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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 591 to 601]
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Vinnie Chiappetta from Hingham, MA.
(12/20/2004)
"Good race. I'd do it again." (about: 2004)
11-50 previous marathons
| 1 Philadelphia Marathon
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 3 This was my first visit to Philadelphia. I enjoyed the city and the race. It was nice running a race early in the morning (8 a.m.). I'm used to running Boston with the 12 noon start. The course was pleasant. One downhill was quite steep, but it's mainly a flat course. It's scheduled at a good time of year. If you've trained all summer, you could possibly do a marathon in Sept. and be able to recover in time for Philly! | |
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T. H. from Washington, DC
(12/8/2004)
"Performance course" (about: 2004)
4-5 previous marathons
| 1 Philadelphia Marathon
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 4 If what interests you in a marathon are trivial matters such as the t-shirt design and, of all things, the volume of the band at the pasta dinner, then perhaps this marathon won't measure up to your expectations. On the other hand, if you are more concerned about having a fast course, optimum weather, and good race support, this might be the marathon for you. The two hills are moderate grade, short, and over with early. From a performance standpoint, the out-and-back second half, along the river, is an excellent part of the course. Going out to Manayunk is very slightly uphill, but it's an even grade and before the race gets tough. The last 10K, back down along the river, provides a boost right when it's needed. Just as important as the fast course, the late November date has yielded perfect weather in the 50s for at least the past three years. Most runners suffer in temperatures above 60 degrees. NYCM, Chicago and many other big city marathons have regularly soared past that mark. I was able to finish in under three hours, a big PR, with a 30-second negative split. For those interested in raising their performances, I highly recommend Philadelphia. | |
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D. P. from NYC
(12/6/2004)
"Highly Recommended!" (about: 2004)
4-5 previous marathons
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 5 I had a very enjoyable experience and hope to run this marathon again. The hotels suggested were close to the start and accommodating to late check-outs. The course was amazing - I felt like I was running in Paris. This felt like the shortest marathon I've ever run (and turned out to be my PR) because I was so taken with the scenery, esp. during the second half. The crowds were very enthusiastic. Overall, I had a great experience & hope to come back. | |
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J. A. from Connecticut
(12/2/2004)
"An excellent marathon... with issues!" (about: 2004)
4-5 previous marathons
| 1 Philadelphia Marathon
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 3 I chose to run the Philadelphia Marathon because I read that it was 'flat and fast' and I was hoping to qualify for Boston. I also love big-city marathons, having run NYC and Marine Corps in DC. Let me first say that this was my first visit to Philadelphia and I must say that it is a beautiful city and I highly recommend it for a visit. Not wanting to do a lot of sightseeing for fear of getting tired before the race, I didn't do much walking around but I plan to go back just to enjoy the many museums, restaurants, and other cultural events and sites. I also stayed at the Radisson-Warwick Hotel, about 1.5 mi from the start line which I highly recommend. I truly appreciated the extended check out time (2:00) and the free race goodies when I checked in. The Friday afternoon which I arrived, I checked in and then took the short walk to Race Headquarters at the Wyndham Hotel to pick up the shuttle that was to run from Race Headquarters to Eakins Oval at the Health and Fitness Expo. Well, there was no shuttle. First disappointment. No problem though, it wasn't more than a 3/4-mile walk. The expo was nicely organized with lots of running stuff to buy. When I picked up my packet however, I was very disappointed with the design of the T-shirt. Being in a city that justifiably should be proud of its beautiful murals on many of its buildings, I would think that the race organizers could get someone to design a decent looking shirt rather than a mostly worded T-shirt with 2 colors. Actually it?s not much more exciting than the Philadelphia Marathon website, but that's another subject. The night before the race, I took the walk to race headquarters for the pasta dinner. Though the food was very good, the jazz band that was playing during the meal was so loud, you couldn't hear the person talking right next to you at the table and I was sitting in the middle of the room. Another disappointment since I hoped to make new friends and socialize about the race. There was no point to even try to talk. On the morning of the race, I took the 1.5-mile walk to the start line and after waiting in line to use the all-too-few port-a-johns, I decided to do what the Romans do: find a tree. The Philadelphia Marathon course really is a tale of 2 marathons. The first half was awesome with excellent crowd support. Experiencing the crowd noise when you turned onto 5th Avenue at NYC was very similar to the crowd noise when you turned onto Chestnut St. I thought that the entire Chestnut St. route was awesome! Then came the hills between 8 and 10 miles. Though they weren't gut-wrenching, they were much larger than I anticipated and wondered where the 'flat and fast' description came from. At 13 miles, you come back to the start area to set off for the next half of the race. A much different scenerio. Personally, I dislike out-and-back courses of any length, not wanting to see runners who are way ahead of you and almost finished and seeing runners way behind you who are, to put it nicely, laboring. And, although the scenery wasn't bad along the river, there was no crowd support when you needed it the most except when you got into Manayunk at the 20-mile mark. The last 6 miles were deadly. I agree with many of the reviewers who have said that this part of the course should be changed. It is the one major issue which would keep me from coming back. After crossing the finish line, it was somewhat confusing as to where you were supposed to go. Basically the runners were funneled through one small gate exit. I can't comment on the post-race food and drink since I left right after finishing. All in all, a marathon with huge potential. Loved the city, just change the 2nd half of the course and this would rival NYC, in my opinion. | |
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G. D. from Boston, MA
(11/30/2004)
"A great mid-size marathon" (about: 2004)
6-10 previous marathons
| 1 Philadelphia Marathon
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 4 I can't say enough about this marathon (maybe because I PR'd by 5 minutes). It is a solid race and a 'fair' course, with decent uphills and downhills. It has enough turns and change of scenery to keep it interesting. We got to the start at 7:15 and had more than enough time to stretch, lube, drop off our bags, and get to the starting line. Having the same (very large) tents serve as the expo, pre-race preparation area, and post-race recovery and food area was fantastic. You finish, walk 15 yards to get your bag, and then another 15 to the tent. The expo was more than adequate, with plenty to see and buy (but not too much to cause disorientation). Some of my friends complained about there not being Gatorade approaching the finish, but I didn't notice (probably because I wasn't cramping). The course is great for spectators, allowing them to have multiple viewings in a small area. One 'drawback' to me was the final out-and-back after mile 14 after the Museum, to Manayunk, and back to the finish. I felt like I was never going to get to Mile 20 because it seemed to go one FOREVER. That is where you really have to focus and concentrate. During this stretch, I was (in my lapses of focus) wondering what the course would be like to start out toward Manayunk and finish up Ben Franklin. It might not be possible because of the tight traffic, but it would have been mentally better to run through populated areas toward the end of the race that at the beginning when everyone was sleeping in their warm homes : ). | |
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D. n. from USA
(11/30/2004)
"All in all, not a bad marathon!" (about: 2004)
6-10 previous marathons
COURSE: 3 ORGANIZATION: 3 FANS: 4 Hi everyone... this was my 8th marathon and it wasn't in my top 2 (New Orleans and Chicago); however, it was pretty decent. Weather was awesome! I agree with many others on the lack of nice stuff in the race bag... just a bunch of brochures and I even got a book on the 10K race, not the marathon. Does anyone know if this was a mistake? The course was pretty good; not pancake flat, but not too bad. The food at the end was pretty awful though. It was chicken broth, bananas and PowerBars... no Gatorade, Powerade, nothing extra... no cookies! I'd rather pay more $ (extra $10) for better food in the future. I'm glad I brought my own stuff with me. I'll probably run in the future. Happy running! | |
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J. G. from New York, NY
(11/30/2004)
"1st and Last Time Running Philly" (about: 2004)
6-10 previous marathons
| 1 Philadelphia Marathon
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 3 FANS: 2 I couldn't agree more with the person who titled Philly a "Ho-Hum Marathon" (5th review below). The Philadelphia Marathon was my 9th marathon with this being my worst experience. I've run most of the big marathons (NYC 4 times, Chicago, Marine Corp, London and Anchorage) and Philly has much room for improvement. I'd be considered by many as a competitive marathoner and was planning (hoping) to qualify for Boston at Philly, since it's a flat course (the one + for Philly). My plans for Boston were put on hold before the race began. I got to the race nearly 40 minutes before the race and quickly got in line to use a porta-john. I'd love to know what the person who ordered at most 40 portable bathrooms for this race of nearly 7000 marathoners plus 8K runners was thinking. 40 minutes later as the gun went off I was still waiting for the bathroom. It wasn't until 4 minutes into the race until I got to do my business. (4 minutes is eternity for someone trying to knock 7 minutes off his time to qualify for Boston in 3:10). Granted the NYC Marathon has 35,000 runners; however, I'll bet they have over 400 bathroom stands at the start. Many of the Philly streets are pretty narrow. Ticketing illegally parked cars isn't enough. In NYC if you park on 1st Avenue (4 miles of the course), your car will be towed, no questions asked. Nothings worse than having to worry about illegally parked cars while focusing on running the marathon. At times I decided to run on the sidewalk rather than have to deal with the congestion/dodging parked cars. Isn't Philadelphia's motto "The City of Brotherly Love"? They need to add in parentheses "but not towards runners". In NYC there are nearly 2.5 million spectators lining the course with an occasional area being sparse. In Philly it was totally the opposite. Two or three areas of the course had hoards of spectators and the other areas were desolate. Maybe the answer is to do 26 loops around the block of the Art Museum. :-) Sorry for being so harsh (and using NYC as the standard); however I felt the need to give an honest assessment of this marathon since I've experienced many others. | |
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N. L. from NY
(11/28/2004)
"This is a PR course" (about: 2004)
4-5 previous marathons
| 1 Philadelphia Marathon
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 4 Overall, this is a great marathon for a strong runner. From start to finish, this was a well organized race. Cost $45 - a bargain relative to NY/Chicago. The 8 AM, late-November start gives good odds for good weather. Expo - I went on Friday evening - nothing special. Got my number and a free Starbucks, and left in under 5 minutes. Everyone was friendly. The start - most hotels are within walking distance of the start. I got to the race at about 7:30 for an 8 AM start. (I could have jogged to the start at 7:50 and been comfortable). Plenty of time to loosen up and stretch. The starting line was not crowded and people were courteous about not lining up well above their ability level. It was empty by the 5mm and the 6mm so we all moved up by the start. I got over the start in less than 10 seconds and was at my race pace within the first 400 meters. Early miles - good crowd support. Water stops were well run. (NO gels). Hills at miles 7 & 10 are real, but not back-breaking (my 2 slowest miles of the race). After that, some light rolling hills but overall difficulty a 3 (with Chicago being a 1). Good, clear split markers at every mile, and water stops were easily visible. All water stops had Gatorade & H2O except the first one. Generally there was a choice of Gatorade, then water, then Gatorade. Crowd support late in the race is a little sparse over the last 10 miles, but those who were there did their best. In addition, the out-and-back allowed for cheering on of those ahead/behind you. It was great to wear an NY track club shirt as there were many jerseys of other local clubs I recognized and cheered on. I have read about complaints of post-race food--it was in the tent (where the expo was). When I got there there were no crowds. However, for those of you concerned about running, this is a great course to PR; try and hit the Boston qualifier or break the 3:00 mark! It is crowded enough that you are always with people, but never congested from start to finish (water stops included). This is a good course to run a close-to-even split. I think course-wise, the 2nd half is slightly easier. Overall, I would definitely recommend this race for the advanced marathoner looking to hit a time goal. | |
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W. G. from Maryland
(11/28/2004)
"Excellent Marathon Experience" (about: 2004)
11-50 previous marathons
| 1 Philadelphia Marathon
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 4 This was my 20th marathon. Having run the entire spectrum from urban 40,000 runners to rural 100 runners I would place this one in the top 3 or 4. I felt the organization was good and the course perfect. Enough enthusiastic spectators to keep me going without so many that they become an annoyance. Not the easiest but far from difficult. I was able to run a PR (3:12) by eleven minutes without much difficulty. Highly recommended. | |
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c. k. from Alpharetta, GA
(11/26/2004)
"Nice race in historic town" (about: 2004)
4-5 previous marathons
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 3 FANS: 3 The good: Perfect weather for race day. The course is relatively flat except for hills (long inclines, actually) at 8 and 10. I liked the historic district and the garden/park areas. It was fun to see the frontrunners on the out-and-back portion. The crowds were sparse in some areas, but were there when you needed them most. Who could NOT like finishing in front of the steps of the Art Museum? The bad: Not enough porta-johns. The food line at the end of the race was WAY too long. The expo was small. Overall a good race experience - and I qualified for Boston at it! |
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