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☰
Coastal Delaware Running Festival Runner Comments
Back to Coastal Delaware Running Festival Information & Reviews
Course 4.9 
Organization 4.5 
Spectators 3.0
Number of comments: 28 [displaying comments 21 to 28]
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Virginia Runner from VA
(4/29/2016)
"Scenic and organized!" (about: 2016)
11-50 previous marathons
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 4 The course is spectacular, with lots of variety in the views and terrain. Definitely not your typical beach marathon! It was extremely organized and well staffed, and the volunteers were incredibly enthusiastic. Great swag for such a small race, and such a nice, laid back atmosphere! Even the policeman working on the course seemed to enjoy the race! There are some points along the race with less spectators, but the views were enough to keep you motivated. The post race party was the perfect way to finish the morning! Kudos to Focus Multisports and the volunteers for a job well done!! | |
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S. K. from Hudson Valley, NY
(4/27/2016)
"Great small marathon destined to grow!" (about: 2016)
3 previous marathons
| 1 Coastal Delaware Running Festival
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 2 I was looking for a spring marathon in the Northeast. My choices came down to Vermont City, Walkway Marathon in Poughkeepsie (my hometown) and Coastal Delaware. I chose Coastal Delaware based on last year's reviews here on Marathon Guide. That plus the elevation map and my progress in training pointed to the possibility of a BQ. Website was easy to navigate and very professional looking. Questions were either answered directly from the race director or on social media. Emails were sent out in a timely fashion, were well written and quite informative. Packet pickup was a breeze. Swag was nice. T shirt was an understated tech shirt. No comment on the pre race pasta meal as we went to Lewes to 'A Touch of Italy'. I highly recommend the Bolognese sauce. Start line had corrals, but zero organization as to getting runners where they ought to be at the start. Many slower runners started up front. Running with a pacer proved difficult for the first three miles or so as the group of us had to dart in and out of slower runners who had no business starting at the front of the field. The course turns onto the main road through Dewey Beach and it is coned off with a lane for runners, but not quite wide enough for a slew of runners, elbow to elbow. Shortly after the start, the course leads on to the Rehoboth Beach Boardwalk. Nice at 7:20 or so on a Sunday morning in late April, almost desolate. Course weaved its way through Rehoboth up to Lewes, through a park, on a crushed gravel surface, turned around and headed back down towards Dewey around the Cape May/Lewes Ferry. Again some road running. Generous shoulders and cones made this easy and safe. Wide open, though....no shade here. I can imagine that on a hot day this portion of the course would really beat you up. Again into park like bike trail with shade. The surface was a little less even here, but no big deal. The return trip on the boardwalk was less desolate. The tourists were now out with dogs (on leashes) skateboarders, young children and the really back of the pack half marathoners (who started 30 minutes later). I had to call 'on your left' many times here. There seemed to be a dearth of water stations here too, and it was warming up. I needed water badly and it seemed like 3 miles between stops near the end. Finish back in Dewey was right next to the host hotel where I stayed. Immediately showered and came back for the post race beach party. Very nice course. FLAT and fast. Great volunteers and signage. I always knew where I was headed. A few more water stops would have been appreciated, especially in the second half. Crowd support was sparse throughout, and fairly lame. Sorry spectators....you were. Medal is nice, post race party was right on a beach. Food was pretty unremarkable. Runners received tickets for three free beers! As I hadn't had one since New Year's Day, they tasted really good! Host hotel offered a late checkout of 2:00 p.m. for the runners with no additional charge. Til 6:00 p.m. for 69 dollars more. We chose the 2:00 p.m. option. They advertised pre race breakfast would start at 5 a.m. I got to the lobby at 4:40 and they already had the food out. Nice! In summary: Great, scenic, non boring flat course, well supported by the volunteers. If you're well trained and the weather cooperates, you just might BQ. I did, by 6 minutes and 40 seconds! Thank you Coastal Delaware! | |
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Ed Gavin from Jefferson Twp Pa
(4/26/2016)
"Outstanding" (about: 2016)
50+ previous marathons
| 1 Coastal Delaware Running Festival
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 3 This was my 84th ultra/marathon and it was the most scenic marathons I have run. Beautiful course and great volunteers and the post race party was beyond fun!! Great beer and food on the beach. I will run this again. | |
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D. C. from Virginia Beach, VA
(4/25/2016)
"Beautiful, flat, and fun race!" (about: 2016)
4-5 previous marathons
| 1 Coastal Delaware Running Festival
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 3 Course: An absolutely gorgeous run: mostly through parkland, as well as incorporating the oceanfront boardwalk. A variety of surfaces, but nearly 100% friendly for running. My only complaint on the course was crowd control on the boardwalk approx. mile 20-24: tourists were not respecting the racers, and there was a lot of dodging people on the course. Organization: The expo at a restaurant is a fun idea, but the result was long lines in the rain, and it didn't feel like an efficient system. Communication was very good, though, parking and port-o-lets were adequate, and the overall organization was good. They also produced one of the most attractive finisher's medals I've seen - the stained glass is a nice touch! Spectators: This race is not for you if you want cheering crowds. People were very friendly, but not loud; and most of the course is isolated from anywhere people could gather, even if they wanted to. The single-loop course makes it difficult for supporters to see you multiple times during the race. The price you pay for such a beautiful course is that you'll find most of your motivation from within and from your fellow runners. All in all, this was a great experience, and I broke a PR that had stood for almost 10 years! Run it for speed, and run it for the scenery! | |
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P. E. from Valatie, ny
(4/25/2016)
"Nice flat we'll run Delaware race" (about: 2016)
11-50 previous marathons
| 1 Coastal Delaware Running Festival
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 2 Kudos to the race director and volunteers for a well done job. Not a lot is spectators (who needs them) but enthusiastic volunteers. Very well marked marathon with a large beautiful nature trail component. Nice medal but shirt should have date of race on it. VIP upgrade worth it for the parking and post massage and mimosas. Nice choice for us 50 staters | |
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M. A. from Illinois
(5/7/2015)
"Worth the trip!" (about: 2015)
11-50 previous marathons
| 1 Coastal Delaware Running Festival
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 4 I was highly impressed with this race. The course was excellent, and I particularly liked running on varied surfaces with a lot of different scenery coastal views, boardwalk, state park, bike trail (not paved), highway, sidewalk, city streets, neighborhoods. The organization and logistics were great too. The 300 or so marathoners made for a perfect size, and I liked that the marathon started 1/2 hour before the half and was generally a separate race. Beach towel was nice touch. | |
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N. S. from Northern Delaware
(5/5/2015)
"Beautiful Race" (about: 2015)
11-50 previous marathons
| 1 Coastal Delaware Running Festival
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 4 This race goes through a state park for many of the miles which provides fantastic scenery. Although the water/Gatorade stops were well managed (thank you to everyone), there were not stops on the trails in the park. So pack your own refreshments/fuel for that area. There are also no spectators on the trails. In the areas where there were spectators, they were great. Even on the broadwalk, people cheered for me and moved as I made my way by them. The volunteers were fantastic in the packet pick-up, dry-bag drop off and pick-up, and on the course. The weather was great too. I'd recommend this marathon to anyone looking for a small, well managed race and beautiful course. The entertainment at the after party was great too. | |
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R. G. from Pennsylvania
(5/5/2015)
"Impressive Inaugural event" (about: 2015)
11-50 previous marathons
| 1 Coastal Delaware Running Festival
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 4 Marathons, let alone Running Festivals are a significant undertaking and I was unsure what to expect from the inaugural event. I was very impressed with how well it went. You would've thought this event had been going on for years. I'll run down the list: 1) Website - Very professional and on par with the websites of major marathon events. Runners were well informed of race information as race day approached. 2) Pre-race expo - Pretty much as expected. Not much to see, but easy packet pick-up. 3) Swag - The shirt was unremarkable, but the money was spent on providing all runners with a beach towel. I think this was a great idea. It's always good to see thoughtful, race-appropriate swag. 4) Pre-race dinner - Although I know better from other experiences that these are usually best avoided, I did attend the pre-race dinner for the convenience. It was disappointing and $20 ended up feeling like a lot to pay for it. 5) Race start- My group parked around the finish and then we walked down to the start (about 1 mile). Not ideal that the start and finish are separated, but it was not a big deal. The race went off in a timely manner, with the marathoners starting at 7:00 and half-marathoners at 7:30. The 7:00 start was appropriate considering the time of year and I would have been fine with it starting even earlier. 6) The course is excellent. I've run a lot of races, and this is one of my new favorite courses. It's a fantastic blend of open air road running, around town road running, groomed trail running, and less common surfaces including the Rehoboth boardwalk and an extended wood walkway section through the park. The first half of the race in the early morning along the ocean and through Henlopen state park was alone worth the trip. The trail running offered some shade, which came in handy on the second half of the course. 7) Volunteers/runner support - The number of volunteers was adequate, but I would say it was the minimum needed to pull off this event. I'm not sure how many water stops there were, but I think at least a couple more would have been appropriate, especially considering the potential for hot weather (I think one should expect that the weather often times be warm for this event). Gels were offered at two different locations. There are a fair number of turns on this course and the signage was generally good. However, there were a few spots were I think it would have been helpful to have someone manning an intersection to ensure runners go in the right direction. 8) Post-race: The finisher medal was rather large. I always appreciate the proper 'heft' in a medal, and this one felt right. The awards were plexiglass-like plaques on a plexiglass stand. Ok, but not quite the coolness factor that the beach towel offered. The post race party was on a bay-side beach with beer and food available. runners were generously provided with 3 beer tickets each. Nice! There wasn't much to be critical about with this event, but my biggest complaint was the post-race food. The offering was very low-grade hamburgers and hotdogs, baked beans and some very poor mac-n-cheese. I assume the goal here was to have a beach-party themed food offering, but it missed the mark for two reasons: first, as this is a generally healthier group being catered to, I think it is good to offer healthier, more easily digested food to people who have just finished a marathon (although there was also fresh, cold fruit available). Secondly, the quality of the food was very poor. As not to end the post-race comments on a bad note, it was very cool to be able to hang out on the beach overlooking a beautiful, scenic view. A DJ was also there providing music. To summarize this lengthy review, this was really a very enjoyable event and I'm glad I was able to take part in the inaugural event. With a little fine tuning, this could be an event you'll want to go out of your way to experience. One last comment: With the staggered start for full and half marathoners, this only worsens the marathoners dilemma of having to weave through the back end of the half marathoners when the courses meet up towards the end (last 5 miles, in this case). While it was not awful, the boardwalk was moderately crowded and I could see this being much more of an issue should the size of this event grow significantly. |
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