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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 481 to 491]
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W. W. from Melbourne, Florida
(11/22/2006)
"More cracked than the Liberty Bell" (about: 2006)
11-50 previous marathons
| 1 Philadelphia Marathon
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 1 FANS: 3 For lots of negative remarks about the lack of organization, just read the other runners' comments. The final insult to all runners were the completely screwed up "official" results. Apparently, a woman ran a 1:59 marathon, but the organizers either didn't notice a new world record or didn't think it was improbable, even though it would have been 18 minutes ahead of the apparent winner. How many other obvious half-marathon times were inserted into the marathon results? Likewise, a team of "Running Moms" hit the 10-mile split at 1:49, but "won" the marathon relay in 2:26. Duh? Lastly, only gun times were used for place awards. Chip times were ignored, which in some age groups deprived faster runners of their earned awards. | |
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D. S. from Boston, MA
(11/22/2006)
"First-Timer: Liked Event but Not Flat as Expected" (about: 2006)
1 previous marathon
| 1 Philadelphia Marathon
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 4 My first full marathon (did half last year). Advertisers deem the course "flat and fast." Maybe so, if you're a veteran marathoner, but I think it more accurate to call it a "rolling course." Didn't expect hills around Drexel and park area, nor did I expect hills entering Manayunk section - especially the nasty overpass at Mile 21 (everyone around me simply walked it, as you knew that if you ran it, you'd be cooked). The out-and-back to Manayunk was difficult psychologically, since you had to watch the faster runners coming back on the other side of the road, while you waited and waited for the turnaround at Mile 20 (deep into town) that never seemed to arrive. All and all, I still enjoyed the experience of Philly, but just wished the advertisers had been more descriptive and forthright about the elevation changes. Note to organizers: post-race tent food was WEAK. Bananas, apples and water - how about some protein bars or something better to aid recovery?? Great race potential with just a little extra thought. Thought the crowds were enthusiastic, and loved hearing the Rocky theme at multiple points. Drexel College kids were a kick, drinking beers on fraternity house porches and cheering on runners (my favorite part of race). Agreed that half marathoners should start a half-hour later - the "dual" mile splits were very confusing (weren't labeled "Half" or "Marathon," but some cryptic color scheme that doesn't mean much when you didn't expect it) - this was especially confusing in the park area. Plus, a divided start time would give runners a little more space to sprawl out. | |
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N. L. from NY
(11/22/2006)
"They took a great race and killed it." (about: 2006)
6-10 previous marathons
| 2 Philadelphia Marathons
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 1 FANS: 3 I PR'd on this course in '04 and again this year. That said, I did it in spite of the race organization. The Good: 1. The fans: Great as usual, coming out for an 8 a.m. start. 2. The volunteers/water stops were well placed and well manned - at least for those running toward the front of the pack (sub 3:10). Nice touch was pre- opening the gel packs for the runners. 3. The course: A few hills from mile 7-11, but then relatively flat with no hills in the last four miles. The Bad: 1. Late start. This is a big deal because with a 6-8 minute delayed start when my family saw me at mile 19, they thought I was having a horrible day, while I was actually running a strong race. 2. Mile marker disaster. Mile 3 was off. I ran 8:09 for 3 and 5:36 for mile 4. I mean come on - in a big-city marathon? Did someone check the course out in advance? I also had a few other suspect splits early on in the race - 7:15 for one mile followed by a 6:48. It could be me, but I suspect they were slightly off. I am a very strong pacer and have never had such a large swing in any of my prior marathons. Also, the 1/2 marathon splits coming about 70 seconds before the marathon splits at miles 10-13.... I can't even explain that. (The late splits seemed to be dead on.) 3. Midget mile markers. They are too low. Very difficult to spot. They need to be higher than four feet high. 4. Turnaround cone at mile 20. I guess there is nothing they could do about it and I knew about it coming in, but a tight cone turnaround at mile 20 just is terrible on the legs. The Ugly: 1. Baggage check. At about 7:25 I went check my bags. I spent 20 minutes trying to find baggage check. No one knew where it was. For $90, they have to do better. At around 7:45 I found the baggage check. It was swamped with people and very few bag checkers. I gave up and hid my bag in the bushes and hoped it would be there when I got back (luckily it was). I have NEVER had such an experience! In the end, I PR'd and ran a great race in spite of the poor organization. These are things that can easily be rectified in the future and I would recommend this course as a great Boston qualifier or a "shoot for the sub-3 hour course." | |
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J. E. from Delaware
(11/22/2006)
"Great Race, Poor Organization/Planning" (about: 2006)
2 previous marathons
| 2 Philadelphia Marathons
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 2 FANS: 4 Fast race and great course. This is my second time running and I was able to PR by 20 minutes. However... there were many issues with the the planning and organization of the race that I figured would have been fixed from last years mess. I had hopes that with American Express taking over that things would be dramatically different, but they were actually worse. I don't even know where to begin. 1. Cost increase from last year. 2. Ran out of XL shirts and bags were empty of advertisements and goodies. 3. The marathon t-shirts that you could purchase by Saturday afternoon consisted of only 2XLs and smalls. I had to pay $9.95 shipping to purchase one online. 4. Added the half-marathon, equaling thousands of more people, and kept the expo in an already-crowded tent in a bad location (try the convention center like the distance run). 5. Terribly difficult to get to the race numbers (no ties or safety pins, although I'm sure I just missed them with the mass of people pushing and shoving). Like the other comment, I was ready to leave after battling to get my number. 6. Numbers and shirt pick-up crammed in the back corner. Major confusion. 7. After finishing, hard to find someone to cut the chip off. 8. Was handed a plastic bag with a medal in it (can't they at least take it out of the bag?). 9. Got to the tent to grab food and there were no pretzels, and I couldn't find anything to drink. Only bananas and apples. I remind you that I finished in well under four hours. A lot of people must have missed out. 10. Lack of finisher gear yet again. Every other race I've run in has finisher shirts. Don't they realize that merchandise is advertising for them? And as last year was for me, many are running for the first time and are very proud to just finish. To sum it up, while the race has a few positives(fast/flat course great for beginners or for PR's), it has weaknesses almost everywhere else. I think I will be looking towards other options for next year around that time. They should learn from the Philly Distance Run or the Broad Street Run.... Both are well organized. | |
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M. W. from Boston, MA
(11/22/2006)
"Nice Course - Great Potential but Disorganized" (about: 2006)
6-10 previous marathons
| 1 Philadelphia Marathon
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 2 FANS: 3 I ran Philly in '04 and got my only BQ, so I came back in '06 to requalify. I went to the expo early on Friday so it wasn't too crowded, but even then, packet pick-up wasn't very well-organized. Nice technical shirt this year with almost no advertising. Pre-race announcements were unintelligible. Start was late. Start was very crowded with lots of 8-9-minute milers in front of the 7:00 marker. A couple of mile-markers were off and there were confusing doubles from the overlap with the 1/2 marathon when we rejoined. It was nice having Gatorade early. Only improvement to aid stations would be having them on both sides of the road for at least the first 1/2. Course is great. Hills are very mild and infrequent. There are spectators throughout much of the course but they are not very vocal. The finish seemed understaffed and despite finishing on the early side, there was minimal food and beverage available. I would do this race again because it's really fun and I'm sure that they'll work out their growing pains and get it back together for next year. | |
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G. W. from NJ
(11/22/2006)
"Both Pro and Con" (about: 2006)
2 previous marathons
| 1 Philadelphia Marathon
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 2 FANS: 3 People put too much emphasis on organization. Yes, it was poorly organized. However, I came here to run Philly, and the actual running part was great. Very nice course. Good spectators. Pleasant sites. Plenty of water on the course. Lots of things for the family to do in town. If you're local (within four hours), I'd put it on your to-do list. | |
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Kami K. from Corpus Christi, TX
(11/22/2006)
"Disappointing Experience!" (about: 2006)
11-50 previous marathons
| 1 Philadelphia Marathon
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 1 FANS: 4 This was my 46th marathon, and 22nd state. In spite of the nice course and favorable running weather, it turned out to be a disappointing running experience for me. Unfortunately, I must second what others have reported regarding the event's poor organization. In my opinion, race organizers had underestimated the resources needed to tend to such a large number of runners. A few suggestions: 1. Move the expo/packet pick-up to a larger place, or have them in two separate tents. 2. Use both sides of Ben Franklin Highway for the start. Marathon and marathon relay on one side, half marathon on the other side. If both sides cannot be used, consider wave starts. 3. Separate baggage drop-off areas for marathon and half marathon. 4. Do NOT allow the public into the refreshment tent. 5. Do NOT allow the public into the finish area. 6. Secure the baggage pick-up area. 7. Save some food items for marathoners. I would like to thank the race volunteers, and am deeply sorry if they had to tolerate any verbal abuse from some frustrated runners. | |
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T. M. from New Jersey
(11/22/2006)
"Don't let the 2006 organization scare you away!" (about: 2006)
6-10 previous marathons
| 4-5 Philadelphia Marathons
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 1 FANS: 4 This was my 4th Philadelphia Marathon and I love this race! The course is great and, although you don't have crowds lining the entire course like they do in Boston and New York, in the areas where there are spectators they are pretty supportive. Then there was the organization this year. While I concur with all the comments made here, I hope most runners will write this off as just one bad year and give it another shot. I've always thought the race was pretty well run in the past and if the organizational problems get ironed out, I would highly recommend running this one. I've had some of my best races here and this year I ran a PR by almost 20 minutes! If you want to go to Boston, give Philly a try! | |
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K. O. from Waco, Texas
(11/22/2006)
"Nice Course, MICKEY MOUSE ORGANIZATION" (about: 2006)
4-5 previous marathons
| 1 Philadelphia Marathon
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 1 FANS: 1 The Positives: * Course is nice and is a PR waiting to happen. * Plenty of water/Gatorade stops. * Perfect weather. The Negatives: * I cannot imagine a more poorly planned event. Everything from the expo (What idiot designed the layout of the tent and packet pickup area? No XL shirts, no pins....), a late start, inaccurate mile markers, no signs for bag drop, etc.... The previous comments from other runners are accurate and their comments need to be addressed by the race organizers. * Horrible finisher's area (I did like the chicken broth though). * Fans - Sorry, Philadelphia, but 95% of the spectators appeared to be asleep. If you want a PR or Boston qualifying time, go ahead and run this race, but otherwise, stay away. There are many MUCH better events out there. | |
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M. S. from Nashua, NH
(11/22/2006)
"Need More Signs" (about: 2006)
1 previous marathon
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 1 FANS: 3 Like the previous comments state, this race was the worst organized race I have seen. I ran the 8K while my boyfriend ran the marathon. I was waiting in line to register for the 8K at the expo for about 10 minutes to only learn that I was in the cash only line. A few of us mentioned that a sign would have been helpful. The guy just shrugged. Come on, how hard is it to take a piece of cardboard and write "cash only" on it?! Fortunately, the 8K started later so I was able to take care of the bags since we learned where the check-in was two seconds before the start. Again, take a piece of cardboard and a marker and write "Baggage check-in this way." This is not difficult, folks. At the end of the race I noticed there was no one helping the racers take their chips off. This is a daunting task for someone who just ran 26.2 miles! I was able to help my boyfriend, but so many other people struggled. I really think that adding the half marathon and relay proved to be too much to handle. I would hope they would be able to pull it together, as this was a good course according to my boyfriend, and I would possibly consider running it myself. |
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