I was contemplating running Boulder Backroads Half Marathon, as it would be a great tune up before the Denver Marathon. The $80 “Standard Entry” seems rather steep for a Half Marathon, so that is one drawback. I also went to marathonguide online and checked out some reviews of last year’s race, I figured if I’m going to drop four Andrew Jackson’s on a race it better be dazzling.

Here are some excerpts from runners who ran the 2007 race:

I participated in the half in 2006 and the full in 2007 and I must say that 2007 was so disorganized and disappointing. The porta-potties were disgusting, with bile and filth everywhere. The aid stations were not well stocked; in fact, a few just had warm water and no volunteers at all. They ran out of medals, but we weren’t told that… the medal came in the mail about a month after the marathon and the shirt was cheap! 2006 was much better with plenty of food afterwards, a cool shirt and better organization overall. On the positive side, I did like most of the course; it was very scenic and pretty. I emailed the “person in charged,” but never received a response from them. Imagine that. I hope this year’s will be better since it is the anniversary of the marathon. Come on, Boulder, you do such a great job with the Bolder Boulder; let’s try and do better with this one.

I’m not a fan of bile and filth, so that’s discouraging. I wonder if this person knows what bile is? I think they probably thought that bile was synonymous with feces. If someone was secreting bile, the last thing that individual should be doing is running a race.

This being my first shot at a marathon, I didn’t know much what to expect. Unfortunately, I was continuously disappointed, from the expo/packets, to the pre-race/parking/porta-potties, to the non-existent post-race festivities. Maybe my expectations were higher than they should have been with a smaller race like this, but next year, I’m going to try a bigger, more established race.

Man, those port-o-potties must have been disgusting!

I have to concur that this was a very disappointing marathon. Jeff, the race director didn’t respond to any of our pre-marathon emails. We did notice the misplaced mile markers and the extended course which ended up being about 2 tenths of a mile longer than 26.2. The gatorade was very strong at all aid stations with no pattern for water/gatorade. There was no food along the course and virtually nothing at the finish line.

However, my wife and I made the best of the situation and enjoyed the excellent assistance from the volunteers along the very scenic course. In summary, you don’t get your money’s worth for participating in the Boulder Backroads Marathon. Extremely, anti climatic for my wife’s 100th marathon. We will not be back for awhile. Recommend the amateurish race director be more runner oriented!!

Misplaced mile markers are one of my biggest pet peeves. That should be one thing a race should never screw up.

I have run all 8 of the Boulder Backroads Marathons and loved every one of them (especially the one in the snow). After reading the article in the Boulder paper on the new race director and his plans for the new “Boulder Marathon” I was hopeful that my 9th race would be the start of something even better. I was very disappointed! Where did my $90 entry fee go? The organizational miscues form a list too long for this space. To name a few: Cheap, cotton, short-sleeve t-shirt, no bag drop for gear at the start of the race, imprecise mile markers… and do 2 booths constitute a pre-race expo???? Also, below-average food at the end. I loved the fact that they kept highlighting the band after the race but they didn’t start until most of the crowd had left. And it would have been nice to have at least some water near the band stage if that is where they wanted us to “hang out.” The 2007 event reminded me of one of the first Boulder Backroads Marathons… but those were half the price. Body willing, I will be back for #10 next year. I just hope that the race gets back on track. Boulder is too good of a running community and the course is too beautiful not to have a world-class marathon.

Well after reading these reviews, I am leaning towards not running this race. I actually love running out near the Rez, but dropping $80 for a race that sounds suspect might be a gamble. Let me know if you have run this race and think it’s worth running again.

Thanks