This was a small marathon with a Halloween theme.

First the pros:

Scenic course will have you running through nice, forested, rural areas.

It's Halloween themed, so some runners wore costumes, giving the marathon some character.

Organizers were friendly.

Cons:

Aid stations were few and unstaffed.

Lack of organization resulted in my finishing time not being properly recorded.

Double-back course means you'll be running the same 13.1 route twice.

Roads were not closed meaning cars will be passing by you almost the entire way.

Very few spectators and runners. Granted, there was harsh rain that day, but I was literally running by myself on a deserted road for 90% of the time.


I know this was pretty critical, but seeing how this marathon was in my home town, I want it to be better. It has potential, and if the course were extended and better organized, it could be a memorable annual race.

Very small race, with few to no spectators. That can be expected, however. What was not expected was the lack of organization. There were a few aid stations. Seems like there could have been more since the course is out and back twice. There was only one station that had gels (I was told before by the race director that there would be gels at all stations); the rest had only fruit leather (not a good choice for getting calories quickly, considering there is no sugar and lots of fiber in it). The awards were meaningless. I got a goofy looking trophy that said overall winner on it (I was middle-of-the-pack). They all said overall winner. Nothing for winning my age-division. I don't see any reason to do this one ever again.

I ran the half marathon this year (2006). The participants and organizers were fun - lots of Halloween costumes. The course, which starts out in a beautiful state park, soon turns into a grueling run along a fairly busy highway. The views are beautiful at times - rustic farm houses and verdant pastures - and at other times monotonous. A long stretch of the course parallels I-5, and it's depressing to see the cars speeding past you. Overall, I'd recommend it as a stiff training run, but definitely not for a first marathon.

The course was beautiful... perfect running weather, too. Runners and spectators were sparse on the second half of the marathon, which gave the race more of a training run feel. Just me and Mother Nature. The one complaint I had was a lack of anyone manning the last aid station. I actually had to pour my own Gatorade out of the cooler. Other than that, great run.

This marathon is run in conjunction with a half-marathon (and a bevy of shorter races). The course is out and back, one time for the half and twice for the full, all on local roads which you will share with traffic (most of whom will slow down). Marathoners will have plenty of company for the first half, but may get a little lonely the second time around - although there is plenty of support at the water stops. Race director Green and family do a top-notch job, and finisher medals, t-shirts, and trophies are unique with Halloween theme. This is a great race to use for a stepping stone to a bigger event, or for those who just want to do 26.2 miles with a host of new friends.

I really enjoyed this race! Small races (32 marathoners) have a personal charm about them that the big races don't. It was fun to start at the park in the big trees and run in the country, the weather was perfect, the organizers, aid stations, all very friendly and efficent! Some great chili at the end. Thank you!

This is a marathon that you really want to bring music to listen to on. It is a just like a long training run..if you know what I mean. I would never encourage anyone to run this as a first marathon because the hype of big races is really fun. For the seasoned marathoner this was an enjoyable Saturday afternoon. I liked the small size (like 20 marathoners and 20 half marathoners) and I liked the great PNW feel. The t-shirt, medal and trophy were nice too, all for $50, that's a great deal!
The other runners were really warm and the aid stations were stocked up and full of support.
Thanks!

Nice race. Put on by a local running club, as is the Christmas Marathon and Easter Marathon. The weather on 10/25/03 was perfect, but it may not always be so in Olympia. Only about 30 marathoners this year, plus a bunch of half marathoners to keep us company on the first out-and-back. Could have used a little more race support, but it was pretty well run. My only complaint is that several of the mile markers must have been wrong. If you want a beautiful course (not too hilly) run by friendly folks, this is for you. If you need something extremely well run with good crowd support and a field of hundreds, then better try something else.

I enjoyed this marathon. I was able to get an early start due to my early flight out and the race director was more than willing to work with me. He helped me with logistics, weather, hotel info and feed me what ever I wanted after the race. I even got a tropy because their is such a small field everyone received one. The course was a double out-and-back this time because of the rain they received and I really liked that because you knew what to expect the second time. It was fairly flat with maybe 3 small inclines you hit 4 times because of the out-and-back. The pine trees smelled wonderful. There was water and gel ever 1-1/2 miles. This is not a race to take seriously, but a race to go out and have fun with, get some good training in or just knock another state out. It is right off I-5 and about 1 hour and 15 minutes from the Seattle airport right off I-5. There was traffic on the roads, but I ran facing it and there was some shoulder, so it was not bad.

I ran this marathon because it is on a Saturday, and I don't do Sunday races. I was disappointed by the lack of spectators and competitors. We ran on the highway where the traffic was not blocked off. At one point I was clipped on my left shoulder by a passing truck's side mirror. It felt like I was doing a long run by myself. I would NEVER do this race again!