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Apr 29, 2024

Light at the End of the Tunnel Marathon Runner Comments

Back to Light at the End of the Tunnel Marathon Information & Reviews

Course 4.8

Organization 4.4

Spectators 3.3

Number of comments: 52 [displaying comments 11 to 21]

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b. b. from the South (6/15/2017) "A Perfect Day" (about: 2017) 11-50 previous marathons \| 1 Light at the End of the Tunnel Marathon COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 2 Everything went as planned or prepared for - the volunteers, the course, the logistics, and thankfully the weather. I have read the negative comments and have experienced similar problems in one form or another at various races. After reading the negative comments, I almost feel bad for those people because their experiences should have been better but getting preachy here after a disappointing run is not the place. Experience will overcome most of the problems. I have run almost 50, all were great, some with serious suck, but only 4 or 5 were perfect. Run it again, or another.
l. p. from Seattle, WA (6/13/2017) "Pretty course, disappointing race" (about: 2017) 4-5 previous marathons \| 1 Light at the End of the Tunnel Marathon COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 1 FANS: 1 4th marathon overall. Was excited about this race because it's very highly reviewed and loved in the PNW. I was severely disappointed, as was my boyfriend, and seemingly many others. The race time was changed 3 days before the race, from 8am to 7am - the notification of this was poorly administered, and the change was way to significant to happen that last minute in my opinion. The race runs through around 2 miles of a pitch black tunnel, so runners have to carry a flashlight or wear a headlamp. It was emphasized prior to the race that we would receive two drop bags at check in - the standard, for our pre-race items to await us at the finish, and a second to throw our light source into and toss to the sidelines after exiting the tunnel. We were bused to the start line from the parking area by a woman who thought it made sense to drive at 40 on the highway, leaving most runners anxious about making it on time. We arrived and alas - no drop bags. At all. No apologies, either, or alternative options. We stashed our pre-race warm clothes under a tree, and began the race with only a few minutes to spare in the chaos. I personally was hit and fell in the tunnel, hurting my time and my body tremendously. I tossed my headlamp to the side after the tunnel. Needless to say, it's gone, permanently. I carried a hydration pack with my nutrition - this is essential for the course. It was my first time doing this, and I would highly recommend it as the water stations were way too spaced out, and I personally didn't see nutrition/gels at enough of them. The course is mostly tightly packed gravel, aside from the last few miles which feel brutal as the decline lessens and the gravel becomes much larger, which feels pretty unpleasant on your legs. The finish line: very little attention to runners who were stumbling over. Go find your medal. Wait in a 30 minute line if you want your finisher shirt. Overall, a relatively fast course, and if you choose to take in the scenery - stunning. you get to see the mountains and run in the forest in a light group, and at least for us, weather was perfect - 40s and light wind, mostly a covered from the sun course. Did I love the race? Definitely not.
D. A. from Illinois (6/13/2017) "Not a race for the serious runner" (about: 2017) 11-50 previous marathons \| 1 Light at the End of the Tunnel Marathon COURSE: 3 ORGANIZATION: 2 FANS: 2 This seems way over-hyped. I would be willing to blame some problems on the cluster with the former race director, but others have had similar complaints from previous years. The course has serious flaws. Who puts a hairpin turn less than 100m from the start line? The tunnel may have been the best part of the course, not because of the tunnel, but because it was the softest section. The rest of the trail was a very rough gravel. You need to have some very protective shoes. I wore Saucouny Virratas and they felt fine for the first half, but eventually the rocks will take their toll. The downhill is a nice boost, but my feet have never been so sore. Legs were buckling the last few rocks I hit. I also had issues with some of the non-racers on the course. Particularly this group of hikers taking up the whole width of the trail. The organization, outside of the food at the finish, is pretty lackluster too. The start area/gear check was ridiculous with no headlamp gear check bags until 2 minutes before the start. Also if you are a sub 3:00 runner, you will outrun the aid stations. I passed the van as they were setting up the 2nd to last station. I think this would have been a good race to do for fun as the course was beautiful. However, it didn't work out well my goals. If you are a plus 3 hour marathoner and wear some shoes with hard rubber soles (no exposed EVA), go for it. Otherwise, you would be better off elsewhere.
Scott Coe from Eugene Oregon (6/12/2017) "Better every year!" (about: 2017) 50+ previous marathons \| 6+ Light at the End of the Tunnel Marathons COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 I've run this 9 times! Clearly the RD reads these comments and makes improvements EVERY year. Someone previously commented there is 'Costco food' at the finish. That is BS! The chili is 100% homemade by the RD. AND FANTASTIC, as is the other food. With 132 marathons done, this is one of the best finish line food feeds. By far! Everything about this run is great, including the number of people who BQ or PR. This was my 9th running. Embarrassingly I did BQ; without the training that a BQ should require, And by the way, it is incredibly scenic. Tip from a veteran; there are LOTS of hotels to chose from in Auburn WA, and it's an easy drive to the shuttle busses in the morning. (35-40 minutes).
P. A. from Bend, OR USA (6/12/2017) "beautiful, fast course" (about: 2017) 3 previous marathons \| 1 Light at the End of the Tunnel Marathon COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 4 I ran this marathon for the first time yesterday. The course was gorgeous and it was a nice gradual downhill as mentioned in the website. The weather was perfect. The tunnel was fun and interesting. Other than the first aid station not having water already in cups and no gatorade, all the other aid stations were great. This was my 3rd marathon and I finally achieved my BQ with 5 minutes to spare! I beat my last marathon by 20 MIN! This truly is a great course for a PR and a BQ attempt. There aren't very many spectators due to being on a trail. I was OK with that, but those who feel energy from crowds may feel alone in this race.
T. E. from Colorado Springs, CO (5/3/2017) "The" (about: 2016) 11-50 previous marathons \| 1 Light at the End of the Tunnel Marathon COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 2 FANS: 2 Having lived in Washington State for six years, I had always heard rave reviews about this race course from my fellow running buddies- Cool, shaded, point to point downhill, and scenic. There was a reason this race always sold out within minutes from year to year; I never had the opportunity to get in until a year later after having moved to CO. My goal, like so many, is/was to get a BQ. I KNEW this course was ideal based on what everyone told me; having moved to altitude, I KNEW I stood an excellent chance in succeeding. Though the tunnel was a bit tricky to adjust to with everyone sporting headlamps or carrying flashlights, once out of the tunnel, the remainder of the first 17 miles felt effortless and I was well on pace for my BQ standard until, without too much information, nature started calling with 9.2 miles remaining. Knowing the race website listed a porta-potty around Mile 21, I wasn't too concerned and knew I could suck it up for at least 4 miles; my pace slowed down about a minute slower per mile to avoid any 'accidents' (or as my family calls them, 'Grete Waitz Moments'). To my dismay, Mile 21 arrived without a porta-potty in sight, nor would there be one on the remainder of the course...until the finish line. With that said, the last 4 miles were excruciatingly painful to walk while race volunteers jokingly advised to 'Pop a squat in the woods.' Not very amusing. Once crossing the finish line, there was a smorgasbord of food from Costco, but I could care less. All my hard training for the past 16 weeks was all for naught. I have no intentions of returning which is a shame as the course was by far one of the most spectacular in beauty from the starting line to the finish. Other than that, the medal was decent; the shirt was tacky. If your gastrointestinal system can hold up for 26.2 miles without any issues (or you are willing to 'pop a squat'), go for it, otherwise, there are far too many amazing races in the Pacific Northwest to conquer.
M. B. from Missouri (10/12/2016) "PR by 16 minutes and a BQ." (about: 2016) 6-10 previous marathons COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 Race director is awesome, volunteers are awesome. Course is very fast. Didn't care for the very narrow and sharp turn at the start. For an unpaved course, it is in extremely good condition. Tunnel was a little hard to navigate with so many runners crowded together. If 1 runner were to fall, would probably take down a crowd of them. Overall best marathon I've ever ran.
H. C. from Vancouver, BC (6/15/2015) "A Russian Roulette Race (part 1 of 3)" (about: 2015) 11-50 previous marathons COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 2 FANS: 5 At the age of 40, with my PB days coming to an end, I wanted to cheat and run an aided marathon. For this race, I wanted to take as many tough variables as possible out of the race to try to crack a 2:50 marathon ... like the hills. There were a few things I didn't realize about the course ... the tunnel itself really slowed me down ... it was dark, damp and not a great place to run fast. BUT the spectators (especially my friend Euan) were great at cheering you on at the end of the tunnel. Glad the tunnel was over. The tunnel IMHO was not a novelty but a real pain in the arse. I was 1min15s slower than my anticipated race split at mile 3 mainly because of the tunnel. Whether it be the cheering crowd or the fear or the fact I was behind pace or that the mile marker was slightly off or that the downhill started kicking in, my next miles were considerably faster (6:05min/mile, 5:59min/mile (my faster marathon mile ever)) which in hindsight was a mistake. Advice: take note that your time will be slower going thru the tunnel and don't try to make up for the lost time right away. I managed up make up for the slower start and meet my 1:25 goal at the halfway and still managed to pick up the pace. The point is ... the course starts to get pretty fast after the tunnel. I was trying to run the shortest tangent on the course, weaving around the walkers, and cyclist volunteers. At times, I wasn't sure was I happy to see a cyclist volunteer on the course or not. To take the shortest tangent or not? The downhill was a plus, but at the same time, a point to point race could mean a head or tail wind. On that day of the race, it was a slight headwind. Noticed it right away from mile5 to 20. Somehow in my head, I thought the downhill sped me up a about 20s/mile, and the gravel slowed me down 10s/mile and the headwind slowed me by 10s/mile for no net gain or loss when compared to a pancake flat no-wind course. Everything seemed to go on plan until after mile 21. The support on the aid stations were FABULOUS for the first 21miles. In my russian roulette game, I gambled to not carry gels or liquid. I passed/waved around a U-haul truck at mile 20'ish wondering what it was doing on the course (it was a wee bit annoying / difficult to weave around it). The driver kept stopping and starting and seemed a bit confused. I was sooo glad to not share the road with that truck on this trail when a closed trail gate prevented the driver from going on any further. It was not until Mile 23 when I really need to fuel up before I realized the purpose of that truck. That truck contained the mile markers and food/gels to help support us til the end of the race. When this sank to my head, I was ... (profanity removed). With no mile markers and food, water, I literally cracked mentally and physically. Walked the last 3 miles. From a 6:30min average pace for 21 miles (to 6:45 mile22 (guessing as there was no marker, to 6:55 (another guess), to 15min/mile+ pace for the last 3. Can this be a PB course ... yeah ... as this was organized by a new race director, I'm sure they can iron out the problems (hint, hint, missing aid stations and markers for the last 5 miles). Now if there's someway I predict the head/tail wind direction of a point to point race ... Advice to others who want to race this in the future 1) the tunnel itself might slow you down 2) don't play the shortest tangent game, there could be a cyclist just around the curve 3) take a few extra gels at mile21 just in there are no more aid stations after
C. S. from Oregon, USA (6/14/2015) "Beautiful course" (about: 2015) 6-10 previous marathons \| 3 Light at the End of the Tunnel Marathons COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 5 This was my third time with this race. I love the course, the tunnel is fun and mountain scenery is amazing! The race was well organized with wonderful volunteers at the start and aid tables. My only problem this time was that I didn't see any further mile markers after mile 22. This messed with my mind when we were tired, ready to be done, and really needed to know how much farther we had to go.
Eric Olson from Omaha, Nebraska (7/16/2014) "Fast, scenic course!" (about: 2014) 11-50 previous marathons \| 1 Light at the End of the Tunnel Marathon COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 2 Wonderful race! I loved the (cool!) tunnel, enjoyed the breathtaking scenery and had a marvelous experience at the 2014 Light At The End of the Tunnel Marathon. I would encourage everyone to run this race if you are able to get in to the short registration window. Kudos to the race director who moved the start time up a half hour due to the heat. (Though nothing could have offset the heat in the last 4-5 miles of the race on this day!) Despite the heat, I was surprised (and blessed) by an 8-minute PR and my first-ever BQ. In addition to this being my fastest marathon so far, I think this may have been the most scenic marathon as well! Run this race!

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