At the last minute I decided that I am going to race the Boulder Half Marathon tomorrow. I headed down to the Boulder Res this morning to register, for the lofty price of $85. However, I have to give the Boulder Marathon credit for giving out some great schwag. I received a Brooks Tech T-Shirt with the Boulder Marathon Logo (see above); the shirt also had no other advertisements on it, which is sweet. The “tech package” also included a running hat, and a pair of running socks. The high entry price is a bit easier to swallow when at least they give you a tech shirt.

I was also harsh on the Boulder Marathon in a previous review and I was checking out marathonguide.com the other night and read this leader from the race director:

Boulder Marathon, Looking Back & Looking Forward
Jeff Mason, Race Director (8/16/08)
The 2008 Boulder Marathon promises to be an incredible event! The ’07 event was a success, though it had a few issues worth discussing. First, 2008: The race will be held on Sept. 21 and will feature a marathon, half marathon and marathon relay. Highlights: All participants receive a Tech-Pack, consisting of Brooks Podium Shirt, Tech Hat and Tech Running Socks from Gold Toe! And marathoners receive 2nd pair of socks from Teko socks. Total retail value over $55 for the Tech Pack! This is the only race we know of to offer this incredible package! All runners receive beautiful medal, ample food, race poster and of course a fully supported race course! KBCO radio is bring sound stage for live music. All courses have been re-certified as the start/finish has been moved to being on Boulder Reservoir property. Registrations are strong with approximately 1,500 entries with 5 weeks to go until race day. The 2007 event had a few issues. First of all, the 2007 race was the “in-between year” between previous ownership and the new. It was unfortunately not a smooth transition. A few ’07 comments: Runners don’t know this (well, they do now!) but the toilets were vandalized at 3am the night before the race – all of them were turned over. So VERY sorry for those who were inconvenienced. The food was admittedly sub-par, though there was enough post race fruit, bagels, etc, but not a “lunch”. The ’07 race course went off without a hitch and runners were very complimentary about race staff, aid stations, medals, etc. Thanks for reading this and I hope you give the race a chance in 2008. I assure you it will be a great event! More sponsors are onboard than ever before.

Thus, I give Jeff credit for stepping up to the plate and admitting that some things needed to be fixed. It’s also unfortunate that the toilets were vandalized, that’s a tough one to deal with and a large portion of the race complaints were with regards to that issue. I’ll admit that Jeff’s letter was part of the reason I was willing to fork over $85 to run the race tomorrow.

Goals, let’s talk goals. My tentative goal for Denver is a 2:55 and the McMillan Calculator states that I need to run a 1:22:59 Half Marathon to be equivalent. So that’s my goal. Granted the Boulder course will be more difficult and I am not tapering for this race, but I still think that time is certainly abatainable.