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☰
Georgia Marathon Runner Comments
Back to Georgia Marathon Information & Reviews
Course 4.1 
Organization 3.1 
Spectators 4.0
Number of comments: 459 [displaying comments 151 to 161]
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D. I. from Gainesville, Florida
(3/31/2009)
"Hills... but well done, Atlanta!!!" (about: 2009)
11-50 previous marathons
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 The hills never end so the course was every bit as challenging as I had heard. BUT, it's worth it. The course goes through great parts of Atlanta so 5 stars for the scenery. The volunteers were GREAT... 5 stars really aren't enough! A special thanks to Doug, who kept me on course 'til the end! Lots of well supported aid stations. I was a walker at the end of the marathon and was so impressed that the Georgia Tech team waited for me in that cold weather! The police were excellent. The course was well marked and well supported. Well done, well done! | |
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B. T. from Decatur
(3/31/2009)
"Scenic, Challenging Course; Terrible Organization" (about: 2009)
6-10 previous marathons
| 2 Georgia Marathons
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 2 FANS: 3 I ran the full marathon in 2008 and half marathon in 2009. The course is great. It hits the highlights of the city and it is challenging. The organization at the beginning of the race is terrible. There are no signs to the corrals, and the bag drop is awful and without sufficient volunteers. People were jammed on the sidewalks and climbing over barriers just to get into the start. I am local, so I will likely be back, but I hope the organization at the start improves. | |
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T. S. from Georgia
(3/30/2009)
"Organization and planning need work" (about: 2009)
4-5 previous marathons
| 1 Georgia Marathon
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 1 FANS: 4 Although much work went into planning, there were major problems. 1. Not enough porta-johns during the first 6 miles. Lines were 40-50 deep. 2. Barriers at the start were poorly positioned. Crowds (100+) were climbing over up to 3 different barriers to get in the starting line. 3. Corral start was totally messed up. Nobody could get into the right corral and walkers ended up in front and fast runners in the back. Not safe, as people collided in the first mile. Police support was SUPER! Fan support was TOP-NOTCH. Not a marathon I'll run again. | |
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A. M. from Atlanta, GA
(3/30/2009)
"Great, consistently challenging course" (about: 2009)
1 previous marathon
| 1 Georgia Marathon
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 4 Though the hills are daunting, the course takes you through some of the best parts of Atlanta, including 4 college campuses. The fan stations were each set up with sponsors, from college mascots to clothing companies. Although there was plenty of water and Gatorade along the course, there were no gels of any sort. It seems that with each year the race gets better organized. | |
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M. C. from Woodbridge, NJ
(3/30/2009)
"I liked it... but I can see how others wouldn't" (about: 2009)
6-10 previous marathons
| 1 Georgia Marathon
COURSE: 3 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 2 You have to know what you want before running this race. Posts from previous years were harsh regarding organization. I found this race to be quite well organized. - The filling of the corrals was well announced and clear. If you were confused on what to do, then you weren't listening to the instructions. - Every water station was loaded with water and Gatorade (note... not the diluted-down version of Gatorade). - Volunteers were always yelling warnings of upcoming sharp turns, etc. My only knock on the organization is the lack of food at the end. Even the Boston Marathon gives you a bag containing an apple and chips. All you got at the end of this race was a water bottle. I saw some guys walking around centennial park with boxes of bagels... but I didn't feel like chasing them down. I just walked back to my hotel room, showered and hit a restaurant on Peachtree. The course is somewhat hilly, but not anything to worry about. Even the last supposed killer hill at mile 23 was long and gradual... but not overly steep. If you need lots of clapping race fans, then this is not the race for you. They have a few "cheering sections," and when you pass some of the downtown areas (Decatur, etc.) there are a few people clapping... but otherwise it is fairly quiet. What I want out of a marathon is clean organization (this had it), a cool shirt (this had one of the best), a cool medal (this one is the best I have seen so far), and good post-run grub (this one had zippo). So for me, this race had just about everything but the food. Note to anyone planning to run this one: Make sure that you bring your own post-race food (check it with your bag). I learned that I am not too crazy about marathons that are run side by side with half marathons. I have done it once before; however, in that race, the marathon had just as many people as did the half-marathon, and the total count of people was about 3,000. At Georgia, there are 12,000 half-marathoners, and 2,000 marathoners. Finishing the marathon and having to weave through the straggling half-marathoners is not that bad, but I can see how if someone had been trying to PR, this would be an annoyance. Perhaps this is an opportunity for the race organizers to make improvements. The half-marathoners at this point were all walking, so how hard is it to move them to the extreme right and let the marathoners have a clean lane on the left? The pace groups at this marathon are well marked and very professional. I found myself catching the 3:30 pace group at the halfway point... and then I just hung with them the rest of the way. I didn't have to think about the hills, water stations, etc. The pace group leaders were telling us what to expect so that you could mentally prepare. I talked to a few people who stuck with other pace groups, and they had similar comments. So if you need a group to help pace you along for a BQ or specific time, this could be the race to do. All in all, not a bad marathon; just know what to expect and you won't be disappointed. For out-of-town travelers (like me), it is an easy in-and-out race. Just take the train from the airport to downtown and stay at a hotel near Centennial Park. I was in my hotel room within 10 minutes after I left Centennial Park. I was able to change, eat and catch an earlier flight out on Sunday afternoon. | |
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N. S. from atlanta, georiga
(3/30/2009)
"Uneventful and a little messy at the end." (about: 2009)
3 previous marathons
| 1 Georgia Marathon
COURSE: 3 ORGANIZATION: 3 FANS: 3 At the last mile they sent the "run for something better" cause, which was a bunch of 'tweens into the mix. It was a terrible mess. They weaved and swerved in front of all the runners, and even though they were supposed to stay to the left, they didn't. There weren't enough volunteers to control them. They'd start and stop. It was a sad ending. It was a pretty course - very hilly, very quiet. I won't do it again. | |
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J. F. from Birmingham, AL
(3/30/2009)
"Kids' Marathon needs to be moved" (about: 2009)
First Marathon
COURSE: 3 ORGANIZATION: 2 FANS: 3 I chose this to be my first marathon because 1) My hometown marathon, the Mercedes Marathon went to a double loop format this year and that didn't seem as interesting as their original route, 2) My best friend lives there close to downtown Atlanta, and I knew she'd take good care of me afterwards, and 3) I figured the terrain would be similar to that of Birmingham so I could more easily train. I used to live in Atlanta, so the sights weren't necessarily new to me, but I thought they picked a pretty course that went through some beautiful sections, and I was glad that all the red buds, cherry trees and dogwoods were in bloom. The course was a lot hillier than I expected. The elevation chart shows a lot of 1-2% grade, which is probably true, but a 2% grade for a mile and a half really wears on you, and that seemed like it was the case for pretty much the entire second half. Just as I was starting to stress out just a bit around mile 24, things got worse when, to add to the never-ending uphills (seriously now, who designed this course?), the Kids' Marathon started ON THE SAME COURSE. Suddenly I was surrounded by hundreds of four-foot-tall missiles all running or walking at various speeds, randomly crisscrossing my path. Isn't the average marathon finishing time somewhere between 4:00-4:30? Did they really schedule this to occur at the peak arrival time? Very poor planning. I was unimpressed with the finish line as well. Publix Supermarkets was the sponsor and all they had was water, apples, bananas and pretzels. I have been so spoiled by the Mercedes Marathon, which has catered barbecue, and more importantly, a vast quantity of students from area schools of massage. If this is the difference between a smallish marathon and a big one, I'll take the small one any day. I would not run this one again, but I will definitely do another marathon. :) | |
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s. k. from Louisville Kentucky
(3/30/2009)
"Great race until the end!" (about: 2009)
6-10 previous marathons
| 1 Georgia Marathon
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 3 This was my 10th marathon and I thought it was great. The course took you through great parts of Atlanta. It's a challenging course, though, and the hills never end. If you don't like hills, then stay away. If you want great scenery, then this is for you. My only complaint was that they allowed 500 kids to run a one-mile run with the marathon finishers on the last mile. It was chaotic and unnecessary. If you want kids to run, do it on another day or after the marathon. | |
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E. W. from Florida
(3/30/2009)
"First-timer thoughts" (about: 2009)
6-10 previous marathons
| 1 Georgia Marathon
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 3 FANS: 4 I really enjoyed the course but believe the other comments on how hilly and challenging the course is. The neighborhoods were great and it made the run a little easier (versus running city streets the whole time). Spectator turn-out was surprisingly good in some of the smaller towns. The organization could be a bit better. Even until race day, the website was not updated with last-minute details. Not a big deal. The expo was better than I expected. Good turnout by vendors. I recommend the race, but be well prepared for the hills. I had a P.R. but could have easily cut another 5-10 minutes off had I ran a flatter course. No complaints. | |
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K. N. from Philadelphia
(3/30/2009)
"A very well run event" (about: 2009)
11-50 previous marathons
| 1 Georgia Marathon
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 4 I guess three times is the charm. Everything about this event was well orchestrated. There were plenty of hydration stations, volunteers and southern hospitality. The course is tough but very nice. Atlanta has a lot of really beautiful neighborhoods and great views of the city. It was hilly! Lucky for me, I live in a hilly area. The weather was perfect for ducks and marathoners. As mentioned earlier, this is not exactly a PR course, but I was happy with my time. I have run NY, Chicago, Boston, and Philly, among many others. This was as well run and memorable as any big-city marathon. I say, great job to the race director and the ING team! |
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