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Apr 28, 2024

Road2Hope Hamilton Marathon Runner Comments

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Course 4.2

Organization 4.2

Spectators 3.3

Number of comments: 51 [displaying comments 41 to 51]

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Dave Emilio from Toronto (11/5/2008) "Small race, few spectators, still a great race!" (about: 2008) 6-10 previous marathons \| 1 Road2Hope Hamilton Marathon COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 3 FANS: 3 Maybe it's because of the time of year, or maybe because I had a great day, but I really liked this event. Even though there was very little crowd support, the spectators that were there were great. Good volunteers too. Water stations every 2 miles, and an interesting route that goes from very rural to very urban (including a long downhill stretch through a valley highway).
Alastair Hood from Oakville, Ontario, Canada (11/4/2008) "Fast course, lots of scenery changes" (about: 2008) 4-5 previous marathons \| 1 Road2Hope Hamilton Marathon COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 3 FANS: 3 This new route is a winner! This year the weather was great but there was a substantial headwind. Normally, the wind will favor this course, and it has potential to be fast. The race goes from suburbs to country, from flats to minor rolling hills and then a big downhill. Then down through the valley, through the east end of the city to the wide lakefront paved trail for the last 10K. I never got bored with the route and the water stations had great enthusiasm from local high schools. It's a small race (for now), so don't expect a ton of spectators, but my friends and family were there so I was happy. We have a lot of marathon choices in this area. With some work this could be the best of the bunch. I loved it and I will definitely be running it again next year Pros: Great course. Potentially fast. Good running weather at this time of year. Small race. Cons: Ran out of sport drink very early. Website could be more descriptive. Boring shirt. :-)
M. F. from Ontario, Canada (11/3/2008) "Hamilton should be on your radar!!!" (about: 2008) 3 previous marathons \| 1 Road2Hope Hamilton Marathon COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 4 I was pleasantly surprised by this race. I decided to run it at the last minute as I still had the urge after running Detroit 2 weeks ago. The course was a bit isolated, running through farmland for the first half of the race. It was almost like a long run in the country with 500 of my running buddies. It didn't have the crowd support that some of the bigger races do, but the spectators that were there were very enthusiastic. The run down the escarpment was quite scenic, with the fall colors making for nice scenery while running down the Red Hill Valley Parkway. The last 7K along the lake were nice too. Pros: - race was well organized - it was nice having the school gym to stay warm in prior to the race start - volunteers were helpful and enthusiastic - they didn't forget the FUN. There was a basketball net and ball at the 21K water station. By the way, I made the shot. :-) - crowds were small but very supportive - they announced everyone's name as they crossed the finish line. That was a nice touch. Cons: - mileage markers were off from the start - 0.2 km off at the 1K marker, and that carried throughout race. However, the difference disappeared after the 41K marker. My theory is that they measured back from the finish line, and forgot to account for the extra 0.2K at the finish. - the E Load sports drink was awful and was only available at half of the water stations. Please switch to Gatorade and have it available at all stations and also after the finish.
M. L. from Rochester, New York (11/3/2008) "a marathon that will no doubt continue to grow" (about: 2008) 3 previous marathons \| 1 Road2Hope Hamilton Marathon COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 3 This is the second year that this marathon has been held, and they changed the course from last year so that the majority of the run is either fairly flat or downhill. I believe that registration was up quite a bit this year, and would expect that trend to continue for at least a couple of more years. Transportation to the start was adequate (school buses) and the school where we were housed at the start was reasonably comfortable and was warm. At the beginning of the race you are running in the country (corn fields, cows, very few spectators). After the half you run on the new Parkway, which is downhill for a few miles and has a nice few of the city and the lake. You end up doing an out-and-back along the lake shore for the last six or seven miles. The scenery is very pretty, and the spectators were sparse but were enthusiastic. The organization seemed quite good. Weather is always a factor in Canada in November, but today's wasn't horrible, although I could have done without the wind off the lake over the last few miles. I recommend the race for anyone looking to run a fast course who doesn't mind running without many spectators (unless you count the cows).
E. I. from Toronto (11/2/2008) "A good experience" (about: 2008) 2 previous marathons \| 1 Road2Hope Hamilton Marathon COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 4 I only have the Scotiabank Toronto Marathon for comparison. This one had much less crowd support than Scotia, but there were enthusiastic students. The starting line was a lot easier than in a huge marathon, so you could get on pace easier. Scenery was quite boring. Would be helpful if the energy gel at 28K was given to you before the water. The problem with a November marathon is the cold start in the morning, though it heated up after the first 30 minutes. Some people wore cut-out garbage bags that they could throw away.
Barb McGill from Marathon, ON (11/6/2007) "It was great - thanks for all the work you did!" (about: 2007) 4-5 previous marathons \| 1 Road2Hope Hamilton Marathon COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 3 I was raised in Hamilton and have lived away for the past 22 years. It was very exciting to run in my home town. The scenery coming down the Red Hill Expressway was beautiful! I appreciate the patience of all those who were inconvenienced by traffic tie-ups... I hope that you will be able to run the event again.
A. M. from Dundas, On (11/6/2007) "My first marathon - very exciting!!!" (about: 2007) 1 previous marathon \| 1 Road2Hope Hamilton Marathon COURSE: 3 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 3 This was my first marathon, so I was very nervous. There was a lot of support prior to the start, which helped a lot. It was highway, so not much to see, although I just see the runners feet ahead of me anyway. There was a huge, long hill at the end, which was a challenge, but having never run a marathon before, I had nothing to compare it to. There needed to be more advertising because many people in Hamilton had no idea that it was happening. I hope that this gets as popular as The Around The Bay 30K road race for Hamilton, which is awesome. Only complaint: Food at end - not very much of it; I really needed a bagel!! I can't wait until next year because I heard that there would be no hill at the end!! Thanks for a well organized race.
El loco from Toronto, ON (11/5/2007) "Good organization but BORING course" (about: 2007) 4-5 previous marathons \| 1 Road2Hope Hamilton Marathon COURSE: 1 ORGANIZATION: 3 FANS: 4 Pros: * Very friendly volunteers. * Very loud water stations with lots of cheering students. * Good organization for an inaugural marathon - all the water stations were well prepared. Cons: * No t-shirts for late registrants. * Medal was the same for both full/half marathoners. * The race was held in some remote area of Hamilton * The course has MAJOR HILLS (which could be a pro if you're into that). * MY MAJOR COMPLAINT: running on a highway has to be the most boring experience EVER! And we did that for more than half the race! I know that the construction of this highway is quite an accomplishment but couldn't we just run a small stretch on it? * Lack of crowd size - the support was great but only at water stations. There's really no one else because you're running on a highway (see previous)! Better bring your iPod for this run.... Between this race and Around the Bay, the latter wins hands down. Also, for races this late in the fall, you're better off doing Niagara than this one. However, I give a thumbs up to the organizers for putting together a decent inaugural marathon.
B. K. from Ontario, Canada (11/5/2007) "Expressway marathon" (about: 2007) 11-50 previous marathons \| 1 Road2Hope Hamilton Marathon COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 5 In my view, the first Hamilton marathon was a success. The event was very well organized with a few areas for improvement. The website: The course map was not to scale and did not show the km marks, which obscured the real picture of the course. The elevation profile was not shown and therefore the final steep uphill section (at least 5 km) of the run was a big and ugly surprise. Race kit pick-up: The welcome race kit bag was essentially empty, except for the bib number and four safety pins. I would expect much more in the bag for the entry price of $70. The insufficient supply of T-shirts could be solved in a simple way: leave your address and we will mail it to you later for free. Start: There should be water available everywhere for runners. Race course: The expressway course offered a safe environment for runners and was a major inconvenience for spectators. Because of the very limited access to the course, essentially only support volunteers were present along the run. They were fantastic. Finish: Water should be available not only at the finish line, but also in the food tent. The content of the post-race food bag was much below my expectations.
s. k. from United States (11/5/2007) "Good First-Year Race" (about: 2007) 1 previous marathon \| 1 Road2Hope Hamilton Marathon COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 3 I only ran the half-marathon, but for the most part it was a good race. There were only a few bad things that go along with the race. First off, there was nowhere to just sit before the race. Everyone was squished in the banquet hall with no chairs (minor issue). Also for the start we had to walk about a mile to the starting line. Once again, not a big issue - it actually helped me warm up, but still many people did not like the start. Also the course was pretty boring, all highway running, and the last 2 miles were strictly uphill! That was awful! Now for the good part: race directors were phenomenal, the support by all the kids on the course was heart-warming, the weather was perfect, and the expo was decent. Also there were a ton of water stations - some had gels - and finally, the medals were awesome! Definitely my favorite one so far. All in all, this race was a good race, for its first year running. Just some minor kinks to get out for next year's race to be that much better. Well done.

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