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Bellingham Bay Marathon Runner Comments
Back to Bellingham Bay Marathon Information & Reviews
Course 4.3 
Organization 4.1 
Spectators 3.8
Number of comments: 35 [displaying comments 21 to 31]
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S. D. from Washington
(10/1/2008)
"Beautiful course, great support" (about: 2008)
4-5 previous marathons
| 2 Bellingham Bay Marathons
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 4 This was my second time running the Bellingham Bay (Half) Marathon. The course was quite different this year, and much better than the first. The course starts at the covered farmers' market in town, heads north through some neighborhoods and a park, and then down a tree-lined hill down to the waterfront. You pass by the start area around mile 7, so your friends can catch you going by. The course then heads south for a bit before heading down to the trail along the waterfront. Overall, a beautiful course. There were water stations every two miles, and they were handing out gels about every four miles. It meant you didn't need to carry any fuel. There were a ton of volunteers along the course pointing the way and cheering us on. The finish area had plenty of food and water, massage tables, and quickly-posted results and photos. There was even pizza! About the only bummer was the lack of a beer garden. There was a pub right next to the finish line, but for some reason they chose not to open an hour early and take advantage of a captive audience. The inaugural event last year was good, but this year was great. | |
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C. V. from Bellingham,WA
(9/28/2008)
"Beautiful course, breathtaking Bellingham day!" (about: 2008)
2 previous marathons
| 1 Bellingham Bay Marathon
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 My first time at this event, and everything was so organized. People were so friendly, helpful and supportive. Bellingham shined its best, with the sun and beauty of the city and bay. Excellent event! | |
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T. d. from Seattle, Washington
(12/24/2007)
"Beautiful course, but bad host hotel" (about: 2007)
6-10 previous marathons
| 1 Bellingham Bay Marathon
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 4 This course was almost as challenging as Lake Tahoe and very beautiful. The course was very hilly, so a course profile online with the website would be a great idea to help runners prepare. The organizers did a great job for the first year and I was totally surprised by all the brave volunteers who braved the cold, wet and windy conditions to cheer us on. This was a very friendly race. The host hotel, the Belweather Inn, was anything but hospitable. No late checkout (unless you wanted to pay a stiff fee), and runners were discouraged from returning after the event. The front desk staff was great; the management was horrible. There are not many hotel choices close to the start/finish. | |
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J. F. from Bellingham
(11/30/2007)
"Windy and rainy, but at least it was warm!" (about: 2007)
3 previous marathons
| 1 Bellingham Bay Marathon
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 4 I thought the event went very well considering it was the first of its kind in Bellingham. I also feel it would be nice to have part of the route go through downtown Bellingham. The end loop was also more difficult "mentally" than I first thought it would be. Finally, space blankets at the end would have helped us stay longer to enjoy some after-race food. As it was, we were cold and needed to run another mile back to our car to go home. Thanks to all the organizers and volunteers for your efforts. | |
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M. S. from Seattle.
(11/28/2007)
"OK, I didn't expect getting a wave dumped on me" (about: 2007)
6-10 previous marathons
| 1 Bellingham Bay Marathon
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 3 FANS: 3 This run is going to be a classic, with beautiful scenery along Bellingham bay and the excellent Interurban Trail. I am definitely going to run this one again, but I will be getting a forecast before taking part! The wind was so bad that I could see it stopping runners dead. It was like someone lassoing you. After the turnaround, it wasn't easy with the wind on your back as it would come hammering along and because you have to over run, this caused some knee pain for me. It was almost as if someone had run into you. The wind also whipped up some waves in the marina near the finish and one crashed over the breakwater and dumped cold sea on me. This is NOT something I expect in a marathon! Also not expected was the wind breaking off large tree branches and seeing runners getting hit. Overall it was a good first try by the organizers and I'll be seeing them next year. | |
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P. G. from Belfair, Washington
(11/12/2007)
"good first event, bad luck with weather!" (about: 2007)
6-10 previous marathons
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 3 FANS: 3 This was a great first event! No one can expect 40 miles an hour winds and rain at the end of the race. Volunteers were great, but bailed at the end as it was pretty bad rain. This made it impossible to know how to get to the finish line, I had to literally stop 3 times to ask, 'which way to the finish line' from those passing by, which isn't an easy thing to do while in pain and wanting to finish. This was just bad luck, the organization was very good. The one town running store missed the opportunity of making good money by setting up at the check in area and I'd suggest a mini expo as this event got more runners then anticipated. Because of such there was some who had to get their medals in the mail, but, one good touch was they ensured all marathon finishers had a medal waiting. Good decision! Additionally, the medal design was quite cool with a spinning insert. I'd add Marathon finisher etc. to the backs though as everyone received the same medal. With all that said, this was a beautiful run and the director and everyone involved did a great great job. This was a very special race and even with half marathon runners sharing the path, I wouldn't change the course, it was a well thought out and beautiful course! I would STRONGLY consider a different date for the run, along the coast in October is going to be cold at best, the weather will continue to be a problem each year perhaps and also Portland is run the same day which never helps. This is the most beautiful course next to Big Sur in my experience and I will run it again some day. This will be an event that many will fly to in the future and destined to be a big time event! | |
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J. G. from Ferndale WA
(10/9/2007)
"Great Marathon... Windy!" (about: 2007)
6-10 previous marathons
| 1 Bellingham Bay Marathon
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 4 For an inaugural event, the organization was amazing. I do agree that there could have been more gel packs on the course, but overall this marathon had good water stops, considering that there were wind gusts in the 40's. Will probably run it next year. | |
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B. G. from Bellingham, WA
(10/8/2007)
"Great race that will hopefully continue to improve" (about: 2007)
4-5 previous marathons
| 1 Bellingham Bay Marathon
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 4 Thought the organizers did a great job for a first time with so many runners and very windy conditions. Appreciated the 2 e-mails updating changes and clearly giving important information. I'm partial because I live here, but, what a beautiful route with bay & island views, the great forested interurban trail and historic Fairhaven. Would have been nice to add some of the downtown Bellingham area. This also could have spread out more runners during the first few miles. A bit of a bottle neck and crowd on Boulevard Trail. Volunteers & fans were great support. Free massage & chiro a great bonus. Too bad the weather was so crummy for the post party. B'ham is a great running spot. Hope this becomes a NW Classic! | |
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l. e. from Southwest, USA
(10/8/2007)
"great course (but hilly!) - needs more fuel" (about: 2007)
First Marathon
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 3 FANS: 4 The course was as scenic as I can imagine any course could be. The hills were a bit unexpected. It was a great place to run a first marathon. However, they said they would have gel every 4 miles or so, and I failed to see that until the last half. They definitely need more fuel along the route, or should at least warn participants to bring their own. The mood was great among the runners despite the winds. I would recommend the race to everyone (with a caveat about the fuel stops). | |
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S. D. from Mount Vernon, WA
(10/8/2007)
"Very difficult course" (about: 2007)
11-50 previous marathons
| 1 Bellingham Bay Marathon
COURSE: 3 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 4 They had a ton of volunteers, far more than I expected. Parking was easy (the marathoners were parked in the garage). The course was as well marked as they could make, considering that any cones or signs they might put down would have blown away. This is certainly not a race to run hard with the battles to get by the half marathoners and walkers along with the huge hills in Edgemoor. I was really surprised that they didn't just head us up towards Cornwall Park instead of the silliness of going through Edgemoor and doing a loop of Zuanich at the end. Still a good training run for a faster course later in the fall. It's too bad that it was the same weekend as Baker Lake, Victoria, and Portland - not great planning when they picked an event date. |
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