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☰
Philadelphia Marathon Runner Comments
Back to Philadelphia Marathon Information & Reviews
Course 4.3 
Organization 3.6 
Spectators 3.8
Number of comments: 749 [displaying comments 151 to 161]
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D. B. from New York, NY
(11/21/2010)
"Well organized marathon!" (about: 2010)
4-5 previous marathons
| 1 Philadelphia Marathon
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 Running this marathon made me realize I will never run New York again. The start was at 7; I left my hotel by 6:30 and was running less than 40 minutes later. I was finished and heading home hours before I would have been done at New York. The fans were supportive but some areas of the course were not very populated. Someone gave out beer around the 20-mile mark! Post-race included complementary massage (which I didn't get), and a goody bag of a salty, soft pretzel, orange, iced apple juice, and a Dole fruit snack. They also had hot broth. My only complaint is that some of the people giving out water weren't wearing gloves and their fingers dipped into the drinks. Still, they were all friendly, helpful, and supportive. The race was organized well and the course was most interesting before the 13.1-mile point. Sometime after that point you could see the runners looped on the other side of the road. | |
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Eddie Zalar from NYC
(11/21/2010)
"Overall a great experience!" (about: 2010)
1 previous marathon
| 1 Philadelphia Marathon
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 4 This was my first marathon. I'm from NYC and have run many races with New York Road Runners. I've only been running for a year and a half but I desperately wanted to qualify for Boston. I was 43 seconds short. Anyway I think the organization was pretty good, although I was surprised to see many slower runners in the wrong corrals. Only running in NYRR races, I'm used to mile markers with time at every mile, so I was surprised when a well known marathon like Philly only had them at a few sporadic miles. Maybe I should have worn a watch. The course was beautiful with the fall colors; and the spectators, despite the cold, were always cheering, and handing out water, Gatorade, and even beer and gummy bears! The frat houses had music blaring, and at the turn around when spectators were few, it was nice to see about a dozen people dressed in what I guess was last months Halloween costumes rockin' out to some funk music. So yeah, the spectators were awesome. The only thing I didn't like was the out-and-back; seeing the elite runners can be a bit demoralizing at mile 15-18 or so. But for my first marathon I was very satisfied with my 3:11:42 time, despite just barely missing out on Boston. But being away from home for a few years know, it was nice to see my dad at the start and finish, celebrating with beer and the MOST AMAZING CREPES afterward. Hats off to Beaumonde! Seriously, it was the best brunch I've had in a very long time, and this is a New Yorker talking! Thank you for a great weekend, Philly; I will definitely be back!!!!! | |
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L. E. from Sauk Rapids, MN
(11/21/2010)
"Nice race!" (about: 2010)
6-10 previous marathons
| 1 Philadelphia Marathon
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 3 FANS: 5 I really enjoyed running in Philadelphia. The weather was perfect, and the course was beautiful. Mostly flat but there were some hills between miles 7 and 10. Great fan support throughout. My only complaints relate to organization. 1) When we got to the expo, they were out of both small and medium shirts. I know I got there later, but to me this is unacceptable for a race of this size with a high entry fee. They filled the race early this year, so they should have had a pretty accurate estimate of the number of shirts/sizes needed. Thankfully, they are mailing them out - but they are making us mail our bib tag as proof even though they were writing down our info. A little inconvenient. I was also disappointed to see that probably 25-30% of vendors were already gone by the time I got to the expo. Race morning was pretty congested. Porta-potties lines both side of a narrow street, with the gear check trucks in the middle. There were a lot of people trying to get through that space. Lastly, during the race there were many narrow roads with cars parked on them, even though there were signs with tow warnings. If you are going to put up parking restriction warnings, follow through and tow them! With that number of runners, we found ourselves in several tight bottleneck situations. Otherwise, I thought everything else was fine, and and I did have a great time! | |
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J. R. from New York, New York
(11/21/2010)
"OK but not great" (about: 2010)
6-10 previous marathons
| 1 Philadelphia Marathon
COURSE: 3 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 2 The Philadelphia Marathon is a good option for those who cannot run New York but want to run a fall marathon. The first half is pretty tough with some big hills, especially around mile 9 and 10. The second half is pretty flat, mostly along the river. My problem is that this race felt like a half marathon with a 13-mile loop tacked on at the end of it as an afterthought. The second half had plenty of refreshments but few spectators. It was quite pretty, but I got bored pretty quickly with it. This did not happen in Chicago or New York. The race itself is convenient for transportation and local hotels and such, so that was a plus. Fall weather in Philadelphia is variable, but today was a nice day for it. I probably won't run it again, but I don't regret it. I don't, however, stack it up against New York or Chicago. | |
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F. B. from Claremont, calif
(11/21/2010)
"Beautiful course" (about: 2010)
6-10 previous marathons
| 1 Philadelphia Marathon
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 4 I ran this race based on comments from previous participants and was glad I did. I have run several marathons before but never a course that was this scenic. The last 13 miles are great although maybe not as flat as others have described. I don't really get too concerned with spectator support (it was fair - not nearly as loud as Chicago) or the free stuff from the expo so I don't have much to say about that. I do have two concerns: I could not find any water at the end of the race (plenty on the course though) and the timing on the results web page was very inaccurate (my chip time was definitely not the gun time). The race was as organized as well as any other I have run, especially the bag drop-off; and there were more than enough portable restrooms. If you want a scenic course with good weather that is kind of flat, run this one. | |
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C. K. from New Jersey
(11/20/2010)
"Easy to Access and Enjoyable Course" (about: 2009)
6-10 previous marathons
| 3 Philadelphia Marathons
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 3 FANS: 3 This was my 3rd time running this marathon. The parking is easy. Start well organized. Ample porta-potties and water stations. It is great to start and end the race at the same place, so logistics are easy. Easy race for family and friends to come watch. | |
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W. R. from US
(2/10/2010)
"A Must-Run Mrathon" (about: 2009)
6-10 previous marathons
| 1 Philadelphia Marathon
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 3 FANS: 5 The Philadelphia Marathon for the most part was an outstanding experience. It was a cool start. The start was in waves of more than a minute apart. This really helped. The race took you all around the city. I didn't like the second half of the course. Around mile 16 you can see the 24-mile marker and runners coming back from a turnaround point. I don't like races like that. The water stops were awesome. They were very well marked. The spectators were awesome. There were so many all over the course, but like any marathon there were miles with just you and the open run. The medal is really nice. The only complaint I have is that they ran out of water at the end of the marathon. There was no water or any other fluids left at the finish line. | |
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Bannikova Anastasia from Philadelphia, PA
(1/8/2010)
"Lovely marathon in the City of Brotherly Love" (about: 2009)
3 previous marathons
| 1 Philadelphia Marathon
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 5 I enjoyed the Philadelphia Marathon immensely! The weather was perfect (45 degrees at the start, 57 at the finish), the sun was shining through tree branches, and the fans were making sure that everyone would finish the race! Because I was recovering from the marathon I did a month before, I did not overstrain myself and hence had a nice 4-hour jog through my favorite city, and even got a medal at the end. :) Couple of highlights that grabbed my attention: The course goes through numerous (and quite distinct) Philly neighborhoods, the Museum District, Chinatown, Old City, University City, Fairmount Park, Manayunk etc. - so there is great variety of architectural landmarks and landscape highlights to focus your attention on. You can give high-fives to the city mayor at the beginning of the race and in the downtown area. There is plenty of water/Gatorade stops; but I would recommend having your own gel/protein bar (they are handed out at the second half of the course). Dont miss it: in the Manayunk area (at mile 19 and 21), there are fans who give away beer to all runners! For those who are familiar with a Hash House Harriers ( a drinking group with a running problem ), it will come as no surprise. The volunteers monitored the area for any medical emergencies, and the response is pretty fast; I saw a lot of 4-wheelers with medical personnel cruising around. The post-race food is pretty standard: hot broth (very welcome!), pretzels, bananas and apple juice. The medals this year were solemnly dark yet pretty; plus the slogans were quite catchy because they were combined with the city landmarks: Running means Independence (cue on Independence Hall), Running means Love (cue on LOVE statue), etc. Also, the slogan on t-shirts (which was used before) - "I kicked asphalt " - is awesome. Highly recommended race for marathoners of all levels! | |
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J. A. from New Jersey
(1/7/2010)
"Great First Marathon" (about: 2009)
1 previous marathon
| 1 Philadelphia Marathon
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 4 This was my first marathon and I had a great race and qualified for Boston by going under 3:15. Parking: We drove in from Jersey on race day and parked on a side street a few blocks from the start without any problems. Start: Plenty of porta-potties for everyone. We did not use the baggage claim so I cannot comment on that. I started in the 2nd corral so I did not have any problems with congestion, but they were narrow, so I can see how those farther back would have issues. I was able to settle into my pace quickly. The Course: To all of those complaining that the course was not flat enough, I suggest that you go run 26 miles around a track or on a treadmill - which are the only two places where I've ever enjoyed pancake-flat running. Compared to any of the other road races I've run, this course is relatively flat. There are some slight and gradual inclines/declines here and there with only a few "hills," which are all really short (although a little steep). Two of the hills are in the first half of the race (one near Drexel and one in the park), the third is after the halfway point (steepest), and the last is up and down an overpass around mile 20 or so. Most of my training runs in northern NJ were hillier than this course. The out-and-back on Kelly Drive will test your mental toughness but at least you will know what is coming on the way back. The finishing area was a little crowded due to both races finishing at the same place and I feel sorry for the really fast marathoners, who probably had to elbow their way through slower half-marathoners and really slow full marathoners who would have been criss-crossing the circle at the same time. For what it's worth, my Garmin had the course at 26.5 miles and I think I ran pretty good tangents. One other comment: I'm not a big fan of the turn-around at the orange cones, which you had to do twice on this course. I'm not sure why this is necessary and I hope they can figure out a way to change this. Crowd Support: Having your name printed on your bib is the greatest idea ever! While there are plenty of areas on this course with little or no crowd support, wherever there were people they were extremely enthusiastic and were yelling my name, which was awesome! Overall: I had a great race, the weather was perfect and I BQ'd on my first attempt, so I loved it and I'll definitely be back for 2010. One other thing to mention about Philly is that if you register early it's only $80, which is a tremendous value when you consider what the other big-city races are charging. | |
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C. B. from Belleville, IL
(1/3/2010)
"I loved the course variety" (about: 2009)
11-50 previous marathons
| 1 Philadelphia Marathon
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 4 This was my 15th marathon, and while it was not my best time performance-wise, it was definitely one of my favorite events. I decided that there are too many marathons and cities to run and see to repeat this race, but if I were to repeat one, this would be it. The course is really great - historical, scenic, urban, rural... you get it all! The weather was perfect! Loved the "theme"... reminded me of Boston. Goodies included a long-sleeved tech shirt, gear bag and gloves! And then, to have such a great historical city to tour before, during and after! What more can I say? You've got to run Philly! |
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