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New York City Marathon Runner Comments
Back to New York City Marathon Information & Reviews
Course 4.7 
Organization 4.3 
Spectators 4.9
Number of comments: 604 [displaying comments 181 to 191]
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Paul Jackson from Bristol, England
(11/14/2008)
"Fantastic city, hard marathon, average organizatio" (about: 2008)
3 previous marathons
| 1 New York City Marathon
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 3 FANS: 5 It's a great course - from the views on the Verrazano Narrows Bridge, to running through the 5 boroughs, to running up 1st avenue, to the finish in Central Park. And the support is fantastic: I was still being cheered on after 5 hours (and I was in the 3rd wave)! But it's a hard marathon - lots of climbs, in particular for me the long slog up the Queensborough Bridge at mile 16. Don't expect a PB or anywhere near! Drink stations every mile are very useful but be warned that you will be given a paper cup (other marathons give bottles): environmentally this is great but running you will need to perfect a technique to avoid the whole lot going over your face and down your vest! Organization: New York has a logistical problem - how to get 35000+ runners out to Staten Island (and close the bridge) before the race. They solve this by starting buses from Manhattan at 4 a.m.!! This meant waiting around at the start for anything from 3 hours upwards - hardly ideal prep when you are about to run 26 miles. And this year it was cold! Another problem is the finish: 100 yards past the finish and you are into a massive queue for baggage reclaim - and you HAVE to go this way in order to get out of the park. The one thing I want to do at the end of a marathon is walk for 10-15 minutes, not stand still and shuffle forward once a minute. So would I do it again? You bet! | |
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G. W. from Ireland
(11/11/2008)
"Greastest Day Ever!" (about: 2008)
2 previous marathons
| 1 New York City Marathon
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 I really don't know how anyone can give out about this marathon. The whole experience was amazing for me. Yes, we all had to be in the cold for hours before the race. This was my first NYC Marathon, and I didn't realize that when they put you in your starting corral, you still have to stand around for awhile. I thought once you get in there, you pretty much go, so I took off my jumper and bottoms earlier than most. Hell yeah, it was freezing, but I didn't care. I was too excited/nervous about running 26.2 miles! It could have been worse - I could of been one of the volunteers who were out in that cold in the middle of the night trying to get our drinking stations organized for us! And what did they get out of it? Just the joy of it! One of the first things I saw in Brooklyn was a sign that read something like, "Your feet are hurting because you're kicking ass!" It made me smile and that continued all the way to the finish! Bands playing in their front gardens, choir singers outside of churches, kids dancing... amazing! Not only did they make me smile all the way, but they also helped me to keep going when it got tough from the 20 mile-mark. After the Bronx, I was really struggling, but they seemed to push me along, and crossing that line was an unbelievable feeling! Memories I'll keep from New York: the ass-kicking sign, the crowd and the volunteers at every part of the course, the silence running under the Queensborough Bridge before hitting the noise of Manhattan, the joy of crossing that line, and the feeling when a complete stranger would smile at me and say, "Good job" as I could barely walk to get back to my hotel! Who cares about the cold at the start?! Or that I had to walk for ages through the baggage claim even though I didn't have a bag to begin with?! I was at the New York Marathon! And I'd just finished it! To organize an event that 39,000 runners would take part in and spread it over 26.2 miles was never going to be easy. So to those people, I want to say, "Thank you!" You are complete legends! | |
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D. W. from Chicago
(11/10/2008)
"Best Marathon Ever" (about: 2008)
11-50 previous marathons
| 1 New York City Marathon
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 From start to finish, this marathon is outstanding and peerless. The varied and challenging course, outstanding views, uplifting crowds, and superb organization make this a marathon not to miss. | |
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t. b. from nassau bahamas
(11/9/2008)
"Too cold for me... but the spectators were great!" (about: 2008)
3 previous marathons
| 1 New York City Marathon
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 5 The wait before the race was too long, and while waiting, there were not enough tents for the runners to sit under. I saw no fruit at all, and at the finish line, no one knew where to get my chip off of my shoes. But despite the cold it was okay. | |
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A. M. from Spencerport NY
(11/9/2008)
"A must-do race, but far from perfect" (about: 2008)
11-50 previous marathons
| 1 New York City Marathon
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 3 FANS: 5 Every marathoner must run this, for no other reason than the crowds. They are truly amazing. Also, seeing the famous buildings such as the Statue of Liberty is really cool. However, let's be honest; other than that, everything else is either average or sub par. That's not to say the organizers did a bad job, but waiting 3 hours in the freezing cold prior to the race is enough to not give them a perfect score. Also, the post-race area is way, way to narrow. The death march is intolerable. That knocks their score down a little more. My fellow reviewers, as long as you guys continue to give them five stars across the board, they will have no incentive to fix these things. | |
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P. L. from Maine
(11/8/2008)
"A Running Adventure" (about: 2008)
6-10 previous marathons
| 1 New York City Marathon
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 What a blast. Everything about NY is a challenging adventure. From using the public transportation, to finding your destination, there was never a dull moment. I got to the expo on Friday morning and was in and out in no time. Race morning was a little chilly, but if you know enough to be prepared, then it doesn't really matter. For $5 I bought an awesome winter jacket at the Salvation Army to wear until the race started. With PowerBars and extra toilet paper stuffed in the pockets, I was ready to go. My warm-up consisted of walking around checking everything out and socializing with the many other racers. Once the race started, I was warm and ready to go. Unlike Boston where the crowd just seemed to yell, the NY onlookers seemed to be actually cheering for people as individuals, it was really neat. I think my favorite part was running up First Avenue on the right side of the street, completely alone with the happy crowd supporting my efforts. The only bad part of the race, which others have also stated, was after the finish. I didn't check in a bad because I didn't want to deal with the hassle, but I still had to go through the bag line. Why is it people can run 26.2 miles, but they walk like a turtle when they are done? Come on, folks, keep moving; your legs will thank you for it. | |
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J. K. from New York
(11/7/2008)
"Race: great; T-shirt: not so much" (about: 2008)
6-10 previous marathons
| 3 New York City Marathons
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 This was my third NYC and the crowds were just as amazing as in the previous years. Where else can a amateur runner be treated like an Olympian? The only exception was in the Hasidic part of Brooklyn where the residents ignored the race completely. I do have a few small complaints. The long-sleeve t-shirt was sized too big, and I had to return my large for a medium. The front of it, instead of saying, "NYC Marathon" says, in big ugly letters, "What does it take?" - the lame advertising slogan for the race. Second, they placed many of the water stops at the mile markers. I like to check my splits at the mile marks, and because I was busy getting Gatorade, I missed some of them. Otherwise, the race was great, and I'm sure they had just as many bands as any R&R marathon. | |
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L. L. from Washington DC
(11/7/2008)
"Great marathon" (about: 2008)
4-5 previous marathons
| 1 New York City Marathon
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 Ok, so I have several comments on NY. This was my first NY, but my 4th over all. I enjoyed it, but was not prepared for sitting around for 3 hours before the race started. So, newbies, here is what you need to know. 1. Fans, amazing. Really the best of all the marathons I have run. The only negative is when you are running down 1st Avenue, the people at the bars look like they are having so much fun that you want to join them! 2. The course is challenging. You think the first bridge is the worst? No way; maybe until you hit mile 15.... Save some energy for that one. 3. The start line: All my other marathons started earlier, so I was very hungry at mile 5. I didn't eat enough while waiting. This really didn't help me do my best, but I did PR, oddly enough. 4. Wave start time. I see why they do it, but it stinks if there are runners in your group who run at different speeds. I run slower than my friend who was there, and she had to wait at the end for much longer because I was in another wave. Plus, the unofficial time does not tell you how long it took you to cross the start line. My time is exactly the time for the wave (i.e. gun time), and it took me about 5 minutes to hit the mat after the gun sounded. Not a big deal if you aren't trying to qualify, but it is for the ol' ego. 5. Organized. You can't get better. The expo was great (except I had to go to a sports store to get GU). Checked baggage not an issue. I didn't enjoy the 30 minutes of cattle time to get out of Central Park, but understand why it is necessary. 6. I now know why it is so difficult to get into this marathon. The percentage of foreign runners was HUGE! It wasn't a pro or a con for me, just a fact. I think France and Germany were completely vacated for this race. Would I run it again? Absolutely, if I were going to run another. | |
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K. M. from San Francisco, California
(11/7/2008)
"Seabiscuit LOVES New York" (about: 2008)
6-10 previous marathons
| 1 New York City Marathon
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 As a rather reserved person, I was seriously concerned about running in such a crowded race. I'm usually too shy to talk to strangers. But let me tell you: interacting with fellow runners from all over the world, and the insanely enthusiastic spectators along the course, have changed my mind about that forever. At freezing windy Ft. Wadsworth, a lovely Frenchman saw me shivering and gave me his pancho, an awesome gospel choir sang/cheered for us in Brooklyn, a heavy metal band singer cheered my name over his microphone, a line of senior citizens in wheelchairs braved the cold to wave canes and cowbells in encouragement, and at mile 18, a sweet Korean guy helped me tear open my GU package when I was "losing it." When I run races, I have "Sea Biscuit" printed on my shirt. I'm solid mid-packer, so the joke is obvious. Folks along the course seemed to really enjoy being in on the joke and interacted with me the whole way. I can't tell you how much of a boost this was, at the end especially. Don't be too cool to have your name on your shirt - you'll miss a lot of fun. The course has some hills, but nothing like what I trained on in San Francisco. The bridges have a freezing wind. Sometimes the roads get congested with runners. Overall, though, it was hands down the most fun I've ever had in a marathon. The race organization was amazing. The expo was well stocked and staffed with very cheerful and helpful volunteers. Yeah, yeah. I got a medium shirt when I ordered a small. Whatever. Exiting the park at the end was a drag, but kudos to the volunteers sitting on the cold sidewalk to remove timing chips from our sweaty, grumpy feet. You haven't lived until you've run this marathon. | |
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C. L. from Chicago, IL
(11/7/2008)
"Novel course but transportation an issue" (about: 2008)
6-10 previous marathons
| 1 New York City Marathon
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 3 I ran this on November 2nd as my 6th marathon (as a guaranteed entry after, having been rejected from the lottery three years in a row). I have waited to run this marathon for a long time, and on the race-day, I had to wait even longer.... Due to the nature of the start point, people have to get to Staten Island very early, and the race management recommends people take buses. I did what i was told, only to end up lying on the concrete pavement, shivering non-stop for FOUR HOURS before the race! There were no tents, chairs or blankets offered in the "green" section - only 4-ounce cups of coffee or tea to keep you warm. Needless to say, the start of the race was a bit tough after having sat there for so long. My leg cramped at mile 8, which has never happened to me before. Also, at the end of the race, it is very difficult to get out of the race area. The subways were extremely crowded and I couldn't find a cab to save my life. I had to walk an extra 10 blocks, where I finally found a bicycle taxi to take me downtown. I recommend that the administration improve transportation to/from the race. The rest of the event was fine. |
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