Race Recap and Review: Couer d'Alene Marathon, May 29, 2011, Marathon State #1 - Idaho

My first marathon was May 29, 2011, at Couer d'Alene, Idaho, at, appropriately enough, the Couer d'Alene Marathon.  This was long before I had the goal of running a marathon in every state. In fact,  at the time I finished, I told everyone I ran two marathons that day - my first and my last.

The goal for this marathon was to simply finish. However, I scored my best finish time of my first five marathons, coming in at 5:12:21.

Packet pick-up/Expo: Grade C+: The venue was an unoccupied shop space in the Featherstone development, so it was not terribly big.  I don't recall many vendors as there wasn't a lot of room for them. There were some other festivities going on in the development for Memorial Day Weekend, including a bounce house for the kids, but the downside of that was that it made for a crowd when trying to get in to grab shirts and packets.

Nice hat!

Shirt/Swag: Grade: B.  The shirt was a standard tech shirt with long sleeves. Just a small logo and a few sponsors on the back. They also presented me with a brimless finisher's hat at the finish line.  If I lived in CdA or back in Wisconsin it would be a nice hat for winter running. I don't have a lot of use for it where I live now, though, other than as a hat to wear in the morning when I am camping.

Starting line: Grade: C+.  The half marathoners started later than the marathoners so they let us cut in line to use the portable toilets. Had they not done that there may have been issues.
Otherwise the starting area was pretty standard for a smallish race. They had music blaring and the race director DJing, I assume annoying the people living in the condos above on Memorial Day Weekend
Sunday.


Support:  Grade B-.  Standard stops with water, generic sports drink, and occasionally Gu.  I remember being very thirsty in the home stretch, so they probably could have used one or two more stations on the route.  To be fair, when I was running this course every step I took after Mile 20 was the farthest that I had ever run, so it might have been my inexperience in staying hydrated in marathon distances that was to blame.

Lake CdA

Course: Grade: A. Here's where the CdA shines (or at least did*).  Couer d'Alene is one of the most naturally beautiful cities in America and when utilizing the Centennial Trail - the beneficiary of the race - which runs along Lake Couer d'Alene it should be hard to screw up a course.

I-90 passing over the course

Buffalo Amongst the Gazelles

(*I note they have changed the course for 2014 to be two laps of the half marathon course, so I guess they figured out a way to screw it up after all. I would not have selected this race had that been the course configuration in 2011. The benefit is that they eliminated the one pretty big hill that was on the course when I ran it.)


Medal: Grade C-. I like the outline of the State of Idaho with CdA starred, but other than that it is pretty slim. No date - that is left to the ribbon - no color.

Finish Area: Grade: B-. The race finished and started in the same place as the Expo, with the same crowding problems. Though by the time us stragglers finished the marathon crowd had thinned.  They had fruit, water, a medal, and hat for me, so I can't complain.  The kids went to the bounce house while I wound down.

 Miscellaneous observations: 

• At about mile 22 we ran past a cemetery. I spotted a freshly dug open grave and thought about jumping in. 

Overall Grade:B+.  The beautiful course was the main attraction here, and that was enough to overcome some of the more "laid back" attitude of the organizers.  I'm glad I picked a destination race as my first marathon because it made the whole experience a little more special than it would have been if I would have just driven to Tacoma for a marathon.