Marathon Details - Timmy's Challenge Marathon

North America Marathons > USA > WV > Cairo > Timmy's Challenge Marathon

Timmy's Challenge Marathon

Cairo, WV USA

August 26, 2012

http://www.timmyschallenge.org/marathon.php

Results:

2012 | 2011
Top 3 Finishers by Year

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Reviews

Course 4.5

Organization 2.9

Spectators 1.9

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Number of comments: 14 [displaying comments 1 to 11]

More Comments: [ < 1 2 > ]

C. F. from Columbia, MD (10/9/2012) "Great low-key marathon" (about: 2012) 6-10 previous marathons \| 1 Timmy's Challenge Marathon COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 1 Pros: -Awesome postrace food spread. They had everything you could possibly want except for beer! -Beautiful scenery along the trail -Great volunteers Cons: -Those that didn't register more than a month in advance (like me) did not get a finisher's medal. Those things are cheap and there's no reason for them to not order extra, and any leftovers could be used the following year if they leave the date off. -The tunnel was much darker than I expected, it was difficult to see even with the small flashlight they provided. On the return trip, the flashlight I picked up wasn't working well so it was even more difficult to see. -There was a big gap of nearly 4-miles with no aid station after the tunnel, which would've hurt me if I hadn't worn a hydration pack. To the race organizers' defense, the trail up there is so isolated that I'm not sure they have access to set one up in the dead zone. -I was chased by a few horesflies for a couple miles. It made me run faster, so is that really a con?
Mike Smith from Williamstown, WV (9/13/2012) "3rd Marathon" (about: 2012) 3 previous marathons COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 3 This was my 3rd Marathon and since it was almost in my backyard I had to run it. I ran the Ridgerunner the year before, and it was very hilly so I was looking forward to running this marathon since it stayed on the trail for rails track. Pros: very flat, small, cool in the early stages, friendly people, well organized. Cons: There were yardage painted on the gravel, but after a few poeple had run on the markings it was hard to read, not too many water spots but that didn't really effect me, a couple of the spots, you had to fill your own cup (that again wasnt a big deal), it did get a little muggy toward the end of the race but that's out of everyone's control, no fan support if you need that. I thought it was a very good race. The food was great, i did not get a medal when I finished BUT i did get one in the mail the other day which was a present surprise. I told all my running/non-running friends that if a marathon is on your bucket list, this is the one to complete. Great job to all the helpers and organizer's this marathon will only get better. See ya next year!!
C. S. from Seattle, WA (8/28/2012) "Beautiful Course, Small Marathon" (about: 2012) 50+ previous marathons \| 1 Timmy's Challenge Marathon COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 3 This is a small marathon with very simple logistics that is run on a beautiful rail trail in the hills of rural West Virginia. The out and back course is mainly flat and runs mainly through thick trees that provide plenty of shade. The early start and lots of shade help to keep the temperature cool for the entire race. The variety and amount of food provided both before and after the race was unbelieveable. It was a lot of hard work by many volunteers. I am glad that I checked in the night before the race, because there were no signs in the park directing you to the start area, which could have been difficult to find in the pitch dark of the early morning.
C. L. from Maryland (8/27/2012) "Beautiful course. Family friendly." (about: 2012) 6-10 previous marathons \| 1 Timmy's Challenge Marathon COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 3 This is a great marathon. This was the most 'family oriented' and friendly race I have ever had the opportunity to run. What a nice group. In addition, the views throughout the area were specular. The race was along a rails to trails course with beautiful steam view and specular mountain cuts. Whow! I did hear some technical complaints about poorly marked mile markers, simple goody bag and so on. Boo. This is a wonderful family oriented charity event. There was only about 120 runners. If you want the big, professional, commercial event, this is not for you. But I have run 7 marathons and is my favorite.
N. L. from Northern Virginia (8/27/2012) "Nice flat course marathon that needs organization" (about: 2012) 11-50 previous marathons \| 1 Timmy's Challenge Marathon COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 2 FANS: 2 Timmy's Challenge marathon was a nice flat course. The organization of the marathon needs some additional work but it could be a very nice WV race. Pro's Small town race Nice easy course to follow Awesome pre and post race food WV marathon Con's limited runners received finisher medals One generic cotton shirt for all the races that day limited water stops (while the day was perfect weather if it was a normal August day it would have been difficult with limited water stops. No course Map The biggest con to me was that not all the finisher received a medal. You get used to having the medals to show the accomplishment. It was unclear even after talking to the race director what the rationale was for who did and who did not get medals. This was disappointing to not come home with a medal.
David Hurley from Roanoke, VA (8/27/2012) "Has a World of Potential" (about: 2012) 50+ previous marathons \| 1 Timmy's Challenge Marathon COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 2 FANS: 1 This marathon has so much potential because it draws runners from across the US and I met one runner from Sweden. The runners were very friendly before and during the marathon. The volunteers were doing a great job; however, there should be at leas 20 additional ones along the way. I think I saw one spectator during the marathon. The course was beautiful. We should have been warned about the horse flies. A volunteer did share a med for my sting. Having run 67 marathons, this is the only one that did not have anyone to greet us at the end with a medal. Not that I care about medals, but they were in a box. The only person there was someone collecting our chips. There were also bottles of water. I was not aware of any food at all. My favorite marathons have had pizza and drinks at the finish. All the flashlights were not working so I had to share. It would have been better to have the mile markers on signs along the way. It was very difficult to read the miles that were on the path after runners ran over them. During the whole marathon, I could not read one mile marker. I realize that it is a small town marathon for an excellent cause. The lodge served a delicious pasta buffet for a reasonable price that we found out about by chance. I would love to see it grow because the potential is there, but it needs some guidance from professional runners. Thanks for all the hard work in making this marathon a memorable one.
A. T. from Chicago (8/26/2012) "Fun, small race" (about: 2012) 11-50 previous marathons \| 1 Timmy's Challenge Marathon COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 1 Fantastic breakfast and lunch. Good support on course: aid 3 miles or less. Flat, almost all shaded, through woods and the little town of Cairo. Super-friendly volunteers and people running the race. Stay at the Lodge in the Park (not mentioned on the Marathon website. Sign up by deadline given on website to get a finisher's medal. Didn't have enough flashlights to go through very long DARK tunnel, but they figured out how to get everyone a flashlight on the return trip through. Overall, a nice, friendly small race running in nature. A 1 for Spectators only because there weren't any, but none were expected in the woods!
Daniel Clapper from Charleston, SC (11/23/2011) "Fun, inexpensive, scenic, & for a good cause" (about: 2011) 50+ previous marathons \| 1 Timmy's Challenge Marathon COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 3 FANS: 4 I thoroughly enjoyed this marathon. The registration fee was no more than the cost of most 5k's in today's market. The volunteers were very friendly. The pre-race pasta dinner was a lot of fun & promoted mingling amongst the participants. Watermelon at the finish put the icing on the cake. My only complaint is that the early starters were not recognized on 'marathonguide.com.' This is important for the '50 States & DC Club' of which I am a member. I was assured in an email before the race that this would not be a problem. Had I known we would ultimately be excluded, I may have chosen a different marathon for WV.
B. T. from North Carolina (11/22/2011) "Great race, has promise to be even better" (about: 2011) 11-50 previous marathons \| 1 Timmy's Challenge Marathon COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 3 FANS: 2 First of all, this was an enjoyable race. I really liked the crushed stone path. This was also a very inexpensive marathon, probably the cheapest I have ever participated in. This was the inaugural running, so I was not surprised to see a few logistical issues with the organization of it. Most had to do with the race director being severely over tasked and trying to do too many things himself. Even though it had some logistical challenges, the race director and volunteers were some of the friendliest and most welcoming I have ever come across. I would expect following years to be much better after the lessons learned from the first one. The water stations needed to be spaced a little better and there should be someone at the finish handing out water. Because of where the course goes, spectators were almost nonexistent, but that just meant you could admire the natural beauty even more. I rated the organization of the race 3 stars because of the logistical challenges, but fully expect that to be remedied in following years. It is too bad you can't rate races for 'Hospitality', as this one deserves 6 stars.
R. N. from TN (9/4/2011) "Beautiful rail trail race" (about: 2011) 2 previous marathons \| 1 Timmy's Challenge Marathon COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 3 FANS: 2 For a first time event, I thought things went reasonably well. The course was beautiful and the run through the tunnel was breathtaking. There were a couple of minor issues that should be improved upon for next year - day before packet pickup should have started on time, the location of a couple of the aid stations need to be better spaced, awarding of finishers medals should have been at the finish line, etc. The food after the race was better than most though, the cost was very low, and the volunteers were very friendly. All-in-all, I think the negatives were pretty small when compared to the positives. With a few minor tweaks, including a little more delegation by the RD, this should be a great event next year!

More Comments: [ < 1 2 > ]

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C. F. from Columbia, MD (10/9/2012) "Great low-key marathon" (about: 2012) 6-10 previous marathons \| 1 Timmy's Challenge Marathon COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 1 Pros: -Awesome postrace food spread. They had everything you could possibly want except for beer! -Beautiful scenery along the trail -Great volunteers Cons: -Those that didn't register more than a month in advance (like me) did not get a finisher's medal. Those things are cheap and there's no reason for them to not order extra, and any leftovers could be used the following year if they leave the date off. -The tunnel was much darker than I expected, it was difficult to see even with the small flashlight they provided. On the return trip, the flashlight I picked up wasn't working well so it was even more difficult to see. -There was a big gap of nearly 4-miles with no aid station after the tunnel, which would've hurt me if I hadn't worn a hydration pack. To the race organizers' defense, the trail up there is so isolated that I'm not sure they have access to set one up in the dead zone. -I was chased by a few horesflies for a couple miles. It made me run faster, so is that really a con?
Mike Smith from Williamstown, WV (9/13/2012) "3rd Marathon" (about: 2012) 3 previous marathons COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 3 This was my 3rd Marathon and since it was almost in my backyard I had to run it. I ran the Ridgerunner the year before, and it was very hilly so I was looking forward to running this marathon since it stayed on the trail for rails track. Pros: very flat, small, cool in the early stages, friendly people, well organized. Cons: There were yardage painted on the gravel, but after a few poeple had run on the markings it was hard to read, not too many water spots but that didn't really effect me, a couple of the spots, you had to fill your own cup (that again wasnt a big deal), it did get a little muggy toward the end of the race but that's out of everyone's control, no fan support if you need that. I thought it was a very good race. The food was great, i did not get a medal when I finished BUT i did get one in the mail the other day which was a present surprise. I told all my running/non-running friends that if a marathon is on your bucket list, this is the one to complete. Great job to all the helpers and organizer's this marathon will only get better. See ya next year!!
C. S. from Seattle, WA (8/28/2012) "Beautiful Course, Small Marathon" (about: 2012) 50+ previous marathons \| 1 Timmy's Challenge Marathon COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 3 This is a small marathon with very simple logistics that is run on a beautiful rail trail in the hills of rural West Virginia. The out and back course is mainly flat and runs mainly through thick trees that provide plenty of shade. The early start and lots of shade help to keep the temperature cool for the entire race. The variety and amount of food provided both before and after the race was unbelieveable. It was a lot of hard work by many volunteers. I am glad that I checked in the night before the race, because there were no signs in the park directing you to the start area, which could have been difficult to find in the pitch dark of the early morning.
C. L. from Maryland (8/27/2012) "Beautiful course. Family friendly." (about: 2012) 6-10 previous marathons \| 1 Timmy's Challenge Marathon COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 3 This is a great marathon. This was the most 'family oriented' and friendly race I have ever had the opportunity to run. What a nice group. In addition, the views throughout the area were specular. The race was along a rails to trails course with beautiful steam view and specular mountain cuts. Whow! I did hear some technical complaints about poorly marked mile markers, simple goody bag and so on. Boo. This is a wonderful family oriented charity event. There was only about 120 runners. If you want the big, professional, commercial event, this is not for you. But I have run 7 marathons and is my favorite.
N. L. from Northern Virginia (8/27/2012) "Nice flat course marathon that needs organization" (about: 2012) 11-50 previous marathons \| 1 Timmy's Challenge Marathon COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 2 FANS: 2 Timmy's Challenge marathon was a nice flat course. The organization of the marathon needs some additional work but it could be a very nice WV race. Pro's Small town race Nice easy course to follow Awesome pre and post race food WV marathon Con's limited runners received finisher medals One generic cotton shirt for all the races that day limited water stops (while the day was perfect weather if it was a normal August day it would have been difficult with limited water stops. No course Map The biggest con to me was that not all the finisher received a medal. You get used to having the medals to show the accomplishment. It was unclear even after talking to the race director what the rationale was for who did and who did not get medals. This was disappointing to not come home with a medal.
David Hurley from Roanoke, VA (8/27/2012) "Has a World of Potential" (about: 2012) 50+ previous marathons \| 1 Timmy's Challenge Marathon COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 2 FANS: 1 This marathon has so much potential because it draws runners from across the US and I met one runner from Sweden. The runners were very friendly before and during the marathon. The volunteers were doing a great job; however, there should be at leas 20 additional ones along the way. I think I saw one spectator during the marathon. The course was beautiful. We should have been warned about the horse flies. A volunteer did share a med for my sting. Having run 67 marathons, this is the only one that did not have anyone to greet us at the end with a medal. Not that I care about medals, but they were in a box. The only person there was someone collecting our chips. There were also bottles of water. I was not aware of any food at all. My favorite marathons have had pizza and drinks at the finish. All the flashlights were not working so I had to share. It would have been better to have the mile markers on signs along the way. It was very difficult to read the miles that were on the path after runners ran over them. During the whole marathon, I could not read one mile marker. I realize that it is a small town marathon for an excellent cause. The lodge served a delicious pasta buffet for a reasonable price that we found out about by chance. I would love to see it grow because the potential is there, but it needs some guidance from professional runners. Thanks for all the hard work in making this marathon a memorable one.
A. T. from Chicago (8/26/2012) "Fun, small race" (about: 2012) 11-50 previous marathons \| 1 Timmy's Challenge Marathon COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 1 Fantastic breakfast and lunch. Good support on course: aid 3 miles or less. Flat, almost all shaded, through woods and the little town of Cairo. Super-friendly volunteers and people running the race. Stay at the Lodge in the Park (not mentioned on the Marathon website. Sign up by deadline given on website to get a finisher's medal. Didn't have enough flashlights to go through very long DARK tunnel, but they figured out how to get everyone a flashlight on the return trip through. Overall, a nice, friendly small race running in nature. A 1 for Spectators only because there weren't any, but none were expected in the woods!
Daniel Clapper from Charleston, SC (11/23/2011) "Fun, inexpensive, scenic, & for a good cause" (about: 2011) 50+ previous marathons \| 1 Timmy's Challenge Marathon COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 3 FANS: 4 I thoroughly enjoyed this marathon. The registration fee was no more than the cost of most 5k's in today's market. The volunteers were very friendly. The pre-race pasta dinner was a lot of fun & promoted mingling amongst the participants. Watermelon at the finish put the icing on the cake. My only complaint is that the early starters were not recognized on 'marathonguide.com.' This is important for the '50 States & DC Club' of which I am a member. I was assured in an email before the race that this would not be a problem. Had I known we would ultimately be excluded, I may have chosen a different marathon for WV.
B. T. from North Carolina (11/22/2011) "Great race, has promise to be even better" (about: 2011) 11-50 previous marathons \| 1 Timmy's Challenge Marathon COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 3 FANS: 2 First of all, this was an enjoyable race. I really liked the crushed stone path. This was also a very inexpensive marathon, probably the cheapest I have ever participated in. This was the inaugural running, so I was not surprised to see a few logistical issues with the organization of it. Most had to do with the race director being severely over tasked and trying to do too many things himself. Even though it had some logistical challenges, the race director and volunteers were some of the friendliest and most welcoming I have ever come across. I would expect following years to be much better after the lessons learned from the first one. The water stations needed to be spaced a little better and there should be someone at the finish handing out water. Because of where the course goes, spectators were almost nonexistent, but that just meant you could admire the natural beauty even more. I rated the organization of the race 3 stars because of the logistical challenges, but fully expect that to be remedied in following years. It is too bad you can't rate races for 'Hospitality', as this one deserves 6 stars.
R. N. from TN (9/4/2011) "Beautiful rail trail race" (about: 2011) 2 previous marathons \| 1 Timmy's Challenge Marathon COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 3 FANS: 2 For a first time event, I thought things went reasonably well. The course was beautiful and the run through the tunnel was breathtaking. There were a couple of minor issues that should be improved upon for next year - day before packet pickup should have started on time, the location of a couple of the aid stations need to be better spaced, awarding of finishers medals should have been at the finish line, etc. The food after the race was better than most though, the cost was very low, and the volunteers were very friendly. All-in-all, I think the negatives were pretty small when compared to the positives. With a few minor tweaks, including a little more delegation by the RD, this should be a great event next year!

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Marathon Details - Timmy's Challenge Marathon