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☰
Columbus Marathon Runner Comments
Back to Columbus Marathon Information & Reviews
Course 4.4 
Organization 4.1 
Spectators 4.2
Number of comments: 335 [displaying comments 191 to 201]
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A. D. from Ann Arbor, MI
(10/16/2006)
"Nice course, but the Gatorade was watered down" (about: 2006)
1 previous marathon
| 1 Columbus Marathon
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 2 FANS: 5 Course was great, but the Gatorade was watered down and had a metallic taste. | |
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G. P. from Atlanta, Georgia
(10/16/2006)
"Wonderful Event" (about: 2006)
6-10 previous marathons
| 1 Columbus Marathon
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 3 I thought the whole event was wonderful. I commend the sponsors and organizers. I've done Minneapolis and Chicago and consider this event just as good, although smaller. And I discovered that Columbus, Ohio is quite a city as well. Run this event. You will not be disappointed. | |
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D. W. from Richmond, KY
(10/16/2006)
"Flat, fast and friendly" (about: 2006)
6-10 previous marathons
| 4-5 Columbus Marathons
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 3 FANS: 4 If you're looking to PR, this is a good race for it. The course is generally flat, but miles 19-22 seem to rise very gradually and go on forever. Don't let anyone tell you it is pancake-flat. Starting the half-marathon walkers an hour early was a good idea, and clear directions to the massage area were a nice improvement. However, the half marathoners took all the massage spots (they need to split this up). Also, they need more bathroom facilities at the start and if you run under three hours, a couple of the turns could be a bit more clear in the 20's, as there is not a big crowd. Crowd support was great in some areas and even in the hinterlands there were a few folks. Overall, a good place to run a fast time. | |
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D. k. from u.s.
(10/16/2006)
"Nice weather; needs more organization" (about: 2006)
11-50 previous marathons
| 2 Columbus Marathons
COURSE: 2 ORGANIZATION: 1 FANS: 1 I think this course is longer than 26.2. Bad mistake. Also, it is not flat and fast. Expo needs work. Having the mile markers for the half mixed in with the whole was confusing at first, until you figured out what was going on. Why did your host hotel not have a late checkout when I was told I could get one? You need to change hotels. Check out was at noon. Many people were not even finished with the race by then. If I do this again, I will only do the half. The weather was nice and that helped. | |
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J. T. from Columbus, Ohio
(10/16/2006)
"Great course & city; organization could be better" (about: 2006)
11-50 previous marathons
| 3 Columbus Marathons
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 5 The Columbus Marathon is a great marathon - great course, great spectators, and many aspects of the organization were excellent. However what have really irked me this year are the expo and the finish-line arrangements. The expo was small, but could have been more efficient for its size - after all, how difficult is it to arrange bibs, pins, goodie bags and timing chip? The finish-line commentators were ridiculous. They were not reading out runners' bibs and the city where they were from, as is the custom. Instead they were chatting about their families - which college their children were going to, etc. Many older folks were coming into the tape and the commentators were not even trying to give them a boost by cheering them on. They just ignored them. It must be noted that they were very vocal for their friends and acquaintances as they approach the finish line - a total lack of professionalism in the finish line booth. Finish-line commentators and commentary gets an F+. I hope Jeff Glaze and company make some significant improvements in this area going forward. Other than this major public relations blunder, the 2006 Columbus Marathon was excellent. | |
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A. S. from Columbus, OH
(10/16/2006)
"Benchmark Marathon" (about: 2006)
1 previous marathon
| 1 Columbus Marathon
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 4 My marathon debut. It was a great experience and I have nothing to compare it to - yet. However, I will certainly run this course again. Like the previous runner, I also wonder if the course is exactly 26.2 miles. My otherwise-accurate Polar Foot Pod showed a longer course. Also, some mile markers were confusing (mile markers 10 and 11 were probably .05 miles away from each other). Otherwise, I think everything else was what I actually expected and then some. Good job, organizers. | |
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B. S. from Farmington Hills, MI
(10/15/2006)
"Very nice organization, perhaps > 26.2 miles" (about: 2006)
11-50 previous marathons
| 1 Columbus Marathon
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 4 Volunteer staff were superb and there were plenty of amenities on the course. It was an outstanding day for running, with temperatures in the 40s and clear skies (not that you'll always get that). For those who like fan support, the course is a bit thin on spectators through many portions. However, when present, they are quite vocal. Amplifiers on the course assure that you won't fall asleep. Having run 45 previous marathons, I'm not sure I would call this fast and flat. The second half of the course is definitely hillier than the first half and is reminiscent of the challenge at Boston, which also has a slight elevation drop overall. If you're looking for flat courses, the Baystate Marathon, Grand Rapids Marathon, Niagara Falls Marathon, and Chicago Marathon are definitely easier than this course. One interesting sidenote on the course: it may be longer than 26.2 miles. I noticed that my mile times between 14 and 16 miles were way off compared to other parts of the course (even the end when I was dead tired!) When I mapped the course on Google pedometer, the course maps out to 26.6 miles. That may not sound like much, but think about running almost an extra half mile (particularly if you are planning to qualify for Boston). The mile markers on the website map do not match well with those of the Google map after about mile 14, so I suspect there was some sort of error in course measurement. Despite that, it was still enjoyable to run. | |
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Y. S. from Indiana
(4/10/2006)
"Could be the fastest marathon if backwards" (about: 2005)
3 previous marathons
| 1 Columbus Marathon
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 4 This marathon was alot hillier than advertised. The hills were not steep but very long and definitely got my heart rate up. Mile 13 to 21 is on a slight incline with a few flat breaks and there are spurts of short, steeper hills until about mile 25. The first half was very flast. The course was indeed pretty and the size was nice. Temperature was perfect. Hotels were much cheaper (have run Chicago 2X, Boston 1X). The expo was a little too small for me since I like to shop. It was fairly well organized except they could have been a little more informative on their website in advance about everything - including gear check. I had a hard time finding the pace group but did eventually. Crowd support was decent, saw my family several times due to the course layout. The running T-shirt was awesome and very appreciated. At the finish line, they did not provide any bags for the great goodies so I had to try to carry everything with bare hands. Never found the massage tent either, I don't think it existed. I PRed at this race but I think I could have run a little faster if it weren't for the hills. | |
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Moth Audio from Columbus
(2/25/2006)
"Kind of Boring" (about: 2005)
11-50 previous marathons
| 6+ Columbus Marathons
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 4 I've run 12 Columbus Marathons ['81-'05] so I've seen it evolve over the years, though not all the changes have been positive. The course is the main reason to do Columbus. Nice-size field, flat-ish course that won't hold you back. Maybe I'm partial but the city is nice with plenty of reasonable hotels and fine dining close by. Spectating opportunities are good w/ the cloverleaf course design. The website sucks, as does the shirt design. Medal is nice. Race staff is difficult to get a hold of. I found the pace [3:30] team to be awesome last year. Dead on the mark with super leaders! Plenty of water and clocks. People calling out projected pace is a nice touch as are the "miles to go" signs at the end. Crowd support is good but a little sparse. I've only run Columbus, Boston and Cincinnati marathons but have run hundreds of road races. Columbus is behind the other two. Cincy is just a lot more FUN. The course is much tougher but I liked that about it, though I would never try to PR or BQ there. Columbus could learn a lot from that race.... Like hiring a professional design team and webpage specialist. Columbus has all the things you need but the package is kind of boring. Still, it's my hometown race, where I set my P.R. and BQ'd four times! | |
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Ellie Swemba from Toledo, OH
(12/18/2005)
"my favorite race so far" (about: 2003)
6-10 previous marathons
| 2 Columbus Marathons
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 Well marked course running you through downtown, surrounding neighborhoods and the OSU campus; flat and fast, well organized. Personally, the spectators sort of make this race for me.... I wear my University of Michigan t-shirt and it's really great to hear those intense Ohio State fans yelling 'go Michigan.' |
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