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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 521 to 531]
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Tired ButProud from US
(10/30/2006)
"Love the marines, but organized incompetently" (about: 2006)
2 previous marathons
| 1 Marine Corps Marathon
COURSE: 3 ORGANIZATION: 1 FANS: 4 Let's have 34,000 runners walking around not knowing where to go, and let's do it before they run 26.2 miles. Better yet, after they have run 26.2 miles, let's leave them standing in crowds of tired runners waiting for their medals, wondering where water or some sort of sugar source is. Oh, and then let's not make it clear where they can meet their family, where the metro is, or where they can pick up their belongings. What a disaster! The marines were wonderful, but the organizers of this race must have never run a marathon. As I crossed the finish line, the announcer requested that those of us crossing the line should run another 50 yards past the line because the line was crowding up. First, there weren't 50 yds to "run" past the line. Second, are you kidding me? I just ran 26.2 miles. Third, didn't you know that 34,000 people were going to run the race? I would have liked to walk a bit to cool down my muscles, but I was left standing in corrals with other exhausted finishers. | |
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D. W. from Philadelphia, USA
(10/30/2006)
"Highs, Lows & Factors Beyond Control" (about: 2006)
4-5 previous marathons
| 3 Marine Corps Marathons
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 2 FANS: 4 Highs in 2006: Clear skies, friendly crowds and enthusiastic marines. Lows in 2006: Poor expo management (they need to study the efficient NY Marathon expo set-up to avoid long lines and grumpy runners the day before the race); also incredibly bad planning at both the finish festival and the Roslyn metro. This was my third MCM, and I love this race. But it might be that they are inviting more crowds than the event and its staff can really handle. Factors Beyond Control: The wind made for a tough back half of the race. | |
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Jennifer schwartzott from baltimore
(10/30/2006)
"Organization was awful" (about: 2006)
6-10 previous marathons
| 1 Marine Corps Marathon
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 1 FANS: 3 I have run in six marathons and attended many more, many of which have been in urban environments like Marine Corps. This was by far the worst organized marathon of them all. Beginning with the hour-long line at the expo and ending with the disastrous family meet-up area, it seemed as though the organizers of the event had completely underestimated the number of people that they needed to accommodate. Although the course was nice and the marines were spirited, I will not do this race again because of the organizational failures. The organizers should take some pointers from those who organize the marathons in Chicago, NYC, and Vancouver. | |
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J. B. from St. Paul, Minnesota
(10/30/2006)
"Great experience until the finish!" (about: 2006)
2 previous marathons
| 1 Marine Corps Marathon
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 3 The MCM Marathon course was the most scenic course that I have run, and not just because of the monuments - the course had a natural beauty. The marines were great, offering words of encouragement, especially towards the end of the race. The crowds were large around the mile markers - sparse in between. However, I was surprised at how few fans were cheering for the runners. The best crowd support we got was from a high school band that was going bonkers around the 10-mile mark. The course itself is fair, with a couple of hills - with the hardest being right at the start. The start of the race was very crowded and incredibly difficult to run your desired pace. The post-race experience soured me on my MCM experience. It was a disaster and very poorly organized! Upon finishing the race the fans were intertwined with the runners, which made it impossible to move anywhere and nearly impossible to find your loved ones! The finish area was all uphill and everyone was moved through like cattle - not exactly what you want to do when you have just finishing running 26.2 miles! In addition, there was no plan to get 34K runners and 200K fans out of Rosslyn Park - the metro was down, escalators were broken, buses were infrequent, and cabs were nonexistent. Transportation was a large logistic that needs to be figured out before the 32nd event. | |
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M. F. from Laytonsville, MD
(10/30/2006)
""Festivities" area a disaster" (about: 2006)
11-50 previous marathons
| 4-5 Marine Corps Marathons
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 3 FANS: 5 There are so many good things about this race.... Nice varied course, terrific crowds, and great volunteers. ;-) That said, having the finishers squeezed first through the food tent and then onto a choked bridge in Rosslyn where the spectator hook-up point was made for a sour end to an otherwise awesome day. It took us literally 1 1/4 hours to get from the finish line to the Rossyln Metro because of that and if my legs weren't spent at the race's end, they certainly were after such a gauntlet. If you're going to funnel so many people into Rosslyn all at once, definitely move the vans off the bridge and move the hook-up points somewhere else. Also give an alternative exit for those of us whose friends and supporters meet us outside of the crowd. I love my hometown race but the new finish area needs revamping for '07. There was a similar, crowded scene (extraordinarily long lines) at the DC Armory for packet pick-up. A move back to a hotel venue would also be a much appreciated change for next year. A VERY big change this year that many of us runners appreciated was switching the on-course drink from Ultima back to something drinkable like PowerAde - yeah! :-) And thanks again to all the marines - their courteousness and support really make this race unique! Chicago, New York, LA, no one else has the marines, and they are the best. ;-) | |
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D. C. from N.Y.
(10/30/2006)
"Great marathon but needs some tweaking" (about: 2006)
6-10 previous marathons
| 1 Marine Corps Marathon
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 3 FANS: 5 Marines were wonderful, on-course food, water and PowerAde were plentiful, course is quite nice, and crowds were great. That said, even at off-peak times the line to get into the expo was dreadful, and waiting to get into the armory for over 45 minutes is tough on legs that are supposed to be resting. The Metropass booth at the expo was closed by 2 p.m. on Saturday - why? Many people were then on long lines at the Metro to buy passes the morning of the race. Huge masses waited 20 minutes for the transfer at Rosslyn to show - it's not like this is a new marathon, so why the wait? There were no corrals for the second wave, and I had to walk around non-runners in the starting area, many with strollers, to get to the start. Finally, the finish line logistics were a nightmare. Since only about 2/3 of the registered runners actually completed this race, I can't imagine how they would manage the crowds if they had 25,000-30,0000 finishers. The family reunion bridge was so crowded as to be a bit scary - they really need to funnel runners to an area without the general public, and then to a much larger area for families to reunite. Were I to do this one again, I would definitely choose a different meeting point. On the other hand, the baggage retrieval was a piece of cake (NYCM should take note) and the marines were absolutely one of the highlights of this race. | |
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H. H. from Virginia
(10/30/2006)
"Great Race, Poor Organization at Finish" (about: 2006)
First Marathon
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 1 FANS: 5 Although I didn't run, the finish was a disaster. Trying to find the amazing runner I was there to watch was impossible and the bridge to the Rossalyn Metro was gridlocked with human traffic. I ended up standing still, with nowhere to go, for about a half-hour. The band on the bridge stopped playing so that they could use the PA system to point out fallen runners to the EMS people. After finally getting over the bridge, the Metro was the same situation. Either there were more people than expected, or the USMC needs to re-evaluate the finish area. I cannot imagine finishing a race of that magnitude only to stand/walk for another hour or two trying to get out. | |
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D. B. from Maryland
(10/30/2006)
"Logistical nightmare" (about: 2006)
11-50 previous marathons
| 2 Marine Corps Marathons
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 3 FANS: 5 Course changes at start and end created a logistical nightmare. Had to hop the fence to get to the start given the unbelievable backup at the Arlington Metro stop. Having to wait several minutes at the finish due to the logjam at the food tent, which you had to pass through in order to leave was a mess with more than a handful of finishers going into some distress due to just having to stand in place. Trying to find family and friends at the end was a mess due to location of the banners. Took almost one hour to find my wife. I ended up walking across the Key Bridge into Georgetown due to the logjam at the Rosslyn Metro. I'm sure it was just as much a mess to claim baggage. Suggest having the start equidistant from Arlington and Rosslyn to alleviate impact. Might think of doing the same at the finish. And allowing finishers to ability to exit at multiple locations. As for the race, it was fine with some challenges due to weather conditions and layout, but nothing (IMHO) to complain about. Bridge back into VA always destroys me. | |
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J. s. from dc
(10/30/2006)
"Organizational nightmare" (about: 2006)
11-50 previous marathons
| 3 Marine Corps Marathons
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 1 FANS: 3 This was my third MCM and maybe my last. No excuse for poor organization/lines/crowds from beginning (expo) to end (meet-up area - a complete disaster). These problems persist year after year, yet the organizers do not think through solutions. The organizers typically pat themselves on the back in the local press, rather than apologize to runners/supports who have to deal with this. Frankly, as a DC area resident, it was embarrassing to have the "hometown" marathon run like this. I've run bigger and smaller marathons that much better organized. Schwag was pretty subpar, too. This all is yet another reason the marathon needs to get a corporate sponsor that will impose standards. | |
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J. R. from Alexandria, VA
(10/30/2006)
"Great experience, but some changes are needed" (about: 2006)
2 previous marathons
| 1 Marine Corps Marathon
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 3 FANS: 4 Overall, it was a great day for a marathon. The marines are fantastic - they were supportive and cheering everyone on by name the whole race. I did feel like the race was too crowded. I could never get right on my pace because I was dodging through people the entire course. I think I ran 27 miles from all of my winding! The finish line was a disaster area. Please change this next year. Course is enjoyable, but definitely challenging with some tough hills. Spectators were incredible. It would be great if the whole course was more spectator accessible. There were several stretches without many people. It was a great experience - every marathoner should run it at least once. |
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