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☰
Little Rock Marathon Runner Comments
Back to Little Rock Marathon Information & Reviews
Course 4.2 
Organization 4.6 
Spectators 4.2
Number of comments: 409 [displaying comments 221 to 231]
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M. B. from Missouri
(3/4/2008)
"Thumbs up for Little Rock!" (about: 2008)
6-10 previous marathons
| 1 Little Rock Marathon
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 2 First of all, my deepest sympathy goes to the friends and family of the runner who lost his life. I enjoyed the Little Rock Marathon. As others have mentioned, the second half of the course is challenging with the hills and the out-and-back portion. However, the course is very scenic and it passes by several interesting points of interest. The aid stations are ample and well stocked (many including gels, bananas and orange slices) with very friendly and attentive volunteers. The t-shirt is nice, the finisher's shirt is nice and the medal is huge! I thought overall it was a great event and I would recommend this race to others. Strictly for constructive purposes, these are some things that I think could make the race even better: 1. Start the walkers at the BACK of the pack. It was helpful to have bibs on the backs of the walkers, relay runners and half marathoners, but it would have been nice not to have to dodge them throughout the entire race. If a marathon elects to be walker-friendly, then I think they need to be prepared to keep the course open for 8-9 hours. 2. Course is not very spectator-friendly. Numerous road closures and one-way streets don't allow family to see runners along the course. A spectator guide offering tips on where and how to get to different points along the course would be nice. 3. I would recommend charging a higher entry fee and include the "perks" option for EVERY participant. I requested it on my application but I did not receive a ticket for it on my bib number. All in all, a job well done by the race organizers and volunteers. Thanks! | |
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Ryan Slight from Springfield, MO
(3/4/2008)
"Sweet, Hilly Redemption" (about: 2008)
2 previous marathons
| 1 Little Rock Marathon
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 4 After struggling to finish my first marathon in 6 hours in severe heat in 2007 Chicago, I was pleased to get some sweet hilly redemption in Little Rock (4:47). The course was enjoyable, the event was well organized and the volunteers were super nice. The "Sixy Marathon Finisher" shirt (part of the race's Six in the City theme) is now my favorite technical shirt. I appreciated getting to have the great marathon experience that I always wanted. | |
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J. W. from Urbandale, Iowa
(3/4/2008)
"Very Nice Small/Medium Marathon" (about: 2008)
4-5 previous marathons
| 1 Little Rock Marathon
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 3 My thanks to the organizers of the race, as virtually every key aspect of the race was professionally managed: intersections well controlled, ample of friendly and wonderful volunteers, good supply of port-a-pods, and the well thought-out food bag at the end of the marathon for each runner, so the half-marathoners and 5K'ers are unable to finish off the food items I would need to replenish my muscles immediately after the run. Only one issue: PLEASE, PLEASE segregate those walkers from the rest of the runners! I agree with the previous comments about the start, which was very crowded on a narrow street, but what made it worse was the number of walkers at the front of the start line. Since I was only using this as a training long run, I was at the 4:00-hour group and not in a big hurry; but even I was annoyed at the number of walkers two, three and four across that I had to get by within the first mile of the start. God bless them, but they need to be educated about where they should line up at the start; for safety reasons. The hills were great! And there were a lot. The fans were very supportive and there were a lot of times where there were no fans, which is fine for me. I enjoyed the first half of the route through the downtown area to get a look at Little Rock and the beautiful Central High. The second half is kicked off by a very long, long hill(s). The switchback from mile 19 to 25 will definitely test your resolve; but isn't that what a marathon is all about? That last hill at mile 25 seemed like a monster (or maybe it was the wrong time for me to run it) but it was manageable, leaving me with a last bit of flavor of the "What Hills" theme as I finished up. Don't look for personal bests, but do look for a great workout, great folks, excellent organization and a good time. | |
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S. S. from Birmingham, AL
(3/4/2008)
"Hills. What Hills? Ohh! Those Killer Hills." (about: 2008)
6-10 previous marathons
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 4 1.Let me thank all the volunteers (and dogs), LRPD, spectators of North LR and LR, churches, bands, and sponsors who made LR Marathon a wonderful experience. 2.Course was very hilly, but killer hill came at mile 25 (course director, shame on you). 3.Heat = cramps, but I finished. 4. I will be back to conquer those hills. | |
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K. P. from Oklahoma
(3/4/2008)
"Nice in the beginning" (about: 2008)
6-10 previous marathons
| 1 Little Rock Marathon
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 4 Overall a good marathon. The route in the beginning was beautiful. Once we got to mile 18 it was boring and became the out-and-back from hell all the way to the finish line. The hills? I only noticed one; the others were enjoyable because of the encouragement from the spectators. Glad we did it; I wouldn't discourage anyone from running LR. | |
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M. H. from Arkansas
(3/4/2008)
"Great Race!" (about: 2008)
First Marathon
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 I was slow because I hadn't trained for the hills and they took their toll, but even so the volunteers and onlookers were at the finish line cheering me on. I never passed an empty water station or anything like that and towards the out-and-back, when I wanted to quit, the volunteers were cheerful and encouraging. The course was challenging for a first-timer (there's ANOTHER slight hill in the last mile that almost made me curse aloud), but I'll be trying it again! | |
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A. D. from US
(3/4/2008)
"Kudos for the back bibs" (about: 2008)
11-50 previous marathons
| 1 Little Rock Marathon
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 1 Overall I thought it was a nice marathon. There were not many spectators, but the volunteers were plentiful and they made up for it with well stocked and manned water stations. This is the second marathon I have done where the half marathoners and walkers were asked to wear a bib on their back identifying them as half marathoners and/or walkers. This is a real boon for everyone because it helps to know who is doing the half when the half marathoners split off from the marathoners and rejoin them later. Also, as a walker, I like to know who is walking the whole race as opposed to taking a temporary break. I want to thank the race directors for doing this and encourage them to keep doing it. Now, if only they would put the results up on their website.... | |
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L. S. from Denton, TX
(3/4/2008)
"Tough Course!" (about: 2008)
6-10 previous marathons
| 1 Little Rock Marathon
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 4 Very well organized, with very friendly people. The fluid stations were well-stocked and well run, the overall support (music, food, spectators, sag vehicles) were great. Packet pickup was a breeze. I love the finisher's medal!! On the downside, I got the smallest finisher's shirt I could - it's a men's medium and way too big to be functional for me! I paid for the perks pavilion, and by the time I got to it after the race, there was no pizza left - only empty boxes! Very disappointing. The course is very tough - very hilly. You certainly earn the world's largest finisher's medal, though! | |
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Dotty Maddock from Phoenix, AZ
(3/4/2008)
"Great race with a couple of areas for improvement" (about: 2008)
11-50 previous marathons
| 1 Little Rock Marathon
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 3 I would highly recommend this race! I can't stress enough the friendliness and helpfulness of everyone! This was the most knowledgeable staff of volunteers I have ever seen! They actually knew the answers to some difficult questions (like what I should do since my luggage didn't make my connection and personal timing chip was inside). The course was hilly, but as has been said, "fair." I didn't mind the switchback in the last 8 miles, because I prepared myself for it and the clouds came out to provide some cover from the sun (which I was grateful for). I was hoping they would have played up the "Six in the City" theme more on the shirts and expo items, but I can't really complain since we got TWO shirts (race t-shirt and white tech finisher's shirt) and an absolutely awesome medal. The Peabody was very flexible with a late checkout and cab service to the airport. Now, for areas for improvement. While the early start (6:00 a.m.) for those who would take more time to finish got a lot of slower runners and walkers out of the way, there was still a problem with a dozen or slow walkers placing themselves near the front of the regular start. This appears to be a chronic problem at almost every marathon I've been to lately. Not only do they ignore instructions about placing themselves by the pace markers, but then they walk 3-4 wide (creating a virtual barrier that is not safe for them or the runners). Enough... just a word to the race directors to figure out a way to reduce this problem. (Corrals? Better instructions? Someone "policing" the starting line to advise anyone with a "walker" sign on to move to the back?). The only other complaint I have is that there was no information on the website about the distribution of age group awards. It wasn't until the final instructions given at the expo that we were advised you HAD to be present at the award ceremony and no awards would be given out early or mailed. I was fortunate to place in my age group, but had made arrangements to catch a plane that afternoon and couldn't hang around. I sent a note to the race director asking if I could pay the shipping and handling, but they should take a hint by how many people aren't there for these ceremonies that alternatives should be offered. So, bottom line... great race! Nice people! Challenging but fair course! It's a great way to see Little Rock and check Arkansas off of your 50-state list! | |
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M. White from Florissant, MO
(3/4/2008)
"Who knew Little Rock has so many hills?!?!?! :)" (about: 2008)
First Marathon
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 3 The volunteers and staff were very friendly and were great to answer any questions that I had. Race organization was well done. The start was a bit crowded with so many walkers; maybe they could start later (no offense). I participated in the half, and who knew one could run uphill both ways? Go figure. I will be here next year and I'll drag along my brother just for fun. |
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