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May 16, 2024

Columbus Marathon Runner Comments

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Course 4.4

Organization 4.1

Spectators 4.2

Number of comments: 333 [displaying comments 71 to 81]

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D. M. from Weston, Florida USA (10/28/2009) "Wonderful race with lots of fans and music" (about: 2009) 6-10 previous marathons \| 1 Columbus Marathon COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 5 This is a great, small-mid-sized-city marathon. Columbus is a nice town and the volunteers were great. The route winds through beautiful neighborhoods and is mostly flat. The start was unorganized and family members clogged the corrals by staying with runners until the gun sounded. The race needs to fix that. The finish is great, being downhill and into a corral of fans squeezed between buildings. There were an amazing number of musicians and fans along the route (especially for a small marathon). Weather typically is good and cold and great for running. Trees were in perfect color, making the sunrise spectacular along the tree-lined historic streets. PROS - Music at about every mile, plenty of food and drink, flat course, nice town. CONS - Very little at the expo, shirt Nazi refused to change sizes for me even though the very nice tech shirts were clearly running very big, the race start was crowded with non-runners, and weather is a wild card in Ohio during October.
j. p. from cleveland, ohio (10/28/2009) "I'll be back for #20" (about: 2009) 50+ previous marathons \| 6+ Columbus Marathons COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 You put on a great race again. Only two complaints: crowded start area and white t-shirt. I'll be back to run my 20th Columbus Marathon next year!!
A. C. from Ohio (10/23/2009) "Excellent Environment! Top-Notch Event!" (about: 2009) 1 previous marathon \| 1 Columbus Marathon COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 This was my first marathon, but I have run other races in many parts of the country and even outside of the US. PROS: Electric Atmosphere: If you are thinking small when thinking Columbus, Ohio... think again! Columbus is the 16th largest city in the US. There were about 15,000 participants lined up for the start! Fans were everywhere along the run, cheering ALL participants on. I felt like I had thousands of fans, even though only my spouse came to watch. It was truly inspiring to have complete strangers cheering me on to finish all throughout the course. Wonderful Scenery: The course moved through high rise downtown, a small college campus town, multiple historical neighborhoods, The Ohio State University campus and the Arena District. Fall trees were in the midst of changing colors and provided a beautiful backdrop. There was just about everything on this course, which kept the entire run interesting. Mile Markers with Race Time were Clearly Posted: Every mile there were very large markers with electronic timing posted. The time was from the gun start (not your electronic device), but it was still a very useful tool. Perfect Water, Gatorade, and Carb Gel Distribution: Every mile or so these stations were available. They were well staffed and the volunteers were very encouraging. Awesome Finish: The final mile was a complete celebration and was full of cheering fans. At the finish line, the MC announced every finisher's name as they crossed the line to the roar of the crowds. Volunteers placed the medals around all finishers necks, while other volunteers covered the runners with warming capes. All finishers also received a winter running hat. Runners then made their way through an area, still safe from the crowds, where they could stock up on bagels, doughnuts, water, milk and chips. This area opened directly into celebration park, where family and friends were waiting. A live band played on stage, while families enjoyed the festivities and various booths and games. Runners could enjoy a free 15-minute massage. It truly was an awesome finish. Very well organized and the kind of finish you would expect from a top-notch event! CONS: Since no event is perfect, I have to add just a few minor cons. I must emphasize again that these were minor. Cold: Ohio weather is unpredictable during this time of year. Most of the time in Ohio, you will not see temperatures in the thirties in October. Unfortunately for this race, the starting temp was around 33 and it only warmed up to about 45 during the run. If you run this race, just come prepared for colder weather with proper layers. The Ohio State University route: The course near the university ran through some side streets that were not as well-kept as the rest of the event. I actually rolled my ankle, but recovered. If they made a few minor changes, the course near the university could be much prettier. The nicest areas of the campus were not part of the course. I will run this marathon every year, but will keep working towards my goal of 50 in 50 states. The Columbus Marathon was fantastic!
K. H. from Washington, DC (10/22/2009) "Great PR Marathon" (about: 2009) 4-5 previous marathons \| 1 Columbus Marathon COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 5 This was a great marathon for a PR. Fast course, tons of music on the course, AMAZING weather, great spectators, water stops galore, two gel stops, and no crowds on the course. The two negatives were: 1) the crowded, disorganized starting corrals - too crowded to find the start or the bag drop (though it didn't affect the run at all); AND, 2) the t-shirt was skimpy. But overall, I would highly recommend it and I would run this again.
R. K. from Cleveland, OH (10/21/2009) "Flat Course, Poor Expo/Shirt, No OSU Support" (about: 2009) 6-10 previous marathons \| 2 Columbus Marathons COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 3 FANS: 3 I ran Columbus for the second time, and mid-October in Ohio brought ideal marathon weather: Start in the mid/upper 30's, finish in the upper 40's. Course is well laid out and a variety of neighborhoods. Very disappointed in the experience of running through OSU campus. Being one of the largest campuses in the nation and integral part of Columbus, you would think that the OSU administration would do more to support the race. There were no campus organized activities whatsoever, and it was a virtual ghost town for the several miles routed through campus. Would be nice to have OSU band play or some support by athletic teams and/or educational staff. Lone support was the few brave young soles who decided to get up before 11:00 a.m. on a Sunday. Course volunteers were great, with very well organized/staffed water stations. The finish line area was not staffed properly with gear check unattended and bags left for anyone to grab without checking bib numbers. I needed to find a massage area and it took five minutes to find any volunteer in the Celebration Village to find out were it was. Overall I would say that it's a decent mid-size (15,000 combined runners) race: 4,000 full, 7,000 half, then some 5K runners, and walkers. But I left unsure if I would race again. I get the feeling that race organizers take runners for granted. The expo is the worst I have seen, with little or no giveaways or incentives to check booths, and the t-shirt they give for a full marathon is a joke.
A. D. from Columbus, OH (10/21/2009) "flat course - a little crowded" (about: 2009) 11-50 previous marathons \| 6+ Columbus Marathons COURSE: 3 ORGANIZATION: 3 FANS: 5 This was my sixth time running Columbus and I finished in the middle of the pack, in just under four hours. The start of the race was very crowded. They started the full marathon, half marathon, and walkers at the same time. That meant we had about 15,000 people lined up in the street with little organization to it. Be careful to seed yourself properly or be prepared to be boxed in for the first six or seven miles. Starting the walkers with that many runners made for some challenges as we'd come upon groups walking four-abreast arm-in-arm. They should start the walkers earlier, like they used to, so that the field has thinned out by the time you catch up to the walkers. The race course itself is fairly flat, but there are a few gentle grades along the way. The water stops were plentiful and the course is fairly scenic. It's mostly asphalt with a few small sections on brick (near Ohio Stadium) and concrete (around mile 23), Some of the roads have a camber to them, but if you stay on the crown of the road, it's not an issue. The course is very spectator-friendly ,with your supporters being able to see you several times in the downtown area just by walking a few blocks. The crowds were very supportive in the downtown area, but there are some stretches where the crowds are sparse - like the Ohio State campus (dead). The medals were very cool this year. One of my favorite medals. They could improve the finish line area a little bit by giving the runners a little more room to exit into the park - I was crowded again by other runners and spectators making their reunions. They need to open it up a little more. All in all, Columbus does a good job with their marathon, but I think they need to work on improving their handling of a field of 15,000 runners at the start and finish. (There were 5,000 registered for the marathon, and 10,000 for the half.)
R. v. from Pennsylvania (10/20/2009) "The way to Boston is through Columbus" (about: 2009) 6-10 previous marathons \| 1 Columbus Marathon COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 5 The way to Boston is through Columbus. It's a fast course, with a lot of support and music along the way. I'm going to Boston.
N. W. from Oakwood, OH (10/19/2009) "Great Course & Spectators, Pre-Race Disappointing" (about: 2009) 1 previous marathon \| 1 Columbus Marathon COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 3 FANS: 5 The course was great and really well-supported throughout. The neighborhoods were beautiful! The OSU campus was a bit of a disappointment, although still beautiful. Unfortunately the expo and pre-race communication left a lot to be desired. There was no race-day info in the expo packet (if you hadn't checked online, you'd be clueless). I was very disappointed with the expo itself, too. It seemed kind of empty, without much variety.
J. W. from Greenwood, IN (10/19/2009) "Nice, flat course - plenty of fluid and fuel" (about: 2009) 4-5 previous marathons \| 2 Columbus Marathons COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 3 I would suggest you change to a partially seeded starting platform, much like the Mini-Marathon at Indy (three seeded corrals). I stayed at the Westin and walked up High St. to the start area. I could not get to the 3:40 pace group starting area without obnoxiously pushing past everyone between 5:30 and 3:40. I don't think it should be necessary to be at the course an hour or more early (especially when it's relatively cold like 2009) to get to your starting position. Three or four seeded corals that can be entered from gates on the side should solve the problem. The downside would be the extra volunteers to man the gates, but I think it would be worth it. I'm 61 and I could have used some of the energy I blew off getting through the walkers from mile 23 on. Overall, I think this marathon is very well run and provides an excellent experience that I can recommend to other runners. Thanks.
S. D. from Elizabethtown, Kentucky (10/19/2009) "A big thank you to Columbus!" (about: 2009) 1 previous marathon \| 1 Columbus Marathon COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 5 I have ran half-marathons in the past but this was my first full-marathon and my first time in Columbus. I thought the people were very friendly and the crowd support was great. It seemed well organized except for the start. We could not get in the gated area until several minutes after the start and it was too difficult getting through the crowd of people. There were plenty of water/Gatorade stations and I loved the buckeye candy at mile 25. The course was scenic and basically flat. Calling out names around mile 20 in addition to the finish line was a great idea. Overall, this was a great first marathon. A big thanks to all of those people in Columbus who worked to make it a supportive and safe event.

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