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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 211 to 221]
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Ross Payne from College Station, TX
(2/19/2007)
"New Austin course is oddly wonderful" (about: 2007)
11-50 previous marathons
| 4-5 Austin Marathons
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 The new course for 2007 follows a much more interesting path than the old marathon course. Constantly changing scenery and frequent small hills helped to visually break up the segments and distract you some from your future of pain coming in the last miles. I especially liked the view of the state capitol building at mile 25 - except for the uphill approach. This year's race had very good crowd support and perfect weather. My only negative experiences were from the overly aggressive pacing groups that acted as if they owned the course. | |
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W. R. from Houston, TX
(2/18/2007)
"Great Marathon" (about: 2007)
6-10 previous marathons
| 2 Austin Marathons
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 Austin was amazing this year. There were a lot more hills this year, but the spectators kept me going even though it was a hard course. It was very well organized. One great thing that I have never seen at any other marathon were phones at the finish line to call for our rides. I would highly recommend this marathon to anyone, but make sure you train for the hills. | |
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J. Z. from Houston, Texas
(2/18/2007)
"Hills, hills, great spectators, and fireworks" (about: 2007)
First Marathon
COURSE: 3 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 Being from Houston, I was not able to trail for the hills well. There were many steep hills. The route was o.k., but nothing spectacular. There were lots of spectators and the volunteers and organization were good. No massage therapists that I could find. There were fireworks at the beginning, which was cool. It was a rough 1st marathon; I had run several half marathons, doing fairly well (PR 1:35), but this kicked my butt. Maybe they will bring back the fast, old course. | |
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A. I. from Dallas, TX
(2/18/2007)
"Wonderful City - Wonderful Marathon" (about: 2007)
2 previous marathons
| 1 Austin Marathon
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 This was my second marathon and aside from the hills this year it really was a kick-ass track. My first marathon was the Rock N Roll Marathon in San Diego in 2001 and personally I thought that marathon was planned well... until I ran this one. Granted, I stayed at a hotel around the corner from the start and finish lines but the thing that really made me happy was that my family was able to get around Austin and I got to see them four times throughout the whole course, as opposed to San Diego where I didn't get to see them once! The new course was very scenic and pretty and even though it wasn't the usual Austin speed course it has always been, it really was fun. I ran this one ten minutes under my first one. Make sure you train a little for hills because this one tests your legs. | |
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K. A. from San Antonio, Texas
(2/18/2007)
"Great Organization... HILLY Course" (about: 2007)
2 previous marathons
| 1 Austin Marathon
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 This is my first Austin Marathon, but second marathon overall. The new course was supported well with no issues on water stops, timing, etc. If you are wanting a flat course... this is not the marathon for you. If you or your legs can make it past the 14-mile mark, you are good to go! The fans and course volunteers were awesome! Overall, a great experience, and this is a well organized marathon. | |
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E. R. from Protland,OR,USA
(10/1/2006)
"good terrain for a first marathon" (about: 2006)
1 previous marathon
| 1 Austin Marathon
COURSE: 3 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 3 It was a really good course because it was really flat, but it wasn't very pretty, and pretty boring.... But it was really well organized!! | |
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D. R. from Southern Illinois
(9/22/2006)
"new loop course" (General Comments)
11-50 previous marathons
| 3 Austin Marathons
COURSE: 3 ORGANIZATION: 3 FANS: 4 One of the real positives for this marathon, amid the timing/parking/etc. issues, was the fast course. Now, it's changing to a loop course for the first time. Just be aware, if this is your first Austin Marathon, that comments about the fast course (overall downhill up until this year) no longer apply. | |
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M. A. from Houston, TX
(5/26/2006)
"A PR for me, but not the best Austin has to offer" (about: 2006)
2 previous marathons
| 1 Austin Marathon
COURSE: 3 ORGANIZATION: 3 FANS: 3 This was my first Austin Marathon, and while it was thrilling to run through the hometown of my alma mater (Hook 'em, Horns!), I was a bit disappointed in the course, especially the first half. Sure, it was flat, but 13 miles of restaurants and office parks? C'mon! I feel sorry for the first-time halfers - things got much more interesting after the halfway point. It's an unfortunate truth that the most beautiful parts of Austin are also the hilliest.... Course organization was quite good, other than the horrific traffic snafu at the start. Freescale is no longer sponsoring the race, so we'll see what happens next year... as it was, my friend's house was literally around the corner from Freescale, and it still took us 45 minutes to get to the parking lot. Ouch. The weather was an unfortunate factor in this race (though truthfully, I enjoy cold-weather races more than warm ones - as long as I'm prepared for them!). More than once I saw people nearly slip into storm drains. I cannot sing enough praises for the spectators who braved the cold to cheer us on - far more than I would have expected in those conditions. Same goes for the volunteers manning the aid stations - they were there and, God love 'em, cheerfully egging us on! Thank you so much for that. For those of you who criticized the out-and-back along Cesar Chavez from miles 22 to 25 - amen! How evil is that, to see all these happy smiling people hitting the home stretch, while you're slogging along, uphill (then downhill then uphill), quads screaming, "Will this ever end?" I agree with the numerous comments on having an indoor finishing area for the runners - yes, it's more than likely that it will be 80 degrees on race-day, but still. Palmer Events Center could easily have been reserved/opened for that day. I, for one, was unable to contact my family for an hour after the race - a very cold, uncomfortable hour. My fault for not bringing a change of clothing, but I've never needed one in the races I've run before! Thank goodness for Threadgill's afterwards! All in all, I am glad I ran Austin - it was flat, pretty darn fast and a fun nostalgic trip (the run around the capitol was a beautiful thing after that hill at mile 20!). It will be interesting to see what, if any, changes will come with the arrival of a new sponsor. If you're going to run this race, run the full. Forget the half, you'll end up wondering why people fuss about Austin so. Running from Freescale to Northcross Mall? Ugh! Boooooorrrring! | |
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W. R. from Houston, Texas
(5/5/2006)
"Good Marathon" (about: 2006)
6-10 previous marathons
| 2 Austin Marathons
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 3 This marathon is my second favorite marathon, right behind the Houston Marathon. The temperature is usually around freezing at the start, but it feels good after a few miles. This marathon is run very smoothly, but at the end they had nowhere for you to go. It was still near freezing after the marathon and there was nowhere to hide from the wind, which just about killed me, so I would highly recommend making sure to have a jacket waiting for you at the end. The course is pretty hilly but I got my best marathon time of 3:19, so I was happy with the course. | |
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W. R. from Shreveport
(4/25/2006)
"Completely incompetent organizers" (about: 2006)
1 previous marathon
| 1 Austin Marathon
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 1 FANS: 4 I posted about this race a few days after running and initially had a favorable reaction. However, there have been lingering issues with this race that the organizers have not been able to resolve, including a total breakdown of the timing chip system. They have also promised to send out the finishers certificates several times but have yet to follow through on the promises. I need my certificate for another marathon to document my time and get priority starting line placement, but so far have not had any response from the organizing committee. Given the screw-ups with the race-day organization, and the general lack of preparation for adverse weather (i.e., no decent shelter from freezing temperatures at the finish area), I would advise anyone considering running this race to look elsewhere. |
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