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Austin Marathon Runner Comments
Back to Austin Marathon Information & Reviews
Course 4.0 
Organization 4.0 
Spectators 4.1
Number of comments: 421 [displaying comments 171 to 181]
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S. H. from Austin, Texas
(3/9/2007)
"Like the challenge, but get the cars off the cours" (about: 2007)
50+ previous marathons
| 4-5 Austin Marathons
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 4 Challenging, and no longer fast, but more scenic than the old course. Complainers about the hills should be happy they didn't make us run up to Mt. Bonnell. My complaint is that they didn't close all of the roads. The race has too many runners to allow any traffic on the two-lane roads. Austin drivers think "pedestrian" is synonymous with "target." It is good to start and end in the city. Parking isn't bad if you know where to go, but why weren't the parking garages opened? The start on the bridge wasn't smart. A cold wind off the lake could have made it miserable. Austin is big enough for start corrals. Access to the start line was difficult and crowded. Who came up with the bright idea of putting the fireworks behind the runners? And the fireworks display blocked the road going to the start. Nice ending down Congress Ave. and good post-race chow. Why does the half marathon medal look nicer than the marathon medal? | |
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C. C. from Arizona
(3/7/2007)
"Definitely will return for 2008" (about: 2007)
6-10 previous marathons
| 1 Austin Marathon
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 4 COURSE - I loved it. Very challenging, but as a non-local I really got the impression we were given a solid cross section tour of Austin. Last mile of the marathon is among the best last miles out there. ORGANIZATION - Good expo - not huge, but appropriate for the race. Racers didn't need to arrive an hour before the race like we were ordered to, especially given the freezing temps. I couldn't find water before the race start, only coffee, though I later found out there was some water somewhere in the start village so I guess I didn't look hard enough. And I should have asked around more. C'est la vie. Finish village was simple but terrific, there was ample and varied food, and yes, there were finisher shirts - I finished in five hours and got mine in the right size. SPECTATORS - Typical southern city marathon crowd - very friendly and supportive, not massive and not three-people deep throughout, but appropriate to the environment. WILL I RETURN? Absolutely. Austin is a great city and 2008 should be a lot of fun. | |
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N. S. from Texas
(3/5/2007)
"Course was tough; weather was perfect." (about: 2007)
2 previous marathons
| 1 Austin Marathon
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 This was an awesome race experience! (Probably helps that I was able to PR!) Organization was great - finish line area, food, bag dropoff/pickup, and expo. Weather was perfect this year. Like many have said, the finish down Congress was very neat. Course was hilly, sure, but the pacers were a great help to us runners - thanks, Fila! Now, if all runners would simply position themselves in the starting area according to their pace, it would eliminate the need to zig-zag through a logjam at the race start. One other comment: Sat. afternoon parking at the expo was not easy - there was plenty of space in the garage, but getting in there took ~30 minutes. (But, the expo was very good and worth the wait.) Overall, Austin, you made me proud to be a Texas runner - knowing our state puts on such a world-class event! Keep it up! | |
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S. L. from Los Angeles, CA
(2/28/2007)
"Good race that other marathons can learn from" (about: 2007)
6-10 previous marathons
| 1 Austin Marathon
COURSE: 3 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 3 This was my 8th marathon and first Texas Marathon (2 Las Vegas, 1 Salt Lake City, and 4 in California). The reason I chose this marathon was so I could also visit a friend who had recently moved to Austin. Overall the marathon was a very good experience, with a lot of little nice touches that I did not expect. ORGANIZATION - was okay. Everything at the expo went smoothly. One nice touch at the expo was a station with supplies where families/friends could make their cheering placards on the spot. There should be more port-a-potties on the route. Being able to use the port-a-potties without having to wait in line could mean a difference between a PR (and anticipation to return the following year) and a bad/disappointed feeling for runners; this is an unfortunate pattern of neglect I see in most races, and Austin is not the worst offender. So far only one race I have run had enough port-a-potties on course so runners did not have to wait in line to use them (Pacific Shoreline Marathon). Having started in the back of the pack, I saw that the first water station (at mile 3) was completely overwhelmed. By the time I got there, the volunteers were frantically pouring water onto the cups but did not have the manpower to deliver them to the runners passing by; runners had to come to the table and line up to get their cup of water. In any race, the first few water stations really should be on both sides of the course and with many times the number of volunteers as later water stations. Having both water and PowerAde at every station was a plus. COURSE - was the hardest I've ever encountered, with many hills in the first half, which probably wore out my legs faster than expected. I PR-ed here (probably due to my training rather than the course) but wonder how much more time I could have saved if the course were flatter. My hat's off to the volunteers. My favorites were one water station with Pirates of the Caribbean theme song - complete with volunteers with pirate hats - and a female minister at marathon-half marathon split sprinkling holy water at runners. Although I am of a different denomination (Catholic), I didn't mind. It was actually fun and interesting. The spectator support was light except on selected few spots, but personally for me, it didn't really matter. When I finished I could not find any blankets. Fortunately temps were in the 60s, so it was okay, but it would have been bad if it was freezing weather. FINISH LINE FOOD - the best I've ever seen, with plenty of chicken noodle soup, mini-pretzels, bottled water, bottled PowerAde, bananas, Oreo cookies and bagels. It allowed me to sit down with the food in the finish area and enjoy my accomplishment and cool down instead of immediately leaving the area to search for food to buy to replenish my energy. I think all races should model Austin as how a post-race area should be organized. It certainly was best organized and had the best food among the marathons I've run. GOODIES - the cotton at the expo and a tech shirt at the finish were a nice touch. The medal was also nice. Overall, despite some shortcomings (not isolated to this particular race; other races are worse offenders), this race was one of the best organized races with many thoughtful touches that many larger marathons could take notes from. | |
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Kirk Adams from Columbia, SC
(2/26/2007)
"Tough course to do a PR" (about: 2007)
50+ previous marathons
| 1 Austin Marathon
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 5 I signed up for Austin on the basis of it being a fast course and didn't find out about the course change from previous years until I arrived in town. I train on hills and prefer a somewhat hilly course to a flat one, but miles 6-12 on the course gradually took their toll (as well as the subsequent hills). Another drawback to trying for a PR or Boston qualifying time is the lack of corrals. The pace groups were well back in the pack. I started with the 3:50 pace group and was still zig-zagging around walkers as late as mile three (those guys must have lined up at the start line). I believe that there were something like 5,000 marathoners and 7,000 half-marathoners - certainly a large enough field to warrant a corral system. I thought the aid stations were good for the most part - I only had to seek out a volunteer with available fluids a couple of times. I didn't have to use the porta-john after the start so I didn't notice the lack of availability others have commented on. Crowd support was better than many marathons (I've done marathons with as few as 100 participants to NYC/Chicago/Marine Corps) and having people shout your name did compensate somewhat for the course toughness. A nicer finish area would be a plus. Overall it was a good marathon and I would do it again. | |
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A. G. from Duncanville, TX USA
(2/25/2007)
"WOW! Scenic course with challenging hills." (about: 2007)
1 previous marathon
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 I set out to run the half marathon and worried about how hilly this new course was going to be. But I found that it was very do-able, and I even set a new PR for myself. When I crossed the finish line, I felt I really earn my beautiful heavy medal. The marathon was well organized and the enthusiastic spectators were awesome. I am looking forward to running this race next year again. | |
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Adam Newman from new york, ny
(2/24/2007)
"Hilly AND boring... a bad combination" (about: 2007)
11-50 previous marathons
| 1 Austin Marathon
COURSE: 2 ORGANIZATION: 3 FANS: 4 Decided on the Austin marathon based on reports of a fast course and a fun town. While the town delivered a fun and memorable weekend, the course was quite tough and very forgettable. The crowds did their best to generate enthusiasm, but aside from the finishing stretch there was nothing along the way that stood out at all. Memo to race director: if you're gonna scrap a super-fast course, the new one had better have some real wow-appeal. | |
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D. M. from Dallas,TX
(2/24/2007)
"Poorly organized, but good course" (about: 2007)
3 previous marathons
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 1 FANS: 3 The start was a mess! The first mile was a long one, trying to get around all of the slower runners. At the start they shot off fireworks... behind us as we ran away not looking at them. The sound system for the national anthem was intermittent at best - disgraceful! I received my race guide in the mail two days after the marathon, even though I registered six weeks prior. No finisher's shirts, even though they advertised them (after I ran my first Boston qualifying time). The course was hilly, but good. Not a lot a fan support, but that may take time due to a new course. I won't do it again. | |
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S. L. from Austin, Texas
(2/23/2007)
"A local's perspective" (about: 2007)
3 previous marathons
| 2 Austin Marathons
COURSE: 2 ORGANIZATION: 3 FANS: 5 I'm from Austin; I trained for this course, but it still got the best of me - a lot had to do with an injury that wasn't completely healed, but it is a tough course and one to be respected. Despite the elevation gains, I think the loop course showcases some of the best areas in the city. I especially loved running through the UT campus and finishing on Congress just south of the capitol. Crowd support was fantastic - lots of locals who came out with everything from cookies and pretzels to Advil and Kleenex. The bands weren't quite as good as I'd expected, but maybe I was concentrating more on the hills than the music?! After hot weather in '05 and freezing temps in '06, we finally had perfect running weather. | |
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D. S. from Bentonville, AR
(2/23/2007)
"Excellent Marathon!" (about: 2007)
11-50 previous marathons
| 4-5 Austin Marathons
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 4 The new start and finish on Congress are wonderful and very convenient for access to the downtown hotels and restaurants. The course is an outstanding loop, which is a true test of your marathoning skills. This year's race had excellent weather and crowd support. This is my 4th Austin Marathon and each year they get better and better! |
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