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Buffalo Marathon Runner Comments
Back to Buffalo Marathon Information & Reviews
Course 4.1 
Organization 3.8 
Spectators 3.3
Number of comments: 315 [displaying comments 71 to 81]
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A. B. from Cumming, GA
(6/30/2010)
"Flat, fast course and friendly organizers" (about: 2010)
11-50 previous marathons
| 1 Buffalo Marathon
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 4 After running a hilly Nashville Marathon in a thunderstorm (and just falling short of a Boston qualifying time), I came to Buffalo seeking better weather and a flat, fast course. This race certainly delivered! There was plenty of room to run and fellow runners were friendly and encouraging. We had warmer temperatures than normal, and I would have liked to have more water stops in the second half of the race. The expo was small, but the merchandise was bargain-priced and I had fun sifting through it. I have run many of the "big city" races and found Buffalo to be a refreshing change (no overly-packed, over-priced expo or rude staff). Organizers and volunteers were friendly and helpful - I just wish they would have allowed me to exchange my shirt for a smaller one (they are quite large!!). Overall, way to go, Buffalo! | |
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Kath Brett from Saint Louis Missouri
(6/24/2010)
"Told you I'd be back!" (about: 2010)
First Marathon
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 5 Second year for the half marathon. Much improved over 2009! Keep working, Buffalo, keep working. Loved the start and the course was just beautiful, as always. Fan support was outstanding, with cheering and neighbors sprinkling the runners as they passed by. Didn't run my best... wasn't ready the for the rare bit of humidity and heat that isn't typically there in my home town. Post-race food was great; water stations... yeah, we could have used more for such a hot day. Great shirt, race medal and finish. Well done, Buffalo... 2011, here I come! I love this race! | |
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E. J. from Philadelphia
(6/15/2010)
"Great Race" (about: 2010)
3 previous marathons
| 1 Buffalo Marathon
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 4 I really enjoyed this event and will probably do it again. I found the course to be very diverse and highly interesting, ranging from naturally beautiful (Lake Erie and the Niagara River), to industrial (grain elevators), to historic (Delaware Park and Frank Lloyd Wright). There was good fan support, the expo (while small) had everything you could need, and the post-race party and pre-race pasta dinner were fun. Despite being a very inexpensive race, the shirts and medals were excellent, and there was plenty of food and liquids (including beer!) following the race. I struggled a bit with the heat and wished that some additional water stations had been set up to help runners contend with an unusually hot day. Otherwise, great job, Buffalo. Hope to see you again. | |
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Jon Alexander from Minnesota
(6/15/2010)
"Not much to write about..." (about: 2010)
11-50 previous marathons
| 1 Buffalo Marathon
COURSE: 3 ORGANIZATION: 3 FANS: 4 This was my 25th state, and from the comments on this page I knew that this race was going to be pretty average. The course is flat - I had to laugh at a half-marathoner who dropped several f-bombs about having to run over one of the two overpasses. We had a warm day and more water stops should have been added - a couple of us helped one young woman who was out on her feet, and I saw many other runners who were affected by the heat. A big thanks to the spectators who were out with sprinklers and hoses. The post-race party had pizza and beer. I thought it was ridiculous that one family fed the kids and grandparents while runners were still on the course. Other than that, I thought they put on a decent race that worked with my schedule; it just wasn't that memorable. | |
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D. P. from Brookfield, WI
(6/5/2010)
"Not much shade on this course" (about: 2010)
11-50 previous marathons
| 1 Buffalo Marathon
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 3 FANS: 4 Packet pickup was easy, with a small expo. Porta-lets were placed on the wrong side of the starting line, which means people had to wander through the frontrunners to get to their starting place. Few porta-lets on the course itself. Course did its best to showcase the more scenic portions of Buffalo, though there's only so much you can do when running around in a city. Post-race food was rather weak, and there were no complementary massages. Easy to find parking for getting to and from the race. I recommend the Howard Johnson's in Fort Erie in Canada - cheapest hotel in the area, only 3.5 miles from the start, and no lines for crossing the border early Sunday morning. | |
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B. J. from San Diego
(6/5/2010)
"Great spectators; no-hassle race" (about: 2010)
1 previous marathon
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 5 Pros: -Great spectators out with hoses and sprinklers on a warm day providing lots of encouragement. -Race morning number pickup, so no trek to Buffalo the day before. -Easy and cheap ($5) parking, right at race start/finish. No congestion when arriving/leaving. -Low-cost, no-frills race. I just want to run, so I love these races -Not crowded and quick to spread out. I was able to cross the start line about 15 seconds after the gun, and be on pace in about a quarter mile. -Fellow racers were friendly and offered encouragement and conversation. -Several GU stations, nicely placed BEFORE the water so you have a little time to eat, then wash it down. -Aid stations were well manned and not crowded (for my pace anyways). -Pacers were friendly and easy to spot. Cons: -Small water/Gatorade cups. I began to walk through the aid stations to drink enough fluids. -Trouble finding restroom miles 8-18. Maybe just me, but I couldn't find them. Maybe chalk the roads to help runners know they are coming up? After mile 18 there were restrooms everywhere. -Shirt is nothing to write home about. -Finish area was small. Runners were trickling in from the full when I finished, but since the half had two-thirds of the runners, I am sure it was crowded for that finish. Course: The first half of the course was around the waterfront and industrial-looking areas near the convention center. Some "hills" were there, but these were mostly inclines from overpasses or bridges. It was nice to have the the whole field running together for awhile. Just before the half finish, the full marathon runners divert and are off on a very flat run in neighborhoods and parks. The spectators here, while not large in numbers, were very supportive and had out sprinklers, hoses, and their own aid stations. The full marathon had about 1,000 runners, so for the second half of the race I was mostly running alone or near 1-2 people. A couple of areas of the road were a little rough and uneven, but I noticed this because some of the road was freshly paved, making the contrast more obvious. Overall, I would definitely run this race again if I am in the area. Thank you to the organizers and volunteers for making this race happen! | |
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P. K. from Ohio
(6/4/2010)
"Not Bad, Not Great" (about: 2010)
11-50 previous marathons
| 1 Buffalo Marathon
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 3 FANS: 2 GOOD: Pre-race pasta party: with beer! Volunteers: very enthusiastic. Course: mainly flat - includes downtown, lakefront, park, residential. Nice finishers' medal, t-shirt. BAD: Expo organization: expo closed at 4 p.m. - way too early for out-of-town runners; packet had only one ticket to pre-race party, though I paid online for 2 - I had to tell them. Medical tent: I lay on cot for 5 minutes before I was noticed, and only because my wife pointed me out! UGLY: Finish area: way too cramped. Post-race party: ran out of pizza early. Crowd support: was everyone out of town for Memorial Day Weekend?? For a city marathon, Buffalo was a little disappointing, but a few changes could have it challenging the big boys. | |
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j. j. from Pittsburgh PA
(6/4/2010)
"Worst marathon thus far" (about: 2010)
4-5 previous marathons
| 1 Buffalo Marathon
COURSE: 2 ORGANIZATION: 3 FANS: 2 This by far is the worst distance event I have done. The expo was entirely too small and unorganized for a major city event. The starting area was entirely too narrow for the number of racers. More water stops were needed for a hot day - starting at mile 3 and then every 2 miles was not enough. Although advertised as a flat course, it wasn't in the first half. I was dodging traffic for the second half of the race. Cars were being allowed to pass everywhere, with Buffalo PD being more concerned with getting traffic moving rather than the safety of the runners. Maybe next year move the course so that there is not a 3-4 minute hold-up for a train. At the end, more nourishment than just bananas and oranges that have been sitting in the hot sun all day would be nice. I did appreciate the few residents who actually did come out and cheer, and especially the people who cooled us off with their sprinklers/hoses. | |
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B. A. from Rochester, NY
(6/4/2010)
"Much improved organization" (about: 2010)
50+ previous marathons
| 6+ Buffalo Marathons
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 Very pleased to see the organizational improvements. Well run, especially considering the huge growth in participation. Unfortunately I'm beginning to feel like a marathon weed in a half-marathon lawn in Buffalo. Getting a little too big and too expensive for my taste. Pros: + The convention center registration was a nice step up from the Hyatt + Great neighborhood/spectator support Cons: - Getting pricey and crowded - Can't you control the temp and the trains? :) | |
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A. B. from Glen Ridge, NJ
(6/2/2010)
"A beautiful, urban race with a small-town feel" (about: 2010)
11-50 previous marathons
| 2 Buffalo Marathons
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 4 What a great race this was this year! The weather was very hot after the half point, but not humid, and the start was early at 7 a.m. The course is new and much nicer than it has been for the last 4 years; and the volunteers and spectators were enthusiastic (not as numerous as in, say, NYC, but many more than in prior years and many more than similarly-sized races like Wineglass and Mohawk Hudson). It ran through some beautiful areas of the city, including the waterfront, Delaware Park, and Mansion Row. This race has truly come a long way since 2005 when I first ran it. About 850 runners finished this year - more than ever before - and it was much better organized than in the past. The volunteers were plentiful and very enthusiastic! Packet pick-up was efficient and easy, and the expo was quite impressive this year compared to in years past. It was larger with more vendors. This marathon has come a long way, baby! Finally, I witnessed the most amazing thing I ever have in a marathon, and I've run 18 of them. Some jackass in a white BMW convertible plowed through a stopping point at a traffic circle, where runners were entering. A volunteer ran in front of the car screaming STOP, and the driver started hassling him: "Who the hell are you to stop me..." And at that exact moment when the driver was hassling him, two cops in uniform who were on the other side of the circle (so the BMW guy didn't see them) started sprinting toward the car! All of the runners, myself included, started cheering and clapping. I think that volunteer who stopped the guy should get a medal. He wasn't getting paid for his time, he didn't even look like he ran, and he could have been seriously hurt if the driver had not stopped. My hat is off to that volunteer. This was one time where there was a cop (two, actually) when I needed one! I will be back next year! |
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