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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 21 to 31]
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j. w. from midwest
(10/22/2014)
"Absolutely THE BEST!!!" (about: 2014)
50+ previous marathons
| 6+ Columbus Marathons
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 They took a great race to another level. With the new start, and the new course, this is a MUST RUN! If you have a heart, which every marathoner does, you must run this race. Engaging with the Children's Hospital patients inspires every step. And the crowd support grew many multiples this year! HOME RUN!!! | |
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Thomas Gaudette from Palos Hills, IL
(10/22/2014)
"Experience Columbus ethos on the run" (about: 2014)
11-50 previous marathons
| 1 Columbus Marathon
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 4 In the upper 30s at the start, the runners has virtually ideal weather to run fast. Many ran faster than their hamstrings and other tendons could manage. This left a series of disabled marathoners from OSU stadium to the finish. I became one of these just short of the finish. Hobbled and happy, the finish line was eventually under my feet. The first half of the course was straightforward so was a quick run in such a temperature. There is little to describe other than its civility. The second half was somewhat nuanced with modest hills to manage. High Street rolled somewhat though the OSU roads before the stadium were flat. The inside stadium space was only the width of the field. The carpeted ramp down and the even surfaced ramp up were unique in that these were the first requirements to use different muscle groups. The mental adjustments continued as we began the road leading out of the campus. For some reason, the marathoners would not run tangent lines. The post stadium road showed a long line of single file runners in the middle of the road. Since the road was flat, I ran tangent lines which reduced the running distance. The bike trail just before mile eighteen felt good because it felt like a proper hill though modestly so. From there, the course was flat or downhill to the finish. As ordinary as this downhill running was, there was a wear issue to be managed. Seeing the long decline just past mile twenty two was not a positive moment. It was manageable but cost some tendon wear. It was near mile twenty four that the accumulated miles met my desire to complete the distance. The run down Front Street from mile twenty five to mile 25.75 was fine except that the last sweeping downhill began at that turn. Being so late in the run and aesthetically interestng to run, my tendons reached their wear threshold. The finish corridor opened just after mile twenty six being only wide enough for three runners so I tried to accelerate. This did not happen leaving me helpless. They filmed the finishing steps for everyone which I have not seen yet. My contribution will be a motley sight. Columbus has a very strong organizational and hospitality ethic which was apparent throughout the marathon process. I stood still in the expo, in the starting corral and in the celebration village after the race to just marvel at what was happening. All this orderly energy was joyful. I ran as fast as I could to meet this standard. I just made it. | |
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J. M. from Columbus, OH
(10/20/2014)
"Absolutely outstanding" (about: 2014)
4-5 previous marathons
| 2 Columbus Marathons
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 If you need to run a marathon in Ohio or the Midwest, run Columbus. If you want to run a race that supports kids, run Columbus. First rate event from start to finish. Great corral start with separate bathrooms. Great, flat course with great pace leaders. Crowd support for the entire marathon was outstanding. Childrens champions is so unique and help make the race even more special. | |
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M. H. from Akron, Ohio
(6/17/2014)
"Decent course; good crowds; terrible traffic" (about: 2013)
4-5 previous marathons
| 1 Columbus Marathon
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 2 FANS: 4 Registered in 2013 after a bad knee reduced me to the 1/2 in Akron two weeks earlier. The fans and course were enjoyable; fairly flat. Expo was excellent and medal is huge. What will prevent me from returning is the awful traffic congestion. I was within 1/2 mile at 5:45 and remained there for almost an hour to get to a garage. There had to be hundreds that did not start on time. Not worth it if you don't get a downtown hotel, which is tough on an OSU football weekend. | |
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I. K. from Union, NJ
(11/19/2013)
"Excellent run" (about: 2013)
2 previous marathons
| 1 Columbus Marathon
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 I thought this was an excellent run - especially in comparison to 2013 Cleveland marathon. The atmosphere was excellent all around. I signed up knowing that the horseshoe section was going to slow you down some but I thought it was a fun gimmick but can also understand why others didn't enjoy it. Plenty of water stations everywhere and fan support throughout was excellent everywhere with very friendly folks passing out oranges and bananas. Another poster mentioned this but Ill do the same here - from about mile 23.25-24.5 you run through this industrial section and over train tracks and it is a total buzz kill compared to the rest of the course, made it tough to slog through at that point. The finish was excellent with the downward slope. I thought the medal was badass - certainly bodyarmoresque. For those looking for a relatively hill-free course in Ohio I think this is the choice. | |
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M. P. from Lutherville, MD
(10/29/2013)
"Top Notch" (about: 2013)
6-10 previous marathons
| 1 Columbus Marathon
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 4 This was my first time running the Columbus Marathon and it was a great experience. Great crowd support (sorry, Richmond, but this is the new 'America's most friendly' marathon). Half and full run the first 13 together, then split, so crowd support was heavier in first 13 than last 13 (half marathon had nearly 3x more runners than full). Hotel let me check out 2 hours late, lots of food choices around the start / finish line for the night before, plenty of course support, mild inclines were unnoticeable, decent tee shirt (long sleeve), good bag check, etc etc. If I could change one thing it would be the portion through the OSU campus / stadium. That didn't do much for me, personally. I have already recommended this race to a number of fellow runners. One bummer is that MarathonFoto did not get me crossing the finish line. | |
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P. C. from Columbus, OH, USA
(10/28/2013)
"Midwest Must Run" (about: 2013)
50+ previous marathons
| 6+ Columbus Marathons
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 Another awesome event that gets better every year. Whether it is the first or the 100 marathon, each person will find fun things to see and a fast course with a ton of entertainment. Keep it going Columbus. | |
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M. L. from Lexington, KY
(10/21/2013)
"Great people; brutal second half" (about: 2013)
1 previous marathon
| 1 Columbus Marathon
COURSE: 3 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 The organization was excellent and the sheer number of volunteers was impressive and motivating (sorry to the 40 or so of you who fell victim to my incompetent gatorade cup grabbing). There was also great fan support throughout- I thought it was going to be good, and it was better than I expected. The course overall was nice- with a few (very gentle) hills and a good mix of neighborhoods and urban areas. But the 'horseshoe' diversion has to go. It's like a prank on the runners at mile 17, when they least need it. You can look at any person's time - pick any random person - and you are almost guaranteed to see a *much* slower pace between 28k and 20 miles than in any other portion of the race. Although pace normally takes a hit around mile 18 in any marathon, it is too pronounced here. Also, I remember a few of the last miles being pretty ugly- road was in bad condition, and we ran through an industrial area and over a train track. It was a weird way to end given how beautiful the city is otherwise. So, reroute the end somehow and ditch the horseshoe gimmick- keep everything else the same. | |
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S. M. from Columbus, OH
(10/21/2013)
"Getting Better Every Year" (about: 2013)
6-10 previous marathons
| 4-5 Columbus Marathons
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 5 This is my 4th Columbus Marathon and I have to say that it keeps improving every time I run it! I thought the expo was better laid out this time, the bands and miracle mile kids on course were wonderful! My only complaint would be that having the porta john's lined up along the same path that folks needed to get to for the corrals was not well thought out. Such a high traffic area needs a little redesign. Some people don't like the section in the shoe because of the climb and turns, I really had no issue with this and thought it was neat to run through the stadium a bit. As long as they keep improving, I will come back-as a local, I like to try and support my hometown race. | |
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k. m. from wv
(10/21/2013)
"Lots to be happy about" (about: 2013)
11-50 previous marathons
| 6+ Columbus Marathons
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 4 A well organized fun race. Notable stuff: 1. With 11,000 running the half and 7000 running the full the marathon doesn't fell like an after thought. 2. SWAP YOUR TOP!! Your pick up your shirt and just a few feet beyond that ... if you guessed wrong on sizing ... trade it right there at the expo. Here is a great idea I hope spreads to other events. Thanks Columbus. 2. No pacers and four corrals. Hard to know where to line up. But the start was fairly smooth. 3. Kept spectators a block away from the start area for security ... but his ended up making the starting line A LOT easier to navigate for runners. 4. Finish line spectators and that last (and only) downhill for the course is great. Chocolate milk my favorite. 5. As for the medal ... so big led me to wonder .. is this a finisher's medal or body armor? |
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