Marty Barnes's Staging Area

My biggest piece of feedback is on (half marathon) course length. My GPS on race day indicated I completed 13.1 miles well before (.15-.20 miles) the actual finish line. I also ran the course back in February for training with the same result. Similarly, I drove the course for my wife (also a participant) and my tripometer also indicated the course was long. And just for kicks, I plotted the course on Google Maps – to the same effect. Long story short, it seems the course measured >13.1. Anyone else find this to be the case?

My point: for someone looking to PR or hit a specific time goal, a longer course – even .15 longer – is a big deal. As it stood, I missed my goal, even though my GPS had me finishing 13.1 well under my target time. I read that the course was “certified” but I don’t really know what that means in terms of physically validating distance. That said, if I am right and the course was long, I hope that next time better diligence is done to ensure proper distance. If I’m wrong, well, forget I said anything!

Regarding the overall race, the course was relatively flat and fast, which was nice. The downhill finish at the end was well-planned. Outside of the park and downtown Canton, the scenery left much to be desired. I did love the large Jägermeister flag around mile 8. I got a few high fives from kids on the course, but overall crowd support was relatively low, particularly of the organized (i.e. pre-planned by event staff) variety. I will say the KAG water stop at mile 10ish was outstanding; they operate a water station every year and kill it (disclaimer: I work there, so I may have a bias, but every year there is no water stop with better crowd support than KAG’s).

Other misc. items: I am not a big medal guy, so while it was a nice one, I’d prefer to get a nice tech shirt (maybe long sleeve?) or maybe some beers (Canton Brewery?) at the finish. That’s not to take anything away from the men’s t-shirts, as the soft cotton was a nice touch. Also, contrary to other posters, the hot dogs were a nice treat at the finish. The Body Armor drinks were great, too. As mentioned previously, some beer would top the refreshments off nicely. Oh, also: parking was very easy; I found a curb spot 2 blocks from the start. And giving participants free access to the HOF is a really generous perk.

I’m curious to see how the event changes next year once much of the construction is done at Hall of Fame Village. Ideally, the course is changed to include better scenery…and exact distance! Thanks to the event planners for their hard work in putting the race together, and good luck with future iterations.