Click Here: Please visit our Sponsor

May 9, 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 81 to 91]

More Comments: [ < 1 .. 7 8 9 10 11 .. 20 > ]

P. C. from Fort Meade, Maryland, USA (6/7/2007) "A great race, but too few t-shirts and a bad merge" (about: 2007) 1 previous marathon \| 1 Ottawa Marathon (National Capital Race Weekend) COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 5 I had an absolutely fantastic time at this race, finishing my second marathon a remarkable 39+ minutes faster than my first. The course was fantastic, and as an American I was truly pleased to see the wonderful support that the people of Canada provided to this race (and to foreigners like me running it). Two things to improve for next year would be ensuring that you have enough of the appropriate sized t-shirts for entrants (when I got to the expo they only had smalls left), and rerouting the marathon and half-marathon courses so they don't merge the way they did. On the t-shirts, I was told to e-mail the race director and he'd ensure I'd get a t-shirt that fit; well, I e-mailed him but never heard back. On the course, in the last 5K of the race, pushing an amazing time and running negative splits, I was forced to slow down significantly to try to navigate around what seemed like thousands of suddenly appearing, much slower runners. Definitely a serious problem when you're attempting to run a PR... I wonder how much faster I would have finished if I hadn't had to dart around people and constantly waste energy asking slower people in front to excuse me. All in all, though, a truly great, scenic, flat, fast, and fun race. I look forward to running it again (since I'm sure these problems will be fixed).
S. G. from Kitchener, Ontario (6/4/2007) "Great race" (about: 2007) 3 previous marathons \| 2 Ottawa Marathon (National Capital Race Weekend)s COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 5 My second time running Ottawa, and I loved it more. The course was better - more in Quebec, less switching around in Vincent Massey Park. I could still do without the turnaround in the arboretum. Finishing with the half marathoners (they started earlier this year) made the finish line more fun if you like having lots of people around (I did), but better traffic control in chip removal and the recovery area would help a lot. Maybe because the 1/2 was finishing at the same time, there seemed to be a lot more spectators. The rain was a nice change from the brutal heat of last year.
G. S. from Kitchener, Ontario (6/1/2007) "Bring back the old half-marathon route!!" (about: 2007) 4-5 previous marathons \| 3 Ottawa Marathon (National Capital Race Weekend)s COURSE: 3 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 4 I'm really disappointed with the new half-marathon course. The first 10 KM, run mostly in Hull, Quebec were boring and downright ugly. With so many beautiful routes in Ottawa I can't imagine why they thought this was an improvement. I love Ottawa, and the organization is great, but it's not worth running again unless they bring back the old route... please!
Carlene Paquette from Ottawa, Canada (5/31/2007) "Race was awesome!" (about: 2007) 1 previous marathon \| 1 Ottawa Marathon (National Capital Race Weekend) COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 4 This was my first marathon, but I have run the Ottawa half 3 times, and the old half and marathon courses used to be the same since the marathon used to be 2 loops of the half course. So the opportunity to run the new single-loop marathon course was great. The new route is lovely and the rolling hills in the early part of the course make for nicely varied running. While the route isn't lined beginning to end with spectators, pockets of spectators create wonderful pick-me-ups along the route. Some neighborhoods have adopted the race, turning it into a breakfast block party cheering the runners as we passed by. One of the biggest highlights this year was getting to high-five former Prime Minister Jean Chretien who was cheering the runners as we passed his house. (How cool is that?) Weather for the marathon this year was cool and overcast with rain towards the end of the race (or second half for us slower runners). The volunteers were awesome, particularly since most of them were terribly cold in the wet conditions. Aid stations were well placed and port-a-johns at the aid stations were very nice to have. I loved this race and smiled from beginning to end. The medal is heavy and very nice. I finished just under the 5-hour mark and the finish line was still firmly in place and well staffed. (The marathon now has an 8-hour time limit.) Small areas that could be improved: congestion on the course when the half and full marathoners merge, lack of an XL shirt, and the lack of space blankets when I finished.
t. t. from ontario canada (5/31/2007) "Satisfying" (about: 2007) 1 previous marathon \| 1 Ottawa Marathon (National Capital Race Weekend) COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 3 FANS: 5 This was my 1st marathon, and I found this a fulfilling experience. Ottawa is a beautiful place and the route is gorgeous. The 1/2 marathon merge onto the full course was a bit discouraging for a back-of-the-packer like me, as fresh runners zipped by me. The spectators were amazing - how often do you get a personal handshake and well wish from a former Prime Minister (Jean Chretien). My only big complaint was the lack of resources at the end of the race. It rained for the last half and upon finishing there were no "space" blankets yet because volunteers were using them to cover their bags and coats, so there were a lot of shivering people. Also, the post-race food left a lot to be desired - brown apple slices and yogurt. Don't know if I'd run it again, but that's more about wanting to run many different races.
d. g. from Toronto ON (5/31/2007) "Still Great... But Changes Didn't Work Out" (about: 2007) 6-10 previous marathons \| 4-5 Ottawa Marathon (National Capital Race Weekend)s COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 4 I very much enjoyed this year's race, but in my opinion they should scrap all the changes for '07 and go back to the way it used to be. The new course is still mostly scenic and fairly fast, but I felt that the extended section in Hull didn't add anything and was pretty dull. Not awful, but why change something from great to average? I think the marathon and half marathon start times made it so that too many people finished concurrently and the finish area was way too crowded. I would prefer to have everyone start together than finish together. My tired legs couldn't handle the congestion. It's still a quality race and I plan to return because of the great buzz in the city that weekend, the nice course, the ample course support, and the supportive crowd. Just needs a bit more (or less) tweaking.
L. S. from Ottawa, Ontario (5/31/2007) "Great weekend - one improvement" (about: 2007) 1 previous marathon COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 4 As always, a great weekend and a very well organized event. However, I stayed to watch the awards for the marathon and half marathon athletes. I was somewhat shocked to see disabled athletes having to negotiate stairs, as small as they may be, to accept the awards. Perhaps you could take this into consideration for the awards ceremony next year. Thanks again.
J. M. from Peterborough, Ontario (5/30/2007) "Awesome experience but we need walker results!" (about: 2007) 2 previous marathons \| 1 Ottawa Marathon (National Capital Race Weekend) COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 The Ottawa run weekend is an amazing experience! I've run the 1/2 marathon in Ottawa 3 times, but an injury had me try the full marathon walk this year. The course was great, the race is very well organized, and the spectators were encouraging and out there, even when the rain continued throughout the event. This year it was nice to see that this race encouraged walkers, and identified us with our own corral. However, unfortunately, the results of the race do not show any walker results. We are all grouped together with the marathon in general, which is quite disheartening. Would love to see these results!
Susan Dick from Ontario, Canada (5/29/2007) "Crowded merge with half marathoners" (about: 2007) 11-50 previous marathons \| 2 Ottawa Marathon (National Capital Race Weekend)s COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 3 FANS: 3 The course was excellent, the entertainment and fans were fabulous and the water stations were well-staffed and well-stocked. My only complaint was that I found myself merging with 1/2 marathoners running at a slower pace within 3 KM of the finish line. I got caught in the traffic jam and was very frustrated because it was impossible to maintain my pace. The finish was a big disappointment because it was a mixed bag of runners from the two races. I felt a bit cheated....
T. K. from Ottawa (5/29/2007) "Great Course, Great Energy - Love the NCM" (about: 2007) 2 previous marathons \| 1 Ottawa Marathon (National Capital Race Weekend) COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 5 This was my first time for the half in Ottawa (did the 10K last year, and have done the Montreal Half). I thought it was GREAT. Well organized, good energy from spectators, nice course. Lots of water stations. Only thing that was a problem (and typical of other races too) was the backup at the finish line. Coming to a dead stop at the finish line because there are so many people finishing, my body turns into one giant cramp. Just want to hurry up and get through the finish line and get going. I wonder, can they get a wider finishing area or something?

More Comments: [ < 1 .. 7 8 9 10 11 .. 20 > ]

Quick Links

Marathon Search
Upcoming US Marathons
Upcoming International Marathons
Search Marathon Results
Latest Running News
Recent Newsletters
Race Director Tools

Become an Advertiser

Click Here: Please visit our Sponsor

Click Here: Please visit our Sponsor

Click Here: Please visit our Sponsor

Click Here: Please visit our Sponsor

Become an Advertiser

© 2000-2024, All Rights Reserved by MarathonGuide.com LLC

Privacy Policy Refund Policy Terms of Use