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☰
Columbia Marathon Runner Comments
Back to Columbia Marathon Information & Reviews
Course 4.1 
Organization 4.2 
Spectators 3.2
Number of comments: 35 [displaying comments 31 to 35]
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K. J. from Spartanburg, SC
(3/11/2012)
 "Hills!!" (about: 2012)
1 previous marathon
| 1 Columbia Marathon
COURSE: 3 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 I ran in the inaugural event on March 10, 2012 and was quite pleased overall with the experience. The organizers did a wonderful job; for a small marathon; the expo was good and the entire event was centered in the Congaree Vista area of Columbia....expo, start, finish, and lodging were all walking distance. Because it was a half marathon loop that we ran twice, they had aid stations every mile....all well stocked....lots of gel available on the course. The course highlighted the most scenic parts of Columbia and traffic control was well done. The only negative about the entire experience was the over abundance of challenging hills. Most marathoners pick a trail or mountain marathon when they want to spend 70% of the race on an incline...,you don't expect it when running a intra city road race marathon...,so while I still recommend this race in years to come, you should be warned to expect about 2 dozen relatively steep hills and two monster hills on miles 12 and 25. | |
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K. Z. from NC
(3/11/2012)
"Great race!" (about: 2012)
6-10 previous marathons
| 1 Columbia Marathon
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 4 Awesome organization. Water stops with gatorade, GU, bananas EVERY mile! Great course monitoring, friendly spectators, cool shirt and medal. Course was tough so train hills, but you won't find better organization. Reasonably priced as well. :) | |
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r. p. from atlanta, georgia
(3/11/2012)
"well organized, nice city , a few hills" (about: 2012)
11-50 previous marathons
| 1 Columbia Marathon
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 4 Lovely race with lots of volunteers and support stations throughout the course. Lots of hotels close to the start, amazing medal and Tshirt. I reccomend this race - you would have never guessed it was their first time in 12 years to host a marathon! 2 loops , 3- 4 big hills to make it interesting leads to down hill finish. | |
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M. M. from Auburn, AL
(3/10/2012)
 "Excellent inaugural race" (about: 2012)
6-10 previous marathons
| 1 Columbia Marathon
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 2 Great inaugural race. Had problems making it to the expo in time, but called the RD and he personally helped me sort it out. The course was a little hilly, nothing too bad but probably not a PR course. It was my first time doing a double loop course, but I actually found knowing what I was up against in the second half helpful. Pro's: Great organization Nice expo for a smaller race No problems with parking (at the expo and on race morning) LOTS of well staffed well stocked aid stations (they were supposedly spaced every 2 miles, but it felt like more than that, seemed like I came up on a new one every few minutes) The course passed through some beautiful residential neighborhoods, most of them with tree cover for shade. Cool weather Plenty of porta-potties GREAT finishers medal (one of my favorites, up there with last year's MCM medal) Cons: Many of the mile markers were missing, which is always frustrating The chip timing system didn't work. The results said that my chip time was the same as my gun time, even though it took me 30 seconds to get to the line after the gun went off. Also, there were no mats across the course to give you split times. Hardly any spectators on the second loop. The police officers and traffic volunteers were encouraging though. The biggest hill in the race was in the last 1.5 miles. Made for a tough finish. Overall excellent organization with only a few minor hiccups (biggest of which was the timing). I would definitely recommend it as a scenic city run, and feel certain that next year the mile marker issue will be addressed. | |
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M. G. from Fort Bragg, NC
(3/10/2012)
 "Great Start" (about: 2012)
6-10 previous marathons
| 1 Columbia Marathon
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 Extremely well organized inaugural race - from parking to the expo to the starting line, everything seemed to go off without a hitch. Congrats to the race organizers on pulling off a beautiful race. Downtown Columbia is more scenic than I had expected, and there was something relaxed and peaceful about participating in a smaller city race like this one. The South needs more good marathons, and this is most definitely now one of them! |
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