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Quebec City Marathon/Marathon des Deux Rives Runner Comments
Back to Quebec City Marathon/Marathon des Deux Rives Information & Reviews
Course 4.2 
Organization 4.7 
Spectators 4.1
Number of comments: 87 [displaying comments 21 to 31]
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J. L. from Salmon Arm, Canada
(11/1/2009)
"Tough second half, but loved the experience" (about: 2009)
1 previous marathon
| 1 Quebec City Marathon/Marathon des Deux Rives
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 4 I would highly recommend this marathon. Quebec City is a beautiful place to visit. We stayed in a hotel in the old city, which was only five minutes from the finish so we could walk back. The ferry ride to the buses was a great way to start the day. The marshaling area was at a school and you could wait inside to keep warm, which was great. The first half of the course is enjoyable, with nice views across the St. Lawrence, but I was unprepared for the hills leading up to the bridge and the rollers after the bridge in the final 10K. This was my first marathon, and compared to other half marathon courses I have run, I think it was significantly tougher! All in all, a great weekend, and I loved limping/shuffling up and down the hills of Quebec City the next few days! | |
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john mitchell from Ottawa, Ontario
(9/27/2009)
"GREAT CITY, GREAT COURSE, GREAT PEOPLE" (about: 2009)
3 previous marathons
| 1 Quebec City Marathon/Marathon des Deux Rives
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 5 Running this race was a last-minute decision, and I wasn't sure what to expect when coming to Quebec, but I'm glad that I went. Everything went very, very nicely. People in this city went out of there way to accommodate the runners. I had a very, very bad run, as I was not properly prepared. I did San Fran the month before and was not ready for this race. That being said, I loved everything about this small-town race. It reminded me of San Fran a little bit, but not because of my time! I will be returning to make amends For my poor showing. Thank you, Quebec, for making my visit so comfortable. See you next year. | |
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Maria Wilson from Calgary, Alberta
(9/14/2009)
"Loved It & Hated It" (about: 2009)
3 previous marathons
| 1 Quebec City Marathon/Marathon des Deux Rives
COURSE: 3 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 This was my 3rd marathon and I was thrilled to take part in such an organized event. The spectators were wonderful along the route, and there were plenty of water stations and gel stations (all exactly where the website indicated they would be). I found the course to be my toughest to date. I was really tired after this run. One disappointing note: there were a lot of us that ran the marathon in 4:30 or less, and I met some runners who were doing their first marathon from Boston - they were very excited that on the other side of the river there would be music, but by the time we all got to the other side of the river, the bands had packed up and left. That was very disheartening for us slower marathoners, who need all of the support that we can get. It's a very long, lonely run for us at the end. | |
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R. W. from Birmingham, England
(9/10/2009)
"Fantastic" (about: 2009)
1 previous marathon
| 1 Quebec City Marathon/Marathon des Deux Rives
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 3 As an overseas runner I found it very welcoming as my first marathon and was delighted to finish in under 3 hours. It's a tough course with plenty of inclines, especially before and after the bridge, and you probably won't PB here. But they really do put on the effort in organizing the event and making it enjoyable, and the scenery is top-notch. One criticism, though: there was not enough water and too much Gatorade. Who drinks that disgusting stuff, especially during a race?! | |
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D. E. from New Jersey
(9/8/2009)
"Good, smaller marathon, with pros and cons" (about: 2009)
4-5 previous marathons
| 1 Quebec City Marathon/Marathon des Deux Rives
COURSE: 3 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 3 Overall, it was very well organized. It had a decent expo for an event with only about 900 marathon runners, though the shirts are small (my XL-marked shirt is an L) and the goodies are underwhelming. There were good lodging options, and in an interesting city. They had many helpful volunteers, the pace bunnies were great, the clear markers at every kilometer made the time go quickly (which was helpful, as course was a little dull), and though there were a few tough hills, they had good water stops. The finish was the weakest area, with poor crowd control (pedestrians crossing your path near the finish). After finishing, you moved through a food station, which I passed through to find my family. After I was settled, I tried to go back for a bagel, but was not blocked by two guards - bad, bad, bad. There were no space blankets, and I could not find Gatorade. There were also lots of people milling around at the finish area, with no-purpose/closure. I don't mean to sound ungrateful; I'm just telling it straight. All in all, I had a great time, hit a PR, and would recommend it, but I will not come back since there are so many others. | |
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J. T. from North Central Massachusetts
(9/5/2009)
"A Great Destination Race" (about: 2009)
50+ previous marathons
| 1 Quebec City Marathon/Marathon des Deux Rives
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 4 Very nicely organized and managed marathon. All of the bases are covered, from a well-run registration, to check-in at the expo, to the results being available online within hours of finish... and everything else in between. Some potentially tricky logistics (ferry and buses to the start) were managed flawlessly. There were hundreds of enthusiastic volunteers before, during and after the race, which made for a very pleasurable Quebec City Marathon experience. There was so much to do and see in Quebec City. I highly recommend it as a long weekend destination marathon. | |
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Jeff Knapp from New York, NY
(9/4/2009)
"Perfect destination marathon" (about: 2009)
11-50 previous marathons
| 1 Quebec City Marathon/Marathon des Deux Rives
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 3 The Quebec City marathon just may be the perfect destination marathon. The race runs along the banks of the St. Lawrence River and finishes in beautiful downtown Quebec City. The first 13 miles are flat or on a gradual downgrade. The only hills are getting up onto the bridge that takes runners to the flat, flat Quebec side of the river. The finish line is lined with a red carpet and a fun party in a park awaits runners. My goody bag was overflowing with bananas, cookies, bagels, oranges and more. The medal is beautiful and lights up! The locals in Quebec are friendly, gracious people and, though there weren't a lot of fans, the ones that were there were energetic and sincere. Quebec City is unique in North America. It's charming beyond words. The walled city is clean, with cobblestones, stone houses with slate roofs, and great restaurants. This is a city that loves art and antiques, and there are lots of shops to explore. Then there are the stunning views from the famous Hotel Fontenac. We spent four days, but our running group - Team Honeybaby - felt as if we spent two weeks in Europe. | |
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A. L. from Vancouver, WA
(8/31/2009)
"An adequate smaller marathon" (about: 2009)
3 previous marathons
| 1 Quebec City Marathon/Marathon des Deux Rives
COURSE: 3 ORGANIZATION: 2 FANS: 2 A couple of small comments about the organization: 1) There were no space blankets at the finish. 2) there weren't enough pins in the race packet. There were four for the bib, but there needed to be an extra one for the bag tag. There were not very many spectators, and they aren't overly enthusiastic. However, they are polite and helpful. Also, there should be more food along the course. I had half of a banana and a GU. I did get a massage afterward, which was nice. Also the medal lights up, which I hadn't seen before. | |
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PATRICK ALEXANDRE from Valleyfield, Canada
(8/31/2009)
"Very nice marathon!" (about: 2009)
4-5 previous marathons
| 1 Quebec City Marathon/Marathon des Deux Rives
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 4 This marathon is extremely cool to run, the organization is unbelievable, and the course is superb. The first part is on one side of the St. Lawrence, and around the last 15K, you cross a bridge to finish on the Quebec City River. The finish is great, with lots of people and a red carpet on the last 250 meters - very spectacular. I recommend it for every marathoner at least once. | |
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Mervyn Chin from Pickering , Ontario
(2/21/2009)
"Do this race for an enjoyable time" (about: 2008)
11-50 previous marathons
| 1 Quebec City Marathon/Marathon des Deux Rives
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 4 As a runner who does a variety of marathons (47 so far), I can tell you that Quebec City is a marathon that you should do. One of the main attractions of a marathon is the city so that you and your family can take a vacation before or after. The old town in Quebec City is very historic and attractive and worthwhile of a family vacation. The 8:30 start, I believe, is due to the boat schedule, so it cannot run earlier; but there were enough water stations, even if it was a bit hot. The race is pretty flat and run along the river. The food at the end was better than a lot of races that I have done and the medal was very pretty with the flashing lights. For non-residents who are thinking of doing this marathon, do it and remember to take some time to see the city after the race. |
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