I just read the comment about the 2012 race having crappy medals/shirt. Someone must have heard you. This year's stuff was awesome! Lousy expo, but otherwise a great weekend.

This is a fantastic race. The course is a good mix of city, suburbs and natural scenery. It is flat and well supported. The oasis were superb; both sides of the road with sports drinks and water. They even gave gels at two or three points in the route. The community of Ottawa and Gatinau really support this race and it shows by the numerous volunteers and lots of cheering public. The city itself is small, therefore most hotels are within easy walking distance to the race site. Awesome experience this year with temperatures around 10C (50F). Recommended 100%

Well organized and improves every year. Half marathon fills up quickly. Course is Scenic, but the Spectactors make this race memorable. The spectators are everywhere and they inspire you at every mile. Two things that race organizers can improve on: 1)Half Marathon has too many participants and they would be better making Sunday a Marathon only race.
2)The shirts and medals are horrendous. Every runner I know who got one of the shirts or medals made a point of commenting how little effort went into the cheap unappealing race gear and finisher medals.

This was my second Ottawa Marathon, and the course was slightly altered this year. I don't mind, because the best part of travelling to a new city marathon is learning the layout on foot. The people were genuinely friendly (unlike some places that are friendly for the sake of marathon shoppers as well as runners invading the city for a couple days).

I stayed at the historic Jail Hostel, which meant I had a two block walk to the start, and a block walk back to my room. I found the place by accident; did I luck out or what?! What I liked best about the marathon: so many different people running this event. What does a marathon runner look like? Never assume. I saw people of all sizes, ages, and abilities doing very well. Crowds were very motivational, because at some point your music can only do so much. Those of us who travelled to Ottawa alone and didn't know anyone were thrilled to have people cheer for us. Those are the memories I will always have of Ottawa. If you go, give yourself an extra day to take photos of the Parliament buildings and downtown. It's a beautiful city.

Very well organized race kit pickup process, and expo was also very good. Easy to access, quick to pick up, and decent deals and exhibitors.

Bag drop was very well run, and took no time at all for drop-off and pick-up after the race (however, I ran sub-2:55, making bag pickup less busy). Lots of volunteers on hand, and you can tell the city truly embraces the race weekend, in contrast to others where such races are seen as a nuisance.

Start area was well organized, and hopping the barricade to get into the front Blue corral was easy :) Plenty of porta-potties at the warmup area, and also included hand-washing stations, and excellent idea, not usually found at many races. Well done, Ottawa.

Marathon course itself was well done, with plenty of water, gatorade and other stations. Sponge stations were excellent to have as well. Road conditions were very good, except for a number of sections on the Gatineau, QC side, where roads were in lesser state of repair, and one later section on the Ottawa side in 30km+ area under construction. Nonetheless, very good overall setup and choice of route.

Fans were outstanding overall - some quiet sections, but understandable given the 42.2km nature. In particular, the final 5km-7km had incredible fan support, when runners need it most.

Best race experience I've had to date - will definitely return.

This is only my second marathon. My wife and I decided to run it based upon the likelihood of cooler weather in Canada and the great reviews of previous races. As has previously been noted, the weekend was very well organized and the crowds were plentiful and enthusiastic. I am a little biased because I ran a BQ 3:14:59 and made it by one second, so I might be looking through rose colered glasses, but everything about my experience with both the event and the city of Ottawa was top shelf. I will be making the trip north from Florida to race this again.

One of my better marathon experiences, definitely. The expo was large and well- represented, colorful bibs with runner names were great, tech T was great and race info for runners and spectators was plentiful and easily accessible. Actual race was nice - crowd support was outstanding and medals were nice. 10K and marathon on different days helped multiple family members participate. Fluid stations were well stocked.

Minor improvement possibilities: Chip was old fashioned, nowadays chip in bib is standard. Walk after end of race was a little long (meeting place was convenient).

This is only my third marathon (I've run 1 other, aside from Ottawa) so my experience is limited. Nonetheless, I feel that this marathon is probably among the best organized. Wait times - even during peak period - for race packet pick-up was very short. Expo was extensive - although crowded due to it being a huge 'race weekend' of 40,000+ runners. Plenty of water, gatorade, and at least 3 gel stops on the course. Plenty of porta-potties at the start and I saw at least 5 different places on the course (there may have been more) with porta-potties too. Lots of medical teams both on the course on bikes and at various water stops.

Another reason I like this run, is for the family 2k run on the day before. I was able to run a nice short 2k with my 6 year old and with my partner. She ran a 5k later in the day (10k last year). It's a great chance to have all family members involved and everyone can run a race of their liking (they have 2k family, 5k, 10k on Saturday followed by 1/2 Marathon and Marathon on Sunday).

Because this weekend hosts so many runners over two days, I think that the organizers have no choice but to run a tight ship. As such the race is very well organized. In some areas at mid distance, the fans were non-existant but in other areas, the crowd support was truly awesome, particularly from km35 onwards - in fact the crowds helped me through my hellish final 3k's.

My one criticism is that in some places the road quality was poor and I imagine a few people might have twisted some ankles. Yet, compared to my city - which has notoriously poor roads, it was far better.

Ottawa is a marvellous city, lots to see and do and I regret that I didn't have an extra day to enjoy it. I found the people to be rather friendly.

Finally, my hotel, was somewhat pricey. I waited a bit long to book a room (December) and my choices were limited. Also, it took a few visits to the front desk to convince them to allow me to check out at 12pm rather than 11pm, so that I could have a nice shower. (National Hotel - I'm not sure I would give it a great rating).

To conclude: run Ottawa for a really cool running experience.

New course route was the best ever. I thoroughly enjoyed myself as a pace bunny from start to finish; the runners who ran with me were amazing and I enjoyed our bantering. :)

Highlights
-water and gel stations were excellent
-39km of course dedicated to the marathoners was AWESOME (i.e., we didn't have to share the road or water stations with the ½ marathoners).
-spectator support terrific (esp. the orange slices and freezies provided in various spots)

Areas for Improvement
-Tshirt design better from previous years but still not one that impresses me
-name on bib should be in larger font
-more music stations on course especially in the 'dead-zones' i.e., Western Pkwy and Aviation Pkwy

Definitely a great race and one you should consider (hope to see you next year). :)

This was the second time I have run the full marathon in Ottawa. The course changed from last year, but for the better I think. The stretches along the Ottawa River and Rideau Canal are beautiful and the spectators are second to none. Great support, they were cheerful and encouraging even in the pouring rain. Even though I crashed and burned (managed to finish though) I plan on making this my must do marathon every year.