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Colfax Marathon Runner Comments
Back to Colfax Marathon Information & Reviews
Course 3.6 
Organization 3.7 
Spectators 3.3
Number of comments: 87 [displaying comments 51 to 61]
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D. M. from Fort Collins, CO
(6/9/2007)
"The wrong focus" (about: 2007)
11-50 previous marathons
| 2 Colfax Marathons
COURSE: 3 ORGANIZATION: 3 FANS: 2 The race organizers seem to spend too much time and money on advertising and promotion while neglecting some basics: - Transportation/parking is confusing and brutal - you need to catch a bus around 4:00 a.m. only to have to wait around for over an hour for the start. - No gel shots as promised. Couple that with warm weather and an uphill finish (not to mention the "free" 1/2 mile accidentally added on to the course around mile 12) is a sure way for runners to run out of gas before the finish line. Recommendations: - Get the price right for what is delivered. This is one of the poorest values in US marathoning. - Focus on race basics (bathrooms, keeping support promises, simplifying transportation logistics) and less on self promotion and publicity. - Keep up the initiative to encourage shelter residents to train and run. That was inspirational and a very worthy cause. - Keep admitting when you make mistakes. The race director handled the extra .5 mile flub-up in a stand-up way. | |
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W. B. from Texas
(6/5/2007)
"The sun, and hills, snuck up and bit me" (about: 2007)
50+ previous marathons
| 1 Colfax Marathon
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 3 FANS: 3 Wow. I finished my 71st marathon with congestion/sinusitis. The sun intensity and gradual uphill climb both got the best of me. This is probably a good choice for your Colorado marathon if you want to avoid running at even higher altitudes with more hills. The course being 1/2 mile off didn't bother me as much as the end of the full marathon course turn and climb to the finish line, in the heat, after some more hills. | |
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Y. G. from Littleton, CO
(6/2/2007)
"It was off by more than 0.5 mi" (about: 2007)
2 previous marathons
| 2 Colfax Marathons
COURSE: 3 ORGANIZATION: 3 FANS: 2 It is pretty demoralizing to run through the half-marathon start gates and see that you were not at expected 13.1 mi, but at 14.8 mi. By the time I'd finished my GPS was showing 27.8 mi. I don't know who had certified this course. I'm totally aware that these gadgets may not be absolutely accurate, but if anything they would show less, not more. I've run both marathons and must say that I didn't like either, but wanted to stick around to see if things had gotten better. | |
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K. R. from Arvada, CO
(5/28/2007)
"Getting better each year; a few kinks to work out" (about: 2007)
3 previous marathons
| 2 Colfax Marathons
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 4 The t-shirts were really... not very cool. There were supposed to be gels at mile 20? Was counting on that fuel, but they weren't there. Need more food on the course - get donations from big companies and have schools hand them out... even candy or more oranges. The Sloans Lake detour was great, much better than last year. Need a better way to get to the start without waiting around for an hour. Maybe have some of the expo tents at the start so people can move around and look at stuff. Looking forward to next year. | |
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T. W. from Denver, Colorado
(5/24/2007)
"One to Avoid" (about: 2007)
11-50 previous marathons
| 1 Colfax Marathon
COURSE: 2 ORGANIZATION: 3 FANS: 1 I've run more than a dozen marathons and this one was the worst by far. The course is dreadfully dull, and the final six miles are almost entirely uphill - including a grueling finish. Many of the water stations were understaffed, so runners had to stand and wait for water; there were not enough toilets at the start and all along the course; and there were very few spectators. There is no parking or runner drop-off at the start, so you're forced to park 3 miles away and take a bus to the start. Thus, there were very few family or friends at the start to support the runners. And finally, to add insult to injury, the race T-shirt is poor quality. Today there's even a news article about how the race organizers flubbed the course mileage and runners did an extra half-mile! This race was an absolute embarrassment. | |
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J. G. from Denver
(5/22/2007)
"Not bad org. for 2nd year, but the course is borin" (about: 2007)
3 previous marathons
| 1 Colfax Marathon
COURSE: 2 ORGANIZATION: 3 FANS: 4 Positives: - Lots of water/Gatorade support. - Good spectator support. - Not too big of a crowd, - Great volunteers - really nice, supportive people. Negatives: - With the 6 a.m. start, the point-to-point and the lack of parking at the start line, we had to board buses between 4 a.m. and 4:30, and then wait at the start line for an hour. It was just a long, slow process to even start the race. (It would have been great to have coffee at the start.) - This is a personal preference issue, but the race, as advertised, is almost a straight-line run up Colfax. For me, I found this boring. - While the support stations had lots of water, there were no gels or food, and the porta-potties were limited. - For the very expensive fee, the goodies were sparse. There was a great medal, and OK pre-race t-shirt, no finishing shirt, and no food support. This is the most I have ever spent on a marathon, and the least I have received. The cost/benefit just seems out of whack. (That being said, I can guess that they probably need some more runners to cover the fixed costs.) - Of 5,000 entrants, there were fewer than 500 marathoners. This really is a relay race, not a marathon. Don't know why, but this bugged me a bit. | |
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Matthew Berrie from Denver, CO
(5/22/2007)
"Incline at end of race was brutal; great spectator" (about: 2007)
1 previous marathon
| 1 Colfax Marathon
COURSE: 3 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 4 This was my first marathon, the best experience of my life. The course was generally flat until mile 15 or 16 with a gradual climb to the end, with the last half-mile or so a brutal climb to an uphill finish. I hit the wall aroung mile 18, found my second wind about mile 20, but was questioning my sanity and the logic of so many hills at the end. It ended well for me - the most satisfying, agonizing, and incredible experience. I will run other marathons - this one only if they reversed the course with the incline at the start (wow, what a concept). Good organization, plenty of water stations, porta-potties, and no traffic problems that I encountered. The sponges soaked in cold water at mile 23 helped me finish the race! It was also hot at the end of the race - about 73, man I was feeling it. All in all, as an inexperienced marathoner, I give this race an 8 overall. | |
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C. J. from Denver
(5/22/2007)
"Worst Race Ever" (about: 2007)
6-10 previous marathons
| 1 Colfax Marathon
COURSE: 1 ORGANIZATION: 3 FANS: 3 There is a line in the movie "Armeggedon" when someone asks what it'll be like on the asteroid. After a very bleak explanation, Owen Wilson says, "Oh, so the worst environment imaginable. That's all you had to say." Well, when you ask me what I thought about the Colfax Marathon, that's my answer. Worst race ever. I think that if I had to choose to run a marathon on Colfax or run a marathon on a treadmill, I'd pick the treadmill. Why? * Early start * Not enough bathrooms at the beginning (heard it was worse for the half runners) * No gel, Gu or fruit at any aid stations * Not enough aid stations, especially towards the end * Cost is too high for what you get * Crowd support, outside of the volunteers, was very poor. Unless you count the high number of "motels by-the-hour" guests that came out to see what the heck was going on outside. There was hardly anyone the finish. And the sound system was terrible. ...and last but not least... * Whoever thought of running a marathon down (or UP) Colfax should be in a straight jacket. They said that there were some additions this year and that the finish line would be better. Wrong. The loop around Sloan's Lake was nice, but the run back to Colfax wasn't. Folks, it's a straight shot for 26.2 miles. When you crest one hill, you can literally see two miles ahead of you. And the finish is straight uphill. It is so very demoralizing. This was my 8th marathon. I usually run around 3:30 and ended up 20 minutes slower for this. I honestly almost quit at the half because I was so digusted with the whole thing. From the look of the numbers (fewer than 400 total marathoners), this might not be a race that stays around long. The "new" Denver Marathon, which is run in October, is SO much better than Colfax, and didn't get nearly the same amount of press and advertisement. Stay away from Colfax, everyone. If you want to run a marathon out here in the elevation, I recommend Denver, Ft. Collins, Durango, or for the brave, Pikes Peak. | |
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M. B. from Colorado
(5/22/2007)
"Golden Hill/last 1.5 miles" (about: 2007)
3 previous marathons
| 1 Colfax Marathon
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 3 Isn't there some way to rearrange the last part of this race? From Golden Hill on it was extremely challenging. Maybe a couple of more times around Sloan's Lake to take to save us from that treacherous ending? I'm all about pushing myself, but 26 miles is pushing it pretty good! Organizers and stations/volunteers were awesome. Thanks! | |
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B. H. from Chicago, IL
(5/21/2007)
"Hot but an o.k. time" (about: 2007)
11-50 previous marathons
COURSE: 3 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 2 Born and raised in Denver, I have spent the last 4 years in Chicago, which probably made the race more difficult for me. We do not have altitude or hills of any kind. What Chicago does have is a AMAZING marathon, and sometimes I need to stop comparing other races to my home town. Lets start with the expo. It was a good size for this type of race. One thing they could improve upon would be to have an actual marathon guide explaining all of the information about the race including the bus schedule, gear check, etc. They did have a small newspaper with all this as well as the website, but a guide book is ideal. On the race morning, there were not very good markings of where the parking at the Colorado Mills mall was. The busses did not have clear markings of which one was for the marathon and which one was for the half. I knew that Leg 1 had to be the marthon, but my friend running the half could not find his bus. Another suggestion would be to have a better gear check. Having to leave your bag on the bus and expect it to be at the finish is not ideal. There were ample toilets to use at the start of the marathon, but my friend running the half did not have any ready when the busses arrived to drop off the first group of people. There were little fan support, but a little is better than none right? I would aslo suggest having medical tents every few miles. Or at least have some tables with things like Body Glide and Band-Aids. I only saw one of them set up towards the finish. When they say that it is going to be hot and uphill most of the way, they were not kidding. There was little shade throughout the whole race and the last 5 miles were always at a steep incline. I have never seen so many runners walking the last few miles and especially walking up the last .2 miles to the finish line. Maybe put the finish at an area that will not have such a steep finish? I hope the race director reads all the information people post and can make minor adjustments to help make the Colfax Marathon a big success in the future. |
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