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Gateway To The Pacific Marathon Runner Comments
Back to Gateway To The Pacific Marathon Information & Reviews
Course 3.3 
Organization 2.6 
Spectators 1.1
Number of comments: 11 [displaying comments 1 to 11]
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R. M. from Northwest Washington State
(10/15/2007)
"Unorganized Small Race" (about: 2007)
11-50 previous marathons
| 2 Gateway To The Pacific Marathons
COURSE: 3 ORGANIZATION: 1 FANS: 1 The guy who puts these races on has no reason to do so. He doesn't promptly return any emails or calls, and takes WEEKS - I kid you not - three weeks to post results from a race with fewer than 100 people. No organization, poor mile markers, lack of food at the finish and two slovenly teens at the finish to take your time and rip your tag off. I had to ask for my medal - no one knew where to go - from all three people at the finish. No "good job," no "thanks," and a boring, unorganized marathon. Course is fine; it's a flat country road, out and back. | |
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Todd Byers from Long Beach, sunny SoCal
(9/7/2006)
"I can't say enough about the support..." (about: 2006)
50+ previous marathons
| 1 Gateway To The Pacific Marathon
COURSE: 2 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 1 Just as the final score does not necessarily measure the excitement of a game, nor do the number of "stars" adequately reflect the overall quality of an event. First, I am surprised that no one else has rated the 2006 edition of the Gateway to the Pacific Marathon due to its unique circumstances this year. So my focus will be on the PEOPLE, not just the rating "stars." It was hotter 'n Heck out there with temps topping 100 - a relatively rare happening even for Elma. Race Director Bob Green afforded all participants a start earlier than advertised for their safety. Due to the double out-and-back course for marathoners, aid stations were certainly often enough (for me) since they were each tapped a few times. The volunteers at each were encouraging and enthusiastic. Due to my quite slow outing, indeed some of the locations were unmanned upon my return, but at my not-so-blistering pace, it was not a hardship to slow down enough to take a cup off a table instead of its being handed to me. As others have said, there ain't no one else out there to cheer you on, 'cept'n if you count the one fellow who was out on his lawn to help slow down traffic as it sped by on the parts of the road which were under construction by his house. (He was very kind and sprayed me with his watering hose, though!!) Remember, if you want lots of cheerleaders, the New York Marathon is in November! The course itself was not exciting and with my generally being a barefoot marathoner, I had been cautioned by Barefoot Jon that this course was NOT barefoot-friendly - but with shoes, it was quite doable. Basically, it is kind of your country course with no city frills. Even with all of the support, I - along with many others, including Marathon Maniacs - felt the effects of the heat (I, more so than others). Toward the end, it was none other than RD Bob and his lovely wife Kristina (she is still lovely even when I am not on the brink of exhaustion!) who encouraged me and provided even more support in order to allow me to finish. Other friendly finishers (thank you Pigtail, Jason, and Jon!) even came back out on the course to help us tail-enders. Because of my own personal trials en route, this was one of the toughest of the 202 marathons I had completed to that date. But certainly worth it to get to the still-there and enthusiastic finish line - even when I was finishing dead last after 8.5 hours!! Again, say what you will about this event - but if there was a "spirit" or "friendliness" rating on this one, I would give it a 10! This is the first time I have never left a review for a marathon on this site, so I must actually believe in it!! All said, this is definitely more well-suited for the more experienced marathoner or those who do not require constant cheering or coddling en route. But those who do it will definitely be rewarded by participating with some of the best people I have ever met - including the event staff!! | |
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B. B. from Williamsburg, Virginia
(8/10/2005)
"Nice except for the finish line" (about: 2005)
6-10 previous marathons
| 1 Gateway To The Pacific Marathon
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 2 FANS: 1 We decided to run this on Friday. I flew in from the east coast on Saturday. We ran the race on Sunday. The weather was perfect for this girl from the Southeast. Temperature was fine for me and the low humidity was a real treat. The course was exactly as promised. 13.1 miles out and the same 13.1 back. We expected no spectators and there were none. That was fine with me. One runner's wife drove the course a few times during the race and that was a real blessing. She was quite enthusiastic! Meeting her and her husband was fun. I waited to post my comments because I wanted to be 100% positive in my words but, alas, I cannot... I am disappointed that more care was not given to the results. The finish line was not staffed properly. For as much as this race day registration cost, I expected better organization at the finish. Heck, there were only 32 runners in the marathon! And my time is wrong on the results page. Even our home state is posted wrong. Our last marathon was in June in West Virginia. The Hatfield-McCoy. That one was fantastic! The finish line was staffed by folks who wanted to be there and the race only cost $45 and that included the pasta dinner the night before and a barbeque lunch after the race. I would still recommend this here Washington race for experienced marathoners who need 'Washington' and want to run in July. | |
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C. G. from USA
(8/9/2005)
"Lackadaisical administration" (about: 2005)
6-10 previous marathons
| 1 Gateway To The Pacific Marathon
COURSE: 3 ORGANIZATION: 1 FANS: 1 Course is okay, nothing spectacular. Organization is lacking, no one at the beginning of race to provide information. Lots of folks confused about parking. Barely enough people to hand out packets. At the finish line, person recording times wandered around maybe being at the line when people crossed and other times wandering up later. I had to tell the director that the winner of the marathon had crossed the finish line. Then when I received my time (I ran the half marathon)), it was slower than the winner of the marathon. Very difficult to have a slower time than someone who finishes after you. Another person ran in on the wrong side of the road and when the recording person finally noticed, they just yelled at the person to come over to the finish line. Once the first two hours of the race were over, no one else mattered. Avoid this one, unless you like sloppy administration. | |
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Sue Pritchard from Mahone,WV 26362 USA
(7/27/2005)
"Friendly marathon with beautiful scenery." (about: 2005)
11-50 previous marathons
| 1 Gateway To The Pacific Marathon
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 1 What a great little race. Nice temperature for mid-summer - not like the 90's and high humidity of WV. The treatment from the race director and his wife was awesome. Sprained my ankle at mile 10, but they waited on me and my husband to finish, great support!! As a 50-stater, and a race-walker, their generosity was greatly appreciated. And to get a finisher's medal and a TROPHY was an added PLUS for us. Thank you. Sue and Larry Pritchard, WV. | |
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Cheryl Gross from San Antonio, TX
(7/25/2005)
"Best After Marathon Food I've seen" (about: 2005)
50+ previous marathons
| 1 Gateway To The Pacific Marathon
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 3 FANS: 1 I ran the 1/2 marathon this year and a full marathon in a previous year. I knew going into the marathon that the scenery was Washington greenery along a rural road and enjoyed the peace and serenity. I did not expect any fans along the course, but at the finish, I had lots of fellow runners cheering me on. The camaraderie with this group was heart warming, and I think Bob Green deserves special credit for personally checking on everyone after the race and awarding lots of medals and prizes; thus many people who normally wouldn't get an award, got to be recognized. The food provided afterwards for all runners was tremendous with just about every kind of carbo imaginable. The pre-race organization could have been better but certainly not friendlier. I had my 1/2 marathon packet within seconds and got a friend's (full marathon) from a different line within a couple of minutes. The race is small so it was easy to figure this out. | |
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T. W. from Lakewood, CO
(7/25/2005)
"Fairly decent marathon" (about: 2005)
1 previous marathon
| 1 Gateway To The Pacific Marathon
COURSE: 3 ORGANIZATION: 1 FANS: 1 Course: They started late. Pretty much flat. Some scenery. Passing farms wasn't always the most enjoyable experience due to smell and flies. After the marathon turnaround, you can forget about mileage markers. Also you're sharing the road with large pickup trucks and horse trailers, and many of them do NOT slow down while they fly past you, even when they have extended mirrors. Made it nervewracking at times. Other than that the trees (although don't count on shade) and fields were nice for scenery. Aid stations/Port-a-johns: Only one station had a 1st aid kit, which I didn't need thankfully, and it was at mile 20. They said there were 2 Porta-johns, but I only saw one, and it was located at mile 6 on the way out, mile 20 on the way back. Volunteers didn't know which mile they were located at for the marathoners. Use of styrofoam cups made it hard to drink and run (you can pinch paper together so you don't spill it all over yourself). Gels were sitting on the table. At least 1 station was completely unmanned, and at 1 point there was no station for 3 miles. It got pretty warm, so that was not good. Volunteers mostly appeared bored stiff and couldn't bother to cheer you on. Spectators: Zilch. Not a one. Organization: Registration was awful. There were 3 lines and no indication as to which you belonged in. They ran out of the most popular sizes for shirts too, and the T-shirts don't have the date on them. You had to hunt to find out where to pick up your medal and trophy, and then they were just kind of unceremoniously handed to you as if you were bothering them. Post-race food: I'll give this one an A+. Tons of food and all kinds from your basic junk food to fruit to sandwiches you put together yourself. Plenty of drinks, although they had way more soda than water. After running 26.2 miles, I wanted water! Medals/Trophy: Cool to get a trophy, but they're made for the half marathoners, so if you're a full marathoner, your trophy has a small piece of white tape on the brass plaque covering the 1/2 part. Kind of takes away from it, but it's still really cool to get a trophy as well. Overall: A VERY small marathon. You all start at the same time (5K, 10K, 10 mile, half and full marathon), and so while you run these people keep turning around. Made it kind of weird. And then if you're not a fast runner, you were alone for most of the remaining run after the half marathon turnaround. Was also a bummer they didn't arrange for any photography. Definitely not a marathon for people who need spectators or energetic, cheering volunteers. | |
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S. R. from Mercer Island, WA
(7/24/2005)
"Flat-N-Relatively Fast" (about: 2005)
11-50 previous marathons
| 1 Gateway To The Pacific Marathon
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 3 FANS: 1 This is a low-key marathon best suited for experienced runners. The 2005 course is relatively flat [gentle rollers], out and back for 13.1 miles. Aid stations offered warm sports drink and/or water. The roads are open to traffic but there were only a few cars. I rarely nosh on marathon fair but there seemed to be decent food afterwards. My only complaint: after 10AM it gets pretty hot on July 24th, even in Elma, WA. | |
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Laurence Macon from San Antonio,TX.
(7/12/2004)
"A Good Small Marathon " (about: 2004)
50+ previous marathons
| 2 Gateway To The Pacific Marathons
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 2 Race Director Bob Green listens and improves the race to suit the runners. The race is now a flat out and back course, beginning in a park and then out 13 miles on a virtually deserted, scenic country road. There are now full water stops every two miles and plenty of medals and trophies. But best of all, Bob is accommodating. If you have an early flight out of Seattle (1.5 hours away), Bob will allow an early start. There are no spectators (except for some dogs, horses and cows that ran with us), and the closest real accommodations are in Olympia (0.5 hour away), but it's a fun marathon for the 20-30 participants. | |
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M. J. from USA
(10/6/2003)
"Flat and sparse" (about: 2003)
COURSE: 2 ORGANIZATION: 2 FANS: 1 With roughly 17 finishers in the 'thon... it didn't feel much like a marathon at all. Scenery was limited to trees and fields. The course in '03 was an out-and-back 6.5 mile road. Some of the volunteers didn't show up and thus the course was redisigned last minute. Those that did show up sat at the aid stations reading for the most part, and we had to get our own drinks. If low-key, no spectators, no frills is what you want, then this one is perfect. Nice folks to chat with and a cool lake to dip in afterwards. I would recommed this as a great training run. But do it earlier in the day and save your money. |
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