May 1, 2024
Current Year Results
Results Search
Biggest/Best Boston Qualifier
2024 Results
2023 Results
2022 Results
2021 Results
2020 Results
2019 Results
2018 Results
2017 Results
2016 Results
2015 Results
2014 Results
2013 Results
2012 Results
2011 Results
2010 Results
2009 Results
2008 Results
2007 Results
2006 Results
2005 Results
2004 Results
2003 Results
2002 Results
2001 Results
2000 Results
☰
Calgary Marathon Runner Comments
Back to Calgary Marathon Information & Reviews
Course 3.6 
Organization 4.3 
Spectators 3.3
Number of comments: 52 [displaying comments 11 to 21]
|
A. C. from Calgary, Alberta
(5/28/2012)
 "Excellent course; well-organized, great weather" (about: 2012)
4-5 previous marathons
| 2 Calgary Marathons
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 3 This is the second time I've run the Calgary Marathon (the Half). For 2012, they changed the course up quite a bit from previous years, moving to a much bigger venue of the Stampede Grounds. The expo/race package pickup this year was completely seamless. So easy to get there, easy to find, and no lineups whatsoever. In and out in 5 mins. Race day - parking was trickier b/c of strict parking enforcement, so next year ctrain or drop-off may be the way to go. Entry onto the grounds, finding the race chute, etc was simple and fast. This year there were so many porta-potties and opportunities to walk around/stretch, which is not always the case in claustrophobic start lines. The race started off a bit jammed in places - no corral control (which was fine for last year, but this year it didn't quite work), and despite the wide roads we were running on initially, it was jammed the first 2-3kms before it finally broke up. The course this year was lovely, scenic, and fast. The route they chose highlights some of Calgary's best hidden spots. Running down the center of Ingelwood, Bridgeland, the old Centre St bridge, Memorial Drive - awesome. The course had a good mix of old-city streets and pretty river views. There seemed to be a little bit more up/down with the inclines - but nothing more severe than off-ramps and tunnels. Course spectators this year were extremely minimal, maybe 100 total, likely due to the cool weather, with temps around 1-2 degrees celsius and grey skies. The organization and safety of the course, with the many course marshalls and police presence, was wonderful. I would say the only downsides to this year's race were flaws they didn't see coming because of the new venue and course, which I'm sure will be fixed for next year. The last 3kms of the race had lots of random people walking to the Stampede Grounds for the races later in the day - walking down the middle of the course. Rude and very stupid, considering how many people were dodging around them. Course marshalls did not seem to try and correct this. The very last km into the Grounds itself was also odd. Someone seemed to overlook that the windy road heading into the grounds was completely covered in gravel - a lot of it. It was very dangerous and I was worried for any of the elite runners who would hit this stuff at high speeds, trying to maintain their balance and grip on a windy road in the last km. Entering the Grandstand area was also a bit chaotic. The end chute was not being directed as well as it could have - it was completely congested and trying to get out/find food/find family members was impossible due to the narrow tunnels of traffic. Often my only choice was to ascend the grandstand steps to move, or try and spot any of my family members. Climbing up and down a bunch of stairs after running a race is not exactly something you want to do. It took me almost an hour to locate my family. Other than those organizational hiccups that I'm sure will resolve after the inaugural run out of the new venue, this course and run is 5 star for its ease, beauty, and energy! Calgary is my hometown and you would think it boring to run a race in your own backyard, but this one opens your eyes to many parts of the city you don't normally get to see. Highly recommended for anyone looking for an easy, no-fuss, enjoyable race. Thanks Calgary Marathon! I'll be back next year. | |
|
A. L. from Calgary, AB
(5/28/2012)
 "great venue, nice course and pancakes!" (about: 2012)
11-50 previous marathons
| 4-5 Calgary Marathons
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 4 A great race this year. It is nice having an indoor venue especially given the ever-changing Calgary weather. The pancakes at the finish was an added bonus. Great organization at the bib pick-up, both before and during the race and at the finish. Very impressed with my hometown marathon this year! | |
|
W. C. from Calgary, Alberta
(5/27/2012)
 "Challenging new course" (about: 2012)
4-5 previous marathons
| 2 Calgary Marathons
COURSE: 3 ORGANIZATION: 2 FANS: 4 I ran the Calgary marathon for the first time since 2008 when I ran it as the Stampede Marathon. It's my hometown marathon so I thought I should get out and support the new course. I have run both big city and small town marathons and I have a few comments good and bad about the marathon: The good: 1. I liked the change in the location and I didn't have to pay for parking which was nice. The BIg 4 building has a lot more space and felt more appropriate for this type of activity. Additionally there were not the long line ups that there were for last year's number pick up. 2. The finishers medal is a cowboy belt buckle which is kind of fun and unique for the city. 3. The start time and time of year were appropriate for the run. Last time I ran this it was the middle of summer and the heat was very tough. Additionally redesigning the course and keeping us out of Bowness where the marathon turns into a trail run was nice. The bad: 1. The race is not well organized. I ran my best time but after running for nearly four hours to come up against walls of people walking for the 10k is just unnacceptable it destroyed my focus as I was forced to dodge children, strollers and walkers. 2. Putting a bag check upstair seems like a great idea to keep it out of the way. But after 42km walking upstairs is a cruel and unusual punishment. 3. The expo needs more variety of vendors. The quality of the merchandise was terrible for a race this size. Also there are only so many booths about fitness clubs that I can visit. What about some destination marathons from Canada or the US. I am also willing to pay for some quality merchandise but that was just not available. The Running Room stuff is great but I wanted some branded items as well. In my opinion this was an opportunity gone beggin by the organizers. Finally this was the year of the new course and it was very tough. There is a lot of running through random neighbourhoods which can get a little boring. I would hope we can run a loop through downtown next year past the Calgary tower or Stephen Avenue. Overall I would run this marathon again because it is in my home town but some improvements need to be made. | |
|
A. E. from Edmonton, Alberta
(6/1/2010)
"Nice, Challenging Course" (about: 2010)
3 previous marathons
| 1 Calgary Marathon
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 3 I just ran the Calgary Marathon this past weekend and had a great time. The race is very well organized and the aid stations are well placed. The course is fairly challenging with a lot of steady climbs for the first half of the race (which translates into a steady downhill for the last 6 miles). The altitude can also be a factor if you are coming from sea level. The course is fairly spread out, so there aren't as many spectators as at some other more central races, but there is still a nice atmosphere. Weather is very unpredictable in Alberta (we had light snow the day before the race!), but at least hot conditions aren't usually a problem. My advice would be to bring clothes for every kind of condition. Calgary is also a great jumping off point for visits to the Rocky Mountains and Banff National Park, so it might make a good "holiday race." I would recommend this race to anyone looking for a bit of a challenge and a good, relaxing weekend. | |
|
J. I. from Calgary
(6/1/2010)
"Good organization this year" (about: 2010)
First Marathon
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 3 Living in Calgary for the last 13 years, I really like this course. It's representative of the city. This was my first marathon and I had a great experience. The hills are not bad if you train for them, and if you live here then hill training should be a given. The steepest is the last hill in Varsity and its relatively short. Based on past comments the organization has improved. No problem with bag drop. The food at the end was nothing special - something hot and more appetizing would have been nice. Because of the rain the last few days, the eating/bag drop area was very muddy and quite a mess. The weather ended up being great (+2 to 4C) even though rain/snow was a threat. It might seem cold but again, if you live here then thats what we train in (better than a heat wave anyway). Not much for crowd support. The few bands were actually quite helpful. The race starts with the half marathoners so the running traffic disappears after about 13K. It can seem quite lonely after dropping the halfers so I hooked up with some likeminded runners, which made the last half more pleasant. | |
|
E. O. from Calgary, AB
(6/1/2010)
"Challenging course; great support and organization" (about: 2010)
4-5 previous marathons
| 1 Calgary Marathon
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 4 Course: Yes, there is a hill and it's a big one. Even if you cruise as gently as possible up, you will likely feel it down. It will slow you a bit. But it's not like they try and hide it. Congestion: (???) Others have said that there was congestion in previous years at the start - there certainly wasn't any for me, at least not compared to other races. Water/GU: I mostly carry my own, but every time I looked for it where it was supposed to be, there it was. Great volunteers shouting out whatever they were offering. Weather: Cold, and I loved it. I heard some didn't. Not controllable. Organization: Great package pickup. I went Friday at 4:30. Smooth and easy. Husband dropped me off by car one block from the start at 6:20 a.m. for the 7 a.m. start (easy). The lines were tolerable (10 minutes at worst, from my experience) at both of the porta-potties and at bag drop-off. I can't comment on the food - I got in a warm car pretty quickly. Fans - Enough for me, and while there weren't tons, they had the odd, great sign ("Sexy men ahead!"), cowbells, and so on. Pretty cold for those spectators. I was a little worried after reading some comments on here from 2009, but I need not have been. It meant I was pleasantly surprised, and my PB was an even bigger surprise. I would recommend the Calgary Marathon to others. | |
|
M. L. from Calgary, AB
(5/31/2010)
"Great variety on the course" (about: 2010)
11-50 previous marathons
| 1 Calgary Marathon
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 4 Reading the comments below, I feel I have to share that I really love this course, and after having lived in Calgary for 21 years, I finally chose to run it for my 38th marathon after spectating last year. The course is a very welcome change from the river paths. It is NOT grueling - the only hill is Shaganappi. The university is flat, and the 3 small hills in Varsity, each less than 300 meters, can hardly be testing a runner to the limit if he/she is trained. If you can't run those, then I would venture to say you aren't trained to run a marathon. Thanks for the gels on the course. Incredibly well marked, and traffic was well controlled. I loved having the mile and half split read out. I liked the change in time to May. Fans were great despite the chilly weather. Some changes I would suggest are to offer coffee and something warm like chicken noodle soup at the end, and I could do without a lot of the bands; though I enjoy string quartets, a race is not the right venue. Pacers, from what I could tell, did a good job. This race was really well organized, and I'd certainly recommend it. | |
|
A. A. from Edmonton, Alberta
(5/30/2010)
 "A valuable marathon experience" (about: 2010)
6-10 previous marathons
| 1 Calgary Marathon
COURSE: 3 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 3 I paced myself to run a 3:39 for this marathon; I was very well trained and had recently PR'd in the 10K and half marathon distances, so I felt confident that a full marathon PR was in the cards as well. I guess my legs had other ideas. I do not exaggerate when I say that this race is very hilly. It's not just the Shaganappi hill at 16K, (which is a full kilometer long and quite steep); but there are many more hills (smaller, but you feel them) between 18-30K. The parts of the course that ran through the U of C and the residential areas soon after are beautiful (but there were quite a few hills). I was on pace for a 3:39 by the half, but my legs ran out of gas and I ended up finishing in 3:49. In spite of the cold weather, the volunteers were amazing. The water/Gatorade stations were well-manned and appeared often, and there were also plenty of GU gels available to runners. The start/finish area was also well organized, although they did run out of Mylar blankets by the time I finished, due to the chilly temperature. Although I will say that this was by far the toughest of my 9 marathons, I really enjoyed the camaraderie of the other runners, as well as the excellent volunteers. It was a fun race, and I feel that the experience will help me in future marathons when there are hills (I will be able to look back and say, "It's a hill, but it's not as bad as Calgary!"). | |
|
P. R. from Calgary, Alberta
(6/10/2009)
 "grueling course, congested start" (about: 2009)
6-10 previous marathons
| 1 Calgary Marathon
COURSE: 1 ORGANIZATION: 3 FANS: 1 Package pick-up location was a bit out of the way, but well run. Small, nondescript expo. Severely understaffed bag drop-off at the start; close to 30 minutes in line meant no time for a warm-up or bathroom break; the volunteers were great, but overwhelmed by the numbers. Numerous water stations, which were well run and evenly spaced; great job, volunteers! There were few spectators outside of the start/finish area. I heard one small brass combo, a one-man band, and saw one steel band setting up, but otherwise, there was no entertainment along the route. As seems to be happening more and more at larger marathons, Calgary needs to look at better organization at the start. With both the half and full marathons, along with walkers, all starting at the same time, and a narrow, winding course for the first few KM's, it was a real mess. It was very frustrating; having to deal with groups of walkers starting in the front row and plugging up the course, and masses of slow runners out at the front right from the start. Stagger the starts of the different races, get the walkers out on the course early, get some signs/corrals up, and make announcements to have at least some semblance of seeding at the start. And now the BIG point: the route. Whoever set this course needs to give their head a shake. This was a new course for Calgary, and if the goal was to create a grueling course designed to test runners to their limits, they were successful. However, as a marathon course designed to promote the city and attract visitors and recreational runners, this course was deeply flawed. Calgary is blessed with a great system of pathways and parks, but this route managed to avoid them all. The hills were BRUTAL. Shagannappi Hill was advertised as being about 1.5K long, but if you include the hilly sections up top through the U of C campus, it was probably closer to 3K of continuous, grinding uphill. After making it up the the killer hill, numerous other smaller inclines awaited in the middle of the route, and then just as your legs were getting truly tired you got to run back down it all again; torture on the quads. I've done other races that are known for being "hilly," but this route (done at altitude) far surpassed anything else I've seen on a marathon course before. Long stretches of the course followed four-lane stretches of major roadways, and while two lanes were shut down for runners, the stream of traffic on the other side added heat, noise and exhaust to the mix. And yet, 20 or 30 feet off to the side were our lovely pathways alongside the banks of the river, which for some reason were avoided by the race route. If cities like Vancouver and Victoria can shut down their pathway systems for a few hours each year for their races, surely Calgary could do the same.... As a local who runs year-round in Calgary, I was disappointed and baffled at this choice of route for what should be our "signature" race. Would I run Calgary again? I'd like to support our local race, but probably won't if the route stays the same. | |
|
P. S. from Canada
(6/8/2009)
 "Hills Galore, Brutal Course, Awesome Medal" (about: 2009)
11-50 previous marathons
| 1 Calgary Marathon
COURSE: 1 ORGANIZATION: 3 FANS: 3 This was a brutal, difficult course, with hill after hill. Don't do this marathon if you want a PB. Do it only if you want to challenge yourself to a course that is harder than Boston and won't qualify you for Boston. The medal is cool; it doubles as a belt buckle. It's good if you are a cowboy. The shirt was a little lame, but better than the Vegas Marathon's cotton shirt. |
© 2000-2024, All Rights Reserved by MarathonGuide.com LLC
