St. John Ambulance Waterloo Marathon

Well organized race with a great scenic route.

Great race. Well organized!!!!!

What a great day! I have run nine full marathon`s, but Waterloo was very special. The organization was top notch, the volunteers were amazing! I froze as a runner, so I can only imagine how cold it must have been passing out fluids at the water stations for the volunteers. Something I have never seen before were the volunteers who drove around and encouraged the runners. Tony Lea did a great job, and I look forward to coming back and running the half marathon in a few years.

What a great race! From the race package pick up to the finish line it was all great. Kudos to Tony the race director who makes an effort to greet everyone before the race. You can tell he is passionate about his race and has been at this for I believe 17 years. Great guy. Amazing group of volunteers. Was greeted as we drove in and directed to a parking spot, everyone friendly and helpful. Great venue, nice to have a warm building for the pre race wait. Met some wonderful therapy dogs Marley and Heidi, how great is that. The course is beautiful, just the right amount of rolling hills mixed in and bag pipers were awesome. Beautiful area and a covered bridge make this a memorable run. Aid stations every 3 km, incredible support. This race ia a hidden gem. And the topper had to be legend runner Ed Whitlock running the half, setting a world record and then helping Tony with the awards, it just doesn't get any better than that. So if you are thinking Waterloo for the full or half marathon next year I highly recommend it!

Great race! Beautiful course. Rolling hills offering just enough of a challenge. Perfect post race snacks and a very unique medal that is unlike any other that I have.

A nice and scenic route. Not a lot of people, and at times I felt as though I was almost running alone. There was a stretch that was on a gravel road. This concerned me at first, but it was well packed and not a problem. There was also a fair stretch on the side of a highway with cars a little closer than I'd of liked, but not a real problem. It was a fun and well organized run. I would recommend.

Fantastic race. Excellent organization. First race I've ever been to where they actually have sufficient porta potties. Beautiful, scenic course. Not too many people. Well organized, frequent water stops. Bagpipers on course. Love it.

This is truly a unique event for a great cause! The route is so beautiful through Mennonite country with the West Montrose covered bridge and horse and buggies passing on their way to church if you do the full marathon. The bag-piper along the route is the cherry on top! The route has rolling hills so it might not be your FASTEST race if you don't prepare for those hills.
I was a bit nervous with the lack of spectators as I was trying to qualify for Boston. However, my family was able to go to different spots along the route to cheer me on and get me to the end with my required time!! Thanks to the organizers and see you next year!

I love this race. It was very well organized, nice big venue (not crowded), lots of bathrooms for everyone (never have to wait). There were lots of St. John Ambulances and volunteers on the route so it felt very safe. Lots of water stations. Course is beautiful with some hills but nothing extreme.

Pure beauty along this marathon course. The rolling hills are tough but at the top of each lies a new breathtaking rural landscape to enjoy. I usually run more prolific races (such as Ottawa) and was wary for the reported lack of crowd support at Waterloo, but found the intimacy and tranquility peaceful and refreshing, and didn't miss the rowdy cheering sections. The volunteers were friendly and genuine and everything was well organized. Love the hand-made medals. The last 3K or so was was somewhat disappointing for me as it is along boring city sidewalks but this would be my only complaint.

Awesome race awesome course awesome volunteers! I'll be back next year!

An incredibly well organized race. So many enthusiastic volunteers and water stations. The course is very unique and intimate as there are only a few hundred runners. Being Sunday, you will pass more horse and buggies en route to Church, than you will cars since you are running through Mennonite country.
The route in 2014 had an elevation gain of just under 200m according to my garmin. This compared to 630 for Around the Bay.
This was my first marathon, and I am very glad I did it here in my adoptive home town.
Also must say, a really beautiful participation medal. Normally, I dont really pay much attention to the mass produced glitzy over the top gold painted things you typically get, but this one was a beautiful locally hand made clay work that I really do want to display.

I really enjoyed this marathon, it's small and very scenic. The course is hillier than I expected but not Around the Bay hills. There are definitely some long quiet stretches but the passing horse & buggies and country side make it very enjoyable. Well organized and very friendly! Great space to warm up in before hand.

I have run the Waterloo 1/2 marathon 3 times now (2012, 2013, 2014) and I highly recommend it. It is a particularly good race if you don't like running with large crowds. The indoor soccer facility is a great place to stay warm before the race. You can walk to the start line just a few minutes before the race starts. There are TONS of volunteers and NO chance of taking a wrong turn. Police traffic control where needed. There are indoor bathrooms and plenty of portapotties just outside the building (NO LINEUPS!). There are also a couple of portapotties at the start line. The bagpipers on the course are a nice touch! Every year I wonder where all the people are - why isn't this a bigger race?! It is definitely a hilly, challenging course, but very rewarding!

This race is small (300 in the half, 100 in the full) and really well organized: lots of water stations, lots of parking, and the volunteers were great. The course is quite hilly, but pretty scenic. Highly recommended!

Second Year running this race and I will be back for a third! It is well organized, the volunteers are great and the course itself is great!
This year I recommended it to a friend and she enjoyed it, too.

My husband and I both ran this race for the first time. It was very small and there were times, later in the race, when I couldn't see anyone in front or behind me. At one water station, I had to call out for service because the volunteers didn't notice that I was coming, but that was okay. Most of the route is along beautiful rolling country roads. One road was gravel and there was a stretch along the highway but I could run on the shoulder. There are very few spectators and, for the most part, it was a beautiful, peaceful run. We will likely run it again in 2013.

Great race, very enjoyable. My first time running this event and I will do it next year. Well organized and the food stations were great. Great cause too!

I really enjoyed this race. It is a smaller race, which makes for a great start line, but big enough that (unless you are out in the very front)you are not totally alone on the road. This is not a race to do if you are really into crowd support: there are long stretches of nobody, which I kinda like. It is not a flat course, it is hilly throughout and the scenery is beautiful. The water stations were plentiful and well-manned. The finish line was really organized and food standard fare, the nutella and jam station is a nice touch! Massage tables were a short wait and I love that they have an indoor facility for before and after. Especially since this morning was unseasonably cool. All in all, this was a really enjoyable run!

I watched an ex-girlfriend run this marathon 10 years ago, it was a spectacular day! But I heard it's more rolling than people expect, and now the run has moved to include countryside roads, scenic and petite in size.