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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 261 to 271]
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J. G. from NJ
(11/26/2008)
"Not a fan of Philly" (about: 2008)
4-5 previous marathons
| 1 Philadelphia Marathon
COURSE: 2 ORGANIZATION: 3 FANS: 4 This was my fifth marathon and by far the worst one I've run. Having the full and half start at the same time was awful and led to way too much congestion. The water stations for the first half were only a few tables long, so in some areas you had to come to a full stop to get water, or even to just continue on. The weather cant be helped, but I'm not sure how no thought went into what would happen to the ground when water falls on it. Salt should have been on and around every station. The course itself was not nearly as flat as advertised. All in all, the support from spectators was good for the cold weather, but there needs to be a lot of change in this race. | |
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H. K. from Leonia, NJ
(11/26/2008)
"Scenic Out-and-Back Course" (about: 2008)
3 previous marathons
| 1 Philadelphia Marathon
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 3 FANS: 3 The course is fast, but not entirely flat. The black ice by the aid stations was very dangerous. It's a cold marathon, but after Mile 1, you'll be warmed up. The portions along the Delaware and Schuykill Rivers can get cold. There's limited crowd support in many areas, but by the PMA (Mile 13) and at the Manayunk out-and-back, (Mile 20), there is ample support. Criticisms: - It is combined with the half. - Some parked cars on Arch St. (Mile 1) were not towed. - The first water station was disorganized, and runners had to stand and wait for fluids. - Black ice! Organizers need to have salt ready for the aid stations, especially when the temperature is below freezing. - A small portion of Washington Ave. (Mile 4) had cobblestones. - There was no timing mat at the half mark. - Some people cheated at the Mile 20 Manayunk turn around. - Some of the mile markers were off, but that happens at any marathon. I achieved a PR here and it's been my favorite of three marathons (Yonkers, Chicago, and Philly) so far. I loved the course. I'd recommend it even for those who run the NYC Marathon three weeks prior to Philly. | |
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J. L. from New Jersey
(11/26/2008)
"Good course, poor organization" (about: 2008)
1 previous marathon
| 1 Philadelphia Marathon
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 2 FANS: 4 My first full marathon. The first half was very interesting, but running out and back on the second half was a bit boring (except for the Wall). Very few porta-johns on the course. Hello!? With 18K runners!? Medal distribution was a joke. I had to unwrap the plastic myself. I'm definitely running another marathon. I'm just not sure if I'll run this one again. | |
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J. B. from Florida
(11/26/2008)
"Good marathon experience" (about: 2008)
6-10 previous marathons
| 1 Philadelphia Marathon
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 3 The race was pretty much what I expected based on the prior reviews. The one thing that did surprise me were the hills. The course is definitely not flat. But this is coming from a Florida boy. However, I did PR and qualified for Boston. I thought the expo was okay. None of the big running names were in attendance (i.e. Nike, Asics, Saucony). The location of the expo was great. The weather was a factor but I would take the freezing weather over a hot humid day like Chicago in 2007. The crowds were sporadic, especially between 21 - 25, but didn't bother me, since during most of my training runs I do not have a crowd cheering me on! I would do this marathon again since the course was challenging. | |
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M. S. from Princeton, NJ
(11/26/2008)
"awesome first-marathon experience" (about: 2008)
1 previous marathon
| 1 Philadelphia Marathon
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 5 It was cold, but amazing. The tutu guy was a highlight. :P | |
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E. H. from PA
(11/26/2008)
"Not bad; room to improve" (about: 2008)
2 previous marathons
| 1 Philadelphia Marathon
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 3 FANS: 4 Not a bad course, but... 1) Ice patches by water stops. Volunteers should be prepped with rock salt for these areas. 2) Better organization towards the finish, please - spectators were crossing the street in front of me!! 3) Better corral enforcement. 4) At least have volunteers put the medal around your neck. Not a bad course, hills were very manageable, and while it was crowded in the beginning miles, that helped keep me from going out too fast. I would run this again. | |
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B. Y. from New Orleans, LA
(11/26/2008)
"I'll be back" (about: 2008)
6-10 previous marathons
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 5 It was colder than this New Orleans runner has ever run in, but I barely noticed. I did the half, and the course is amazing: beautiful scenery and loads of crowd support. The logistics of the start are a little confusing, but the huge PR I set made all of it worth it. I enjoyed both the city and the race, and I'll be back for the full (and hoping for less frigid temperatures!). | |
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Mike Anis from Highland Park, NJ
(11/26/2008)
"Poorly organized, left guessing about too much" (about: 2008)
4-5 previous marathons
| 2 Philadelphia Marathons
COURSE: 3 ORGANIZATION: 1 FANS: 2 From the perspective of a faster runner, this race was poorly organized in many important areas. Mile marks were badly wrong in the first 5 miles, which kills your confidence in the course and your pacing. The race was better off being 1 week earlier on the calendar. November 23rd is pushing it back too far, and there's too great a chance for temps colder than expected. The 7 a.m. start is tough for everyone; no one likes being awake that early, ESPECIALLY SPECTATORS! Energy gel was supposed to be available around 17 and 22 or 23 miles, but apparently it was not being handed out to the first 30 runners (whom I was among). Someone should explain that just because those first few runners are fast, that doesn't mean nothing should be offered to them. I did get one around 21 miles and it was nearly frozen, impossible to get it down. I was chewing it. At the end of the race, there were spectators on the course in the last tenth who I had to run around - that's a sham! Even worse were the spectators in the finish area immediately after the finish line where; no volunteer had a heat sheet for me or a medal for me, and I had to stagger and push through crowds of people who ran half the distance that I did (as well as non-runners) to aggressively ask the non-assertive volunteer for a heat sheet. They paid little attention to my near dire state of health. I was almost out on my feet. I was unsure for a freezing-rigor-mortis moment of which way to go because of the cluster of motionless people just getting in the way. I burned my mouth on the boiling chicken broth as well. The lack of attention after crossing the finish line is by far the worst thing of all. Lousy volunteer organization. Can't stress enough the complete anarchy of the finish area. My friend who finished not long before me went into the medical tent, where he was not well received; they could not answer his questions as to the whereabouts of the elite bus for this belongings and did nothing to ensure that he was alright to walk out of the tent on his own power. A small side note that is of little concern to 99.9% of the runners: the elite tent was not marked, nor was I told where precisely it would be. I had to ask around, and that is a time killer on race morning. Few people seemed to know much of anything that didn't directly involve their small task at which many of them were failing. Probably won't run this race again. There are many better organized races to run. | |
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K. M. from Fort Lee NJ
(11/25/2008)
"Good race in a great town." (about: 2008)
6-10 previous marathons
| 1 Philadelphia Marathon
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 5 This was my 1st Philly Marathon. Overall, this is a very good race from the crowd support to the course. It is a race that I would like to do again. | |
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J. N. from UncleBimboVille, PA
(11/25/2008)
"All in all, a nice marathon." (about: 2008)
4-5 previous marathons
| 1 Philadelphia Marathon
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 3 FANS: 4 Race seemed to be well organized and the course was OK. Several complaints, however: 1) Who in their right mind schedules a race in late November starting at 7:00 a.m.? Either move the starting time 2 hours later or the race at least a month earlier. 2) The half and full marathons should not start at the same time on the same course. Marathoners need to run with marathoners and half marathoners need to run with half marathoners. Period. The only thing more stupid is starting the half at the midpoint of the full, which is what they do in Baltimore. 3) The course was nice, but out-and-backs just plain blow. |
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