Denver Marathon (Denver, CO) - 14 Oct 2007

54th Marathon
149th Place
3:28:28

The Denver Marathon double in size from the first year, so this made it seem like a major marathon. The race director also changed the course just a bit, which I believe was for the better. I had initially planned to race this marathon, but my wife gave birth to our first child only a few weeks before this, so my sleep was not good. Thus, I decided to just run it to finish. The weather this year was brutal - rain and 40 degrees with a stiff wind. Not ideal for marathoning, but much better than heat and humidity!

The only problems I have with this race are the cost ($100 and you only get a cotton shirt), the fact that they say the course is flat and the finish stretch down Santa Fe Blvd.

The organizers say that the course is flat, but it has nearly 900 feet of elevation gain and lost, with 650 of that coming in the first half. This may not seem like a lot at sea level, but when you are running at 5,000 feet above sea level, this is noticeable. For people coming into Denver from sea level, they need to be aware of this and plan for it.

The reason that this last section is bad is for a couple of reasons. One - it is the last three miles of the course, so all the runners are spread out. And two - it is a major street that traffic needs to cross. All of the people coming into town off of US Highway 6 have to stop at Santa Fe. With the race going by on this road, they are stuck there because there is no way to turn off before this. Now, if the organizers moved the course three blocks to the east, this would allow for the traffic coming off of US 6 to turn onto Santa Fe or Kalamath and drive around the race. They could easily make up this distance in the out and back section going out Seventh Ave between miles 14 and 16.