May 20, 2024

Marathon Details - Canton City Marathon (formerly the Hall of Fame City Challenge Marathon)

North America Marathons > USA > OH > Canton > Canton City Marathon (formerly the Hall of Fame City Challenge Marathon)

Canton City Marathon (formerly the Hall of Fame City Challenge Marathon) & Half Marathon, 10K run and Relay

Canton, OH USA

~~August 30, 2015~~ - CANCELLED

http://www.cantoncitymarathon.com

More Info:	News
Results:	2014 \| 2013 Top 3 Finishers by Year

Contact

Name:	Lisa Mears
Address:	2618 Fulton Drive NW, canton, Ohio
Phone Number:	330-438-0100
Fax Number:	330-438-0107
Email:	Email the organizers



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Reviews

Course 3.4

Organization 3.5

Spectators 3.2

Write a review

Number of comments: 13 [displaying comments 1 to 11]

More Comments: [ < 1 2 > ]

J. G. from Cincinnati, OH (9/17/2014) "Lots of Potential" (about: 2014) 6-10 previous marathons \| 1 Canton City Marathon (formerly the Hall of Fame City Challenge Marathon) COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 2 FANS: 4 I ran this to BQ, and I did it with 4 minutes to spare. This was advertised as 'flat and fast,' but I don't think the course lived up to that billing. I'm from Cincinnati and used to running hills, so they weren't bad for me, but I could see how someone who doesn't normally train on hills would have problems. The biggest complaint that I have is the lack of course marking. I could have taken another minute off of my time had I not had to slow down at quite a few points to figure out which was I was supposed to be going. There were no arrows or markings of any sort going through neighborhoods. I went the wrong way at one point. I was lucky to come out with BQ and PR intact.
Hamidullah Sultan from Ohio (9/9/2014) "happiness" (about: 2014) 4-5 previous marathons \| 2 Canton City Marathon (formerly the Hall of Fame City Challenge Marathon)s COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 Truly hilly. Very challenging for me.I love a challenge.The spectators as well as the volunteers were very supporting.I had a blast. I learned a lot about my body and its limitations and learned a lesson that kindness gives great strength.
J. N. from Canton (9/8/2014) "Canton City Marathon" (about: 2014) 11-50 previous marathons \| 1 Canton City Marathon (formerly the Hall of Fame City Challenge Marathon) COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 3 This marathon has potential to become a big race. There is a lot of competition in the fall marathon market (Akron, Columbus, Erie, Towpath, Air Force) but there is room for good races. Canton is a good race and, although it is small, I hope it can survive and grow. I will run it again in 2015.
J. C. from Canton, Ohio (10/22/2013) "Will not run this race again" (about: 2013) 2 previous marathons \| 1 Canton City Marathon (formerly the Hall of Fame City Challenge Marathon) COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 1 FANS: 3 I registered for this race the day it opened on January 1st. The email sent to everyone who ran the Canton marathon said 'New Year, New Name, New Course.' Assuming this was the Canton Marathon, I registered right away. Only a few days later, the Canton Marathon announced it was in no way affiliated with the race. Then all of the legal issues began surfacing. I began training not knowing if this race was even going to happen. Halfway through my training for the original date of June 16th, I got an email saying the race was rescheduled to September 8th. That's nearly 3 months, which meant I basically started my training plan over again. Bottom line, this race was a headache even before race day. The race itself was very small. I was running by myself for almost the entire second half, and spectators were few and far between. Complaints about the course being hilly are true to an extent, but it wasn't nearly as bad as the hills on the Canton Marathon's course. As for my next race in Canton, I'm running the Pro Football Hall of Fame Marathon in April. I don't expect this one to happen again next year.
S. R. from Ohio (9/26/2013) "Hall of Fame City Challenge" (about: 2013) 11-50 previous marathons \| 1 Canton City Marathon (formerly the Hall of Fame City Challenge Marathon) COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 3 The Hall of Fame City Challenge Marathon in Canton is definitely a challenge. I loved every step of it. It's a course that will determine who is in shape and who is not. Liberace types should avoid this marathon. People searching for a flat marathon should enter the Erie Marathon at Presque Isle which is about 2 1/2 hours away. I'll be doing it again in 2014.
S. S. from Michigan (9/24/2013) "Hilly" (about: 2013) 1 previous marathon \| 1 Canton City Marathon (formerly the Hall of Fame City Challenge Marathon) COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 5 Loved the Nuns cheering the runners on!
J. B. from Illinois (9/13/2013) "False Advertising!!!" (about: 2013) 11-50 previous marathons \| 1 Canton City Marathon (formerly the Hall of Fame City Challenge Marathon) COURSE: 1 ORGANIZATION: 2 FANS: 1 Anyone else tired of race directors blatantly lying about their race in order to make money? 'Flat and fast'???? Come on! What a joke and a waste of my time, money, and training. The RD should be ashamed. This marathon should be shut down.
A. H. from Indiana (9/12/2013) "False advertising, not run by runners" (about: 2013) 11-50 previous marathons \| 1 Canton City Marathon (formerly the Hall of Fame City Challenge Marathon) COURSE: 2 ORGANIZATION: 2 FANS: 2 Advertised as fast and flat - I've run two dozen marathons, 2:28 PR, and this was the hilliest road marathon I've ever run. The RD kept calling that 'everyone HAS to run with their pace groups' at the start, which seemed very odd. Not enough water stops for conditions, some set up 50-80 feet off the course. The winner ran a heck of a time on the course yet nobody from the race organization even acknowledged his finish. It was thin up front, a couple turns I could not see the runner in front of me, there was no clear marking, and I had to take my best guess which way to go. Overall, a pretty poor race.
S. S. from Washington, DC (9/10/2013) "good inaugural race" (about: 2013) 11-50 previous marathons \| 1 Canton City Marathon (formerly the Hall of Fame City Challenge Marathon) COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 3 This was really well-organized for an inaugural event. Everything ran smoothly, and the aid stations were properly positioned, stocked, and manned. Even the mile markers were spot-on. I had never done a 6 a.m. start, and really liked running at that time of day (though it obviously makes for a very early wake-up). But there is room for improvement: -The web site described the course as flat after the first few miles. Totally false. The course was rolling hills thoughout. You are almost always going up or down. The course is fair, but it most certainly is not flat. Indeed, the beginning hills are the easiest ones. (Also, the 10K mat was actually at the quarter-marathon point.) -All distances - full, half, 10K - got the exact same shirt and the exact same medal (differing only in the neck ribbon). AND, the medal misspelled a word. Not cool. -They should try to get the Rite-Aid near the race hotel to stay open later than 3 p.m. the day before the race, because there is nowhere in downtown Canton to get last-minute supplies.
T. B. from Chicago, IL. (9/9/2013) "NOT what was advertised on the website!" (about: 2013) 3 previous marathons \| 1 Canton City Marathon (formerly the Hall of Fame City Challenge Marathon) COURSE: 2 ORGANIZATION: 1 FANS: 3 I chose this race because I wanted to lower my Boston qualifying time before Boston registration. The website specifically said that this course was flat! NOT TRUE!!! In fact, this was one of the hilliest races I have EVER run! In addition, I e-mailed the organizers to find out what kind of fueling options would be available about two months ahead of time so that I could start training with it. They hadn't even chosen what they were using and NEVER updated the website to let people know. Do not run this race if you are trying to PR.

More Comments: [ < 1 2 > ]

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J. G. from Cincinnati, OH (9/17/2014) "Lots of Potential" (about: 2014) 6-10 previous marathons \| 1 Canton City Marathon (formerly the Hall of Fame City Challenge Marathon) COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 2 FANS: 4 I ran this to BQ, and I did it with 4 minutes to spare. This was advertised as 'flat and fast,' but I don't think the course lived up to that billing. I'm from Cincinnati and used to running hills, so they weren't bad for me, but I could see how someone who doesn't normally train on hills would have problems. The biggest complaint that I have is the lack of course marking. I could have taken another minute off of my time had I not had to slow down at quite a few points to figure out which was I was supposed to be going. There were no arrows or markings of any sort going through neighborhoods. I went the wrong way at one point. I was lucky to come out with BQ and PR intact.
Hamidullah Sultan from Ohio (9/9/2014) "happiness" (about: 2014) 4-5 previous marathons \| 2 Canton City Marathon (formerly the Hall of Fame City Challenge Marathon)s COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 Truly hilly. Very challenging for me.I love a challenge.The spectators as well as the volunteers were very supporting.I had a blast. I learned a lot about my body and its limitations and learned a lesson that kindness gives great strength.
J. N. from Canton (9/8/2014) "Canton City Marathon" (about: 2014) 11-50 previous marathons \| 1 Canton City Marathon (formerly the Hall of Fame City Challenge Marathon) COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 3 This marathon has potential to become a big race. There is a lot of competition in the fall marathon market (Akron, Columbus, Erie, Towpath, Air Force) but there is room for good races. Canton is a good race and, although it is small, I hope it can survive and grow. I will run it again in 2015.
J. C. from Canton, Ohio (10/22/2013) "Will not run this race again" (about: 2013) 2 previous marathons \| 1 Canton City Marathon (formerly the Hall of Fame City Challenge Marathon) COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 1 FANS: 3 I registered for this race the day it opened on January 1st. The email sent to everyone who ran the Canton marathon said 'New Year, New Name, New Course.' Assuming this was the Canton Marathon, I registered right away. Only a few days later, the Canton Marathon announced it was in no way affiliated with the race. Then all of the legal issues began surfacing. I began training not knowing if this race was even going to happen. Halfway through my training for the original date of June 16th, I got an email saying the race was rescheduled to September 8th. That's nearly 3 months, which meant I basically started my training plan over again. Bottom line, this race was a headache even before race day. The race itself was very small. I was running by myself for almost the entire second half, and spectators were few and far between. Complaints about the course being hilly are true to an extent, but it wasn't nearly as bad as the hills on the Canton Marathon's course. As for my next race in Canton, I'm running the Pro Football Hall of Fame Marathon in April. I don't expect this one to happen again next year.
S. R. from Ohio (9/26/2013) "Hall of Fame City Challenge" (about: 2013) 11-50 previous marathons \| 1 Canton City Marathon (formerly the Hall of Fame City Challenge Marathon) COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 3 The Hall of Fame City Challenge Marathon in Canton is definitely a challenge. I loved every step of it. It's a course that will determine who is in shape and who is not. Liberace types should avoid this marathon. People searching for a flat marathon should enter the Erie Marathon at Presque Isle which is about 2 1/2 hours away. I'll be doing it again in 2014.
S. S. from Michigan (9/24/2013) "Hilly" (about: 2013) 1 previous marathon \| 1 Canton City Marathon (formerly the Hall of Fame City Challenge Marathon) COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 5 Loved the Nuns cheering the runners on!
J. B. from Illinois (9/13/2013) "False Advertising!!!" (about: 2013) 11-50 previous marathons \| 1 Canton City Marathon (formerly the Hall of Fame City Challenge Marathon) COURSE: 1 ORGANIZATION: 2 FANS: 1 Anyone else tired of race directors blatantly lying about their race in order to make money? 'Flat and fast'???? Come on! What a joke and a waste of my time, money, and training. The RD should be ashamed. This marathon should be shut down.
A. H. from Indiana (9/12/2013) "False advertising, not run by runners" (about: 2013) 11-50 previous marathons \| 1 Canton City Marathon (formerly the Hall of Fame City Challenge Marathon) COURSE: 2 ORGANIZATION: 2 FANS: 2 Advertised as fast and flat - I've run two dozen marathons, 2:28 PR, and this was the hilliest road marathon I've ever run. The RD kept calling that 'everyone HAS to run with their pace groups' at the start, which seemed very odd. Not enough water stops for conditions, some set up 50-80 feet off the course. The winner ran a heck of a time on the course yet nobody from the race organization even acknowledged his finish. It was thin up front, a couple turns I could not see the runner in front of me, there was no clear marking, and I had to take my best guess which way to go. Overall, a pretty poor race.
S. S. from Washington, DC (9/10/2013) "good inaugural race" (about: 2013) 11-50 previous marathons \| 1 Canton City Marathon (formerly the Hall of Fame City Challenge Marathon) COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 3 This was really well-organized for an inaugural event. Everything ran smoothly, and the aid stations were properly positioned, stocked, and manned. Even the mile markers were spot-on. I had never done a 6 a.m. start, and really liked running at that time of day (though it obviously makes for a very early wake-up). But there is room for improvement: -The web site described the course as flat after the first few miles. Totally false. The course was rolling hills thoughout. You are almost always going up or down. The course is fair, but it most certainly is not flat. Indeed, the beginning hills are the easiest ones. (Also, the 10K mat was actually at the quarter-marathon point.) -All distances - full, half, 10K - got the exact same shirt and the exact same medal (differing only in the neck ribbon). AND, the medal misspelled a word. Not cool. -They should try to get the Rite-Aid near the race hotel to stay open later than 3 p.m. the day before the race, because there is nowhere in downtown Canton to get last-minute supplies.
T. B. from Chicago, IL. (9/9/2013) "NOT what was advertised on the website!" (about: 2013) 3 previous marathons \| 1 Canton City Marathon (formerly the Hall of Fame City Challenge Marathon) COURSE: 2 ORGANIZATION: 1 FANS: 3 I chose this race because I wanted to lower my Boston qualifying time before Boston registration. The website specifically said that this course was flat! NOT TRUE!!! In fact, this was one of the hilliest races I have EVER run! In addition, I e-mailed the organizers to find out what kind of fueling options would be available about two months ahead of time so that I could start training with it. They hadn't even chosen what they were using and NEVER updated the website to let people know. Do not run this race if you are trying to PR.

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Marathon Details - Canton City Marathon (formerly the Hall of Fame City Challenge Marathon)