Boulder Backroads (#15) Race Ratings

Boulder Backroads Marathon Race Ratings...

Registration Fee: $80-$85 Early Reg, $90 Late Reg

Overall Race Rating (weighted): 3.0/5.0
Average Calculated Rating: 3.4/5.0
~ This was a good race and there were definitely difficult parts that were to be expected in Colorado. The altitude and heat were a lot more challenging than I thought. The course, start time, and organization of the mile markers left much to be expected.
Race Director: Let's play race director...
~What would I have changed if I were race director? Earlier start time... it's Colorado and you never know what to expect from the weather! The temp took a lot out of you, espectially with NO shade! Gotta fix the mile markers... especially in the last few suffering miles. The last .5 cannot be uphill. Pull the course back a little and end it sooner so you're not climbing the last half mile. Also... when you know its going to be hot and you have no shade... get out the sprinklers wherever possible!

Event Organization: 3.6/5.0 As far as "event organization" we'll go ahead and include things like Host hotel, website use, ease of travel to the event and to the actual race, etc.
~ The marathon is set in Boulder with a small airport, so likely you'll fly into Denver (about 30 min away)~ 45 minutes away from the race. The race is difficult to leave with a long line of traffic, so don't schedule your race too close to the time you're leaving or you might miss your flight (OOPS!!!). The website offers hoards of information to look through as you get closer to race day. The race is also close to CU Boulder, so you can catch a local football game!

Race Organization: 2.0/5.0
~ The race went off with little fanfare. The marathon and marathon relay are run simultaneiously while the half-marathon is run on a different course, starting an hour after the full marathon. The full and the half end on the same last few miles.

The Good: There were water stops just about every 2-3 miles and every table had plenty of water, GU and sometimes other snacks.

The NOT so good: The race was HOT!!! And there was just about 0 shade! They had no water spickets anywhere on the course. The race wasn't started until 8am, so on a warm day (like it was) it was very hot from the start. Also, the mile markers were SO off. Some miles were very short while others were long. And try to figure this one out... the 26 and 13 mile markers were in the exact same place even though they had the same finish (shouldn't they be .1 away?). Oh and those mile markers were about a half mile away from the finish... talk about a bad time to have the markers off!

Course: 2.7/5.0
~ To start, I should say that the course is BEAUTIFUL! I guess you could think of the course as what to expect in Colorado. There were PLEANTY of mountains oops I mean hills. When we weren't on hills we were on large open roads with no shade. I know I had a hard time breathing because of the high altitude mixed with heat and mountain climbing... not a course for the weak... a Definite challenge. Oh and the last half mile is on a pretty solid UPhill!!!! How evil.

Spectators: 3.0/5.0
~ Being out in the hills of CO, its hard for spectators to get to us. However, the relay points had pleanty of spectators so every 6-7 miles you would get a few cheers!
Pace Group: /5.0
~ DNE and didn't need

Runner/Corrals: 3.5/5.0
~  No corrals of course, but runners were very quiet! I don't blame them... the heat was enough to make your tongue stick to your mouth. We'll give them an A for effort for staying on the course! A lot of people dropped out with a DNF!

Expo: 4.0/5.0
~ The expo here was not bad at all! It was what you would expect in a state that is known for physical activity. A few feul stations, some free energy drinks, a runner jewlery sale... a little of everything. Also, it was heald at a local outdoor mall so you could go shopping after or go to one of their restaurants. Not bad!

Swag: 4.7/5.0
~T-Shirt... The T-shirt was a fairly nice, plain, sweatwick material shirt. It was a greensleeve shirt so I guess that means eco friendly (3.8). Your T ALSO came with a runner hat with the marathon emblem on it (+1.0)!!!!
~Medals: FINALLY a Metal Medal!!! Cute with the race logo on it. (3.7)
~ Goodie Bag: The goodie bag came with LOTS of free drinks, granola, a sports ache cream... GOOD JOB!!!! + a couple points.

Posting from the Sky!!!! Post-Race Thoughts

Hello from the Sky!!! I'm currently flying home from this weekends marathon and I'm trying out Deltas free Wi-fi in the sky-- SO COOL!!!!!!


I know what you're thinking... "You had a marathon this weekend??? We didn't even get a Race RUNdown!!!" Don't fret, you didn't miss anything... I was very swamped last week and didn't have time to post. SORRRY! No worries, I'll include lots in the post race thoughts below. For now, one more marathon and one more state down. I have a whole TWO weeks until my next race-- oops I mean raceS-- I'll be running back to back marathons Oct 3 & 4, but thats for a future post.

Post Race Thoughts... Boulder Backroads Marathon
-Stephanie (in the Sky over ~ Colorado)

Yesterday was the 11th annual running of the Boulder Backroads Marathon in Boulder, CO.  The hills were brutal only to be outdone by the fierce heat on open roads. But... the race is over, another medal won, and another state down! A state, I'll choose not to visit again for a while... at least not to run! Boulder/Denver is a BEAUTIFUL area with lots to do for those outdoor-types. WARNING however-- do NOT underestimate the SBD enemy-- ALTITUDE!!! Although Boulder is ~2000 ft lower than my race a few weeks ago in Park City, UT the air felt much thinner-- and with the mix of long winding hills, these proved to be quite the challenging race for those of us NOT from high altitudes.

Pre-race:
Saturday, we spent the day getting to know Boulder a little better... but going to a CU football game!!! And guess what? They won!!! Colorado University played Wyoming and had a nice little victory! Go Buffs??? That's weird to say when you're used to "GO Bucks!"

The Race:
It was quite cold when we got to the start at 7am (an hour before the gun time). However-- that changed quite quickly over the next hour.

*Race Annoyances of Stephanie #1* (We're going to start keeping track of these because they seem to be common problems and QUITE annoying! These are general marathon problems and do not apply exclusively to this race) #1-- WHY don't race directors think to put water out at the start line prior to the race??? I mean... they ask you to show up an hour or two prior to the start and they don't think we'll need water? For the $60-$100+ entry fees they can afford to put water out at the start! Also... if its a hot day, don't you think the race direcctors would want to make sure we're hydrated??? Just a thought.
*Race Annoyances of Stephanie #2* Weather chages! No, that is not the annoyance, but it doesn't seem that the directors take this into account when they plan the race start time. 8am start for a race that can varry in weather conditions is not the BEST idea. Running your 20-something miles around noon on a hot day is KILLER. Would it be so bad to ask for a 6 am start??? I know we're in September, but if the weather is know to be irratic, plan for it please!!!!

Just prior to the start the heat felt like we were mid-day. Ugh! The gun goes off and so do the runners! The course was anything but easy. If you weren't climbing hills, then you were on flat open roads with no shade and swealtering sun! Shade didn't come until I hit the 25 mile mark... yeah, real helpful! Running up hill was definitely killer and it took a while to get a stride.

To keep from getting heat exhaustion I took the race VERY VERY easy... purposely walking for a minute every other mile and up some of the major hills. What was shocking??? The REALLY GOOD runners were too!!! Around mile 16 we started to see runners going in the other direction. At first I was confused because I didn't know what race they were running, especially since they seemed to be going pretty slow and some were walking. I soon found out that they were the winners of the marathon and they were only about 2 miles in front of me... and I was going SLOW!!! I was shocked to see how slow they were moving and that they were even walking. There were ambulances speeding by continuously and I saw more people drop from the heat and on oxygen through the race than I cared to! Crazy conditions for a crazy race.

Good news.... FINALLY I have a normal medal again! The past 2 races have been plastic/glass monstocities! Its so good to see a solid metal medal! Also, this race had some pretty rockin swag-- a cool t-shirt AND  a hat and LOTS of giveaways from all their sponsors.

More to come in the official race ratings...

Happy Runnings!