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Nov 14, 2024

Road2Hope Hamilton Marathon Runner Comments

Back to Road2Hope Hamilton Marathon Information & Reviews

Course 4.2

Organization 4.2

Spectators 3.3

Number of comments: 51 [displaying comments 1 to 11]

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S. M. from Toronto, ON (3/19/2018) "111th full marathon! tough day for a race" (about: 2018) 50+ previous marathons \| 4-5 Road2Hope Hamilton Marathons COURSE: 3 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 3 The race is well organized with runners getting access to a nearby community centre prior the race start. you park at the finish line and shuttles take you to the start. lots of food at the end of the race and water stations every 3 km. It started raining hard right at the start. The 10km of downhill after the half way point was welcome. More hills than I remembered in the first half but pretty flat the last 10 km. The scenery along the waterfront is nice at the end as well.
G. G. from PA (11/28/2017) "Unexpected hills in first half" (about: 2017) 11-50 previous marathons \| 1 Road2Hope Hamilton Marathon COURSE: 3 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 3 The views from the escarpment and along the waterfront are superb. I actually liked the cold, rainy weather. My only negative comment concerns the course changes which I was told happened about 2 years, adding significant hills in the first half, which is not what is advertised.
Costas Farassoglou from Ottawa, ON (11/24/2017) "33rd Marathon was truly amazing!!!" (about: 2017) 11-50 previous marathons \| 1 Road2Hope Hamilton Marathon COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 4 This was my 33rd overall Marathon, and I truly enjoyed it. I decided to complete the 'Hammer the Hammer' Challenge (5K and 10K on Saturday and Marathon on Sunday). I won the event, and brought my best 5K, 10K and Marathon times in over 5 years. The Race pick-up was small, but very quick and well organized. You can really tell how the volunteers really love the event. This is an awesome race if you want a well-organized, small-town feel for a Marathon. The medal and shirt were very nice, with a unique 10th Anniversary logo. The course was very well marked, with lots of support from the volunteers and fans near the finish. The weather didn't co-operate this year, but it wasn't a big problem to battle through. I loved running on the Red Hill Expressway and the last 10K of the Marathon is truly amazing with views of Lake Ontario and lots of green space. The Finish line was well supported with hot soup and lots of nutrition and drinks. Excellent job to the Organizing Committee and the City of Hamilton. Truly a gem!!
Jodi Sanders from Hamilton, Ontario (11/15/2017) "Well organised race" (about: 2017) 1 previous marathon \| 1 Road2Hope Hamilton Marathon COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 3 I ran the half here last year and ran the full this year. Shaved over 20 minutes off my Ottawa Marathon time. This race is well organised. Aid stations are evenly spaced out. Route is well marked and has excellent course marshalls. There various sections of the course help break it up. The downhill portion on the Red Hill Valley parkway is fun to run. How often do you get to run on a highway? You do not get the kind of fan support you do at bigger races, but there were a lot of volunteers at every aid station that were supportive. There was another comment that didn't like the shirt. I'm the opposite. I LOVED it. It was the 10th anniversary of the race this year so they chose a unique design. It was very windy and rainy this year but nothing you can do about that. One of the race directors, Gord Pauls, was there still at the start, and was one of the key people helping people as they crossed the finish line. I love the personal touch of the race! The post race food was perfect. A hot soup to warm you up, replace fluids and salt. I had 3 cups of it! They had lots of other food options (bananas, apples, pizza, protein bars) which I took to go as my system didn't want the solid food right away. They had an RMT in the medic tent who helped me a lot. There are free massages in another tent too They also has a Tim Hortons truck giving away free coffee and hot chocolate. We Canadians LOVE our Tim Hortons! The medal was good quality...quite solid. Free race photos were really appreciated. I feel fortunate to be part of the hometown crowd here and I echo othe centiments about the race directors. They care so much about this race and the charities it supports. I will be back!
M. S. from Buffalo, New York (11/9/2017) "Excellent low-key fall marathon" (about: 2017) 6-10 previous marathons \| 1 Road2Hope Hamilton Marathon COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 4 With the warmer-than-average temperatures that we had in the area this fall, I wanted to push my goal race as far back as possible in hopes of cool weather, while still being able to stay semi-local to keep logistics easy. This is no big-city race, but it doesn't need to be. For someone who just wants to show up and run a fast race, Hamilton is perfect. They allow morning-of packet pickup, which was ideal for someone like me, coming from Buffalo. It was very easy to find the finish area and park (although I would recommend coming early as I heard minor grumblings that the area got tied up at a certain point with all the shuttles going out and cars coming in). The shuttle was quick. Having the arena to wait in right next to the starting line was amazing, especially on a cool, windy, and rainy morning like the one we had. The course itself is a mix of scenic rural roads and more suburban areas. The views off of the escarpment early in the race were really beautiful. The first half has a few more rollers than I was expecting, but they're all very gentle - just enough to give the legs some variety. The wind made for some challenging sections, but there are enough turns that we were never stuck in a headwind for long. The water stops were plentiful, and the volunteers were fantastic. My only (minor) complaint is that some of the smaller intersections were not traffic-controlled. Luckily drivers were patient, but it still made me a bit nervous. I loved the downhill Red Hill Valley Parkway section - such a neat experience! The short off-road section after the parkway wasn't as tricky as I was expecting based on some comments - the cobblestones weren't great, but those sections are extremely short. At a 4-hour pace, I did catch some half marathoners there, but there was plenty of room to pass. The final stretch along the lake was beautiful, even if I was in too much pain to properly experience it. Like the previous commenter, I was surprised by the number of people cheering considering the weather. The was a nice post-race spread (including soup, which is objectively the best thing ever after a marathon). They had a big tent with plenty of chairs so we could sit down and get out of the weather. Also, a shoutout to the bag pickup folks - I came staggering in, still very tired and disoriented, and they read my bib number and shouted for my bag, and they had it ready to go before I even got to the table. That's service! After I changed and ate, I was back in my car and on the QEW within a couple minutes. Super easy. Another nice touch that the race offers - free photos! They only had a couple photographers out, but that's still nice to see. Overall, I had a fantastic experience at the race and ran a 14 minute PR despite the weather. This race doesn't appear to be very well-known in Buffalo compared to Niagara Falls International and TWFM, but you can bet that I'll talk it up whenever I get the chance!
P. B. from Canada (11/8/2017) "As friendly and scenic as it gets" (about: 2017) 11-50 previous marathons \| 3 Road2Hope Hamilton Marathons COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 4 I've run the Hamilton Marathon three of its ten years, and I love it more each time. The course is touted to be the fastest Boston qualifier in Canada, and it certainly is a course that lends itself to a BQ. That said, it is NOT a breakneck, quad-trashing, ridiculous descent that some 'fast' marathons choose to use, but rather a gentle, easy descent over 8km. I'm writing this the day after running the marathon and my legs feel better than they have at any other marathon. There is so much to love about this race. It's small and intimate as marathons go, which I happen to like, though I admit some people do like the crowd support of the major marathons. That said, there were a surprising number of people standing out in the wind and battering rain yesterday to cheer on the runners, all along the course. The staging area for the start is a rec complex, which means a warm place to wait and yes, indoor plumbing. You can go out the doors to the start line 5 minutes before start time and it's as easy as that. The course is in a word, lovely. The first 15 k or so are all on rural, largely flat country roads, with a few stretches of splendid views out over lake Ontario, all the way toward Toronto. Then you do 8k in rural/suburban but still quiet areas before heading down the Red Hill Expressway at 22km. This 6km descent is entirely closed to traffic, and it's quite fun to run down the highway as the traffic in the upbound lanes beeps horns in encouragement. At Barton Street (28k) you leave the expressway and do 2km on trails, which is a really nice change of footing. Nothing technical, but a great way to change it up and give the legs a bit of a rest. Kilometres 31 to 36-ish are done along the waterfront trail and Beach Boulevard. There is a timing mat at the 36k turnaround, then you head back along the waterfront trail toward the finish line. You are literally running right alongside Lake Ontario. There could be few prettier places to run a marathon. Yes, weather is a crap shoot. November in Southern Ontario could be anything from Summer to Winter. Roll the dice and see what you get on race day. The three times I've run this race were basically three different seasons. And the 2017 version was VERY windy and VERY rainy. Yes, the wind is a factor. But look at the course map and you'll see that headwinds and tailwinds basically average out. There will be some tough kilometres. But there will be some easy ones as well. Last year, 2016, we had a headwind going down the Red Hill, and it seemed to mitigate the speed of the descent. This year, 2017, we struggled against headwinds from kilometres 9-14 and again from 36-42, but kilometres 22-30 down the Red Hill were a sturdy tailwind. The post-race care is exceptional. Right at the finish line there is a big tent with people handing out soup and pizza and other comfort foods to help warm up the cold, tired runners. The very best thing about this race, though, is the intangible, human factor. The Pauls family is a running institution in Hamilton; they are all passionate runners and triathletes; they operate the Runners Den stores, they have sponsored and supported African runners who need to find their feet in Canada, and they have organized this race and others such as the Ancaster Old Mill race, for many years. They have always been inspirational for what they give back to the local community and to other charities, such as relief work in Haiti in the case of the Road2Hope races. They have created a cadre of dedicated volunteers who genuinely want to be at this race and make sure that the runners have a positive experience, as was witnessed at the 2017 edition of the race. Given the weather conditions, I fully expected some water stations to perhaps be understaffed, because volunteers had cried off, but this was far from the case. The people standing out there in the rain were enthusiastic and kind and very much appreciated. And I think it's this quality that speaks to the city of Hamilton as a whole. They're simply good, kind people. I almost want to be selfish and not post this review, because I feel like the Road2Hope marathon is indeed a little gem of a race, and it's like a secret that I want to keep all to myself. But at the same time, they deserve the accolades for what they've accomplished.
S. D. from I was in motherwell. Scotland then now truro. Ns (1/26/2017) "Experience" (about: 2011) 1 previous marathon \| 1 Road2Hope Hamilton Marathon COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 4 I am from the uk. I came to canada on vacation and this was my first ever marathon. I thought the whole event was well organised and had plenty water and washroom stops on course. I enjoyed completing this and came over all placed 780 with a time of 4.43.13. I really enjoyed this day although i couldnt walk for days after it. I ran this race in 2011 and it was a great experience for me knowing i completed my goal of finishing a full marathon. I loved the canadian people that much from my time here i actually now live in nova scotia and have done since 5 months after completing this marathon. I would recommend this marathon route to anyone thats doing it first time. The terrain is all roads thats closed and mostly all flat which helps use less energy and to complete it in a park. I cant remember the name of it. It maybe confederation park but the crowds there were amazing. Giving out heat foil blankets and water and most important my finishing medal. I thank the organisers and the canadian people for their great event and support all along the way. Thank you Steven Dunn
Sanjay Mohanta from Ottawa, ON (11/2/2015) "My 76th Marathon! A gem!" (about: 2015) 50+ previous marathons \| 3 Road2Hope Hamilton Marathons COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 2 Runners in Toronto are spoiled. They get to run some good races with only a tank of gas in the fall. You have the new MEC marathon in TO in September, London, PEC, Toronto Waterfront, Niagara Falls and Hamilton. The race is underrated. Fast and easy packet pickup with free parking, free parking on the race day and brilliant views. There was a strong head wind this year and I thought some of mile markings were off. They ran out of water and honey max near the end so I cramped up. Lots of pizza and soup at the end for 5 hour plus runners so I was happy. The t-shirt needs to go. It seems more like an afterthought. Something gaudy and obnoxious that screams I just ran 42.2 km in November.
Rod Henning from London, Ontario (11/13/2014) "Great Overall Experience" (about: 2014) 11-50 previous marathons \| 1 Road2Hope Hamilton Marathon COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 4 The course was a lot more scenic than I expected. Looking over the lake at Toronto on the other side is a great way to keep your mind off of racing. The course layout is perfect to approach mentally with several different transition points. I found the marshalling to be very good and there was never any doubt about the next turn. We had near perfect weather at -2C to start. There was enough wind to be annoying and I think it will generally be against you but given the huge downhill it is a fair tradeoff. The water stops were enthusiastic and well placed, spectators are sparse but as expected in a marathon that isn't Boston or Chicago. The finish line soup is a nice touch to get some heat back in the body. I think the overall organization was very good. I'm not a huge fan of half marathons being run on the same course as marathons but given the later half start it isn't a major issue. I did experience some congestion on the path system in the park on the way out towards Burlington but it was manageable. Washrooms could always be more plentiful but people really need to arrive early and plan properly for themselves. Many people lined up for the indoor washrooms when the portapottie lines were moving quickly. The start line was not immediately obvious and could have been set up a little earlier in order to let people corral up. Several buses also showed up just prior to the start which delayed the start by a minute or two. Not a big deal just could be a bit smoother. Nice smaller race on a great course well set up for a good time. I'd recommend it to anyone.
Sanjay Mohanta from Ottawa, ontario (11/3/2014) "My 62nd marathon! A fine little race" (about: 2014) 50+ previous marathons \| 2 Road2Hope Hamilton Marathons COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 2 I really liked this race. Plenty of free parking, plenty of food at the finish line and easy race kit pickup. Having the finish line close to the highway was a nice touch as well. The only minor improvements would be a space for emergency contact info at the back of the bib. Also maybe a later start time for half so the washrooms are not so crowded. Well worth the trip to Hamilton. Check out the burnt tongue resto afterwards

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