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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 401 to 411]
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T. M. from Maryland
(11/19/2007)
"most disorganized marathon" (about: 2007)
6-10 previous marathons
| 1 Philadelphia Marathon
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 2 FANS: 3 I ran this marathon because Runner's World magazine recommended it as a good qualifier for Boston. Flat and fast was the way they described it. The course was very nice and I enjoyed it but I would not say it was flat at all. There were several rolling hills and that one big one. But, in general, I really enjoyed the course itself. My gripe is with the disorganization of other things. The expo was not set up well. I waited in line nearly an hour just to get my number. And I didn't like or trust their new 'chip' technology they decided to go with. Like other commenters, there were places in the race that were very tight, especially some of the water stops where you were slowed to a walk with no way to get around. It was confusing at the halfway mark as well since they didn't tell you until the last minute which way to go for full marathoners vs half. My other problem was with baggage pick up. They couldn't find my bag even after 20 minutes of looking. I ended up leaving, going to the hotel to take a shower and having to go back. They had found it by then, but it was another hassle that shouldn't have happened. The course was nice, but they need to get their act together. I've been to bigger marathons that went a lot smoother. Loved the city and its people though...the fans and their town are great! | |
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s. e. from new york, ny
(11/19/2007)
"Still needs some improvement!" (about: 2007)
3 previous marathons
| 1 Philadelphia Marathon
COURSE: 3 ORGANIZATION: 3 FANS: 2 I ran this after the very tramatic Chicago 2007, and this was a much better experience. After reading the comments from previous years, I think they still have a little work to do. Pros: 1. Start was good, with half and marathoners split. 2. Finish was fantastic. Finish line to medals, to food tent, to baggage buses. Very efficient. 3. Nice crowds through downtown areas. Cons: 1. The turns for marathoners at the half were through the finish area for 1/2 marathoners. Lots of people walking through finish/route, and lots of hairpin turns. 2. Expo needs better organization. Waited in long lines for wrong numbers, while other people just walked up. 3. Where are the crowds on Kelly Drive? SO boring. 4. The out-and-back for the last 13 miles was BRUTAL. Watching all the miles I still had to run was tough. 5. Some bottlenecking until about mile 4. Slower pace, but cleared after streets opened. | |
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C. S. from CT, USA
(11/19/2007)
"Bad new timing system" (about: 2007)
50+ previous marathons
| 3 Philadelphia Marathons
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 3 FANS: 4 Great race. Awesome course. Fast, too. But I suspect a lot of people were not timed with the new paper "chip" they used. I finished in 2:45:38 but do not appear on the finish list. Same thing happened to a couple other people I know. If they had 14,000 or so starters and only 11,000 or so finishers (in the full plus the half), it seems like most of those were due to timing chip problems. I doubt there were 3000 DNF's! | |
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N. S. from Cambridge, MA
(11/19/2007)
"Good, but not a first-timer marathon" (about: 2007)
3 previous marathons
| 1 Philadelphia Marathon
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 3 FANS: 3 This was my first race (and visit) to Philadelphia. I was originally going to run the marathon, but ended up running the half due to injury. The course was fun, and a good mix. I heard some people complaining about the elevations, but it's nothing particularly challenging or serious. It might only be a concern if you were trying to PR. Organization was lacking, but not to the point of being detrimental. There were things that didn't quite work or needed improvement - lack of amenities at the race start, for example. | |
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L. A. from North Carolina
(11/19/2007)
"Windy and Cold, But Great Finish" (about: 2007)
11-50 previous marathons
| 1 Philadelphia Marathon
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 3 FANS: 2 Good Points: Chicken broth and pretzels at end were great! Also, nice course (even if it did have some hills); lots of volunteers at water stations; and I qualified for Boston on this course. Needs Improvement: Organization (I never received any pre-race info from organizers; wasn't even certain I was registered); the website and race results (took a very long time to get results posted and there were no updates on website prior to race); crowds (guess the crowds were small because of the cold weather); and the start time (why start at 7:00 in the winter?). | |
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P. C. from Suburb of Philly
(11/19/2007)
"Great Race" (about: 2007)
3 previous marathons
| 2 Philadelphia Marathons
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 What a great improvement over last year! Plenty of water and amazing crowds despite the cold rain. Expo Fruday night was not crowded at all. Wonderful course. Just loved it! | |
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David Adams from Philadelphia, USA
(11/19/2007)
"Good course, great spectators, no food" (about: 2007)
1 previous marathon
| 1 Philadelphia Marathon
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 3 FANS: 5 I participated in the wheelchair class and this was my first marathon. Overall, I was pretty happy, although there were more hills than i expected, but it made it a little challenging. The spectators were great - very encouraging! The chutes at mid-race were very narrow, and some kind of hot food or drinks at the end would have helped. There are no wheelchair results posted, which is discouraging. I do intend to go back next year. | |
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B. B. from Northeast
(11/19/2007)
"Fantastic Race - a Few Minor Suggestions" (about: 2007)
6-10 previous marathons
| 1 Philadelphia Marathon
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 4 I found the Philly course to be relatively flat, very fast and a blast to run. I ran a PR by about 14 minutes and went under 3 hours for the first time. It was the perfect course and conditions for this. Most all of the volunteers I had contact with were excellent, and the post race organization was terrific. Getting my bag from bag check was fast and painless, and the food tent was well stocked with the essentials. The hot chicken broth was perfect on a cold day. While the number of spectators can't match places like NY and Boston, the folks that turned out were vocal and very supportive. A few things for the race directors to work on next year: * Check-in process at the expo was a bit disorganized. There were no pins at the table where I got my number and the volunteer never mentioned that they would not be inside the bag. We tracked down pins at another table but the volunteer would only give 2 per runner because he said they were afraid they would run out! Not hard to make sure you have enough safety pins, and certainly not a big expense! Also if we hadn't asked where to go for our shirts we might have left without even getting them as the volunteer didn't mention it until questioned. Also, the volunteer did not check id, which would have made it easy for someone to swipe someone else's bib. * Start time was supposed to be 7 AM but didn't start until 11 minutes later. This is a big deal when you have taken your last pee and are cold and ready to run. Also easy to fix. These are nitpicks - the stuff that didn't work well is easy to fix. The most important thing - the race itself - was very well run. I certainly recommend the race to anyone looking for a BQ or who just wants a nice fast course during a fast/cool time of year. | |
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S. D. from Akron, Ohio
(11/19/2007)
"A personal best in cold, windy weather" (about: 2007)
4-5 previous marathons
| 1 Philadelphia Marathon
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 4 After registering for the Philly 07 race, I read the comments about the 06 race and got a little nervous since the race was getting slammed by nearly everyone who ran. Well, the organizers must have listened because I found everything to be extremely well run in 07 and had a great experience overall. I wished it could have been a tad warmer and a little less windy, but the weather is always a gamble. I still PR'd by 18 minutes so it couldn't have been that bad. True, the course is not as flat as they'd have you believe but almost every incline is immediately followed by a decline. They are gently rolling and if you run smart, they are not a problem. The only thing I really disliked about the course was the last 12 miles that are out and back...very tough mentally. You feel like that orange turnaround cone is never going to come! Thank goodness for the crowd in Manayunk! The spectators were plenty enough for me and I was surprised that so many came out considering the weather conditions. Good expo, nice long-sleeved tech shirt, can't comment about the finish line food because I can never eat afterward and I didn't do gear check either, the results were up the same day. My hotel had a reception on Saturday for runners with free snacks and drinks! There were shuttles to and from the expo and I found it easy to get any info that I needed. Oh, the race started about 10 -15 minutes late so they should probably work on that. I thought the medal was just ok, but that's not why I run. The crowd size is perfect...not so crowded that you can't break away but enough that there are always people around. This marathon could become as big as they want it to be but I hope it maintains that 'mid-sized' marathon feel. Overall, great experience. Thanks, Philly! | |
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R. G. from Phila,PA
(11/19/2007)
"Improved from last year" (about: 2007)
2 previous marathons
| 2 Philadelphia Marathons
COURSE: 3 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 4 Overall I think the organizers did a better job this year compared to last,although some things still need to be corrected. Picking up your race number at the expo was a mess.The line was very long and you couldn't walk along the upper concourse without bumping into people constantly. The race started about 20 mins late.They kept making announcements & the runners wanted to get going(especially in the cold conditions) There were too many vehicles on the course.People on motorized scooters were weaving in between the runners which is a safety concern. Also the police trucks on Kelly Drive were causing a lot of congestion.I'm thankful they were looking out for the runners,but I think they over did it. Some good points were : The gear check area was very good.After the race one of the volunteers already had my bag in hand waiting to give to me when he saw me approaching.I thought that was great. The post race food area was more organized.They had plenty of food for everybody. The volunteers on the course were very nice.One of the volunteers at mile 22 gave me an extra gel when he saw I was struggling,even though I didn't ask for it. The new timing system worked well as you didn't have to wait to get it removed after the race as you did with the chips. The course change included an extra hill at mile 14.At this point they really shouldn't promote this race as being 'fast & flat', there are several decent hills on this course now. The pace group leaders were terrific.They did a great job keeping everybody under control throughout the race. I plan on being back next year. |
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