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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 321 to 331]
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D. L. from Houston, Texas
(3/27/2007)
"Great course... but terrible support during run." (about: 2007)
6-10 previous marathons
| 1 Georgia Marathon
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 1 FANS: 5 Expo was organized. Course was challenging and scenic. I will have to echo other comments about lack of PowerAde. Race director owes all of us an explanation and an apology. | |
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A. M. from Atlanta, GA
(3/27/2007)
"First-time marathoner" (about: 2007)
1 previous marathon
| 1 Georgia Marathon
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 3 FANS: 5 Ok, so yes, this was my first marathon. It was HARD. I live in Atlanta, and trained for lots of hills, but still felt unprepared for the hills on the course. They were constant! It was, however, a beautiful course. To correct a previous poster, the high that day was actually 87. It was super hot, and for me, there was absolutely no PowerAde. Combined with the heat, that was a problem. Expo was awesome, and the fans were great. If I can forget the pain, I might do this again someday. | |
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J. S. from Suburb of ATL
(3/27/2007)
"Rough start but good" (about: 2007)
1 previous marathon
| 1 Georgia Marathon
COURSE: 3 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 5 Ran one 1/2 marathon, and this is the first of many others, I hope. Echo everyone's comments on the PowerAde/water stations. Bet it won't be a problem next year but watch it be 45 degrees like it was on 3/25/06. I got one glass of PowerAde I think; it was pretty watered down. Nothing was cold, and what was with hot canned Cokes at the end? Someone earlier than me got Red Bull, but they were out when I got there. 5:01. Not early, but not real late either. Course was nice, but dang the hills. A mile and a half-long hill?!? I trained on hills too! Guess I will do more next year. It was good though. Glad the mass of homeless people got to push us out of the way to bag up all the snacks at the end! (That was sarcasm.) Will be there, God willing, next year! | |
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D. G. from Columbus, Ohio
(3/27/2007)
"Are there any flat roads around Atlanta?!!!" (about: 2007)
6-10 previous marathons
| 1 Georgia Marathon
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 4 Coming from the flat land of central Ohio, I was not ready for the constant roller coaster ride. I think the only flat stretch was over the start/finish line! The saving grace during this, my slooowest marathon to date, was the interesting course. If I wasn't going to get a PR, I was gonna check out the scenery. Great areas of town to run in (near Carter Center, Emory University, loved Decatur & Druid Hills), beautiful neighborhoods, southern hospitality at its best! I loved how the local folks had H2O, fruit, girl scout cookies, icy cold sponges, ice chips waiting for us as we ran by. I didn't notice the lack of Powerade....I have learned, it's best to bring your own. It was really easy for my husband to travel on MARTA to meet up with me at various points. Yeah, the start was chaotic with walkers 5 across blocking the road, no starting corrals, and a goofy set up after you crossed the finish. I never received an email with my bib # prior to race, and a finisher's T-shirt would have been nice. But for an inaugural race...KUDOS TO VICTORIA, HER STAFF AND THE RACE VOLUNTEERS! (This race was a wonderful tribute to your friend, Lindsay Gabe.) This 'Buckeye' will be back next year, but I am gonna train down in the Hocking Hills...the hilly part of Ohio! | |
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B. B. from IL
(3/27/2007)
"Scenic Course, Bad Organization & Great Spectators" (about: 2007)
11-50 previous marathons
| 1 Georgia Marathon
COURSE: 3 ORGANIZATION: 1 FANS: 3 This was a really hilly course. Beautiful, for sure; but there were definitely non-stop rolling hills the entire way right through to the finish. I heard people comparing the course to Big Sur. The spectators were out in force offering lots of cheering. (Crowds were small, but estimated between 20 to 500 people each mile). The marathon and half marathon was on the same course at the end; so, within the same one regular lane of road space, lead marathoners ran with the back-of-the-pack half marathoners. Spectators told me the marathon winner had to weave in and out of packs of half marathoners, since there was not enough space to run past them. The neighbors were not too happy with the road closures and the entire course causing grid lock. There was a lot of car exhaust. A couple of the police officers stopped marathoners to allow traffic through intersections. Also saw a couple very close calls with angry motorists ignoring the police and almost hitting runners. Hope the police sent these motorists a ticket. Temperature at the start line was 67 degrees at 7 AM. (At least that is what the Coca-Cola sign at the start line read.) The news stations reported 88 degrees at noon. Not ideal weather conditions, but you cannot control the weather. (Isn't that what they said for the Olympics?) Unfortunately, the race organizers and the sponsors made this race difficult to complete. The start area had zero signage. The UPS trucks for bag drop off did not have any people manning them so you threw your stuff on and just left it there hoping it was going to be there when you returned. The start line was easily confused with the finish line so you started your watch too early. The organizers bothered to assign bib numbers based on anticipated pace, but really did nothing with this information. Pacers did not spread out to ensure people could place themselves in reasonable pacing areas. No clocks on course except for 13.1 miles. Only marathon mile markers that were small and very easy to miss (only two were out of place). All of these things are forgivable as rookie mistakes, easily correctable. What is unforgivable is the complete disaster of the aid stations. Aid stations were supposed to be ever 2.5 to 1 mile containing water and Powerade at both. Unfortunately, the third aid station for marathoners was missing. So marathoners went from 3.5 to 8.5 miles without an aid station. There was no Powerade on course from the official sponsor. Aid stations were two tables on the right hand side of street only (13,000 runners at two aid tables you do the math) and only 10 volunteers. There was never enough water ready for those coming through for the first 6 aid stations. I was middle to back of the marathon pack and got water at every station (I did pour my own a couple times). Coca-Cola signed up to be a sponsor, but never actually delivered any Powerade to the race officials (OOPS!!). But they handed out plenty of soda at the finish. Kudos to Team-in-Training who went out and bought Powerade and Gatorade and set-up there own aid stations for everyone on course within minutes of learning of the problem. Too bad the race officials didn't do the same thing the night before. Boycott Powerade and make sure to carry your own sports drink when you hear Powerade is a sponsor. You cannot trust they will deliver if they can't even deliver in their home town. Course good (be prepared for hills) unless you are a front of the pack marathoner. Volunteers - southern hospitality. Spectators - fun and supportive. Race Operations - big fat ZERO. Steer clear of this marathon for a few more years while they figure out how to manage a successful marathon. | |
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A. S. from Cleveland, Ohio
(3/27/2007)
"Will be better next year." (about: 2007)
11-50 previous marathons
| 1 Georgia Marathon
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 3 FANS: 5 I thought for an inaugural race, this was pretty good. They had some problems but I expected that. It's an inaugural and the temperatures were 20 degrees higher than normal. Other runners have already commented about the Powerade; but I found Powerade at some of the stations though not many. I ran a 4:36 so I was about mid-pack. They offered prizes for neighborhoods that came out and supported the runners and it worked they were out there. The residents of Virginia Highlands were out there with huge bowls of ice and cold Powerade. They were at mile 22-23 and truly a godsend. I am not sure how I would've finished without them. The water that was on the course was warm. I understand that it would be hard to keep it cold on the course, but I expected the fluids in the finishing area to be on ice. I've run 20+ large events and found cold beverages in the finishing are. Here, the pallets of Dasani sat baking in the sun. So, I crossed the finish, got my medal and got a warm bottle of water. Yuk! Post race goodies were minimal too. The other thing they could've done was publish the course and elevation map sooner. This course was HILLY and we didn't expect that. I live in a hilly area so it didn't matter that much, my training naturally was on hills, but that wasn't the case for everyone. However, there the expo was great, the course beautiful, lots of enthusiasm in the community and I think they will fix the water issues for next year. This race, I understand, is the largest INAUGURAL race ever. So, given it's size, I think they did pretty good. | |
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P. Y. from Atlanta, GA
(3/27/2007)
"Good Inaugural Marathon" (about: 2007)
6-10 previous marathons
| 6+ Georgia Marathons
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 3 FANS: 3 OK, it had its issues with PowerAde. I actually got it at a couple of stops. And I was at the back of the pack. The course is challenging and scenic. I think if they work out the bugs, it will be a great marathon. One word of advice: Reroute miles 18-20 on the Freedom Parkway. That was my only disappointment with the route. | |
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J. V. from New York
(3/27/2007)
"Bad job even for an Inaugural Marathon!" (about: 2007)
4-5 previous marathons
| 1 Georgia Marathon
COURSE: 3 ORGANIZATION: 1 FANS: 3 Expo was well organized, well-attended. Start was a little crowded, well-decorated. Course was (a) too hilly, (b) poorly chosen with last 4 miles being uphill, (c) had long sections without shade. On a day that set record highs (87 degrees), it was criminal that the promised powerade stations weren't there! I'm shocked no one died. The water stations weren't even all where they had been promised. I simply do not understand how the organizers could let that all fall apart so badly, especially in light of the temperature. The spectators were intermittant but generally positive - it seemed as if most of Atlanta didn't even know there was a race that day. In downtown Atlanta, if you were more than 2 blocks from the start, there were no banners - EVEN ON THE COURSE. Overall, I thought Atlanta was beautiful, but was horribly dissapointed in the organization, advertising and race support. P.S. It would go a long way for me if the website acknowledged, let alone apologized, for these shortcomings. | |
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PokeSaladAnnie Singer from Suffern, New York
(3/27/2007)
"Hills, Hot and New Marathon" (about: 2007)
50+ previous marathons
| 1 Georgia Marathon
COURSE: 3 ORGANIZATION: 1 FANS: 4 I have read most of the comments before me and think they are tell a true story. Checking out the finish and start of the race the day before the marathon we were besieged by the homeless beggars who no one seems to have authority over. The party at the Underground never materialized after the marathon. There was no one to direct before the marathon anyone, anywhere. Now for the good stuff: Great shirt, people in the neighborhoods bringing out trays of fruit and buckets of ice cubes..even someone bought surgical gloves and packed them with ice. I expected so much more from ING..did NY, Deleware marathons and was pleased. Back to the planning board. | |
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S. R. from Atlanta, Georgia
(3/27/2007)
"Hilly as expected but terribly organized!" (about: 2007)
6-10 previous marathons
| 1 Georgia Marathon
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 2 FANS: 4 The course was extremely hilly from about 16 on and 23-26 were a continous uphill struggle. I live in Atlanta and train on the hills, and it was extrememly difficult. The "hydration stations" were abysmal. They ran out of fluid of any type at mile 4, completely skipped a stop at mile 6 and had some extremely watered down PowerAde at mile 8. No PowerAde at all for the rest of the course... NOT ACCEPTABLE. Also, I run a 3:40 marathon and started with walkers and halfers... also NOT ACCEPTABLE. They need corrals. For a city that runs the largest 10K in the world and ING that runs the NYC Marathon like clockwork, I expected much more. Huge disappointment!!!! |
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