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Marine Corps Marathon Runner Comments
Back to Marine Corps Marathon Information & Reviews
Course 4.5 
Organization 3.9 
Spectators 4.6
Number of comments: 937 [displaying comments 181 to 191]
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frank Abate from Alexandria, Virginia
(1/9/2010)
"The Marine Corps Marathon is one peak experience." (about: 2009)
6-10 previous marathons
| 6+ Marine Corps Marathons
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 THE MARINE CORPS MARATHON IS THE BEST. | |
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T. S. from Indiana
(12/13/2009)
"Inspirational" (about: 2009)
6-10 previous marathons
| 1 Marine Corps Marathon
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 4 I was committed to running this race with a first-time marathoner at a pace far slower than my usual. And boy was I glad that I did. It gave me the time to appreciate all the things around me, including many fellow runners who had gone through a lot more than merely 16 weeks of marathon training just to be there, as well as those who were running in tribute to those who never will have the opportunity to be there. Couple that with a run through a beautiful city on a gorgeous day, and it made a spectacular way to spend an autumn morning. Sure, it's crowded - during the race as well as getting to and from it. But you know, it's an event like this - what with Marines offering encouragement throughout the course - that we realize how lucky we are to be able to do the things we do. My finish time was more than 90 minutes slower than my PR, yet it was one of my most enjoyable marathons ever. If you can only do one marathon, do this one. | |
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J. W. from DC
(11/24/2009)
"Finish at Iwo Jima" (about: 2009)
11-50 previous marathons
| 6+ Marine Corps Marathons
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 This is the Marine Corp Marathon. It will always finish at the Iwo Jima Memorial. This is a relatively small area for 25,000 finishers and family. As long as the finish is at the Iwo Jima Memorial, the finish area and festival will be crowded and have its problems with metro, etc. . This is part of the flavor of the marathon. It cannot and will not change. Everybody should accept this as part of the Marine Corp Marathon experience. | |
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R. S. from Dayton, OH
(11/16/2009)
"A bucket list race if you don't have to pit stop" (about: 2009)
11-50 previous marathons
| 1 Marine Corps Marathon
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 3 FANS: 5 The Good, The Bad and The Ugly of the MCM: The Good: Robi Powers - you rock, dude! Easy course access, organized start Fabulous course - second only to Big Sur Perfect weather - OK, maybe you got lucky Efficient and polite Marines - makes me proud to be an American Plentiful, full cups at water stops The spectators! The medal - yours and the USAF Marathon's are tops. The Bad: There were two porta-potties at one particular stop, and four at most others, meaning eight-minute waits. Really?! One-hour wait at Metro after the race - made shorter if you discuss "running" with fellow passengers. : - ) The Ugly: There were 25,000 runners. Often spent more time going around slow and stopped runners than going forward. Bigger is not necessarily better! | |
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A. P. from North Carolina
(11/10/2009)
"This race is over-hyped..." (about: 2009)
11-50 previous marathons
| 1 Marine Corps Marathon
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 2 FANS: 2 I will start by saying this is my 11th marathon and first HUGE marathon. There were some definite nice things about this marathon BUT overall this marathon is OVER-HYPED in many ways. The good: -It is solely for marathoners, and over 20,000 at that, so you will always be running/walking with someone. We finished in slightly under six hours and there were still roughly 1,700 people behind us (a neat feeling to be slow and still have people around). -The monuments along the course are really great, as there is a lot of history to appreciate and reflect upon. -The trees are just perfect in terms of changing colors, and we enjoyed the beautiful scenery. -Tons of photos will be taken of you on the course. -Some fans are really great, like the 80's rock 'n' roll girls! -It was inspiring to see so many marathoners dedicating the race to someone who had been injured or killed. -The finisher page that each runner gets after the race is really great. It provides all your splits and all the photos of you on the course. You can then e-mail your finisher's page to friends and family. -The finisher's medal and finisher coin are both good, although the patch and shirt were simply okay. The bad: The expo had numerous vendors and was enjoyable. What was disappointing was the workers at the expo who were not very helpful (no information was provided on where to go next after we picked up our bib, and the volunteers were generally unenthusiastic and unhelpful - but maybe they were simply tired). I have also received better goody bags from marathons that cost me $35 to enter. Also, the hotels gouge you on cost and a late checkout will cost you a half-day stay - what a joke. Note that all of my remaining comments are based on finishing in 5 hours and 55 minutes. You must get up very early so that you can make it to the parking garage in time to catch a shuttle to the start line. My wife and I woke up at 5 a.m. and arrived at the starting line with two minutes to spare (7:58 a.m.), and we left the hotel at 5:50 a.m. Also, it was a ridiculously long wait after the marathon to get back to the parking garage (I'm guessing 90 minutes). Wheelchairs were stuck with runners, and because of the vast numbers of runners, the wheelchair participants could not get by. Completely unacceptable, especially since this is the 34th time this marathon has been done. I have NEVER encountered spectators so unenthusiastic in the 11 slow marathons that I have completed. Several exceptions on the course existed, but overall the spectators were only interested in the person they knew running the race. I cannot count the number of times I told spectators that it looked like they hit the wall. There were people on the course really hurting late in the marathon and people would not cheer them on. I am consistently in the back of the pack helping someone finish a marathon, so I have seen enthusiastic spectators late in a race. What I experienced was absolutely pathetic. Another reviewer said they were a back-of-the-packer and felt like he was an elite runner based on the spectator support; this absolutely SHOCKED me and my wife, as we did not witness similar support. The volunteers were numerous, primarily because of the number of marines who volunteered or are required to attend. Of course, I interrupted countless marine volunteers with a thank you who were busy having a conversation with each other rather than volunteering. I recall five marine volunteers who were enthusiastic and really uplifted a number of runners. Most simply stood there and did what was needed to be done and the rest would have rather been somewhere else. After finishing, my wife who did this as her first marathon, wanted so badly to get a massage. We rushed over to the area that was, I will guess, three-fourths of a mile away from the finish line, and the lady told us that they were not offering any more massages. Fine, we were disappointed, but hey, there was still a free beer that my wife was looking forward to. On the way to the free beer, the race director was chatting to the crowd through a microphone so I told one of his assistants that he should announce that there were no more massages being offered so people wouldn't have to walk all the way up the hill for nothing. I saw her tell the race director the information and you know what? He did NOT announce it, even though there were 1,700 people who finished behind us, and plenty more who were either lost or had not got to the massage area yet. To me, that says a lot about the race director. So, we thankfully got our beer in time to watch them stop serving beer 10 minutes after we got ours. Food at the finish? We got a bag with a bagel, raisins, banana, and granola bar. If there was other food offered, it was not there when we finished. Overall: This race is over-hyped and I am shocked by all the rave reviews about this marathon. I can easily say that, if the Marine Corp lowered the entry fee down to $10, I would NOT do this race again. Many people say this race is so great, and my question to them is: what makes this race so much better than other marathons out there? My guess is that these rave reviews have little to do with the race itself and more to do with support for the marines (which is fine, but that should not simply translate into providing near-perfect review ratings). | |
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J. h. from South Carolina
(11/9/2009)
"Run it, but plan carefully" (about: 2009)
6-10 previous marathons
| 1 Marine Corps Marathon
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 4 Some of the comments below rate the race negatively due to poor planning on the runner or runner's family. If you paid attention to any of the previous years' comments, you'll see that the Rosslyn Metro station is NOT worth the wait and that the finish area is a crowd of families. So, plan on taking the free shuttle back to Crystal City to catch the metro. It took about two minutes to get on the shuttle and about 20 (due to road closures) to get to the station. Much easier - plus if you stayed in Crystal City, then you'd be done. The race is great. All of the hills are done by Mile 8, and other than the bridge at Mile 20-22, the course is flat and fair. Wonderful organization, on-course support, and experience. Expo was a breeze, pre-race porta-potties are plentiful at the Pentagon (DO NOT USE THE BROOKS VIP - WASTE OF TIME) and the scenery is amazing. RUN IT! | |
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m. e. from randolph, nj
(11/9/2009)
"Good race with nice spectators." (about: 2009)
3 previous marathons
| 2 Marine Corps Marathons
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 5 Really friendly people, nice race, good support. I did not like the first few miles; it was a bottleneck, and when you cross over the finish to the post-race area, it was too crowded and cramped. Other than that, I enjoyed the race. | |
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M. M. from Taneytown, Maryland
(11/4/2009)
"This was a 26.2-mile party" (about: 2009)
1 previous marathon
| 1 Marine Corps Marathon
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 This race was a thrill of a lifetime for me. This was my first marathon. I ran for the Sempi Fi Injured Marines and Sailors. My father, Col.Paul R. Bean USMCR, helped start this marathon in 1976. He was at every marathon volunteering until he passed in 1991 volunteering. Everyone came together for a day for the same reason: to finish the race. It made me proud to be an American, and even prouder to be the daughter of a Marine. The USMC did a wonderful job! Thank you, USMC!!!!! | |
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J. P. from Greenville, SC
(11/3/2009)
"Outstanding event!" (about: 2009)
1 previous marathon
| 1 Marine Corps Marathon
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 4 My first marathon, and I will never forget the Marines who made it special. Well-organized. Great spectators, except for few people around 10-13 and on the bridge before Crystal City. Otherwise, a fun and entertaining route through DC and VA. I ran with Team in Training (I beat lymphoma earlier this year), so it had special significance for me - crappy first half of the year, and great finish. | |
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M. K. from Dallas, Texas
(11/2/2009)
"Inspiring Marathon!" (about: 2009)
3 previous marathons
| 1 Marine Corps Marathon
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 5 This was my third marathon and I was blown away by the Marine and spectator support on the course. Yes, the finish was tough (last .2 miles straight uphill), but you should read the map beforehand to know how the course is set up. I almost don't want to run this again because of the great experience I had. I would highly recommend this to anyone. |
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