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Shamrock Sportsfest Marathon Runner Comments
Back to Shamrock Sportsfest Marathon Information & Reviews
Course 4.3 
Organization 4.6 
Spectators 3.7
Number of comments: 240 [displaying comments 111 to 121]
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P. W. from NJ
(3/19/2008)
"Among The Very Best" (about: 2008)
11-50 previous marathons
| 3 Shamrock Sportsfest Marathons
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 5 This was my 3rd Shamrock Marathon and my 20th marathon. The Shamrock Marathon continues to be my overall favorite. The enthusiasm is great. The course is great. The registration process is a breeze. Although I like to run along the ocean and tend to seek out seaside marathons, my favorite part of this course actually is the trek through the woods along Shore Drive and and through Fort Story (miles 16-22.5). After all of the hustle and bustle and crowd support during the first 16 miles, it is nice to have some peace and quiet, especially through those tough middle miles. Then the crowd picks up again for the final four miles. The shirt is among the best. I wear the hats all year long and in other races. The best thing about Virginia Beach, though, is the hotels. Many large, reasonably-priced, oceanfront hotels within a short walk of the start and finish. Traveling with four kids, we have stayed in comfortable and affordable suites all three years, and I can roll out of bed and walk to the start. Two negatives this year bring the score down a bit: the expo was congested and less interesting than in the past, and, as noted below, there was no food for the late finishers. The Irish stew is one of the perks we paid for, and it was gone. Still, this remains my overall favorite. | |
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M. D. from Charlotte, NC
(3/19/2008)
"Marathon Had a Great Vibe!" (about: 2008)
11-50 previous marathons
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 What a spectacular marathon and one you should consider doing! I've never been to Virginia Beach, VA but came to appreciate the tremendous hospitality there. All the volunteers and aid station workers had happy attitudes - you could just tell they were into it and that means so much to the runners. Kudos to the race committee for stressing that attitude and leading a well organized event. Will somebody pat the police officers on the back for a job well done? The traffic control was excellent. Way to go! My timing chip worked great even though I see others' didn't - bummer to run 26.2 for no post time! Prefer the bombproof competitors brand over the "wannabe" systems. Loved the way the finish line was set up - at every station you ended up getting something (medal, goody bag, hat, water, fruit, space blanket). Felt good. Never made it to the tent on the ocean but sounded like everyone was having a blast! Thanks for a wonderful experience. | |
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Dan Powell from Newport News, VA
(3/18/2008)
"Great 1/2 Marathon for First-Timers" (about: 2008)
1 previous marathon
| 1 Shamrock Sportsfest Marathon
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 This was my first 1/2 and I loved it. Even though the course did get a little quiet through the trees and Ft. Story the changing scenery, the waves crashing on the beach and the lighthouses made up for it. The volunteers were absolutely amazing and the really make a difference. Would like to see different-colored markers on each mile as well. Thought I was daydreaming and missed the 9 flag when I went from Mile 8 to 10. I did like the neoprene chip bands - very comfortable. Quite a few locals come out as well to cheer everyone on all along the course. I swear I smiled for the first 12 miles! The last I laughed all the way through. Really great finish line and nice technical shirts and hats coupled with a warm finish party made this first one really memorable. Great job to everyone who put this together and thank you for a great first 1/2. See you next year. | |
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D. I. from Gainesville, FL
(3/18/2008)
"WELL DONE!!!!" (about: 2008)
11-50 previous marathons
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 What a well done marathon! A great experience! I am a walker, but had support throughout the entire marathon! Great crowd support, great traffic control, well-staffed water stations. The weather was windy, but what can you say!? The beach scenery was spectacular... and the finish at the Neptune statue is great. The cap and finisher shirt were first-class! Don't miss this one!!!! | |
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Troy Rambo from Columbus, OH
(3/18/2008)
"Boy is this one flat!!" (about: 2008)
11-50 previous marathons
| 1 Shamrock Sportsfest Marathon
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 3 Not a bad event! Everything was extremely easy to get to and while the expo was small it had everything you would expect! The course was the flattest one I've ever done and the only incline was a bridge we ran over twice. I don't really even recall any subtle altitude changes, so if you want flat, this one is definitely it! Contrary to the half posting below, I really liked running through the trees from 16-19. Very peaceful! Spectator-wise there wasn't much. I did see some people but it was surprising to see so few people supporting the event! The volunteers were great, though, and I thought the aid stations were placed just right! Suggestions: Run more of the course on the boardwalk by the ocean! I thought we'd see a few miles or more of it but we really didn't run much on it. Also, start the half marathoners 90 minutes earlier rather than 60. I saw some of the faster marathoners have to maneuver around the back of the pack of half walkers and increasing the gap between the two would help quite a bit!! | |
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J. H. from Royersford, PA
(3/18/2008)
"Great organization" (about: 2008)
11-50 previous marathons
| 1 Shamrock Sportsfest Marathon
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 4 This marathon was a well-organized and rewarding experience. The pace groups were great, and especially welcome on a day dealing with some headwinds. Enjoyed it, although the course was a little benign and redundant at times.... It certainly was perspective-changing, though, seeing all the military recruits cheering us on at the Army base.... | |
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Michael Penny from Telford Tennessee
(3/17/2008)
"This is the best marathon I have ever run in." (about: 2008)
4-5 previous marathons
| 1 Shamrock Sportsfest Marathon
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 4 The shirts, caps and expo were first-class. The course was well marked and manned; and the wind made this a challenging marathon. They did run out of food at the post party. But plenty of cold beer. My chip worked fine and I do like the ease with which it comes off after the race. We got lucky with the weather. Hope to do it next year. | |
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j. e. from Bear, Delaware
(3/17/2008)
"Fast and Flat" (about: 2008)
4-5 previous marathons
| 1 Shamrock Sportsfest Marathon
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 4 I came into this race after having a knee issue and had very little expectations of what the race would be. I wanted to finish no matter what and hoped to make it under 4 hours (PR is 3:49). The weather was iffy, but turned out great: mid 40's and overcast. I stuck with a pace group for most of the race. The course was fast and flat even with the wind. Running in a pack really helped. Best part was finishing on the boardwalk with a bunch of a screaming fans on the one side and the ocean on the other and most importantly... a tailwind. The expo was very well organized and easy to get to. I was able to get a cheap hotel on the beach 2 blocks from the finish. I could also walk to the start. Very fan friendly course. Sure you can't get too much fan support through the military base (as commented on earlier), but there were plenty of runners around and the military guys came out to cheer everyone along. The timing chip issue is there with every race. With thousands of chips, a few are going to have problems. Last year's complaints were from one person who wore it on her wrist (duh, can't imagine why that didn't read) and someone who wore it under pants!! There was music along the way at certain parts and the signage around the 16 to 19 stretch was entertaining and helped get me through the "boring" middle-of-nowhere part. Such sayings as "man who run behind car get exhausted" among others, along with interesting facts about Virginia. The mile markers were very visible (not sure about the prior comment as to the missing ones). I think they must have had their head down or something. They were about 8-feet tall and bright green (you could see them a 1/4 mile away). The volunteers were very supportive and it was nice to hear my name announced as I crossed the finish line. Also was nice to have the medal placed around my neck (most races just handed theM to you). The volunteers made you feel very important the whole day. Finisher hats were a nice touch and cool to see later that night out at the bars and the following day. Great wicking shirt and fantastic-looking medals. Post-race tent was a nice, warm place to eat some stew and sip on a free Yuengling (you could get 4 free). All in all, a great race... definitely would have a PR'd if it were not for my injury and thus lack of training. The wind wasn't much of a factor as a lot of the course is shielded from the wind, and the final 5 or 6 miles had a tailwind, which made it easier to run over the wall. My only suggestions would be to have more than one lane to run through during the mid miles. It did get congested. Also, during this same stretches, it made it difficult to get to the water/Gatorade since the tables were only on one side (a lot of runners were tripping over each other to get drinks). Great for a first-timer or someone looking for a PR or BQ. SEE YOU NEXT YEAR!!! | |
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T. D. from Tennessee
(3/17/2008)
"Fun race; timing problems too." (about: 2008)
1 previous marathon
| 1 Shamrock Sportsfest Marathon
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 4 I also wore my chip as directed and it picked up my times for some splits but not for all. It didn't include my finish time. Big problem is I needed the lag time to show up on the difference between gun time and chip time (which I am confident is there) to BQ. Now what? The race was a lot of fun though. I though the military base part was great with the guys out there doing cadences and pumping the runners up. The boring part is through Fort Story, even though there were some interesting signs out there to read to break up the monotony of the scenery. I was really pleased with the medal and the schwag and such. I think they need to limit the consumption somehow on the stew because I didn't get any (didn't feel like eating until awhile after I finished and I saw a lot of people - mostly kids - running around with cups of it even though I know most of them didn't run the marathon or half). There were a lot of runners still coming in when I went in the tent to get this. | |
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G. L. from Fairfax, VA
(3/17/2008)
"Great Smallish Marathon" (about: 2008)
2 previous marathons
| 1 Shamrock Sportsfest Marathon
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 3 This was my first marathon with fewer than 30,000 people, which I actually preferred - I wasn't running into people at water breaks, but there were enough (close to 3,000) to keep me pumped. The course was excellent, and almost entirely flat. I loved finishing right on the beach. They also had these hilarious signs posted on the middle stretches when there weren't spectators, which kept us all entertained. The expo wasn't huge, but the Brooks technical shirts were fantastic. The finish was very well organized, and finishers got a great sports hat as well as a medal. The finisher's tent was fabulous, with beef stew and FOUR free beers (on tap!) per participant, thanks to the main sponsor Yeungling (I, however, could only stomach one after running 26.2 miles....). I have only two complaints. The first is, I am almost positive the second to last clock was wrong. It was at mile 25 and said I was at 4:15, yet my clock finish was 4:33. There is no way it took me 18 minutes to go 1.2 miles! Secondly, they need more spectators/bands/cheerleaders/etc. from mile 20-25. I needed some serious motivation and the spectators were scarce until the final stretch on the beach. Overall, though, fantastic. |
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