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Sep 21, 2024

Philadelphia Marathon Runner Comments

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Course 4.3

Organization 3.6

Spectators 3.8

Number of comments: 749 [displaying comments 351 to 361]

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D. S. from Shoreview, MN (11/23/2007) "Good 'thon; could be great with a couple changes." (about: 2007) 11-50 previous marathons \| 1 Philadelphia Marathon COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 3 FANS: 3 All marathons do some things well and some not so well. Most race staff learn from mistakes and attempt improvements. Hopefully Philadelphia will continue do the same. Cons include poor packet pickup organization, an untested new timing system and running the half and full simultaneously. Pros include a wonderful course, absolutely great volunteers, and pretty good crowd support. Many runners have remarked about the course hills. Hills are relative, depending on a runner's experience. What is hilly to some runners may seem flat to others. After running 25 marathons, I'd rate these as moderate. A possible solution for the concern about the half and full combined start would be to send the half runners out on the 2nd half of the course. For example, Grandma's Marathon starts its half runners one hour ahead of the full runners, and also starts them at the mid-point of the marathon course. It works pretty well. My paper chip did not record my times. I got one email alert with a 30K time, although I didn't see a 30K timing mat. The time on the email agreed with my 20-mile time. My official results were not posted until six days after the race (after emailing the timing company). I thought having a large tent for food immediately after the finish line was awesome. It was great to get out of the elements. The hot chicken broth and pretzels really hit the spot. The course was very scenic, both in the sections through the city and the out-and-back along the river. I missed the first couple of mile markers due to the throngs of runners. They should consider mounting them at higher elevations to make them easier to see. Some marathons tie large mylar balloons to the mile markers so the runners can spot them as they approach. I would consider running this marathon again.
T. F. from Boston, MA (11/23/2007) "Nice Event. More Hills than Advertised." (about: 2007) 4-5 previous marathons \| 2 Philadelphia Marathons COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 3 The 2007 race went off much smoother than 2006 based on the comments I saw of that race. There were only a few minor issues: late race start due to late towing of cars and poorly marked family area. This is a much hillier course than they advertise and hillier than the Philly course in 2001 when I first ran. There are three major hills (mile 7, mile 10 and mile 15) and two steep declines. There are many other stretches of less significant inclines on the course, including up to the finish line. I've run Boston a couple times and it certainly isn't as tough... but I've run flat courses and this certainly isn't one of them. The weather conditions weren't ideal. Reasonably cold and windy with the slightest precipitation at times. Crowds are okay. Generally sparse and quiet except for a few areas. The city section of the race isn't particularly attractive, but I really like getting out of the city into Fairmont Park, Kelly Drive and Manuyunk. All in all, a good marathon. Set my PR here this year.
M. A. from Loveland, Ohio (11/23/2007) "Poorly organized; not a flat course, as advertised" (about: 2007) 11-50 previous marathons \| 1 Philadelphia Marathon COURSE: 3 ORGANIZATION: 2 FANS: 3 Having just finished my 32nd marathon, I would like to say I get real tired of the race DIRECTORS touting the course as flat and fast. Columbus, Chicago and Cleveland deserve this billing - not Philadelphia. It has numerous hills and I since have found out the course for whatever insane reason added a hill or two. Why would you add hills if you want to make your race a "BIG MARATHON"? The fact that I had trained hard for the steam bath in Chicago (3:43). I qualified in Philadelphia in 3:28 for Boston - my 3rd qualifying marathon in my last four races over 14 months. The weather was great and the crowds were supportive. The expo was very disorganized, as the lines were painfully long. The hotels PROVIDED NO TRANSPORTATION TO THE RACE. Taxis were utilized by most runners. There was a 15-minute delay at the start of the race. There were way too many slow runners that started up front creating the need to run on the sidewalk so you did not ruin your time too much. I hear now (I DID NOT WEAR MY GARMIN) that numerous runners said the course was long.... I believe it, as I feel the mile markers were not correct. Thank GOD MY timing chip worked, but I hear many did not get recorded times. I would have been beside myself, as the extensive training that goes into running marathons requires only one basic requirement from the race director: provide an accurate finish time.... I mean for $100.00 DOLLARS, PLEASE? I will not be back. I will run Columbus or Chicago because they truly are flat and fast. I laugh too; since I do not drink anymore, it's funny to me that runners think beer on the course (provided by the frat boys) is a nioe perk.... I guess it would be ideal to dehydrate the body at 20 miles to aid your finish and run a faster time? After finishing I had to wait about 20 minutes for them to find my bag, SHIVERING out in the freezing cold. Then I had to walk for another 20 minutes to hail a taxi and then get back to my hotel. They had lied about late checkout when I registerd for my room over the phone. WHEN I ASKED FOR VERIFICATION, THEY SAID NO LATE CHECKOUT ON SUNDAYS. So I had to get in my car and drive to Cincy - 560 miles - with no shower.... That sums up my experience. Never again, Philly!!!!!
S. f. from NY (11/23/2007) "Highly recommended - fast and scenic" (about: 2007) 4-5 previous marathons \| 1 Philadelphia Marathon COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 3 FANS: 4 Best race I've ever run. I really enjoyed the mix of urban running through the city center and the scenic second half along the Schuykill River. The fall foliage was beautiful and I felt like I was running through a park. I've read some complaints about this out-and-back part of the race but I thought it was the best part. It wasn't until mile 15 when it became quiet and we were out "in nature" that I got into my zone. This is a great course for running a negative split. The course is not as flat as advertised, but the hills come after long stretches of flat terrain so you have time to rest. They added in an extra hill at mile 14 this year, which was an unpleasant surprise. I would recommend driving the course beforehand so you are prepared for where the hills are. The hills between miles 7-11 are challenging but manageable if you are prepared for them. Take it easy on these hills by Drexel and the zoo or you won't have anything left in the tank for the second half. The biggest negatives: Not enough porto-potties at the start. The lines were huge and slow. I started 7 minutes behind because I was in line for the porto-potties. I also hated the new timing system - the tags looked flimsy and I was really stressed about whether they were going to work or not. I have my own Champion Chip and prefer to use the time-tested technology.
S. S. from Bolton, Ontario, Canada (11/22/2007) "Run Philly but Don't Stay at the Sheraton" (about: 2007) 11-50 previous marathons \| 1 Philadelphia Marathon COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 5 Thanks to the enthusiastic spectators along the course. I really appreciated the support, especially considering the weather. Course was fun. The out-and-back in the last half lets you check out the other runners (both faster and slower). What some are calling "hills" are really just "rollers." Neither the ups nor the downs beat up the legs; they just provided a nice change up. Only real improvements I would like to see is a little earlier warning when you are approaching the water stops, and more volunteers handing out bib numbers. This really doesn't have anything to do with the race, but I have to take this opportunity to comment on the Sheraton. Most INEPT staff I have ever come across. I lost my jacket complete with my wallet in the hotel. Five hours after reporting it to them (by "reporting" I mean advising the front desk of the problem, trying to get their security guy to tell me what he is doing to find it, filing a police report, complaining to two different managers that security appears to be doing nothing, and finally canceling all my cards), someone finally got off their butt and physically checked the lost and found. Guess what they found?! Now they can't seem to understand why I am pissed at them.
N. P. from Broomall, PA (11/22/2007) "Good race but way too crowded" (about: 2007) 6-10 previous marathons \| 4-5 Philadelphia Marathons COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 3 FANS: 4 This is my hometown race and I've run it four years in a row. Last year was a debacle and I contemplated skipping Philly this year. But I ran it anyway. The course changes and the addition of Lemon Hill really didn't bother me, but they need to stop advertising the course as FLAT. It's not! Especially now. Volunteers were great, bag check was flawless, and the finish line was managed pretty well, although they weren't very quick in handing out the blankets. It was cold, the boxes should have already been opened. My biggest problem with this race is the addition of the half marathon and the absolute LOGJAM at the beginning of the race. It was so damn congested with the full and half merging. There was no room to run for well over a mile and a half. It was very stressful. Either they need to bag the half marathon (Philly doesn't need another half marathon since the Philadelphia Distance Run is only two months before) OR they need to go to a time based corral system and be strict about it. There is nothing worse than having to deal with a crowded start AND slower folks who lined up incorrectly and get in the way. Something needs to be done about that. I think I may skip this race next year and see if they get the crowd issue corrected, since it is very important. On the positive note, I did run a PR and a BQ, so I'm happy about that!
J. D. from Connecticut (11/21/2007) "I'll come back!" (about: 2007) 6-10 previous marathons \| 1 Philadelphia Marathon COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 5 What can I say? I qualified! The last couple of weeks of training and taper were discouraging; however, race day was a pleasant surprise. Last year I did Chicago and didn't think that others races would compare. I was wrong. The course was scenic and crowd support was great. Even though there are a couple hills, this is a P.R. course in my book. Hell, there was even a beer stop (although probably not sponsored by the race). Nothing but great memories for me and Philly.
Joe Mellow from New York (11/21/2007) "A Success!" (about: 2007) 2 previous marathons \| 1 Philadelphia Marathon COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 3 Yo! I did it! From a personal perspective, this was my 2nd full marathon, an accomplishment of which I am very proud. My first was last year's New York City Marathon. So experience-wise, I can only compare Philly to NYC, and also to Long Island and Yonkers, since I am quite familiar with those events too. But judging the Philadelphia Marathon on its own merits, I'd say that overall it was great. The reviews I've read from previous years describe a marathon as bad as the Long Island. Poor organization and lack of consideration for the full marathon runners, etc. This year at LI my friend couldn't even find a glass of water available at the finish, and she was in under 4 hours! The difference is that Philly has done what LI will probably never do - turn things around! If the bad reports from previous years are true, then the event organizers have really succeeded in correcting the problems and did a fantastic job! The expo was nice. I got there within the last half hour of the last day. And there were still shirts available in every size. Not always the case, so I was pleased with that! After all, the t-shirt is the only reason I do these races. Well, the medal too. Which by the way is really, really nice and colorful - the best looking one I've gotten yet. Okay, race day! It was an early 7:00 start at the museum. The race kicked off about 15 minutes late due to some useless announcements. Weather was perfect for me - chilly, cloudy, dreary, breezy with a touch of drizzle in the air. I didn't notice much organization at the starting line, with the exception of the elite runners being in front of the corral. Otherwise there was no staging of runners according to pace or anything. But even so, the race never felt cramped or over-crowded. So the course heads towards downtown with full marathoners starting on one side of the road and half marathoners on the other. It's not long before the field combines the two. Even though we ran through the city streets, it was pretty quiet for the most part. There were spectators here and there who cheered, which was nice, but not really an abundance of crowd support. Everybody seems to have their own idea of how much crowd support they like. Personally, I would have enjoyed a little bit more. And more entertainment would have been great. I expected to hear a lot more Rocky music. I find blasting loud music along the course to be very helpful. Live bands are the best but I didn't expect to see a band playing outdoors on a cold, rainy, early Sunday morning. Also, crowds of people cheering is a great thing at times, especially up in the higher miles. At mile 20 there was a "cheer zone" with a decent number of spectators, but most people were kinda complacent as the runners passed. There wasn't the level of excitement you'd expect at that moment in a big-city race. So the first half gave you a feel for the city atmosphere while the second half was more country like (if you can call it that) and scenic (along a river, bridges, trees, rocks, statues to look at, etc.). I do enjoy the nice, quiet, serene moments along a course as well. Water and Gatorade was plentiful throughout the entire course. So were the energy gels! I received the first gel surprisingly enough at mile 10 and at many, many more points throughout the race. I even got to try four different flavors - expresso, strawberry, vanilla and apple pie! All the volunteers were wonderful and supportive. After the finish was a home run also. Like I said, they gave you the big, heavy, colorful medal. Plenty of water, Gatorade and heat shields were readily available. And the food tent was awesome! One of the best I've seen. Which was a surprise since they only promised us a "bagged" snack. Instead there was a huge spread of fruit, soft pretzels, which were very tasty, granola bars, hot chicken broth and more. Really great! After completing my 2nd marathon, I couldn't help but compare the experience to my 1st. Philly was good for what it was and I appreciated it. At the same time it made me appreciate the NYC Marathon even more. NYC is an event that is in a class by itself and truly beyond comparison. To think about the Verrazano Bridge closing down for 40,000 runners to take over the streets of the biggest and busiest city in the world, through 5 boroughs and over 4 other bridges with two million people going crazy for you.... It is simply astounding! And people have the nerve to complain about a $20-bus ride to the start. Unbelievable. Anyway I'm glad I did Philly and I would recommend this race to anybody. Compared to NYC the Philly is "easier" to deal with in many ways. For example, you don't have to camp out in the cold for four hours before the start. It's much smaller. There were 6,600 people running the full, 4,300 doing the half and about 1,275 doing an 8K (which didn't conflict with the marathon course at all). So the smaller size enables the few luxuries that are not possible in a larger race. And when executed properly (as it was this year in 2007) it makes for a very enjoyable and memorable race.
S. B. from Slippery Rock, Pennsylvania (11/21/2007) "Hats off to the spectators; it was cold!" (about: 2007) 1 previous marathon \| 1 Philadelphia Marathon COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 3 FANS: 5 I've read all of this year's comments; some I agree with, others I don't.... I thought the course was maybe .35 miles long due to my GPS readings (but can you ever be SURE of those readings). I didn't think the course was too hilly; I actually felt like there was more downhill running than uphill running. Yeah the expo lines Saturday afternoon were super crappy, but more apparent was that NO ONE WAS IN CHARGE. MY real BEEF was with the "spectator points." The website said that there were spectator points, but if you are from out of town, they are hard to find. I read in the booklet in my race bag (at 10 p.m. in the hotel room) that there were directions available at the Info Booth at the expo. THERE WAS AN INFO BOOTH? Why couldn't directions for spectators have been available on the website (or part of the race packet... why advertise the points and that there are directions available, but then not give out the info?). It would have been great for supporting families from out of town. All in all, I had a great great time. Not so much for my DW and DD, and when they aren't happy....
V. O. from PA (11/21/2007) "Improvement over last year, but needs work" (about: 2007) 6-10 previous marathons \| 3 Philadelphia Marathons COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 3 FANS: 4 Philly needs to do something about the race start. Maybe have the half start at a separate time or location so the first few miles aren't so cramped. I liked what Disney does - they have corrals based on previous marathon time, so you don't have 5:00-people in with the 3:30-people and whatnot. Also, the organization of the expo was also pretty bad, but I would cut them some slack because a lot more people registered this year over last year, and no one really expected it. However, I love the course, the city, and the support (even with the crappy weather this year). This was my third year in a row, and I intend to keep doing it in pursuit of a faster time - every year I've been taking 8-9 minutes off of the previous year's time.

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