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☰
Carlsbad Marathon Runner Comments
Back to Carlsbad Marathon Information & Reviews
Course 4.2 
Organization 4.3 
Spectators 3.7
Number of comments: 188 [displaying comments 81 to 91]
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N. S. from Hopkins, Minnesota
(1/24/2007)
"Great marathon for beginners, but..." (about: 2007)
6-10 previous marathons
| 2 Carlsbad Marathons
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 3 This marathon and half marathon caters to the first-time marathoner (separate start time for slower marathoners/walkers). The more experienced runners may get frustrated, as the half marathoners, slow marathoners, and walkers can get in the way, since you will catch up to them. But you can't beat the weather and the ocean view. | |
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R. K. from Fairfax, VA, USA
(1/24/2007)
"Great organization; small but challenging race." (about: 2007)
1 previous marathon
| 1 Carlsbad Marathon
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 4 This was my second marathon and first at Carlsbad. I traveled from the east coast to get away for a winter run. The weather was fantastic and perfect for a long run. Complete race experience: Expo: Small, but well organized. There were enough vendors to pick up any of the useful stuff. Scanning in my own ChampionChip was smooth. I got to sign up for a pace group pretty quickly too. Nice t-shirt and other goodies. Start: Pretty well-organized. They had corrals for different pace levels and it was pretty easy to hook up with my pace group. Porta-potties were plentiful. The expo tent was helpful in keeping warm before the start. The package dropoff was a breeze. Race: Overall, very well organized. It did get lonely for the marathon runners after about 7 miles. But drinks and gels were everywhere. Great entertainment, really nice volunteers. They did cheer us along pretty well wherever they were. Course: Beautiful, scenic course for the most part. But the hills, especially when I thought they were behind me, really did me in at mile 18. I kept up with the pace group till then and it helped me get over the big hill between miles 8-10 fairly easily. But I had to start walking at 18 and hence slow down and leave the group. From then on, it was a struggle. Anyways, shame on me for not anticipating it after all that's written about those hills. Finish: Pretty well-organized with individual bags for all runners. Nice cheerful crowd. The massage tent was another significant attraction, although I didn't want to wait on the line there. Overall: Very well-organized race in the heels of the big one (SD R n R). I would certainly do it again. | |
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ron kirk from chicago,usa
(1/23/2007)
"GREAT RACE, BUT BE READY FOR THE HILLS..." (about: 2007)
11-50 previous marathons
| 1 Carlsbad Marathon
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 4 I arrived at 7:05 a.m. to sign up for the marathon, which started in 25 minutes. The organizers set me up with everything, including a chip for timing. I obviously didn't train on hills enough, falling apart around mile 18. Still had a decent finish time and fantastic overall experience. No clocks at mile marks, but they seemed to be marked well and were seemingly close to proper distance (UNLIKE LAS VEGAS DEC.10, 2006 - not even close). You can qualify for BOSTON here, just show the hills some respect. Not a ton of fans, but those there were enthusiastic and loud. A+ all around. Wonderful views and scenery. | |
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Dee Dee Urquhart from West Hills, California
(1/23/2007)
"Best Half Marathon So Far" (about: 2007)
4-5 previous marathons
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 3 This was my fourth and favorite half marathon to date. The weather was beautiful, the course was amazing (although I was surprised by all the hills), the event was well organized, and there were plenty of porta-potties along the way and great staff. I loved having the elite full marathon athletes lapping the half marathon, so that we could cheer them towards the finish line while we were completing our race. I am a walker, and liked the time markings at the start line so you knew where to line up. I cut ten minutes off my PR with this race! I will definitely be doing this one every year! | |
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D. B. from Eureka, CA
(1/23/2007)
"Beautiful, fun race" (about: 2007)
2 previous marathons
| 1 Carlsbad Marathon
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 The Carlsbad Marathon is the perfect January race to enjoy some sun and the beautiful ocean. The town is cool and a great spot to spend some time. The course consists of a series of long inclines and declines, making it extremely tough for a PR (the half marathon IS fast and quite a few runners PR on it). If you are trained for hills, the inclines in the full marathon won't faze you, but you will undoubtably run slower than a PR pace. Have fun. Enjoy the experience and check out Carlsbad and the beach towns along 101 heading south to San Diego. | |
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J. S. from St. Louis, MO
(1/23/2007)
"Great for first-time marathoners!" (about: 2007)
1 previous marathon
| 1 Carlsbad Marathon
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 4 I did this as my first marathon... and it couldn't have been better! Very well organized, great website, and perfect weather and location. They gave a nice long-sleeve technicnal t-shirt and medal to all finishers and had a station about every mile. the stations had everything from Gatorade to water to gels to pretzels. The course has nice views the whole way through, with about 15 miles along the ocean. I highly recommend this marathon for anybody that is thinking about doing a marathon for the first time! | |
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E. P. from San Diego, CA
(1/23/2007)
"Great organization; beautiful course" (about: 2007)
1 previous marathon
| 1 Carlsbad Marathon
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 4 I had heard that this race had great organization for a smaller race, and I was not disappointed. Great support; it seemed like someone was always handing me a cup of water, a gel, or some vaseline (which I was glad I took!). This race is known for being walker- and slower runner-friendly, but they did a great job this year of clearing the walkers to the side (with pre-race instructions and even motorcyles!) so the faster runners were not impeded. The course is just beautiful along the ocean and the headwind was not bad at all, in my opinion. I also did not find the hills to be a problem; on the contrary, they kind of kept things from getting boring. Only nitpick was the boring short loop through the industrial park next to the freeway - at least that part was flat though! | |
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D. B. from Oceanside, California
(1/22/2007)
"A mixed bag" (about: 2007)
11-50 previous marathons
| 4-5 Carlsbad Marathons
COURSE: 3 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 3 The full marathon is a nice size (1200 runners). The half marathon was a lot bigger this year (7000 runners), and the expo organization seemed to suffer as a result. Apart from the expo, the organization seemed fine. The course is beautiful when it runs along the coast in Carlsbad, but not so beautiful when it goes inland. Isn't there any way to add coastline loops? I know it's been said before, but that Ultima is so nasty! I would be glad to pay more and have something else as the energy drink! (How do they persuade rats to pee into bottles anyway?) Another couple of pet peeves: why do we have church ladies giving out prayer cards along the course? I personally found that to be very irritating. Second, do local high school students get some sort of community service credit for volunteering?? I've been part of this race as a runner and as a volunteer, and the work ethic of SOME (not all) of the high school volunteers is... underwhelming. There were some aid stations whose volunteers were too busy socializing to actually hand out water. It's a small thing, and most of the volunteers are fantastic - but it's discouraging late in the race. | |
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P. Z. from Sacramento, CA
(1/22/2007)
"Yes, Do This One!" (about: 2007)
1 previous marathon
| 1 Carlsbad Marathon
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 This is only my second half marathon but I was in awe at how organized it was. There were lots of staff around, and there was water and sports drink in abundance. The hills were a bit much when you didn't expect them, but all in all, a gorgeous course. I was particularly impressed by the finish. There was a bag of food for every runner so you didn't have to battle with people over the "good stuff" or be disappointed if you were not one of the fastest finishers. This was truly a race for everyone. | |
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h. b. from Columbus, OH
(1/22/2007)
"Great marathon!" (about: 2007)
3 previous marathons
| 1 Carlsbad Marathon
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 4 Just completed the marathon yesterday and wow - I'm super sore! We're from flat-land Ohio, and running in Carlsbad was hillier than what we're used to. Although, don't be intimidated! This course was beautiful and absolutely well-staffed. Aid stations were frequent (and there before or after any inclines). I wish there were more spectators - but the scenery made up for that. Of course, that's to be expected of a smaller marathon held in a big city's suburb. The scenery was very distracting and Carlsbad is a lovely city to visit with very friendly people. I even saw a guy running the marathon with his dog! Definitely will return. |
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