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☰
Mercedes Marathon Runner Comments
Back to Mercedes Marathon Information & Reviews
Course 4.1 
Organization 4.6 
Spectators 3.9
Number of comments: 267 [displaying comments 101 to 111]
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C. C. from New York
(2/14/2008)
"Come to Birmingham if you want...." (about: 2008)
4-5 previous marathons
| 1 Mercedes Marathon
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 4 I must take my hat off to the officials who run this event. It would be easy enough to cater to the masses looking to run a fast and flat marathon, and they would probably get more runners to register for the full if they did; however, the Mercedes Marathon is meant to be something else. Come to Birmingham if you want to test yourself on some killer hills. Come to Birmingham if you want to see what it's like to dig deep down after running 20-plus miles, and having to find the strength for one last climb. I chose this marathon as a warm-up for the upcoming Boston Marathon in April, and I was not disappointed. I left Birmingham with my level of fitness ratcheted up a notch or two. This was a well-run event with lots of Southern hospitality, an enthusiastic crowd, a convenient out-and-back course, and a great finisher's medal. | |
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E. H. from St. Louis, MO
(2/13/2008)
"Great for free stuff" (about: 2008)
4-5 previous marathons
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 3 Liked the race, and hills were a nice challenge. The site was very well set up. Really enjoyed the free, long-sleeve cotton shirt for registering, and then the technical shirt for finishing. Plus: a cool medal and some very good sponsors made this marathon a really good deal for the price. | |
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J. M. from Atlanta, GA
(2/13/2008)
"Best Organized Race I have Run" (about: 2008)
6-10 previous marathons
| 1 Mercedes Marathon
COURSE: 3 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 3 Great organization. Water/Gatorade stations every mile. Time clocks every mile. Free throw-away gloves. Great finisher's medal. Two free shirts, one being a technical shirt. Difficult course with a cruel hill around Mile 21.... PR for me after 6 marathons. Opportunity to win a free Mercedes. Very friendly town and the best "small" marathon I have run to date. | |
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Frank Wintin from Bedford, Indiana
(2/12/2008)
"great small marathon" (about: 2008)
4-5 previous marathons
| 1 Mercedes Marathon
COURSE: 3 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 4 I've done two Chicagos, one Marine Corps, the first Country Music, and a few Indy Mini's. Y'all did a good job. This was a runner's race. The course was hard, but you could run it without having to dodge people every other step of the way. Birmingham is a cool city. I had a great 50th birthday. | |
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D. F. from Georgia
(2/12/2008)
"Challenging Event, Great Hospitality!" (about: 2008)
3 previous marathons
| 1 Mercedes Marathon
COURSE: 3 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 4 I ran the half marathon and enjoyed for the most part this challenging course. Conditions were clear at a chilly 38 degrees or so at start. Miles 1-4 were fairly flat, mile 5-6 was all uphill, and miles 6-10 were up and down (small hills). The rest of the course was downhill, then flat - and very fast. I see many folks struggled with the hills, but I PR'd by 10 minutes here. I knew going in the elevation changes, (which were listed on the website) and I prepared for them. I feel this race has made me a much better runner. The declines made up for the inclines, so it evened out. The course was tight, meaning a lot of one-lane running, which I did not like. Passing was an issue throughout most of the race, and things did not open up until after mile 7 or so. The roads were also choppy, with some potholes and ruts that you needed to watch for. I thought the crowd support was very good for a race of this size, which was close to 3,500 people at my estimate. Water stations were plentiful with water and PowerAde. Two shirts were given at the race, a long-sleeve cotton shirt and a short- or long-sleeve non-wicking red Brooks running shirt to finishers. The medal was also a nice, heavy, silver Mercedes decal. Overall, with 3,000-4,000 people, they need to shut down some roads and make the course wider. I have run in much larger races where it opens up after mile 2 or 3, but this race was much too congested. I made a mistake of not getting in the 8-minute corral, which was my pace. I was in the 9:00 and had difficulty passing throughout. I would recommend this race to runners who are looking for a challenge and those who like some elevation changes. For those first-timers or those looking for a flat and fast, easy course should look elsewhere. | |
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T. G. from Nashville, TN
(2/12/2008)
"Great race and weather" (about: 2008)
2 previous marathons
| 1 Mercedes Marathon
COURSE: 3 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 3 This was my second full marathon and first Mercedes. I thought that the course was hilly but everyone should have already known this before registration. The medal and 2 shirts were first-class. The post-race party with the bands, food and chance to win the Mercedes was great. I enjoyed every minute of my time in Birmingham except for the hill on mile 22. I practiced for the hills, but not enough. There was not a lot of crowd support, but enough, and they did a great job. Thank you! It was a PR for me but I still have lots of room for improvement. | |
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L. K. from Birmingham, AL
(2/12/2008)
"Loved it!" (about: 2008)
First Marathon
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 This was my first full marathon, having done the Mercedes Half four times previously. I loved doing the full this time! Being from Birmingham, I had trained on the same hills we ran, so I was ready for that aspect of the race. For those not from Birmingham, do make sure to do some serious hill training for this race. (That applies to the half as well.) I found the race to be very well organized - well marked, good support by police, race organizers and by spectators, great medal, etc. I'm not sure yet if I will do another whole marathon, but I'll definitely keep competing in either the full or half of this race. Lots of fun! | |
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S. H. from Charlotte, NC
(2/12/2008)
"Well organized marathon, difficult course" (about: 2008)
1 previous marathon
| 1 Mercedes Marathon
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 This was my first marathon and it was an incredibly rewarding experience. Running through a mall parking lot was interesting, but all in all, the course provided a great tour of a beautiful city (except for the industrial area towards the end of the race). Great weather and the spectators, though few in number, were absolutely wonderful and really cheered on all of the runners. I liked the drum line at the first big incline. | |
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B. H. from Hesston, Kansas
(2/12/2008)
"excellent crowd support, brutal course" (about: 2008)
3 previous marathons
| 1 Mercedes Marathon
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 This marathon was excellent The course was scenic, weather beautiful, fans rabid, and drinks readily available. Being from Kansas, the hills were the death of my hopes for a faster time, but they were fun nonetheless. A great marathon for anyone who loves the sport. | |
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T. B. from Nashville,TN
(2/11/2008)
"Too many negatives" (about: 2008)
11-50 previous marathons
| 1 Mercedes Marathon
COURSE: 2 ORGANIZATION: 3 FANS: 4 Lifeless intersection direction; fluid stations positioned on hills; early split-offs - confusing; zig-zag turns everywhere; poor recovery foods. Sorry.... It is what it is. |
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