Towpath Marathon

The Towpath Marathon has been on my marathon bucket list for awhile. I was greatly disappointed in the new course and it's a huge shame that this race is no longer completely within the National Park. If you want fall foliage, a shady tree covered route, crushed limestone and a fast flat BQ course this is no longer your race. The race started in the flats near downtown Cleveland. You had to pay to park and some parking lots had very long lines to pay a machine before the race. A lot of people didn't have enough time to pay to park, wait in line for the restroom and start the race on time. The course had hills in the first four and last four miles and only a short stretch was on crushed limestone. The course goes through steelyard commons, industrial areas and you see more graffiti then fall foliage. Most people ran the half and after the turnaround there weren't many runners on course. Very little spectators on course to help motivate you as well. Overall it was a huge disappointment and it was obvious it was a low budget race.

When I first learned about this marathon, the course went through the Cuyahoga National Park. It looked like a point-to-point through the Park, along the Ohio & Erie Canal. One other thing up front, this race organization - as with many larger events - requires permits from different organizations in order to put on their marathon event. One required permit was from the National Park. And after 27 years, the Park declined to issue the permit for the marathon course to go through the Park. And to me personally, I wanted to enjoy the experience of the course going through the Park in the autumn. I think in mid-July they still did not have this issue resolved, so registration had not yet been opened. I dialoged through e-mail with a race official named Kathy, and that helped me understand the frustration that they were dealing with as an organization. But with little time to determine an alternate course, and still allow runners a course along the Canal, they devised an alternate course. Our hats are off to the organizers to put together an alternate course with little time to spare. The course started in Cuyahoga Heights where there is a Visitor's Center for the Canal. From the parking lot there, the marathon course followed a road that led us on to the Towpath. We headed north to the Harvard Ave. trailhead. There, we did a course reversal and headed south to the Rockside trailhead. From there, another course reversal and we returned to the Harvard Ave. trailhead. Then there was a smaller loop over that overlaid ground that we had already covered. Completing that loop, we returned to the Rockside trailhead again, where the finish line was located. It was all asphalt trail - except for the concrete bridge structures. And the way they had the course laid out, we passed the same hydration stations multiple times. That made it feasible to have fewer volunteers and still offer a lot of options to the runners to get fluids and carbs. Most of the course had shade, but there were some sunny spots too. It was a cold start - I would guess the temperature being in the low 40's and it warmed to about 60 by mid-day. It was a beautiful autumn day for a marathon. The finish line routine was a bit awkward. At the actual finish line, there were the typical medical staff, fruits and fluids available. But the post-race was at Quaker Steak - which was perhaps a half-mile away. Buses (shuttles) were running about every 10-15 minutes to take runners to the post-race. They had burritos there for the runners, one free beer, along with cookies and red licorice. Then, if you parked at the start-line, you had to catch another shuttle, to get a ride back to your car. They were supposed to be running until 1:00 p.m. I do know one guy skipped the post-race and rode the shuttle back to get his car because he was afraid of the service stopping at noon, stranding him - and it was several miles back to the Visitor's Center parking lot. I cannot be too critical of this set-up. They did the best they could with little time to prepare for the details. As far as I could tell, everything worked as best as it could have. They did have a string band there playing music, but they were just finishing up their last song about the time I showed up, and then put their instruments away. From information I received earlier from the race organizers, it sounds like this year's course was just for this year, and by next year they hope to have a new improved course in place to use for the foreseeable future. We will have to wait and see how things unfold.

I ran the older version in the early 1990's and had high expectations. As I was in the area, I wanted to run it again. Happily, 2015 exceeded all expectations. From the start, communication was outstanding, even when I could not get my number as I was traveling. Organization was excellent with a good start close to parking. The course is flat, fast, and quite scenic, with plenty of very enthusiastic and helpful volunteers. Course directions were clear, and when needed, traffic control was perfect. Wherever spectators could get to the course, they did, and they supported me mightily. Finally, as I was running slowly, I was really pleased to find lots of spectators still there to cheer for me at the finish. Food and drink were plentiful, and the medal will be among my most cherished. Given the opportunity to run this marathon, it should be done in a heartbeat!! My thanks to all who made it such a memorable experience.