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☰
Central Park Marathon Runner Comments
Back to Central Park Marathon Information & Reviews
Course 4.5 
Organization 4.4 
Spectators 3.4
Number of comments: 36 [displaying comments 11 to 21]
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D. P. from New York
(2/26/2014)
"LOVE THE RACE, ORGANIZATION, TIMNIG" (about: 2014)
11-50 previous marathons
| 2 Central Park Marathons
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 NYCRuns is an A+ Organization! I ran the first in 2013 and this past weekend in the 2014 second year. I have run a wide range of marathons from NYC & Boston to Yonkers, Providence, Philly, Manchester, etc. NYCRuns puts a great race on Hands Down! The timing is perfect as it falls nicely between NYC in November and Boston in April. Central Park is a beautiful backdrop and I could not ask for a better setting to run. For those seeking music along the way - do what I do - where an iPod shuffle! NYCRuns is also incredibly responsive - I have emailed and everything is quickly answered. Count me in for 2015! | |
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R. H. from Maryland
(2/26/2014)
"Loved running through Central Park in NYC" (about: 2014)
11-50 previous marathons
| 1 Central Park Marathon
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 The course is a 5ish mile loop around central park, done 5 times. It has some good hills and enough turns to keep the run dynamic. There's a certain charm about running through the Park in the middle of the city on a Sunday morning. What's also great is that the course is open to the public for their usual use so you're running with walkers, joggers, and bicyclists...a community. It's also nice to look at all the buildings, the resovoir, and even the horse carriages as you run along. There were plenty of wtaer/gaterade areas and sufficient restroom facilities. Definately one of my favorite marathons, if not THE favorite, taking into consideration I just love the city, and running, so it's the perfect combination. If you're looking to set a PR or something this is not the best course with all the people on it (you'll weave left and right a little bit as the morning progressess if it's a nice day and more people come out, but it wasn't bad at all in my opinion), but if you like the city and want to run to enjoy yourself, this is great. Really liked this marathon a lot. ANd the shirt they gave you was really nice too, and the medal. Oh, love the post race NY bagels with cream cheese and hot chocolate too. | |
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K. I. from NJ
(2/26/2014)
"well organized race" (about: 2014)
4-5 previous marathons
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 3 I just ran the half marathon and found it to be very well organized. Plenty of water stations, clear advice and directions of where to run. (Basically 2 laps of the park) I enjoyed the course which consisted of rolling hills mainly. One larger hill in Harlem I wasn't particularly fond of! The finisher tech shirt is fabulous and i was so happy it was in a ladies size. The medal looks great and the surprise scarf was lovely:) | |
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N. W. from Brooklyn, NY
(2/26/2014)
"Great experience" (about: 2014)
3 previous marathons
| 1 Central Park Marathon
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 4 I'll caveat this by saying I've done a number of race events with NYCRuns as a runner and as a volunteer. The staff were helpful and friendly as always. In particular, they were announcing the time periodically so runners knew to start heading to the starting line, go to the porta potties, do bag check, etc.... The course itself - well, I think after having done so many races with the NYRR in the park, I was used to running through very familiar territory. While the spectators were a little sparse, the ones out there were enthusiastic and friendly. I think some of the volunteers out at the water stations really went above and beyond. Between the half-marathoners and marathoners, it is a lot of cups that have to be filled, and I was never left without one. I think this race will continue to grow in popularity, especially for those training for spring marathons looking to test their progress, those of us who just like to race year round, and anyone who really wants to be an expert on Central Park! | |
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M. Y. from New York
(2/26/2014)
"Easy Breadown" (about: 2014)
6-10 previous marathons
| 1 Central Park Marathon
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 4 In any marathon, the hardest part is breaking down the course. You set up mile markers in your head, thinking, 'OK, I finished 10 out of 26' or 'That firehouse corner is where I kick it up a bit', etc. This course makes that incredibily easy. One loop, two loop, three loop, four loop, five loop DONE! You do get a bit loopy as someone else said, but we're all bit loopy to run 26M... I have two complaints: The water stations were too short. One table doesn't cut it, especially towards the end when we got people taking water breaks and stopping in front of the table. I couldn't get to the waters due to this 'crowding' in front of stations. Second, they give you the covetted 'finisher's shirt' at the end. All fine, as I strongly believe shirts should be earned, BUT, we shared the same shirt as Half-ers. Which meant, by the time I finished 3 hours and 32 minutes later, there were completely out of Womens Medium, and even Mens Small. Had to settle with a giant Mens Medium. It would've been nice to have received a shirt that I can actually enjoy and wear, as I think this is one of the tougher courses I've ran so far... Perhaps next time, they can separate the shirts from Half-ers and Full-ers. | |
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S. R. from NJ
(2/26/2014)
"I <3 NY" (about: 2014)
11-50 previous marathons
| 1 Central Park Marathon
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 Fun to loop the lower end of the park 5 times. Plenty of water stops and a nice long row of port o potties for all conveniently located on the loop. Didn't use the bag check. Loved the commemorative scarf. | |
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K. S. from NYC area
(2/26/2014)
"Chaotic park w a marathon trying to run through it" (about: 2014)
4-5 previous marathons
| 1 Central Park Marathon
COURSE: 3 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 1 Central Park on this particular day was a pretty setting to run, but too chaotic and unsafe for marathoners. It is not a typical closed course marathon. I call it chaotic because it felt like a busy day in Central Park with a marathon trying to get through the crowds. On the race course, in the running lane, I had to yield to leisure runners running with me and against me, handsome cabs cutting across the course, people casually strolling, cyclists whizing past too close, and dogs running through the course. I even had one leisure runner fail to yield to me, bump into me and tell me to F off. Anyhow, For me there is a point in a marathon where you stop paying attention and just feel the rhythm of your pace. I couldn't do that here bc I would have gotten hit by something or someone (again). There were close to no spectators on the course except for the finish line area and it just made for a very odd marathon experience. I kept thinking of a lady I met at the start who said it was her first marathon....I just hope she knows that this one was unusual. The staff were great, organized and efficient enough, but I don't think I'd run this again. It just wasn't for me. | |
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D. S. from NYC
(2/26/2014)
"Great race; hilly course." (about: 2014)
1 previous marathon
| 1 Central Park Marathon
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 4 This was my first marathon and I had great experience. The course is 5 counter-clockwise laps (plus a bit) of the lower outer drive loop (by-passing the Harlem hills). There's hardly a flat stretch in the park, so even without the Harlem hills, it's not an easy course.But the finish line was on the 102 transverse which is slightly downhill so you can finish fast even if your legs are toast. Water and gatorade every two miles or so. No gels. Port-o-potties both at the finish line and aid stations. The volunteers were nice and helpful. Clear signage and helpful course marshals (the half-marathoners ran a convoluted course which could've been potentially confusing if you didn't know the park well). It's a small race ( I think less than 500 marathoners), so it's not a closed course; you're running with all the other runners in the park. At times I did feel a bit alone and I found myself looking for bibs just to reassure myself. Not a ton of spectators, but the ones that came out were great (many thanks!). The MC calls your name as you finish and everyone cheers: what a great way to finish !! Hot chocolate, bagels, fruit at the finish. Cool medal and finisher shirt (long sleeve tech). I think the half-marathoners and the marathoners got the same shirt; it might've been nice if they were different, but I really like the shirt, so no biggie. Bonus points for having shirts in a size I will actually wear (ladies xs). Clear e-mail communication in the weeks leading up the race. Packet pick-up a breeze (I was in and out of the running store in 5 minutes). The weather was perfect (50F) which was unexpected considering this was the winter we all learned the words 'polar vortex' and we got I don't know how many inches of snow! But if you're looking for a race to get you out there during the winter,this is the one! | |
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E. P. from NY
(2/26/2014)
"Great Course, Great Support Staff, too confusing" (about: 2014)
3 previous marathons
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 2 This was a fun course on a beautiful day. 5 loops seemed daunting, but were surprisingly fun and unique enough to stay interesting. The race organizers and volunteers were friendly and everything was well marked. My only disappointment was that the course became VERY busy with non-participants. It was not a closed course and outside pedestrians were oblivious to the runners. It felt lonely after the half-marathoners were through, and only aid stations had friendly faces. I'm used to closed course triathlons where it's easy to find first aid if needed, but I think that would be difficult on this course. | |
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J. M. from Silver Spring, Maryland
(2/26/2014)
"First Marathon - Great Race - Challenging Course" (about: 2014)
First Marathon
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 Someone said to me afterwards that Central Park is a challenging course for a first marathon...so I'm grateful that Harlem Hill was not part of the course. I thought the organization was very good. Staff and volunteers were great! Great weather brought everyone out from hibernation so the course got a bit tough to navigate as tourists and families frequently got in the way....but I'm a newbie, so I considered this par for the course. I enjoyed my first marathon. If possible organizers could provide: race route profile along with the map, a pre-race FAQ to minimize the numbers of questions they may have gotten, and a better update on subway system work which may have delayed runners. Big thanks to the volunteers!!! |
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