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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 611 to 621]
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d. m. from tennessee
(11/23/2004)
"great mid-sized destination marathon" (about: 2004)
4-5 previous marathons
| 1 Philadelphia Marathon
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 4 Great destination marathon. Try to get there a day early and see some sites. Independence Hall, Liberty Bell, etc. Well worth seeing. Parking was surprisingly easy. Buses and other transportation equally easy. Course is interesting and relatively flat with a few rolls. Fans are enthusiastic and plentiful for this size race. Pasta dinner had excellent quality food. Expo is good and packet pickup was easy. Suggestion to race organizers: invite convention bureau to expo to provide info on parking and sightseeing. Only other suggestion: the usual porta-john shortage existed. In spite of 80 johns, there were 100s of people in line when the gun went off. And the post-race food was difficult to find and a bit skimpy. Overall a great race with loads of wonderful volunteers and I?d recommend it to anyone. | |
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K. Z. from New York, NY
(11/23/2004)
"Great weather but boring course" (about: 2004)
1 previous marathon
| 1 Philadelphia Marathon
COURSE: 3 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 4 I noticed that some people really liked having the turn-around section on the Schuylkill. Although it was pretty running on the river, passing the same river 3 times, with little or no crowd, is extremely boring! For those of us running our first marathon, we need a little more inspiration! As someone suggested, they need to reverse the course. If I wanted to watch the winners finish or look for my friends, I'd simply just watch the marathon from the sidelines. I will never do this marathon again unless they change the course. And they need to work on their 'goody' bags and get some sponsorship. | |
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R. C. from Bloomfield, N.J.
(11/23/2004)
"cool temps and fast times " (about: 2004)
11-50 previous marathons
| 4-5 Philadelphia Marathons
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 4 The Philadelphia Marathon gives you the grand tour: from the steps of the Philadelphia Museum (think the movie 'Rocky') to the Liberty Bell, Constitution Hall, the boat houses along the Sckuykill River--there's always something to see. I've done the race four times, and have always caught great weather. Philly Thon 2004 was run under a grey, sheltering sky, damp, but without any wind. Who could ask for anything more? Course is forgiving. For every hill (and there are only a couple) there's a generous downhill that follows. | |
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T. S. from Wilmington, Delaware
(11/23/2004)
"First Marathon!" (about: 2004)
1 previous marathon
| 1 Philadelphia Marathon
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 4 I ran this having run the half-marathon in September. The course was good, giving a great deal of scenery and variety. Only two complaints: 1) two hills and 2) there is an out-and-back portion. Overall, this is a great race in a great city! If you haven't run this, sign up! The support staff was tremendous. | |
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S. F. from Springfield, VA
(11/23/2004)
"A totally incredible rewarding day!!!!!!" (about: 2004)
First Marathon
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 4 This was my first marathon and I had so much fun! The course was great... I'm originally from the Philadelphia area, so it meant a lot to be running through my home city. Only 1 short hill, but nothing to dwell on. Great downhill afterwards to make up for it. Weather was perfect! I set a goal to maintain a 10-min pace and I DID IT!!!! I only hope I can inspire others to do it too. My six months of training paid off and I am proudly wearing my medal! Thanks to all the spectators and volunteers in making this a very memorable day for me. I definitely recommend this race for 1st-timers. | |
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A. R. from New York, NY
(11/23/2004)
"Underrated 'sleeper'" (about: 2004)
2 previous marathons
| 1 Philadelphia Marathon
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 4 This is a 'small big city marathon' -- it's got 6,000-8,000 runners rather than the 40,000s of Chicago and New York, but it still feels pretty big, and the organization on and off the course is just as thoroughly done. The course, by the way, is beautiful, both the city sections and the last half along the Schuylkill River, and while it's a little less flat than Chicago the hills are very minor compared with New York, for example. The number of spectators was small compared with Chicago, but still many more than I expected, and most of the stretches along the course had at least a few people. So you don't have that 'riding the wave of the crowd' feeling, but you don't feel like you're laboring in obscurity either. The only glitch was that it was difficult to get food at the end (if they gave any out at all, I couldn't find it), and for some reason all the runners were forced to go through a tiny gateway to get out of the finish area, causing a huge logjam. Overall it was a great event, and the organizers also get kudos for not renaming it for a corporate sponsorship (at least in 2004) -- how refreshing! | |
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R. J. from Manchester, NH
(11/23/2004)
"One of the best, from a veteran marathoner!" (about: 2004)
11-50 previous marathons
| 1 Philadelphia Marathon
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 4 Terrific city to visit with easy access throughout. Easy to walk throughout the small center city area and cabs are abundant and inexpensive. The marathon has a 'small town' quality with all of the big city sites and benefits. Truly a beautiful city marathon with great weather and a 'fair' and fast course. I have run many marathons including several Bostons, with a 2:36 PR. Although I had a very bad day concerning my own performance, this race is top notch. | |
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C. W. from Cleveland, Ohio
(11/22/2004)
"AMAZING!!!" (about: 2004)
1 previous marathon
| 1 Philadelphia Marathon
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 5 This was my first marathon and it was amazing. The support from the fans that crowded the sidewalks was so very encouraging and uplifting. I completely recommend this marathon, it was wonderful. There was one hill but after that it was a relatively flat course, and the hill was at around mile 8, so you still have the energy to get up it! | |
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Pete Porcaro from Smithtown, NY
(11/22/2004)
"reverse the course! " (about: 2004)
2 previous marathons
| 1 Philadelphia Marathon
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 3 FANS: 3 The organization could use some improvement - packet pick-up was somewhat chaotic - goody bag (other than shirt) consisted of invites to other marathons. This is not a goody bag - this is an advertisement bag. The people were very friendly but few seemed to know much about specifics of the event ie., where will the start line be? Where is the baggage drop off? ABOUT THE RACE The water stops were very well organized. The course is relatively flat and the weather was perfect - cloudy/cool (upper 40s). The only complaint I have about the course is that I believe it should be reversed. The first 6-7 miles run through the city with adoring crowds cheering you on. At least 8 of the last 10 miles are run along the Schuykill River on Kelly Drive with little to no crowd. The exception would be the town of Manayunk from miles 19-21 and the last mile approaching the finish. It would be so much better to run the Kelly Drive part of the course when everyone is fresh, and have the support of the crowds in the city for the last 6-7 miles of the marathon where you REALLY need it. That being said - the course was fast as promised and I did get my PR and a trip to Boston next year. Thank you! | |
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L. R. from Bridgeport, Ct
(11/22/2004)
"So far my favorite marathon!" (about: 2004)
4-5 previous marathons
| 1 Philadelphia Marathon
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 4 Philadelphia was my 5th marathon and my favorite so far. The course was laid out beautifully, and the couple of hills (if you can call them that) were insignificant. I can't say enough good about it. The scenery, the spectators, the volunteers, the plentiful fluid stations, and the out-and-back ending - all great features. From mile 14-26 I was able to take my mind off my feet while watching for my friends on the turn-arounds. The late November date and early start also insured optimum running weather - cool and overcast. I highly recommend this race and plan to run it again myself. |
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