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Dear Organisers,You had verymuch put your heart and soules for this event &thank you all very much for that.I will just run through my experiance.

1.Ample parking space.

2.Always smiling &cheerfull volunteers.

3.Rousing 'Chenda Mellam'.

4.Volunteers on bycycles&motor bikes were allways there for you.

5.Helpfull,courteous&cheering police mem all along.

6.Cheering &smiling local residence in their colourful night clothes.

7.Kids from the neighbourhood encouraging you.

8.Well-stocked &well maned Aidstations.

9.Beautiful route,chalked out through the pages of history-The flawours of the sea side,spices &ofcourse the fish market!!

10.Tasty, suptious and generous breakfast.

It was truly a wonderful experiance.Soles Of Kochin I thank you from the bottom of my heart.

It is very sad that the press in Kochi both the news papers and TV missed the whole wonderful event.

Note for the next year

1.Water supply to the toilets.

2.Mile markers

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Thoroughly enjoyed the Kochi experience. Great route, the Fort Kochi part was especially nice, getting a flavour of the early morning faithful as well as curious onlookers and the seaside flavours, smiling volunteers and well-stocked aid stations.

The one junction where we didn't find volunteers was where a few of us went down the wrong road before backtracking to the 27 km timing point. Another point for next year is to have distance markers.

Overall, for a first marathon, I think it was a brilliant effort and truly shows the passion of the runners' group behind the event. All you guys need to do next year is to keep the sun below the horizon for a while longer :)

Congratulations and well done!

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Team, having participated in Bangalore and Kaveri Trail Marathon, I was really looking forward to making this a ha-trick... and what an experience it was :).. thank you organizers for your love and support all through the run... I surely would remember this... you guys have done a superb job, be it the volunteers who were on the bike checking on us throughout the run, or the little kids cheering us, or the much appreciated wet sponge that was given to us in our last 2 kms... your tireless effort is greatly appreciated.. You guys give a good pat on your back :)

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Hariharan - Spice coast marathon - Bib 4065

Hi I am from Mumbai and completed my Full Marathon in 5 hours 34 minutes.

The only point I want to say here is that conduct this event at a different time when the weather is probably less humid or it is raining. Kochi marathon is very near to this marathon.

Hats off to organizers, volunteers and traffic officials. It was nice to see traffic officials chearing.

My jadu ki jhappi to Spice coast - Kochi

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Hi,

Thank you Spice Coast Marathon for providing a great experience as this was my first Full Marathon .

Loved the route , the volunteers and organizers were extremely helpful and solicitous which made the run very pleasant , nice spread at aid stations...just when i thought of throwing in the towel , a wet sponge and water spray by the blessed chaps did the trick.  Finished at 5hrs :52 mins { Bib 4003}

The uniquely crafted medal is worth all the pain

Will be back for the next edition

Thank you & well done all the tireless organizers and volunteers , god bless.

Best wishes :-)

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My few thoughts as a first time Marathoner:

Pros:
Ø The attractive name ‘ Spice Coast Marathon’
Ø The route, except for a short stretch, was off the traffic route. Besides covering the historic spots in Cochin.
Ø One of the biggest highlight is the Organizer’s and Volunteer’s extremely friendly and supportive attitude. This made a world of a difference especially to a first time half Marathoner like me. Ø The Medal was something unique and worth running for.

Ø Keeping the 5 Km fun run on a different route was extremely thoughtful. Also the start time of the different races was well thought out.
Ø The refreshment stations were well spaced.
Ø A great Break fast after the race.

Cons:
Ø No Mile markers.
Ø The pre-marathon talk at the expo may have been better attended perhaps with prior notice and a short teas session. Just a thought.
******
Overall an extremely well organized and executed event. This could well be promoted as a ‘must do’ event on the Cochin tourist calendar given thehistorical significance of the route. A big THUMBS UP to ‘The Soles of Cochin’. Cheers!

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my life till 10th Nov 2014

*Wake up@ 0845

*Late @ Office (5 min drive from home, still gasp gasp gasp)

*Home @630max

*TV/net/movies

*Go to bed@ 2am

My life after 16th Nov 2014

*Wake up@ 0500 & runnnn....

*Office on time..

* Bk home, no time wasting

* Hit bed @1030 max

This is what Spice Coast Marathon did to me.

I should Thank Ramesh (for an inspirational talk) and Jineesh (for reigniting & sustaining it..) of Soles of Cochin for this transformation...

SCM 2014, I regd for the 5K with the sole target of finishing and attempting a non stop run. - I Did, under 40 mins... wow. felt great. & was rewarded with the :O luk on near & dear

For an abs beginner it felt lik a gud time, But my pride hit a huge dent when i learned that the course measured only 4.2km :( In fact the brochure had the correct course, but was surprised to see the turn around point by the toll booth, that accounted for the reduced length.

I am sure, 5K was meant to be a fun run, still this was unacceptable. Please take care next year.

Else, I have no other adverse remarks n have many pros like food, volunteers, medals etc... most have been well acknowledged by SCM participants.

I am also upset that the media (sme) chose to substantially ignore SCM, when it came to giving publicity and coverage... After all this event was also meant to promote running, healthy lifestyle & kochi/kerala tourism as a whole. I feel SCM didnt get the promo it deserved.

Congrats & great work guys, It takes huge courage & effort to organize such a grand event, without any major title sponsor. Keep up the spirit. :)

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New to running the half marathon but I must say I totally loved my experience at the SCM and look forward to coming next year to better my time. well organised with really helpful and encouraging volunteers who never failed to cheer us on... great job to them and the organizers for that.

The location and route was very good though I did do a bit of damage to my foot on one of the broken tarmac, which slowed me down a lot, but AGAIN here I have lots of praise for the volunteers who cheered me till the end... the pain will go but the thought of the run and the cheers will never.

The route was well stocked with electrolytes, salt, water and fruit which was needed for the humid climate. The volunteers again proved their mettle. I would have loved to have known how far into the race I was, with markers of course... but no complains cos when it mattered volunteers were screaming out remaining distances...

Great Job and I'll be back.

Cheers,

Emme

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I am that guy who prefers to wait for the next bus rather than run after the one which just left even if i am late for something. With much reluctance and solely due to my friends pushing I decided to run in SCM 5K and boy, I am so glad that I did it. I cannot judge the organization or the technical details as this is the first such event I am being a part of, but as a layman I found the experience so electrifying, so exciting and so much motivating that I decided to take up running along with my usual cycling. Your coir medal and the refreshing neera with always be in my mind whenever I run. Thank you for this superb experience and see you all next year where all of us can run faster, longer and happier. Special thanks to the dude who clicked my thumbs up photo and put it in the newspaper, that was the greatest reward :D

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The event was one of the best Ive run, very beautiful route, hyper active volunteers, very innovative beautiful medal, red carpet finish line, good breakfast, taking care of even smaller issues.

coming to cons:

Mile marker missing big problem, even volunteers got confused when asked about the distance

Usually such a big event with many photographers on the route expected a minimum of 1000 pics posted.. but even 3 days after race, not much pictures are posted. Not sure what happened to pictures snapped at iron bridge

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Picking up from my FB Post:

Soles Of Cochin (Cochin Runners)- All I can say is, you have just set yourself a tough benchmark for next year with the 2014 Spice Coast Marathon. What a run, what food and to top it off, what a medal - WOW. The ~100+ FM runners had a good on-the-dot start, followed by great support during the run. Prahlad Meena passed us (on the other side of the road obviously) around the 17.5k mark. It was awesome to see the smooth running and the lead car ahead of him. The water stations were well positioned and the support from the hotels putting up their water stalls en route was a great touch.
The choice of the route around W. Island and Fort Kochi was just great, with all the lovely homes, fishing nets and the smell of spices (really). It was a quiet Sunday morning for most residents which helped the runners a lot. After 7:30am, the Kochi difference started making itself felt with the sun and the humidity going up big time, making every step harder, but getting closer to the finish line kept me going.Shreyas Karnad passed me around the 39k mark - we were both struggling but it was awesome to see him just maintain a steady pace and pass ahead. Inspite of several stops, finally caught up with Shreyas near the finish line.
Thomas Paulose P - you are probably resting your vocal cords today but I just wanted to say your enthusiasm and cheering as we reached the end of the run was exactly what the doctor ordered, kudos . Getting the medal, a bit of stretching, some hot tea, watching a couple of cobras on stage, a couple of selfies with Ajay(imagine leaving without those) and I was good as new .

Suggestions for next year:

1) More Mile Markers

2) The volunteers this time were super-enthu but in the process, sometimes getting in the way. Just need a bit of coaching to not contain that unbirdled enthusiasm but redirect it without blocking runners :)

Goes to show - no one does it like runners .

Great job, Soles !!! Already looking forward to the next edition.

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The build up to the event and the way it was marketed (the stunning while running tags) was simply superb. In fact I must confess that even though I did not have this event in my plans, eventually I fell for the way it was marketed. And that made me a little apprehensive thinking if the run itself would live up to the expectations and hype it had created. But I have no doubt in my mind that it surpassed all expectations and was wonderfully well executed. By far the best route (in terms of history, heritage and sheer picturesqueness) that I have run, very helpful volunteers and some unique aspects like the coir medal and Neera drink made it a truly memorable experience...Looking forward to participating every year!

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it proves that only a runner knows the pain and effort by another runner..  soles of cochin knew exaclty wat a runner would need... not flashy boards with sponsors name in bold with very little information.. but signages ( arrow marks )on the road..  no sign boards but  more volunteers on the road... cops in important junctions and more cops in the bigger junctions...  very enthusiastic volunteers in the refueling stations... especially tempting the runner with the medal... I ran Spice Coast Marathon to get that medal... thanks to  the organisers... we are waiting for the next run...

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Pros:

One of the best aid station/volunteer support i had experienced in my shoort running career. all stations well stocked from salt to Volini spray, chilled water in one station with sprinklers were commendable.the civic responsibility of the aid station volunteers and the runners were too worth the praise, as therewerent anything let to litter around those stations. I loved the sponge bath offered about 6km from finish line. The medals were the unique and i am loving it. The post race food was excellent.Never seen volunteers covering the head against the bright sun showing the runners the directions in junctions.Standing ovation goes to Ramesh and his team for pulling this off, in a communist place like Kerala.

Cons:

Milemarkers absence could be taken as a glitch. Till the last runner finishes the event, there must be a medical and paramedical appropriately staffed on the venue, unfortunately they left much before the last runner finished the event, esp on a hot and humid conditions,the dehydration and salt depletion can lead to collapse. food counter timings couls also be extended till at least full marathoners can eat their proteins after a gruelling run.I had to request the chef for making the omlette again.(Thomas Poulose did help in getting me,thanks to him).

CHENNAI RUNNER

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I have already expressed my views on the race on MRR page, off course it did not seem me that it was your first edition, so fantastically arranged.....you people deserve for standing oviation.....only thing just mark the route next time...HAPPY RUNNING

breeze

INDIAN NAVY

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Except mile markers, every thing was good, good route,volunteer support,awesome breakfast

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Extremely well organized in the true spirit of sports. Could not find any short comings. Thank you all for the event, you only made my dream come true. Just like some one said before the event, Spice coast Marathon is going to be known as the 'Friendliest marathon' in India.

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Dear Soles,

I am a Beginner in the long running scene.This is my 2nd FM.I'm very happy and proud to be the part of SCM 2014.The volunteer support was excellent,as that is the most important factor during a long running course.There may be some shortcomings as it will always be in everything and everywhere.The medal in particular was just great.Please do put up the links for the personal photos on the course and the certificates.All the best for 2015,and eagerly waiting to run.Regards.