john dollus's Staging Area

I ran with no training after taking a year off from running so my time reflects that more than the race itself.
With over 55,000 participants, prepare for a long wait at the start line. That said, there were plenty of water refill stations and portaloos in the start area so I didn’t experience any lines or waiting in the Green corral. That said, it’s in an open field with only a few picnic tables so bring sunscreen or your own shade/cushion.
Once it got started, the race course is very flat with a net downhill and crowds lining the route most of the way. don’t bother carrying sweets as there’s tons from the spectators throughout. Isle of dogs is the most disorienting part of the course with GPS errors and lots of turns before you hit the last leg along the embankment to a finish at Buckingham Palace.
8 hour main course time limit with an additional 4 hours available to finish at an alternate finish line in St James Park.
There’s not much at the finish line in terms of nutrition/swag so pack your own in your gear check bag and it’ll be ready for you afterward.

Well organized race!
The first half is a good downhill through desert/suburbs with a brief incline from mile 4-5.5 but otherwise favorable with good course support. Once you get into the city in the second half, it’s mostly flat. Bring sunscreen as there’s little shade but the aid stations have it if you forget. post race music and vending was nice in the park. lastly, the app they use was better than most with good points of interest along the course. I normally use my own tracking but switched mine off in favor of theirs not long into the race.

this was a point to point course in 2024. The buses lined up at the finish location in the early hours and dropped everyone off ‘near’ the start in a state park. From the dropoff to the actual start was between .5-.75 miles of walking with the portapottys only located at the bus location and not at the start line so there were some grumpy people. The public restrooms at the park were closed. Once the race started, it was a downhill run into the city along the Boise river on a 2 lane bike/walk path and a short section of sidewalk.
I enjoyed the views but, as a back of the pack runner, there were parts near the end where I wasn’t certain where to go. The after-race had vendor booths and not much nutrition/swag but it does finish at a local brewery if that’s your jam.

Mostly flat course with one large bridge near mile 22 going over the intercoastal waterway as the course elevation map indicates. traffic is open during portions of the course and one section of sidewalk running for the marathon so keep alert.
Not much community support along the course but maybe due to most homes being summer houses?
Nice, small town vibe with good restaurants and fun places to explore.

With multiple distances starting within 15 mins of each other and no corrals, the start line can get a little crazy but once you get going, it thins out quickly. After the first few miles on city streets, the course moves onto a paved hike/bike trail following a stream. This can make it difficult for spectators to come out so keep your personal cheering section closer to the start/finish.

storm conditions this year added another level of difficulty for sure but certainly can’t hold weather against the organizers! They did a great job managing around the weather and the course/community support was still strong. Finish line support was well stocked and I felt well taken care of throughout all races. May go back again just for the weekend events!

The marathon course is front end loaded with the hills which can burn you out if you aren’t ready for them. The back half is more gentle rolling through residential and older commercial areas but the course and community support is pretty good. The end is a series of turns which will make you second guess if it will ever end but you will be rewarded with a very nice finish line area by the art museum and sculpture garden.

This race is pretty well known for having unpredictable weather. this year, we had tornado sirens and hail around oklahoma city the night before the race but pretty great weather the day of the race. Plan for everything from sleet to full sun! Course was pretty great and the community support was truly among the best. Plenty of official and un-official snack and hydration stops along the way and lots of cheering. I parked in between the start and finish areas in the Arts garage. It made for an uncomfortable walk afterward but not too bad. Friends asked afterward if it was sad running by the memorial and, ya know, it wasn’t. It was respectful. 168 seconds of silence at the beginning, 168 flags along the course and banners of the 168 lined the finish approach. Great community and great race.

To start with: this was a covid-time race so future or past experiences may differ quite a bit.

I loved this race. The organizers did a good job of adhering to health dept guidelines required for holding the event. The start line had us all lined up in numerical order and spaced out with a rolling start about 5 secs apart. I was concerned this single file method would be congested with a narrow lane but it wasn’t an issue. It wasn’t difficult to find good areas for passing with plenty of space. The course support was well stocked and the finish line staff kept things moving along. At the finish, the results tent provided individual result cards as you finished with complete stats so you didn’t need to huddle around a posted printout.
Overall, great job!

I ran this one as part of my 14 in 2014 goals. The race started in a suburban mall parking lot and ran through mainly residential neighborhoods along 2 lane roads. course support was great and finish line ice cream was a blast

overpasses are no fun but great course overall. running past people going home from the clubs at the start was unique. The weather was perfect and the beach finish was fantastic.