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Capital City Marathon Runner Comments
Back to Capital City Marathon Information & Reviews
Course 4.0 
Organization 4.5 
Spectators 3.5
Number of comments: 49 [displaying comments 11 to 21]
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M. L. from Oregon
(5/29/2010)
"Good races come in all sizes" (about: 2010)
11-50 previous marathons
| 1 Capital City Marathon
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 2 I enjoy races like the Capital City Marathon: A small race that sticks to the basics and delivers a solid race experience. This year's weather was ideal for running - perfect temperatures and light cloud cover. The course is not fast because of the hills, but there are several scenic sections to enjoy. If you're a fan of rhododendrons, this is the race to run. They were in full bloom throughout the course. Race day organization was good. Water stations were located every two miles and were well staffed. There were even a few fans along the way. The finish area had great food. Nice swag (Stuff We All Get). The backpack, race jacket and coaster are a keeper. | |
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I. C. from New York, NY
(5/23/2010)
"challenging, well-organized race" (about: 2010)
11-50 previous marathons
| 1 Capital City Marathon
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 4 I ran this one as the fifth of a string of spring marathons, and it was easily the most challenging - even more so than Big Sur with its infamous Hurricane Point climb. The hills go on relentlessly! But I appreciated the challenge and the race organizers made everything else easy. Very easy trek to the start - a one-minute trip down the host hotel elevator and then across the street :-); plentiful aid stations and porta-potties; and there were massages at the finish. GREAT race jackets in lieu of the standard shirt. Definitely recommended. | |
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K. S. from Edmonds, WA
(5/19/2010)
"Beautiful, Challenging Run" (about: 2010)
6-10 previous marathons
| 1 Capital City Marathon
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 4 This was my first time running this marathon and it was an excellent experience. I was very impressed with the string backpacks and jackets as well. Great swag. This is a runner's race. The "expo" is minimal. Folks participating were there to run rather than shop. The course moves quickly out of town and into rolling countryside. The hills are definitely challenging but the community really seemed to enjoy sitting at the end of their long country driveways cheering us on. The aid stations were well manned and the volunteers were terrific. Don't miss touring the legislative building at the capitol while you're in town! It's really impressive. | |
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H. N. from Seattle, WA
(5/17/2010)
"Unique race goodies" (about: 2010)
6-10 previous marathons
| 2 Capital City Marathons
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 4 This small field marathon is very well organized. Nice country-view course. However, it's challenging, with rolling hills and one big, mile-long hill at mile 24. Embedded chip on the bib!!! Best goodies: nice jacket, and a ceramic coaster. The half-marathon and 5-mile also offer a nice technical shirt. Note: there's not much spectator support on the course and a pretty lean expo. | |
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Dan O. from Olympia, WA
(4/26/2010)
"Great small-town race. Do some hill training." (about: 2009)
2 previous marathons
| 2 Capital City Marathons
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 4 This is my hometown marathon, so I may be somewhat biased. I've waited to post this until I ran Boston in 2010 (which I qualified for here), so I'd have something to compare it to. I first ran this race in 2003, before they changed the course. It is much more hilly now. There are rolling hills throughout the majority of the course, with several big dips at about miles 9, 11.5, and 14, which are steeper and shorter than the Newton hills, and one final big climb starting at 22 that is similar to Heartbreak but longer. Crowd support is just like Boston's, except for a thousand times fewer people. :) Actually it's not too bad, at least at the start and finish. There are only 4 recommended viewing sites listed by the organization, the 1st at mile 15, so it's not the greatest course for spectators. With a little planning and a map, though, friends could easily see you at multiple locations. Much of the course is along tree-lined rural roads, with the 1st mile through downtown, and the last 5 mostly through residential neighborhoods before returning downtown. There are a few areas that are quite scenic. Along East Bay Drive from mile 1 to 3 there is a good view of the marina (and the Olympic Mountains on a clear day). Around mile 11, on Zangle Road before the right turn onto 81st, look left through the trees for a nice view of Puget Sound. The Woodard Bay crossing at mile 14.5 is interesting at low tide and quite pretty at high tide. Look left a half-mile from the finish to see the capitol building. At about mile 18, the course meets up with the half-marathon loop, so it becomes much more congested, and you'll be passing a lot of people. There's really plenty of room, though, so it's not that much of a problem. Post-race food is fantastic, about a thousand times better than Boston. If you're a faster runner, you may have to wait a while for the pizza to get there, but it's well worth it! | |
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Mick Whitehead from Normandy Park, WA
(12/28/2009)
"Worthwhile Mid-Sized Marathon" (about: 2009)
6-10 previous marathons
| 1 Capital City Marathon
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 3 FANS: 4 Overall this marathon has an appealing, small-town charm in the capital of Washington state. It has the beautiful scenery and the rolling hills that one would expect for this part of the country. There were sufficient water/Gatorade stops throughout the race, but the second gel station at the three-hour mark was already depleted by the half marathoners. Support was sporadic, but very encouraging when it was there. The rolling hills during the first half of the race are pretty easy, and you'll appreciate the long downhill section the last mile and a half of the race. They tried to do something different by ordering a rain jacket as the "shirt," but unfortunately they did not order enough extra-larges, so I did not get a jacket, nor an email response from the race director after the race. If you are able pick up your shirt/bib the day before and not race day, do so and you might avoid this difficulty. All things considered, a very good race that I would recommend. | |
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David Hurley from Roanoke, VA
(5/22/2009)
"HOST HOTEL SPOILED POSITIVE EXPERIENCE" (about: 2009)
50+ previous marathons
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 1 Positive: The race committee and volunteers were great. They were working early morning and after the runners had left the scene. The jacket - or I would call it a shirt with zipper front - was top-class. Post-race food was good. At least pizza was saved for marathon runners. Negative: I was disappointed in the low-functioning air conditioning at the host hotel. My room was in the 80s the evening before and the day and evening after the marathon. I feel that my time would have been much better if I had been able to sleep. The air conditioning issue has been a long-time problem at the hotel. I wish we had been told about this before traveling all the way across the country. Some people who were running the marathon for the first time may have been disappointed that medals were not given. You would think that after running more than 50 marathons that I would skip the pasta dinner the evening before the race. I wish I had.... If I had the opportunity, I would run the marathon again; however, I would not trust the host hotel. | |
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Henry Barrueta from Medford, OR
(5/20/2009)
"almost perfect until the end" (about: 2009)
4-5 previous marathons
| 1 Capital City Marathon
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 3 FANS: 4 First, positive comments: * The host hotel was just in front of the start/finish line. * The course was between trees, which helped with the heat. * Getting my number (etc.) was fast. Great jacket. * Fans were scarce during the race, but the ones that were there were great. Thanks to the family at mile 20 for the wonderful oranges. Things to improve: * It looked like the course had more hills than advertised. * After I finished the race, I did not know where to go to get some food. It would be helpful to have better communication. * Finally, you always deal with weather, hills, and fans, but at the end, you can always looked forward to the medal. You work hard to earn it. I praise the organizers for trying to improve, but not having medals just is not the way to get more runners. I drove 7 hours to get there and drove back after the race. I told my family members and friends about the race, and they were willing to go next year, but as soon as I told them about the medals, they changed their minds. If I would have known about the lack of medals, I would not have raced this one. For those who are thinking about next year, train hard on hills and train with temps over 60's. Over all, it has the potential to be a nice race, though. | |
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A. O. from Vancouver, WA
(12/1/2008)
"A FANTASTIC EXPERIENCE!" (about: 2008)
11-50 previous marathons
| 1 Capital City Marathon
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 3 What a top-notch small marathon experience! Rolling hills throughout make this a tough one, but bee-u-ti-ful! WONDERFUL organization in every way and the BEST post-race I have EVER experienced! FREE MASSAGES AND PIZZA FOR ALL! And they didn't give away shirts. We got Asics warm-up pants and really cool mesh bags too! I have done many races, but this one was a feel-good experience from beginning to end. | |
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R. C. from Redmond, WA
(5/25/2008)
"Beautiful course; well organized" (about: 2008)
11-50 previous marathons
| 1 Capital City Marathon
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 3 As a local resident, scenic beauty in races is expected. However, this course exceeds most other Pacific Northwest races. Maybe it was the unseasonably warm, sunny weather, but I thoroughly enjoyed the sights and sounds of this race. This race is very well organized, with aid stations and porta-potties every two miles. Volunteers were cheerful and helpful. Spectators during the residential last-half of the run were great with the water hoses (and two little girls with squirt guns!). The food at the end was fantastic! Besides the usual bananas and bagels, there were mini-donuts, danish pastries, PB&J sandwiches, and other non-race type food. Best of all was the pizza (for marathon runners only). I had a great time, and will do it again next year. I don't expect that it will be warm and sunny, though. |
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