Ottawa Marathon Official Website

The "Nitty Gritty" Details (User Opinions)

James K.
Toronto, ON

  (09-11-2010)

"Awesome weekend. Ottawa really does it up right.

The marathon was my first (I've run the half before). The course takes you across into Quebec for the first 10kms and through some residential areas for the first half of the run. Lots of people out supporting the runners and providing extra aid stations.

Once you get back along the canal, the crowds are a little sparse, but coming into the finish area over the last 5kms or so, it's wonderful. The finish is an experience - tons of people cheering you on."

Reviewed by a: First Time Participant for 2010

Yannick A.
Ottawa, On

  (09-06-2009)

"This is one of the best races in Ontario. There's plenty of crowd support cheering, there's aid and water stations everywhere and bands playing by the side of the road. It attracts a lot of competitors so you will be challenged for sure. Scenic route through lots of tourist attractions like parliament, war museum, rideau canal, etc."

Reviewed by a: Repeat Participant for 2009

Jenn S.
Toronto, On

  (08-26-2009)

"This was my second half marathon. I was looking forward to running in some nice sprint weather - it was WAY hotter than I expected. Also, I was sick which made it an extra challenge.
I really enjoyed the race weekend experience. It was my first time traveling for a race, and absolutely everyone seemed to be in the city for one race or another.

I live in Toronto, and drove into Ottawa the day before the race. We stayed at the Cartier Place Suite Hotel which was a bit expensive and rundown for the price, but having booked with short notice we were thrilled to have such a good location (literally minutes from the start/finish line).

We ditched our car quickly and went to pick up our race kits. The expo was fantastic (shopped way too much!) and the hardest part was not buying too much stuff. It was pretty busy, but lots of fun.

Saturday evening we got to watch the 10km run which was fun - their course ends the same way, so I enjoyed beign able to visualize the next day.

Race morning was easy and organized. No corrals really (or if there were it wasn't strict) and it took awhile to get going.

I really enjoyed running in Ottawa. Crossing the bridge to Quebec was cool in a "yay, they're cheering in french!" sort of way, but the crowds were much weaker and there wasn't a lot to look at.

But once you crossed back over into Ottawa it was a totally different story. Tons of people cheering! And a beautiful canal to run along side!

The end of the course was very pretty but I must admit it seemed to go on forever. And it was so hot - I was really looking forward to getting sponges, but every station I passed was out. I can't imagine that they had gone through all of their sponges (I'm not *that* slow) so maybe my timing was just unlucky.

The day before my friend had pointed out that there's a bridge over the course that *looks* like a finish line but is in fact about 400 metres before the finish. So I thankfully wasn't fooled (luckily)!

I just kept going and was thrilled to finish the race and be able to blow my nose. "

Reviewed by a: First Time Participant for 2009

Marc T.
Montreal, CA

  (08-14-2009)

"I guess I should start with the positive:
This particular event is part of the Ottawa race weekend....and by race weekend they mean it! Lots of racing events throughout Saturday and Sunday. Not easy to organize a weekend of races...but the end result is a city that pulsates with physical activity! It truly was awesome to see such a big event brimming with enthousiasm not only by its participants but also all the volunteers who helped make this weekend possible...an undaunting task but with mostly positive results!
The course itself, is relatively flat therefore making it ideal for anyone wanting to use it as a qualifying race...Boston anyone?
Generally the weather is not too hot and pleasant for a long run...although the sun did get a little warm this year...sunscreen is probably a wise decision!
The location of start and finish is easily accessible from pretty much any hotel so walking to and from the start/finish is no problem.
Now for the one unfortunate negative comment...
This year (for 2009's weekend) on their website, they had wrong information posted for the race kit pick-up for the marathon and 1/2 marathon races...they had indicated 2 pick-up locations for the day prior to the event (1 in the a.m. and a 2nd for the p.m.). Unfortunately, this error was noever causght the whole time it was on the site...and so I, like many other out of towners planned our arrival coordinating it with enough time to get the race kits in the afternoon only to discover it was an error...I was told to head to the other location the morning of the race to pick it up...which made no sense as it would be impossible to make it back to the start line in time! Finally someone else had informed to just get to the start a little earlier and they would distribute the bibs there. To my surprise, I was not the only one who was victim to this error...Needless to say it also caught the organizers by surprise especially as the line up for the bibs just kept growing....A few comments were thrown by some of the organizers about how we shouldn't have waited to the last minute...I let this go as I am sure the stress of the event had taken over and it was getting pretty close to the start time...
This being said, that is pretty much the only negative part of the event...and it certainly is not a reason to stay clear of this weekend! Like I said it is a big weekend and lots to plan and coordinate...and hey, I did learn to plan to get to the race expos on the first day should this ever happen again, I have the second to fall back on!
"

Reviewed by a: First Time Participant for 2009

Marlene S.
Toronto, OH

  (06-12-2009)

"Corrals at the start were very congested (many people climbing barricades to get in) - ARRIVE EARLY. Otherwise, organization was impeccable. Course was great (weather can be pretty hot). Incredible crowd support."

Reviewed by a: First Time Participant for 2009