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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 561 to 571]
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L. M. from Virginia Beach, Virginia
(11/26/2005)
"Great race as always - room to improve" (about: 2005)
6-10 previous marathons
| 3 Marine Corps Marathons
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 3 Concur with CW from London's comments below. Especially the wheelchair start, walkers at the front of second wave, and spectators blocking access to the hospitality/refreshment area (this absolutely has to be fixed for next year). Otherwise, a well organized and managed race as always. Thank you USMC, semper fi! | |
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Bill Steele from Trinity, FL
(11/22/2005)
"A Former Marine's Goal Fulfilled!!" (about: 2005)
2 previous marathons
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 3 FANS: 5 As a former Marine, it was always a goal of mine to complete the MCM. The flawless execution and unbelievable crowd were beyond belief! They kept me moving. Not sure if I'll be back, but thanks for making this a wonderful experience, despite the pain in my legs!! | |
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C. W. from London, England
(11/21/2005)
"Great but could have been better..." (about: 2005)
2 previous marathons
| 1 Marine Corps Marathon
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 3 FANS: 4 Overall, I loved running this race - beautiful day and great course around the DC monuments (I flew in from London, UK for this). The Good: * Expo was fast and efficient - got the number in 10 mins. * The course - wonderful except for a few mentally punishing out-and-backs. * The Marines - you just can't beat being given the medal at the end.... * Good crowd support. The Bad: * Having the wheelchairs starting AFTER runners - this is just dangerous. * The crowd kept coming onto the course, making passing (esp. at the 14th St. Bridge) really hard. Barriers need to be set up at these key points - I saw several people fall as the room for the runners narrowed and people tripped. * No corrals in the 2nd wave start - as always lots of WALKERS lined up at the front. Crazy. * Bad finish area - very hard to see what was where (meeting points were uphill!!!). Too many non-runners blocking the routes of runners getting out which made for delays. * Metro at the end....!! Disaster! There needs to be some alternative transportation available for runners to get home, as one metro station cannot cope! | |
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S. P. from Richmond, VA
(11/20/2005)
"Fun and moving, yet disorganized" (about: 2005)
4-5 previous marathons
| 1 Marine Corps Marathon
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 2 FANS: 4 I completely agree with most of the comments already stated on this board, both positive and negative. Not to beat a dead horse, but I just wanted to add some things from my experience. Overall - I had a great time! I got a PR by 5 mintues (Boston qualified), I met some really fun people, and I left with a good feeling about the day. However, there definitely were some improvements to be made. Starting from the beginning: I thought the expo was great! Easy subway ride, had my number within 5 minutes, was easy to navigate. There were lots of interesting booths. I liked the free beer booth - nice touch! Only complaint was that all of the official merchandise was sold out of my size by 4pm on Saturday. Also, the people at the booth were you could sign up to have your splits sent to an e-mail or cell phone were completely clueless as to the whole process and were no help AT ALL. On race-day: I had no problem getting to the start on the subway. It was a bit backed up, but it was caused by an accident on the tracks that was out of anyone's control. The whole start area was a mess though. The good: Plenty of port-o-pots with no lines. The bad: No signs telling you where anything was. The bag check was about a 1/2-mile away from the start and the people at bag check were extremely rude! They told me the one for my number was full and I couldn't check my bag, but they were going to open up another one somewhere else (more walking + more time wasted) - HUGE MESS!! Also no water was available at the start - what was that about?? Did they know we were going to be running for 3-4 hours? I was in the first starting corral (didn't make much sense for a 3:35 marathoner but I'm not complaining) and had no problems, although I was signed up for a pace group and they were nowhere to be found. (I was told they would have balloons and big signs - certainly didn't see them). The course was good - it was fun window-shopping through Georgetown and very moving to run by the White House and through the National Mall. The river area was pretty. I wasn't a big fan of the 2 out-and-backs and the 14th Street Bridge was hot, hilly and a bit miserable. But the fans were numerous and great! Biggest complaint: as mentioned before, the wheelchair racers. A police escort came though to clear the way for the wheelchairs, but they came through at least a mile before the first wheelchair and everyone had already moved back into place. What was the point? Small complaint: Water every mile after 20 would have been nice and I thought the GU stop was in a bit of a strange place. Too late for a first GU and too early for a second GU. But water stops were well organized and good selection of Clif Shot flavors. As for the finish: The uphill finish was a killer. I didn't even notice the Iowa Jima monument. But on the plus side: a cute Marine gave me my medal and another cute Marine removed my chip and re-tied my shoe. Very nice! After chip removal though, it was a complete mess - no signs as to where the food was or where to get your bag, people everywhere, nothing to carry your food in. Everyone was very nice, but still! I heard rumors of finisher's shirts and finisher's photos - still don't know where they were. The biggest thing that bothered me about the whole day however, was afterward on the subway at about 3pm, I saw tons of people (who appeared to be spectators) carrying boxes of juice, pretzels and other food that had clearly come from the marathon. On the train, they were looking through the boxes discussing their loot. Why wasn't that food given to the runners? If there was that much excess why wasn't it donated to charity? At that time, there were still people out there running. This really bothered me and most definitely needs to be addressed!! In summary: Great race although needs some improvement. Would love to run it again. Would recommend it for the beauty of the course and the DC experience. | |
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Dave Lohr from Maryland
(11/20/2005)
"Beautiful, Hilly and Crowded" (about: 2005)
2 previous marathons
| 1 Marine Corps Marathon
COURSE: 3 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 5 The scenery is beautiful, the course is hilly and hard, and the race had too many people for the course. The Marines did a good job with most of the logistics, with lots of port-o-potties and great water stops. Food at end was good. I pitied the wheelchair participants, who were constantly having to yell for people to move out of the way. The race shirt and finisher's medal are awesome. The spectators were great! | |
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Greg McElhatton from Arlington, VA
(11/20/2005)
"A poor 30th anniversary for a great race" (about: 2005)
4-5 previous marathons
| 4-5 Marine Corps Marathons
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 2 FANS: 4 How disappointing! 2005 was my fourth Marine Corps Marathon (and fifth marathon overall) and after three great experiences, 2005 was almost nightmarish. Adding the extra runners was something that the race organizers were clearly not prepared for; the staging area was a shambles and the course itself was nothing short of chaotic. I spent more time in the first eight miles moving side-to-side dodging runners than I did moving forwards, and I was never able to get a good steady pace. Every time you'd have a couple of miles of good course, suddenly things would get crowded and congested again. (And a special note for spectators: DON'T LINE UP ON THE COURSE! I took off one star for the spectators who around miles 14 and 20 decided that rather than stand on the curb it was all right to crowd onto half of the course for that area.) Additional minus points also go to the finish line area, where I was herded through before getting my post-marathon picture taken, and was then told I wasn't allowed to go back in to do so. (I finally had to inch around a downed barbwire fence to get back to that area!) It's a shame because I really enjoyed the previous three years, but 2005 was an absolute nightmare. Let's hope with the anniversary over, the race's old competence reappears. | |
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Jason Laurion from Maryland, USA
(11/19/2005)
"amazing marathon" (about: 2005)
1 previous marathon
| 1 Marine Corps Marathon
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 5 My first. The Marines did a great job of organizing it. After the finish is was a bit hectic to meet back up with family. Overall, it was a great experience and I plan to make it an annual run. | |
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Lonnie Rattner from Delray Beach, Florida
(11/18/2005)
"A really fun marathon " (about: 2005)
11-50 previous marathons
| 2 Marine Corps Marathons
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 3 This was my 2nd Marine Corp Marathon. The last one I ran was in 1984 when I was still running very fast and I tried to race it. I crapped out at 18 miles running a 6:20 pace. I was determined to go back and finish this race. I didn't think it was going to take me 21 years. I was forewarned about terrible crowds at registration, crowded and clogged trains to the start and many other things which turned out to be nothing. I arrived in DC on Friday and went over to get my number. It took all of 5 minutes to get it. On Saturday I took the metro as a dry run how to get to the start. Marathon Sunday I took the train at 5:30am and it wasn't crowded. It took 25 minutes to get to Arlington (I was in the first start). There were plenty of port-a-johns there and the weather was ideal. About 48-50 degress at the start. It took me less than one minute to get to the start line. The crowds are certainly better in New York and Boston but it was a gorgeous day and there were plenty of spectators to cheer us on. I'm not as fast as I use to be and finished in a respectable 4:37 (not bad for a 61 year-old). I had a really great time and there was plenty of refreshments at the finish. Crowds were definitely greater going home on the train but it wasn't really too bad. All in all I would say that this is definitely a race to experience. The Marines were great. Very helpful and very polite. | |
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L. V. from Trumansburg, New York
(11/18/2005)
"The Good, The Bad, And The Ugly" (about: 2005)
2 previous marathons
| 1 Marine Corps Marathon
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 1 FANS: 2 The Good: The awesome feeling of patriotism you get running past monuments in our nation's capitol. The Bad: Being in wave #2, and not having pace corrals, and having to walk so much extra before running 26.2. Not getting any pain relief until mile 20, when it was FAR too late. I will remember to pack my own, if there IS a next time. Spectators who simply stood there silently, and didn't even say anything encouraging. (Maybe they were in awe of how many crazy people were passing them by.) In fact, I even encouraged THEM, 'It's ok to make some noise! C'mon!' The Ugly: the last .2 miles being UPHILL. Also, discovering that there are people that actually CHEAT, and then try to pass off their medals as if they did all the hard work to earn it. | |
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C. M. from Atlanta, Ga
(11/17/2005)
"Lots of people running = lots of hassles" (about: 2005)
11-50 previous marathons
| 2 Marine Corps Marathons
COURSE: 3 ORGANIZATION: 2 FANS: 3 This is the second time I've run this race and in 2005 the race organizers forgot to organize. The starting line was a mess. The baggage pick-up was awful. For some unknown reason, the wheelchairs started after the runners, causing mass confusion, with wheelchairs yelling at runners to get out of their way. Wheelchairs were coming from the left and the right - it was a mess. Not sure how Marines could be so terrible at planning a race they have done for 30 years. |
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