this race last year and just registered today to do it again this year. And I can hardly wait. That's how much fun this race is. I gave the course a 3.5 rating because although Ottawa is a pretty town and running through the old city and along the canals is quite nice, there are some less attractive and somewhat hilly sections in the short Hull, PQ, sections. Realistically, not every mile in a marathon can be stunningly scenic. I'm considering a "5" course a pretty high bar, such as Napa, or London, etc. A "4" rating a major city like NY or Chicago and a "3" your average city race. So "3.5" is better than average, but not a destination for scenery alone. What really blows us away about this race is how well organized it is, how there are multiple events to take part in and how all the details have been thought through. Definitely a 5 plus. This is one of the few Canadian races with "really big" corporate sponsors and it shows. That they manage to hold onto these sponsors year after year is a testament to the quality of the event, I think. The expo is big, the shirt is very nice and there is no shortage of volunteers or supplies at the water stops. Having the 10K the night before the marathon is great, too. My fiance runs it so I can watch in the evening and is free to watch me the next morning. It's also very cool that they planned the family fun race for the same time as the 2-4 hour half and full marathon runners are finishing, as it gets the crowds out to the finish area and everyone is energized and engaged. I gave spectators 5 stars because races in Canada don't typically get many spectators and Ottawa really comes out to support this race. Last year it poured rain and there were tons of happy, cheering people - far more than one will see in Toronto (I'm a Toronto resident and our citizens are renowned for their apathy toward anything but hockey....) A really, really, tremendous experience. Definitely one of Canada's best - if not THE best. My only grudge would be the online registration interface. This year it has been outsourced to the Running Room and it is a pain in the #$% to use. Far too much marketing-related data collection on the part of that vendor. | |
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P. C. from Toronto, Canada
(12/20/2007)
 "Excellent event but the "merge" is a pain" (about: 2007)
11-50 previous marathons
| 3 Ottawa Marathon (National Capital Race Weekend)s
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 3 FANS: 4 I second the comments about the merging of the half-marathoners and marathoners in the last 3 - 4 KM. The previous version of the race was great, with the half starting at 10 a.m. Otherwise, it is a first-rate marathoning experience! | |
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Todd Smith from Toronto
(10/13/2007)
"Great Course but the MERGE is awful" (about: 2007)
4-5 previous marathons
| 2 Ottawa Marathon (National Capital Race Weekend)s
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 3 Ottawa Marathon is a great experience but the MERGE in 2007 was a hugely frustrating and disappointing experience. I was slowed considerably. |
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