Hypothermic Half Marathon Ottawa

A well organized race, though like other reviewers, I did not think much of the 4 loops (in icy conditions no less). However, the website did indicate that this was the route. The breakfast afterwards was pretty amazing - and so was the medal!

Yeah its great for a winter race! short and sweet loops and a good sprint to glory. I recommend a traction system since it is on snow and they salt some parts that turn to slippery soupy slush. Excellent facility and place to host it, shout out to the marshes golf club ! and organizers.

This was my first half and I hadna great experience. The 4-loop course was not too hard (some small rolling hills), except for the tunnels, which were a bit icy (they used melting salt, but it wasn't enough to make them 100% safe). Keep in mind that it's winter and there's gonna be snow and ice. Plan accordingly - use some kind of grips. It was great to have electrolytes and water available after every loop. The Clubhouse is beautiful and I really appreciated taking a hot shower after my run. The medal this year (2015) was also quite striking - you can find a picture of it on the race website. Loved my experience there!

The loops were extremely icy. Nice having the port o lets along the course and the volunteers were great. Marshes Golf Club was an excellent venue even when they ran out of food and we had to wait for a second serving a bit later on due to the large crowds ahead of us. We too had tracked out distance and it was off a bit. Very cold day but spirits were high and I suggest handing out grippers as the swag next year instead of the gym bags. Showers and lockers were a great touch! Medals were nice and it was well organized!

This was a really treacherous course. It was very very icy and people were falling all over the place. I am amazed that nobody was seriously hurt slipping on the ice. The race organizers did hand out screws for people to screw into the soles of their shoes for extra grip but that made little difference. Those with crampons certainly fared better. The biggest highlight of this event is its start and finish area. Warm building, lockers, hot showers! brunch. After being so exposed to the elements (it was -20), it was crucial to have a warm place to go immediately afterwards. Props to the Marshes Golf Course for the facilities. The course was not accurately measured, I ended up with 22.55km even after they changed the finishing straight while we were on course. This also caused some confusion. This has great potential if the course were accurately measured and was adequately plowed/de-iced. Nice friendly crowd.

It should be posted on website that 4 loops around the golf course. It was not groomed that well on the back half making the footing uneven.