Long View Marathon, Half Marathon & 5K
Fort Collins, CO
- Marathon, Half Marathon, 5K
- Road (Paved)
- Official race website
Showcasing a unique city-to-city trail connection, the Long View Marathon and Half Marathon runs from Fort Collins to Loveland. The marathon begins at Edora Park in Fort Collins and ends at Fairgrounds Park in Loveland. The half marathon starts at Fossil Creek Park and also ends at Fairgrounds Park in … MORE
Local Historical Weather (Oct 10):
| 2025 | 2024 | 2023 | 2022 | 2021 | |
| H (°F) | 64 | 86 | 81 | 77 | 70 |
| L (°F) | 48 | 48 | 43 | 39 | 45 |
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Scenic Course; Safety Woes
I ran the Longview Half Marathon for the second time in 2025. Here are my thoughts: PROS: - Scenic course; usually get awesome fall foliage this time of year. I … MORE
I ran the Longview Half Marathon for the second time in 2025. Here are my thoughts:
PROS:
– Scenic course; usually get awesome fall foliage this time of year. I particularly love the two mile segment near Boyd Lake State Park. Lovely views!
– The course is fairly easy by CO standards; locals will have a shot at PRing if they want to. Out-of-staters might still struggle with the elevation.
– Enthusiastic volunteers and strong crowd support considering this race mostly takes place on a mixed-used trail.
– I love the shirt!
CONS:
– I do think the “regular” (not early bird) sign-up fee for this race is a bit steep, especially considering there are only four aid stations.
– Four aid stations is insufficient for a non-trail race. I’d like to see six or seven aid stations for the half marathon.
– The race does not prioritize runner safety.
I will expand upon the last point.
I wasn’t having the perfect race day. Pain from a lingering foot injury flared up at mile four, so I slowed down and decided to make the best of my morning. We had ideal running weather and the views were top-notch. I knew about the lack of aid stations from 2024, so I was carrying my own handheld bottle. At the midway point aid station, I stopped to have a volunteer refill my bottle.
While the volunteer refilled my bottle, a fellow runner put both her hands on my back and shoved me. Hard. I stumbled, and when I regained my footing, I asked her to please just say “excuse me” next time. (Thinking to myself: there is never, ever a reason to get physical. Especially since we were mid-pack. Ain’t setting no records! And I was literally just stopped in an aid station traffic jam).
She snarled and THREW HER CUP OF WATER ON ME.
That’s right.
She committed assault and battery mid-race.
Unfortunately, ideal running weather means it was on the chillier side for Colorado fall. I was cold within moments. I reported the runner and her bib number to three different course workers (including the harried aid station employee) but the offending runner was still somehow allowed to finish.
This runner posed a severe safety risk to myself and every other runner. At the finish line, I reported her behavior to two other employees. Both were appalled and agreed with me that this shouldn’t have happened, but neither of them were empowered to do anything about it. One employee assured me she’d find the RD, but I waited ten minutes and had to leave because again: cold sweats thanks to the water. (In one of the race photos taken by the photographer, my soaked shoulder is plainly visible.)
Honestly, this is such a stupid incident. This woman should have immediately been removed from the course. I hate that I wasted so much time and energy dealing with this. I emailed the race on Saturday and, forty-eight hours later, have not received a response.
I do not recommend this race until they’re able to ensure the safety of all participants. Honestly, the woman who assaulted me seemed very unwell and unstable (obviously) and I had the misfortune of being in the wrong place at the wrong time. Due to my slowing pace during the first half of the race, I was getting passed pretty steadily and hadn’t even seen this woman until she shoved me from behind. No idea why she targeted me, but whatever.
Luckily, I did manage to befriend a lovely woman at mile ten and we encouraged each other to the finish! The running community is such a positive place and I know this was an isolated incident, but I do believe the race should’ve been more motivated to keep us safe.
Update: the RD responded to my email. He was apologetic but passive and neglected to offer any remedy. He refused to commit to banning my assailant from future races and did not seem terribly concerned about runner safety on course. He blamed his inexperience (apparently, he’d never had an individual assault a fellow runner on course before, but I’ve never been assaulted during a race before and I still knew how to properly handle the situation, so his excuse doesn’t hold water). Ultimately, if an incident like this happens, runners need to know their safety matters to officials, and I can now unfortunately say this race does not care about runner wellbeing. Therefore, I’ve downgraded my rating to one star and do not recommend this event to my fellow runners.
Small, well-organized race
This was a smaller race, but was well organized with enthusiastic volunteers. Packet pickup was a breeze. I was in and out of the store in under 5 minutes. Several … MORE
This was a smaller race, but was well organized with enthusiastic volunteers. Packet pickup was a breeze. I was in and out of the store in under 5 minutes. Several port-a-Johns at the start line. I was a little worried about the race being on a trail because in some places it was narrow, but there were few enough runners that I felt like I could settle into my pace right from the start and I never had problems with crowding. The race has great views and it was especially lovely running through the state park. Some hills in the course, but not too bad.
For swag, we received a long-sleeve tech shirt and medal. At the end of the race, they had pizza, beer, bananas, etc. Great race if you’re looking for something small.
Great first time race
The course mile splits were off from the beginning by about .2. I wish there would have been more spectators and the end party was lackluster. However, this is the … MORE
The course mile splits were off from the beginning by about .2. I wish there would have been more spectators and the end party was lackluster. However, this is the first time this race was put on so I think the race directors did a great job, it was a great course with lots of great scenery and the medal was really cool. I think there is room for improvement next year and the years to come but overall it was a great first time effort!