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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 211 to 221]
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C. S. from Atlanta
(4/1/2008)
"Hilly, but they learned from last year..." (about: 2008)
First Marathon
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 3 FANS: 3 I ran the half marathon this year. After hearing all of the horror stories from last year, I was concerned but it does look like they learned from last year's mistakes (though they have a few more problems to fix). Course was hilly but since I live in the area that the marathon ran through I had run a lot of the roads before and was able to make it up most of the hills without any problems. They fixed the water problems - they had tables on both sides of the street and had plenty of volunteers at each location (it appears that they had different groups sign up to man each station). Crowd support was not as great as it could have been but it was cold and rainy - so I greatly appreciated everyone that was out there cheering. The biggest problem I saw was with the marathon front-runners. The winner passed me about mile 11 - he had police escorts and people got out of the way but he was so far ahead of the 2nd-, 3rd-, and 4th-place finishers that they didn't have any escorts and had to weave through the half marathoners. The 5th-place finisher did have a biker riding with him who yelled for the people to get out of the way, but they need to work on that - if you can run that fast, you deserve not to have to weave. Only other problem was getting the gear at the end - the lines were very long and standing around in the cold is not good for your knees. Overall, I think that this could grow to be a great event. I will run the 1/2 again next year (with my son, who will be 15)! | |
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K. D. from Ringgold, GA
(4/1/2008)
"awesome and challenging first marathon" (about: 2008)
First Marathon
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 5 This was my first marathon experience and it was great. The run was challenging and scenic; the spectators were encouraging and the water/Gatorade stations had plenty of help and supplies. There are only two things that I thought could be improved: First: I never saw anything in the race packet about how the start would line up... and couldn't see where any of the corrals were at first. I think that could be better organized. Second: Toward the end of the race, after mile 22, I believe, I never saw another mile marker. I wasn't sure exactly how far I had to go; the spectators and aid stations all were saying different mileages. I didn't really know I was almost at the finish until I turned the corner and there was a computer mat and I wasn't sure if I should keep running, but I did as I didn't see (until I turned another corner) the finish line. All in all, it was well-organized and I had a blast for my first event. | |
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A. H. from Northern Virginia
(4/1/2008)
"Everything was fantastic but..." (about: 2008)
2 previous marathons
| 1 Georgia Marathon
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 3 FANS: 5 After being hit by a tornado only a couple of weeks prior, Atlanta put on a great marathon! The course was very challenging, and very beautiful. Spectators were terrific... loved running through the strip at Emory! Druid Hills is certainly more Hills than Druid! I would gladly run this one again; however, I did not like the fact that at about mile 22, when trying to close out my race, I had to begin dodging walkers who dotted the road from right to left! What's more is that in the LAST MILE I had to dodge the walkers, kids participating in "run for something better," and traffic! Now don't get me wrong, walking is great, and so is what ING was doing with the kids; however, placing walkers, kids, marathoners, and traffic on the same road for the last mile is ridiculous! They could have easily placed partitions to separate the three, or otherwise. I came in at the 3:30 mark as well... not as though I was coming in at 6 hours. | |
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B. R. from U.S.
(4/1/2008)
"Great Course" (about: 2008)
6-10 previous marathons
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 3 If you are looking for a hilly marathon, this is the marathon for you. It is a tough course but very scenic. I liked the fact that you are seldom on a stretch of road for more than a mile. It seemed to make the miles go by a little faster. The last 3 miles are pretty tough so bank some time in the first half. Good job on the aid stations. I know this was an issue in 2007. One suggestion: It would be great to have some of the hundreds of boxes of bananas/food at the finish on the course itself. Thank you to some of the neighborhoods that set up their own aid stations. | |
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J. L. from Decatur, GA
(4/1/2008)
"Great race - but did not like finish set-up" (about: 2008)
1 previous marathon
| 1 Georgia Marathon
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 5 This was my 2nd marathon, first time running this race. As a local, I really enjoyed the course - lots of great sights to see. The course is hilly (surprise, surprise), and about 4 of the last 7 miles are uphill - so save some energy for the finish. There was lots of water and the spectators were everywhere and fantastic. I have a couple of negatives, though, that I hope will be addressed in the future. First, after about 21 miles or so, the marathon course merges with the half marathon course. So during the last rather grueling 5 miles, I had to weave around and through walking chatting half marathoners. Not good. Something needs to be done to keep those who are walking to the right and out of the way of those who are running. In the last mile of the race, as I was trying to get around the half marathoners by passing them on their left, some kind of youth race was finishing, and a police motorcycle forced the marathoners to the right, making it even more difficult to avoid walking half marathoners. Finally, the finish line was not visible until the last few feet. Instead, we were funneled into some kind of corral-like area that was narrow and that snaked around with 3 or 4 sharp turns. This area was packed with walking half marathoners. Meanwhile, I was trying to really kick it in the last few hundred yards because I was trying to make a BQ time (which I missed by one second!). There is no doubt in my mind that I would have finished several seconds sooner had the finish been visible and wide, like other races I've run. It's possible this strange finish was due to having to work around tornado damage to the park, but if so, why not change the finish to Marietta Street? Nevertheless, other than the perplexing finish setup and the walking half marathoners who seemed mostly oblivious to the running marathoners, I enjoyed the race immensely. I definitely look forward to running it again. | |
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P. O. from Atlanta
(3/31/2008)
"Clueless RACE organization" (about: 2008)
11-50 previous marathons
| 1 Georgia Marathon
COURSE: 1 ORGANIZATION: 2 FANS: 2 Do not run this marathon if you care about your time or your safety. It is obvious that the race director has no idea about actually RUNNING a marathon. Imagine a crowded New York subway train and you are trying to work your way from the back to the front. That is what the marathoners had to do for the last 6 miles of this race as they merged in with the half marathoners at mile 20. It is embarrassing for ING and Atlanta to host a race with elite athletes and ask them to run on sidewalks and into on coming traffic because they can't get around the half marathoners over the last six miles. This is not a knock on the half marathoners that are out there doing their best. They shouldn't have to worry about marathon runners coming up from behind them; they should be allowed to enjoy their experience without this concern. This is an indictment on the organizers for not having a commonsense course (and finish) for the marathon runners. You know things are bad when the finish line announcer can't even identify the men's and women's marathon leaders as they finish because they are in mass with the half marathoners. This is the second year in a row that this race has been unsafe; last year it was the fluids and this year the course and finish. If a marathoner was really in need of medical attention as they finished, they would not have easily been identified and triaged. Atlanta, ING, Emory, and all the other sponsors deserve better and safer! Why is the Atlanta Track Club and its organizational ability not involved? New York city does not try and put on its marathon without involving its large running organization. | |
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Bobby Overton from Austin, TX
(3/31/2008)
"One of my favorite courses but..." (about: 2008)
6-10 previous marathons
| 1 Georgia Marathon
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 4 What was with the end of the race? Runners go from running on an entire road to a path slightly bigger than a sidewalk. That coupled with the fact that there were five 90-degree turns in the last 200 yards brought an early end to an all-out battle in the last mile between me and a competitor. The mile markers were barely visible, and me and many other runners spoke of missing several. The ending and markers aside, it was an awesome course and it had great crowd support. I'll be back next year. | |
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c. M. from northwest usa
(3/31/2008)
"Huge improvement!" (about: 2008)
3 previous marathons
| 2 Georgia Marathons
COURSE: 3 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 3 I did the half again and was impressed with the improvement in the race! The 2007 edition was the most poorly organized race I've ever done, but they obviously worked very hard to correct the problems. There was enough water to float a boat! : ) Gatorade was plentiful. One volunteer even ran after me to provide the vanilla Gu I asked about. Now that was nice! The expo had no lines - another big improvement. The start was also improved vastly over last year. There were a couple bands which were nice, but I'd love more. I did miss the gospel choir from last year - that was unique and I'd looked forward to it. The crowds are smallish, but were nice and encouraging. The mileage signs were a bit hard to spot. MARTA adds so much time to the commute that I may drive next year. Note: I have done 3 full marathons and 10 half's. Most have been large ones. | |
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S. G. from Atlanta
(3/31/2008)
"Good, but not great... probably a one-timer" (about: 2008)
11-50 previous marathons
| 1 Georgia Marathon
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 4 Based on last year's inaugural race (I did not run, but friends did), this year's race addressed a lot of the deficiencies - especially water stops. The whole scene at the start was rather chaotic; nobody knew where they needed to be. The park adjacent to the start had most gates closed, so you never knew whether you could get to where you needed to be without encountering a dead end. All other aspects were fine... expo, course, water. Course water stops were VERY good - enthusiastic volunteers and everything you would need (water, Gatorade, Gu, Vaseline, port-a-johns, etc.). Agnes Scott College made an attempt to outdo the Wellesley girls... not quite as loud, but they were great. Finish line was weird - a tight maze of turns in the last tenth of a mile - but it did allow for spectators to get close and loud, which was fun. Major complaint: When the marathon course merged back in with the half marathon, it was unbearably crowded with walkers doing the half. I hate to complain about people being out there getting exercise, but I felt like I was an out-of-place runner in a walk-a-thon. Whatever happened to the term "race"? | |
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Chad Stuart from Adairsville, GA
(3/31/2008)
"Start and finish, weak; in-between, solid!" (about: 2008)
1 previous marathon
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 3 I have run the half in both '07 and '08. This year the organization improved in many areas: Good starting location, plenty of water and Gatorade; and once again a really tough, but fair course. I have some complaints though! First, the start was confusing and pathetic, "Okay, you ready? GO!" Then the finish was horrible! Let me say that again: the finish was horrible! The idea was good, finishing in the Olympic Centennial Park, but the layout was bad. It bottlenecked, and making three sharp turns and then having the finish line right upon you after the last turn prevented me and other runners from having a good sprint to the end, taking time to see and hear our family and friends cheering. I can only imagine how bad it was for the pros having to fight through the slow half-marathoners on their finish. Fix this for next year! |
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