Jenny Crawshaw's Staging Area

I would highly recommend CDA Marathon! The race course is beautiful, and it is a well organized event. It is run mostly on the Idaho Centennial trail, which is a paved recreational path.

Packet pick up is the day before, at McEuen park where the start and finish line are. The line was a little long, but it moved quickly and the volunteers were helpful. The race shirt was a nice, long sleeve tech shirt with a fun design. There was also some CDA Marathon merchandise for sale, and it looked very nice. There were a few sponsors on site with tents, as well as a few food trucks. These sponsors and vendors were also at the finish line the next day.

Race morning was chilly and windy, but I was able to stay warm under the pavillion wearing a jacket. They had a gear check area, so I checked my jacket just before making my way to the start line, which is a block away from the paviliion/finish area. The race started on time, with an energetic announcer seeing us off.

This race has three different areas you run through: a historic neighborhood, an out and back along Lake Coeur D’Alene, and an out and back along Spokane River. You start off running through the neighborhood, which has many turns but is well marked. The homes are very pretty. Around mile 3, you head onto the out and back along the lake. These are the most stunning views of the whole course! There is a significant uphill around mile 5 (which you will have to run on the return also). It is about 3/4 mile long and steady. You finish the out and back with another steep incline (but shorter) around mile 8, then turn around and head back, returning through the historic neighborhood again.

Before heading out on the second out and back, you pass through McEuen park, where the finish line is. It can be a little confusing, because there are other runners finishing the shorter distance races at the time you are running through. But there are plenty of signs and cones to point your direction. I do wish there would have been an aid station here (more on aid later). After going through the park you continue on the path along the Spokane river. There are runners coming back, so it was very crowded here, and at some points difficult to pass walkers. It eventually thinned out a little. This final section was tougher mentally, as the views were not as good, the trail is a little exposed, and you are getting tired. You have one more incline around mile 21, which takes you to the final turn around. The miles go by much faster to get to the finish, where you loop around McEuen park and through the finish chute. The medal was great! It matched the tech shirt. The medals were the same for all distances, just the ribbon was different. They had water and gatorade right at the finish, then some food options at the pavillion. The food was oranges, bananas, chips, snack bars, and pizza.

My only complaint is that I felt the aid stations were a little sparse. Some of them felt very far apart, and one I missed, which meant I was waiting a long time before the next one. They were handing out small bottles of water and gatorade, and I realized (too late) that instead of chugging some water and ditching it, I should have put the cap on and taken the rest with me, to hold me over to the next aid station. I saw a lot of other people doing this, or stashing them in vest pockets.

If you have the chance to run the Boston Marathon, DO IT! This race is the iconic American marathon, and it will not disappoint.

While the course is challenging, the crowds make it worth the run. The entire 26.2 miles is lined with spectators from all of the small towns you run through. When you finally make it to Boston, the spectators are AMAZING! You will feel like such a rockstar running down Boylston.

If you have any opportunity to run this race, DO IT! You can get a spot by a time qualifier or through a charity.

This race is a great small town race. I stayed in the host hotel, which was walking distance to the start and finish line. This made race morning go so easy and smooth!

My goal was to qualify for Boston, and this was the perfect course for it. It is mostly flat, with a few small rolling hills to keep it interesting. The course winds through a part of the college, and also through several area neighborhoods. There are a few sections on a busy highway, but most of it is on quiet roads.

There are plenty of aid stations and volunteers, and the course was marked well. The pace groups were right on pace. I faded from my pace group the last six miles, but I was still able to meet my goal and BQ.

The post race food and ammenities is great, there were plenty of options. And it was nice to be able to just walk across the street to my hotel when I was ready for a shower and a nap!