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☰
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 31 to 41]
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T. N. from Vancouver, B.C.
(7/17/2007)
 "Disappointing" (about: 2007)
11-50 previous marathons
COURSE: 2 ORGANIZATION: 3 FANS: 3 Upon arrival at the expo, I found that my name was not listed, nor had I been assigned a bib number, yet I showing on their computer. So I had to re-register and re-sign a waiver at the expo whereupon they gave me an extra large shirt even though I had indicated my size was medium. They asked me to come by on race day to make the switch, saying it could not be done beforehand. Then there's the course which is popularly described as flat... it's not!! Especially in the early stages through the zoo where the route literally zig-zags for too long!! This made for slow running, no rhythm and wasted energy. On the plus side, there were lots and lots of food and beverages at the finish line where volunteers were great as well as along the course handing out water, sponges and gels. | |
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L. K. from Calgary, AB
(7/10/2007)
 "A well organized and fun race" (about: 2007)
First Marathon
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 3 I ran the half marathon in 2007, and this was my first ever half. I have to say that I thought the race was really well organized - from the race expo and package pick up onwards. The volunteers were great, with lots of enthusiastic folks at the water stations. The course was really pretty, and I especially enjoyed running through the Stampede grounds and the zoo. The pathway does narrow at the zoo and gets twisty, which I really enjoyed, but if it would have been more packed it may have not been as much fun. My only negative comments concern the routing. I measured the half marathon long, and the two overpasses to climb in the last 0.5-mile of the race were tough. Otherwise the course has the odd incline, but for the most part, it's fairly flat. There was plenty of food at the finish (and I liked how they tried to make sure it was for runners only), with lots of bananas, oranges, bagels with peanut butter and jam, cookies, rice pudding, milk and yogurt. The tech shirts and medals were great this year. Excellent job; I'll definitely be back. | |
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D. F. from Thunder Bay Ontario
(6/19/2007)
 "It was a scenic marathon" (about: 2006)
11-50 previous marathons
| 3 Calgary Marathons
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 4 I have run this marathon 3 times and each time I have enjoyed it. It may not be the most exciting one but it ranks up there with some of the ones I have run. I found it very well organized, with plenty of aid stations. I enjoyed the run through the stampede grounds and zoo. The run back through Calgary was very pretty. It's a wonderful way to see the city. I found the food station at the end had plenty of food. Not to mention last year the best of the best - a Tim Horton's tent serving up my favorite beverage after a marathon: Tim's coffee. I always have one of these when I finish a marathon and last year there it was at the finish line. Thanks for a wonderful run and hope to be back this year. Also the finisher's shirts are the best ones I have received. They actually fit and are real running shirts. Hope to see you all again this year. | |
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R. M. from Wisconsin
(5/16/2007)
 "Water stations?" (about: 2006)
11-50 previous marathons
| 2 Calgary Marathons
COURSE: 3 ORGANIZATION: 2 FANS: 1 I've run this race twice, and both times I just had no idea when to expect water stations. They are sporadic, and not every mile. I was soooo dry by about mile ten, wondering if I would ever see another station. And when you pay $100 you expect chip times from every mile. I like to monitor my race after the fact. They cut corners in Calgary. Though the shirts have been nice. | |
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M. P. from Calgary
(9/26/2006)
"It's a nice, homey race" (about: 2006)
2 previous marathons
| 2 Calgary Marathons
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 3 Some of the negative comments regarding this race are out to lunch. I ran the full marathon in 2005 and 2006 and it was well organized, with lots of friendly volunteers, and contrary to what's written below, there were plenty of food and beverages at the end of the race. The course is not the most exciting... but it is in Calgary, not Paris or Rome. The route is well marked, there are plenty of aid stations and water/Gatorade stations. They even hand out power gel at several of the stations. The course is pretty flat except for: 1) The portion running from the zoo up to Bridgeland; 2) A tiny bridge on Memorial Drive (both ways because it's out-and-back); 3) The climb up from Bowness Park (once); 4) The small climb from Memorial Drive up to the 14th Street Bridge right at the end. It is a small event, so there's lots of room to spread out, except one bottleneck when you are running through the Calgary Zoo. Paramedics and first aid people are located at strategic intervals and even roam the course on bicycles making sure anyone experience difficulties is helped ASAP. There isn't a lot of fan support, but if you need that to run then you probably need to train a bit harder. The only negatives are the possible bottleneck when running through the twisty-turny paths of the zoo and the possible high temperatures... it can get really toasty really quickly in July in Calgary. Overall, I'd give it at least a 4 out of 5. | |
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S. H. from Davenport, Iowa
(12/13/2005)
 "Top-notch race!" (about: 2005)
11-50 previous marathons
| 6+ Calgary Marathons
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 I have run this race six times. Over the years it has naturally evolved. The changes I have noticed have made an already great race even better. The course, at least in its latest version, is mostly flat. There are some short hills, but nothing insurmountable. The race starts at 7 AM, which is good because the weather can heat up quickly in July. There isn't much shade the last eight miles or so. The route is on city streets and asphalt bikepath. Traffic (from cars and runners) is not a problem. The organization is first-class. Calgary is a wonderful city, too. | |
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J. T. from Calgary
(9/23/2005)
 "Calgary Burnco Marathon does it again" (about: 2005)
6-10 previous marathons
| 2 Calgary Marathons
COURSE: 2 ORGANIZATION: 1 FANS: 1 I have run 10 marathons and this was my second Calgary Marathon. Ran it the last 2 years. Will they ever get the finish line food right for the marathon finishers? I sent an e-mail to the race director last year (2004) about the lack of finish line food and the race director e-mailed me back and asked for my suggestions, which I did offer. This year there were 859 finishers for the marathon. I finished in about the middle of the pack. After completing 26.2 miles, there wasn't much for food at the finish line. I did notice a few people walking around eating hamburgers. They looked 'so good.' Found a booth next to the finish line that was selling them for $2.00 each. I would have done anything for a burger. None of my running buddies were carrying any money. Little did we know that we had to carry money to have acces to finish line food. A few of us also noticed that a band had quit entertaining and was already packing up around mile 20-something. We all had this puzzled look on our faces. There were still a number of marathoners (over 400 finishers) behind us. I definitely would not run this marathon again, nor would I recommend it. | |
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L. L. from Canada
(7/14/2005)
"Not as bad as the comments below suggest!" (about: 2005)
4-5 previous marathons
| 1 Calgary Marathon
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 4 Every race has it's 'ups and downs.' This wasn't the best route (but by no means a bad route), and since it's a new route this year, I wasn't surprised that some areas were not perfect. Expect some elevation changes; you are running in Calgary! I welcomed the slight changes in elevation, no hill was too long or too steep. It's hard to find a perfect route to run 42.2K, and at times, I also wondered why we were so close to others, or running through a tight area, but they had enough volunteers to keep it safe and to keep runners organized. The positives (running through Stampede Park, the zoo, and a good start/finish area) outweigh any negatives. I'll be back again! | |
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B. P. from Calgary
(7/13/2005)
"Don't believe what you read" (about: 2005)
6-10 previous marathons
| 2 Calgary Marathons
COURSE: 1 ORGANIZATION: 2 FANS: 3 I didn't run the marathon but I did run one of their other races. For a race that states that it is flat and fast, it's a poorly designed route where runners have to cross through other runners leading to confusion and annoyance. I would not recommend any of the races on marathon weekend. | |
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Creighton Connolly from Beijing, China
(1/26/2005)
"A really good marathon weekend" (about: 2004)
3 previous marathons
| 1 Calgary Marathon
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 4 I ran the half marathon here, and I hear that it is not as good as the marathon, but still really nice. It is great having the Calgary Stampede on the same weekend. So it is a good family marathon, as they have the stampede and races for every age group. The course was a loop, so the second half is more or less the same as the first, however it runs through a nice park, and goes past some scenic spots along the way. The start and finish is in a very nice, open spot downtown, and there are many hotels in the area; the stampede is also walking distance from the start/finish. This is my favorite half-marathon so far (have only run the Beijing Int'l Marathon & this one), and I would run it again any time. Overall a good choice for a summer run. |
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