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☰
Canton Marathon Runner Comments
Back to Canton Marathon Information & Reviews
Course 3.7 
Organization 4.2 
Spectators 4.0
Number of comments: 21 [displaying comments 11 to 21]
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John Zielinski from Shreveport, LA
(6/19/2012)
 "Best first time marathon I've run." (about: 2012)
11-50 previous marathons
| 1 Canton Marathon
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 This was a great race! The best part was the enthusiasm of the town - seems like everyone turned out. While not like a big city marathon with continuous crowds (Boston or NY), there were people here and there cheering all along the course. Lots of water stops though they ran out of cups for the slow folks toward the end of the race. The course had a little of everything - city parks, downtown, suburbs, rural areas - there were some hills and rolling areas though nothing too tough. The finish on the 50 yard line of the football field by the Hall of Fame was WAY COOL and worth doing the race by itself. They had plenty of Porta Johns at the start and these were supplemented by the restrooms in the football stadium. Transportation from the fairgrounds to the start was superb. Bag drop was conveniently right by the start. The only small minus was that they ran out of XL tshirts at the Expo though they'll be mailing them to folks that didn't get one. I really liked the fact they mailed out your number if you couldn't make the Expo (for a fee that covered postage) - a nice touch for out of towners who are doing 50 states. Every mile was marked and had a time clock with the marker. They actually had gels at the 17 mile mark for the 5+ hour folks which was great and something that doesn't happen often. Plan on coming early so you can take advantage of the pass to the Football Hame of Fame. This race was obviously done by runners who knew what they were doing. It's a first class event - put it on your calendar! | |
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P. B. from Wadsworth, Oh
(6/19/2012)
 "Could have been better organized." (about: 2012)
4-5 previous marathons
| 1 Canton Marathon
COURSE: 3 ORGANIZATION: 3 FANS: 1 Mile 12 ran out of water, how could this happen? | |
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m. m. from Youngstown, Ohio
(6/19/2012)
 "FUN and Hilly" (about: 2012)
11-50 previous marathons
| 1 Canton Marathon
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 5 High marks for the inaugural Canton Marathon. The course was beautiful, hitting all of the nice areas of Canton and North Canton. The volunteers were great, the fan support actually very good. The race runs past colleges and nice neighborhoods. I would give this race all 5's except for a couple of things. There was one five mile stretch with no port a johns. There was also a stretch of road about 2.0 miles that was left open for two way traffic. Lastly, the hills were treacherous, but that doesnt detract from its greatness | |
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J. P. from Coshocton,Ohio
(6/19/2012)
"Big city course with a small town vibe." (about: 2012)
11-50 previous marathons
| 1 Canton Marathon
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 4 I have to admit, I wasn't expecting a whole lot since this was their first race in Canton and when I picked up my packet at the expo I thought I was right. Very small expo with everything you might need (I forgot my gels, and they had my brand and flavor), but not much more. Nice, but small expo. The shuttle from the fairgrounds to the start worried me a bit going in, but again, they were ready with more than enough buses to get you to the start with no wait and back after the finish also with no wait. Great job for 1st year. Amazing !! Now, we get to the course. I was expecting lots of dead spots on the course (no spectators, boring stretches), and again I was wrong. The route was on great streets, with way more spectators than I figured, and anything but boring. There were plenty of hills to keep you focused, but only a few that really kicked your butt. Great runners course, but if your looking for a flat course, look elsewhere, there are hills, but none too big to handle . The finish at the 50 yard line was awesome, and they had everything you needed at the finish (chocolate milk, ice cold sponges, food, fruit, chips, showers, and bleachers for any family or friends). The only real disappointment was probably the race shirt (A plain grey tech shirt that they tried to make look like a football jersey) which needs a better design and colors. With that said, I would highly recommend this race for anyone looking for a major marathon course but still have that small town vibe. If the 1st year for a marathon is just a trial run, I can't wait to see what they do next year. I'll be back to find out! By the way, this was my 11th marathon, and it would have to rank high on my list so far. Great orginazation, great but challenging course, plenty of spectators, nice heavy medal, but need better swag. See ya in 2013. Great job Canton organizers, and spectators !!! | |
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David McCorquodale from Wilmington, Delaware
(6/19/2012)
 "If you like hills, this one's for you!" (about: 2012)
50+ previous marathons
| 1 Canton Marathon
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 3 This was the first time for the event, which also involved a half-marathon, a ten K, and relay marathon teams. With all the events, there were around 5,000 participants, about 1,100 in the marathon with 900 finishers. For an initial event, the most important details were covered excellently, but some minor issues were irksome. The expo was well done, the course was well controlled, the water stops averaged more than one per mile, finishers names were announced as we entered the stadiums. The tech shirts, gray for marathoners, were nice, but had a big number 12 on the front, an obvious tie-in with the Football Hall of Fame, where the race started and finished. I think most marathoners would prefer to see a large 26.2 number instead. The finisher medal, shaped like a football is the hugest chunk of metal yet that I've gotten. When worn, it bounces on one's chest, which meant I only wore it for a little while. The course is quite hilly, rolling hills. They never end and few segments are flat. Personally, they took a lot out of me. The newspaper the next day had similar comments from some of the faster runners. Thank goodness we were spared heat or there may have been problems with the heat on top of the hills. Two irksome issues at the finish: 1. No results. The race website said in advance that no age group awards were going to be given out. Fair enough, although it's not clear why awards couldn't have been done. But there were no results posted, either on paper or on a screen. 2. The post race food was rather sparse, typical for a 5K like bananas and chips, but nothing more substantial like sandwiches. The post race 'party' was at the far end of the Hall of Fame parking lot, in exactly the opposite direction from where we had to walk to catch the shuttle buses back to our cars. The only thing free at the 'party', other than some music, was two cans of Michaelob Ultra, which doesn't fit my idea of real beer. There was food for sale from vendors. Of course, my money, if I was in the mood for buying the food, was back in my car. We took one sip of the MU and left to trek back to the shuttle. BTW, the free entry to the Hall of Fame was useless if you weren't from the area since it wasn't open on race day. One problem the organizers need to work on: Traffic was stopped for a long time in certain places. Church goers were not reacting very forgivingly to the hold-up. I heard one woman, caught in a half mile of stand still traffic yell, 'Thanks for running..... and 'f...ing' up the traffic all over town!' Nice course, but let runners know it's challenging. Tweak the issues at the end and perhaps change the course a tad to eliminate angry citizens sitting in their cars. | |
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J. C. from Canton, OH, USA
(6/19/2012)
"A well organized first marathon" (about: 2012)
1 previous marathon
| 1 Canton Marathon
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 This was my first marathon, and I'm so glad I chose my hometown. This race had been in planning and preparation for about four years, and it certainly showed on race day. Other than a 15 minute delay to the start, everything went incredibly smoothly. There was water and Gatorade at every mile, and all the volunteers were super friendly and supportive. I thought the course was somewhat difficult because there are quite a few rolling hills, but the finish in Fawcett Stadium was awesome. It was great to hear your name announced from the press box as you run across the turf! There was a great distribution of fans all along the course. Lots of people cheering from their front yards, even a few with sprinklers on or orange slices. Very supportive overall. I'll definitely be back next year. This race made me extremely proud of my city! | |
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D. R. from Cincinnati, OH
(6/18/2012)
"Extremely well done Inaugural Marathon!" (about: 2012)
11-50 previous marathons
| 1 Canton Marathon
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 4 It is surprising that this is an inaugural event because it was so well done. Pros: Well organized expo (easy packet pickup) Well organized start (lots of gatorade, water, portapoties and corrals) Lots of aid stations during course (every mile) Great technical shirt Awesome finisher medal Awesome stadium finish with finisher name announcements Friendly volunteers Friendly and supportive neighborhoods Lucked out on weather (it was cloudy, rained briefly and was not nearly as hot as was expected) Course covered nice areas of Canton Course start and finish were close together and close to parking (very convenient) Cons: Cannot think of any except that Gatorade was a bit watered down at some of the aid stations. Course is fairly hilly so recommend training accordingly. | |
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M. M. from Youngstown, ohio
(6/18/2012)
"Great course, hilly but scenic" (about: 2012)
11-50 previous marathons
| 1 Canton Marathon
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 5 Pros Beautiful course, great volunteers, great spectators. Cons 5 miles no portajons. Small sections with traffic both ways while ur running marathon, why? Very hilly! | |
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j. w. from midwest
(6/17/2012)
"An amazing inaugural marathon!!!" (about: 2012)
50+ previous marathons
| 1 Canton Marathon
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 5 Seriously... If there was an award for the best inaugural marathon EVER, I would nominate Canton. Okay, so the start was a little delayed, but beyond that logistics were perfect. This was my 71st marathon, and I honestly don't remember more supportive fans (not in quantity, but quality). Even during a heavy rain, the people stayed and cheered. Congratulations to the people of Canton and the organizers of this great race. VERY well done!!! | |
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L. E. from Cleveland, OH
(6/17/2012)
 "Great job in Canton in the inaugural year!" (about: 2012)
6-10 previous marathons
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 3 I'm very impressed! Gatorade and water at every mile ... Each one set up exactly the same with well trained volunteers. Pretty fair amount of spectators for a new race in a small town. Relay exchanges were flawless with lots of parking and portopotties. A marathon in June in the Midwest is a little risky and the race offered deferrals based on the forecast, but race day temps were only a bit warm at 70 degrees. Hills were tough. I was happy I was just running a 7 mile relay leg. |
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