This is a great (beach) and challenging course (hills in Ucluelet). Running the marathon distance can be made easier with the relay teams to help encourage stronger pacing. Although support in a couple of the relay exchange stations could be improved for the marathon runners as the focus in those station were on the relay teams. Where else can you run on the beach during a marathon? Despite running on the highway for the majority of the course it is very safe with excellent volunteers and appropriate signage for drivers.

I expected more for scenery (The 1/2 marathon would of been amazing and I may come back to do it) but for my first maraton it was a great course - last 8km was brutal - hilly, hilly, hilly.

Thank you, to the police officer came in time, about an hour into the race - Bear encounter. Bear looked, ran back into the forest.
Beautiful scenery, it is a tough run, I sure enjoyed the run. This is my second time running the Marathon love it.

The course and volunteers were great. The course is nice and undulating with a few challenging hills. The traffic can be a bit scary at times but most drivers understand that there are runners on the road (they are used to wild animals). The last 5K are hard. There are few hills in a row that makes the finish excruciating. The last kilometer to the finish is a fast downhill. It helps when you want to put a show at the finish line. My only huge disappointment was the award ceremony, where no medals were given to categories, there were no medals or trophies for third place overall finishers, and there were no draw prizes - even if they were promised on the official website. If you expect to just go for another regular Sunday run with other runners, you will be satisfied.

This was my first marathon and it was a fantastic experience. The last 8 K are hard, and the profile provided for the run is very deceptive, as the hills are bigger and more numerous than suggested. More frequent aid stations would be nice, as I'm not sure that there were as many as were shown on the map. Prepare to carry water on a hot day. The volunteers were great, as were the communities hosting the event. Running on the beach was amazing, as was running at sea level.

This is not a course to try for a personal best. Every knee-pounding downhill is met with another climb. The last five miles are especially grueling: dip and hill after dip and hill. The frustrated drivers whipping by are a bit unnerving too. But for a local, small marathon, it is definitely the best I've run. Scenic in spots, with mostly green coastal scrub forest aromas, lots of spectators at every intersection, and busloads of relay runners hooting and howling support. Unforgettable. Sure, more traffic control would be nice, but my biggest desire would be consistent kilometer or mile markers. Hopefully, I will run it next year, but I'll plan to measure some landmarks on Google Maps to check my pace.

This was my first Marathon and even though it is a hard one, I kept going back. Then they changed it to an organization they paid to run it and everything went down hill. Water stations without water, no info in the package and nothing on the web site until I was on the road traveling. No police on the road to control speeders and my son just about lost an arm to a van passing at high speed and brushed his arm. Every other year had a high number of police. What changed? The people are great, support very high and the communities amazing, just have to get rid of the people they are paying to get me back.

The "views" on the course were fabulous and the varying terrain - trail, beach, road - was a good change of pace. My only concern centers around some of the traffic; people did not seem pleased to have runners on the road. I hope to have a chance to do this run again - maybe this time with a friend or two.

I lived in Ukee 20 years ago so I knew the course like the back of my hand; I knew exactly what I was getting into. Last year I did the half and loved it. it was hard as hell but to easy is no fun. This year I did the full; I have driven that road a thousand times and have decided that running it is even worse: Trudgery. Thank God for the bus loads of crazy relay runners hooting and yelling as they went by. The run on Chesterman's Beach was great. All in all, it is one tough run both physically and mentally. The water stations were very well done and well spaced. I found that when I finished I was very relieved to be off the course, but having to spread my own cream cheese on a bagel was kind of like a IQ test (I failed). All said and done, I hated the whole damn thing. I can't wait to do it again. See you next year on the Wild West Coast.

This was my sixth half and boy is it a toughy.... Train hard for this one and I suggest carrying some extra energy with you for the last 8 KMs. In summary, I would describe this course as very hilly and constantly up and down. The Pacific West trail is loose gravel with rocks thrown in for "speed" and up and down the whole way. :) Expect pain as your souvenir.