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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 591 to 601]
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Clay Collins from Marion,Va
(11/4/2005)
"Great Marathon. Ooh Rah! Semper Fi!" (about: 2005)
6-10 previous marathons
| 2 Marine Corps Marathons
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 What a great marathon. I went to the expo early and didn't have to wait long. It was good to see all the motivated Marines. I met a lot of great people during the run. "Good job" to Doug, who ran with me during the first part of the race. Drop me a line it you read this. Also ran into an Lt. that I was stationed with. The run through DC was awesome, and the weather was great. I ran the marathon in '98 and it was hot. The crowd was great for support. They really motivate you. As a friend of mine said, "I'm feeling 'Ooh Rah' today." Great job to the Marines, and all who help put on a world-class marathon. I will run this again and again. Semper Fi! GySgt. Collins USMC (RET.) | |
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A. M. from Hartford, CT
(11/3/2005)
"Best Ever!!!" (about: 2005)
6-10 previous marathons
| 1 Marine Corps Marathon
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 For the past 3 years I've done NYC as my fall marathon but I'm definitely switching to the MCM!! Great course, great support and an incredible experience all around!! | |
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M. R. from california
(11/3/2005)
"wow wow wow" (about: 2005)
11-50 previous marathons
| 1 Marine Corps Marathon
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 4 Beautiful weather Beautiful route Beautiful supports Beautiful organization I had a wonderful time. only one thing I noticed...spectators (were great, but) were blocking some ways that runners could use some more space. I think it was one of the best HUGE marathon events. | |
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M. G. from Scottsdale, AZ
(11/3/2005)
"Just a few notches short of perfection." (about: 2005)
11-50 previous marathons
| 2 Marine Corps Marathons
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 3 FANS: 5 This race has all the requisites for a great run: fairly easy course, breath-taking scenery, enthusiastic fans, well-stocked water stops, incredibly friendly volunteers, and an awesome embroidered shirt and finisher's medal. Still, a few tweaks would make this race THE race of races. The expo moved to new digs this year; it was an improvement over last year, but it is still too small of a venue to navigate (Chicago beats everyone when it comes to the expo). The race course narrows much too early on--thousands were crowded into narrow roadways by the third mile and runners had no choice but to slow down. The post-race area continues to be a mess--chip retrieval remains a challenge and the funneling of finishers to the food area was poorly handled--you simply stood still waiting for the crowds to thin--a challenge you don't need after running 26.2. Not too sure about cookies in wrappers being passed out at Mile 22 or so; it made for a soggy and greasy mess on the roadway--many runners slipped through that area. While the water stops were adequately stocked and staffed, a few more stops would have helped out. There were also challenges with wheelchair entrants; runners were warned to keep right as they approached--and it worked out well--but later in the race, runners were told to keep left, then later keep right again--it hampered the wheelchair entrants and made for some near mishaps--they should have stayed consistent throughout the course. The course is scenic and the early-in-the-race hills are not too taxing; there were long stretches of downhills to make this course fairly easy overall. Media coverage was fair, and though spectators were very supportive, the crowds were thinner than in years past. Weather was perfect. Hotels in the area are nicely priced and there are several ways to get to the start via local transit. There are alot of repeaters as well as first-timers for this race because it appeals to both. I'd recommend this race to anyone looking for a terrific fall marathon. Keep in mind that it sold out all 30,000 slots in 62 hours--watch their website (which is comprehensive and updated often) if you're thinking about entering. | |
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D. B. from Paris, Ontario, Canada
(11/2/2005)
"Great course, fantastic support, crazy spectators." (about: 2005)
1 previous marathon
| 1 Marine Corps Marathon
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 3 The Marines are amazing, well organized and ready to get the job done. They even pushed the crowds back when they started crowding the roads. The course was great, but not as flat as I expected, though the first two miles are not that bad. All in all, a very good race and well worth doing. Thanks Marines. | |
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K. A. from North Carolina
(11/2/2005)
"Spectators Make You Feel Like A Champion!!!" (about: 2005)
11-50 previous marathons
| 3 Marine Corps Marathons
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 3 FANS: 5 2005 was my 3rd Marine Corps Marathon. You can't find better sites or better spectators anywhere. Having almost twice as many runners this year seemed to be a burden on the system. I didn't care for the staggered start (I was in the last group), the first two miles and first rest stop were extremely crowded, and at the end I could not get to the water or food because of all of the family members finding their runners right after we received our medals. I hope that next year if the race again has 30,000 runners, that the the organizers will make certain that finishers quickly get some water and food. All in all, the Marines do a terrific job, and nothing beats having a Marine put that medal around your neck. | |
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R. S. from Missouri
(11/2/2005)
"Be sure to run the MCM some day" (about: 2005)
2 previous marathons
| 1 Marine Corps Marathon
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 5 I loved this marathon. The crowds were exciting, the runners were friendly and interesting, and the weather was beautiful. My time did suffer from the lack of pace corrals. I could not run at my race pace for more than 6 miles, so I finally just settled back to enjoy the rest of the race and run at a comfortable training pace. Finishing at the Iwo Jima Memorial was the perfect end to a terrific day. Overall, I think the organization could have been a little better, but I'm sure this was due to the fact that they had added almost 18,000 runners from the year before. It's amazing that they took care of us as well as they did. | |
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J. G. from Barrington, IL
(11/2/2005)
"Great Race & Setting" (about: 2005)
3 previous marathons
| 1 Marine Corps Marathon
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 5 This was my 3rd marathon (Twin Cities and Chicago) and was the most memorable. Overall I had a great time and loved DC. Things I liked: - Course offered a variety of terrain and was pretty good. Didn't care for the out-and-back sections as much but generally okay. - Packet pickup was easy. I had read comments from previous years that this was a problem area, but I breezed in with no wait and was out in less than 15 minutes. - I loved being able to ride metro to the race. I boarded a train around 6:30 and I was at the start around 7:00. The only challenge was trying to get out of Arlington after the race - boy was it crowded. - The Marines - the start and all of the water stops were very well run and seemed really well organized. Also it was great when the Marine placed my medal around my neck and congratulated me on completing the race - very moving. Also was surprised to have a Marine untie my shoe to retrieve my chip and then retie my shoe - amazing. - Weather could not have been more perfect A couple of things to improve: - Gear drop was not clear and took over 15 mins to complete. - The finish area for picking up drinks and food should be cleared of family and friends - it took over 20 minutes for me to exit the finish area. There were people in there with strollers - bad idea. - Do the wheelers and hand-cranks a favor and start them ahead of everyone else. It was really hard for them to make time (and a potential safety issue) with their start coming between the waves. - Space out the meeting spots outside the finish area - this area was very congested and it proved difficult to locate family members. I should be clear, my negative comments are easily fixed - from what I have seen it appears that they already have fixed most of the issues (comments from previous runners) that have come up in previous years. This was a well run event - way to go Marines. I will definitely be doing this race again in 2006. | |
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J. A. from NC
(11/2/2005)
"Great event - one you should do" (about: 2005)
11-50 previous marathons
| 1 Marine Corps Marathon
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 5 Overall this is a great marathon. My only complaint about the course was the several out-&-back turns that were kind of tight, but in general, it is a good, fair course with great sights to see. 2005 was quite windy and it seemed to be fighting you in every direction. It's probably not a PR course, although I think a PR is possible there if you are in good shape and run a smart race. As for the organization, the Marines did a wonderful job. They were the best race volunteers of any race I've ever run. You can't run this race without leaving feeling proud of our Armed Forces. The organizational problems were lack of water at the start and starting the wheelchair athletes after the first wave of runners, which meant they had to roll through (with a police escort) the first pack of runners. Very bad idea! Fan support was great & again, kudos to the Marines. It is one to do. | |
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M. B. from Richmond, Va
(11/2/2005)
"Crowded but awesome" (about: 2005)
4-5 previous marathons
| 1 Marine Corps Marathon
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 5 Wow - what a course. Nothing beats running through Washington D.C. with thousands of people cheering for you. This is by far my favorite course. The Marines were great. Very cool sendoff at the start. I second the comment that it was very crowded. The first 8-10 miles were congested and impossible to run at a normal pace. That's probably just my inexperience with running in large marathons. Also, there must have been a lot of 1st-timers, because I've never seen the water stops so congested. At the last water stop I had to weave in and out of a large group of people just standing in the middle of the course drinking water. Stay to the side if you are going to stop/walk! The only other thing I think that can be improved upon is the timing of the wheelchair race. This is the first race I've been in that wheelchair racers came speeding into runners - sometimes with police escorts, sometimes on the left, sometimes on the right. I would not have been surprised if a runner(s) had been run over. One bit of advice: if you are taking the metro, leave in plenty of time. Plan for delays - we had weekend maintenance and an accident on the track to deal with. But everyone was pleasant and patient and we made it in plenty of time. Overall, it is an experience that I will never forget. The course, weather, fans, Marines, medal, and camaraderie were all fantastic. |
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