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Apr 29, 2024

Belfast City Marathon Runner Comments

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Course 3.1

Organization 3.0

Spectators 3.5

Number of comments: 76 [displaying comments 11 to 21]

More Comments: [ < 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 > ]

David Watson from Lanark, Scotland (5/9/2012) "Quick course, poor finish" (about: 2012) 11-50 previous marathons \| 1 Belfast City Marathon COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 3 FANS: 4 Positives first, and there are a few, this is no write off despite all the negativity on here - the expo was excellent, centrally located in the beautiful City Hall, no queues, no hassle. T-shirt and medal were good quality. Crowds were excellent considering the hellish weather on the day. Although the course has some really dull stretches, it also has a lot of downhill parts and there is definitely PB potential. Results were quick and accurate and I prefer a disposible chip. Negatives for me are all about the finish - it was chaotic, no designated meeting areas, no decent refreshments on offer. The pouring rain made it all the worse. There's a huge park area to utilise - how about a marquee, some facilities to make it a bit more welcoming? I would also add that some more energy drinks and bananas at the water stations would be appreciated. The cups issue doesn't bother me too much - I hate seeing mostly full water bottles thrown away. Overall a decent effort, just a few adjustments needed.
G. J. from Worthing, UK (5/8/2012) "Organisation is a joke." (about: 2012) 1 previous marathon \| 1 Belfast City Marathon COURSE: 3 ORGANIZATION: 2 FANS: 1 OK, weather was terrible. Heavy rain for a lot of the race with a stiff wind in places. Course was also more hilly than I expected, all of which may have coloured my perceptions. However the organisation was not good to say the least. The event was poorly signed at start and finish. No maps were availible to get you and your supporters orientated at start and finish. The finish was disorganised with insufficent marshalls directing runners through the finish area. This resulted in the later marathon runners not being given space blankets or the limited food that was availible. This is inexcusable given the conditions. It seems the poor segregation of relay runners from marathon runners caused significant problems with marathon runners having to fight their way through the scrums at the relay change over points. The course could also do with a bit of tweaking with the run through the industrial estate at approx mile 18, with its smell from the meat processing plant being almost soul destroying. On the plus side support was excellent in places considering the weather. DJs, Cheerleaders together with members of the public offering food, drink and use of their toilets. In conclusion a race with potential ruined by poor organisation. Looking at previous years comments lessons have not been learned.
Paul Dowling from Market Weighton, England (5/8/2012) "Fantastic spectators on a rainy day" (about: 2012) 4-5 previous marathons \| 1 Belfast City Marathon COURSE: 3 ORGANIZATION: 3 FANS: 5 The pack pick-up is in the very grand City Hall. The course is a bit hilly but the runners are well marshalled and kept away from the traffic (I never felt unsafe, even at traffic crossing points), the medal is nicely detailed and a smart tech T-shirt in the pack. It was a nice touch to list all runners in the race brochure too. But the stand-out memory for me were the hundreds of spectators who came out and encouraged us on a horribly wet and windy day -Well Done to them! I kept thinking to myself, 'If they can stand out in this then I can finish the race'. I would recommend this race and I will do it again.
g. l. from n. ireland (5/8/2012) "Still needs some tweaks" (about: 2012) 6-10 previous marathons \| 3 Belfast City Marathons COURSE: 2 ORGANIZATION: 2 FANS: 2 I have done this one 3 times and the same problems keep coming up. The main ones being the change over points for the relay runners, on a couple of occasions this lead to road being narrowed so much that I injured myself while tryiing to get out of the way of those darting back and forth waiting for runners coming in I almost didnt get round so months of training wasted. Still get water out of standpipes for a race sponsorerd by a bottled water company and the start is still chaotic as alot of the walkers are still going off with the main body of runners and walk arm in arm down the middle of the road in the early stages. This could be a really good race if there were some changes like a couple of barriers to make sure the relay runners stay to one side the walkers are started earlier even 10 minutes so they are spread out alittle more. The potential is there the volunteers do their best especially when the condition were so bad like yesterday.
D. W. from Columbus Ohio, USA (5/16/2011) "Great for a relay race, otherwise forget it!" (about: 2011) 11-50 previous marathons \| 1 Belfast City Marathon COURSE: 1 ORGANIZATION: 2 FANS: 2 Seriously, water from standpipes and buckets! Every other race I've run in managed at least clean water. As for the powerade stations, far and few between. If you plan to do this I would recommend that you provide your own water and nutrition supplies. Crowd support was average at best and brilliant idea to have the race pass the local meat processing plant, then for fun make you finish with lots of traffic for the last few miles!! Finish area needs work, how about an area to reunite with family, all it needs are a few boards with alphabetical groups to help us find each other. Post race food...a bottle of water and a bag of crisps! Bus drivers rude, don't yell at me to hurry up when I've just run 26.2 miles, then have me go upstairs on the double decker. If you want to run a relay then it's probably fun, for a full it's pathetic. Never again.
J. L. from Paris (5/6/2011) "Friendly marathon through recent history" (about: 2011) 6-10 previous marathons \| 1 Belfast City Marathon COURSE: 3 ORGANIZATION: 3 FANS: 5 I loved this race - admittedly we got lucky with perfect blue skies which meant there were lots of spectators handing out water, candy, chocolate, biscuits, oranges, even icy poles ! Also the upcoming elections meant that the unionist and nationalist neighbourhoods were very clearly demarcated which was interesting, especially after we passed all the murals and crossed the peace line. There's a fairly long stretch next to the water with no aid stations which a lot of people struggled with on a comparatively hot day, followed by a section through an industrial estate : not the most inspiring scenery. There were a few DJs along the way but no bands or cheerleaders as it seems there were in other years. I enjoyed having the relay runners there for company, but some of the changeover points were messy - team members crowding the course and forcing a bottleneck or relay runners taking the wrong fork and having to double back later to change. The aid stations also had only very limited food (oranges mostly) which the marathoners needed more than the relay runners who sometimes took far more than their fair share. Perhaps they either enough food for everyone, or separate the marathoner and relay aid stations. I don't think it's a particularly hilly course, just a few undulations here and there and a nice downhill last mile or so. No complaints about the technical shirt or medal, but food other than potato crisps at the finish line would have been nice.
g. l. from N. Ireland (5/5/2011) "it`s getting better" (about: 2011) 4-5 previous marathons \| 2 Belfast City Marathons COURSE: 3 ORGANIZATION: 3 FANS: 4 I ran this in 2009 and it has improved a lot, starting with the race pack pick up having it in the City Hall gives it a more impressive start. There are still not enough toilets at the start - a lot of people missed the runners start because of this, but its a small problem. The Duncrue section is lonely to run but having the music there helps. My main problem is the section at the end where you go into Ormeau Park close to the finish only to leave it again for another 2miles or so weakens the legs some what. The water issue has improved. On the whole it´s getting better.
G. A. from Belfast (5/5/2011) "Nice run for first-time runner" (about: 2011) 1 previous marathon \| 1 Belfast City Marathon COURSE: 3 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 5 This was my first marathon and I had injury problems starting 8 miles in. The crowds kept me going and enabled me to make it around. The worst part is running up the side of the motorway and into the industrial estate, but once through there you know you're going to make it. I will be back next year to try and get a more respectable time. Although drinks were in cups (that didn't bother me at my pace), there were plenty of hydration areas; nutrition stations, however, may not have bothered - pieces of orange and cups of PowerAde!
John Henderson from Belfast (11/24/2010) "It is up there" (about: 2010) 11-50 previous marathons \| 2 Belfast City Marathons COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 5 I don't understand anybody who goes on about the bottled water. Try going to the biggies (New York, Amsterdam etc.). Guess what? Water in cups... so please be quiet and stop talking nonsense. You get what you pay for. This is one of the cheapest marathons available, with a lovely expo and packet pick-up in City Hall (5-minute queue beats the half-hour wait in New York), tech t-shirts available, ample water stations, good crowds, yes, a few hills (still 26.2 miles), fantastic finish area, and showers free of charge at the finish line. You won't see that anywhere else. NO, it is not New York, or Barcelona, but it is Belfast and if you look closer at it, it's a very good race.
D. L. from Poole (5/5/2010) "Water everywhere but not a drop to drink" (about: 2010) 11-50 previous marathons \| 1 Belfast City Marathon COURSE: 3 ORGANIZATION: 3 FANS: 3 This is an average marathon. Reading through some of the problems from last year, I do think its improving but a lot of work to do. The start was ok; I saw massive queues for the loos, but what's new?! The start did have plenty of slow runners in the 3 - 3.5 areas, and more of an effort should be made here; but to be honest, it got away quite smoothly - I've known a lot worse! I liked having the relay runners mixed in, of which there were hundreds; I think the crowds were very supportive of the full marathon runners in amongst the relays. The mile markers were very good and seem to be guarded. I didn't clock onto how hard the hills would be, and whilst I do like hills, this certainly is not a PB course. I'm of two minds about the course. There was a short section through the Falls Road area, and it was a bit menacing as the local residents were trying to make some lame political point with banners and making a silent protest. Who they thought they were making a point to, I do not know, but in a way, this is Belfast, and I felt like I was running through its recent troubled history. The organizers made an effort on the boring industrial sections, adding a few bands and cheerleaders, which was appreciated. The finish was ok - nice enough medal and a good quality t-shirt, which is a improvement on other comments. BUT, and this is my ONE BIG gripe, WHY, WHY, WHY on a marathon that is sponsored by a water company do they give out plastic cups of water? You CANNOT drink water from a cup when running at 7-minute/mile pace! It goes up your nose and down your front! I suffered extreme cramps from dehydration, as I just couldn't drink the stuff. They even poured PowerAde into cups, which I avoided, as I didn't want that all over my face! Sort that out and you have the beginnings of a nice race!

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