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May 10, 2024

Maine Marathon Runner Comments

Back to Maine Marathon Information & Reviews

Course 4.3

Organization 4.5

Spectators 3.9

Number of comments: 132 [displaying comments 91 to 101]

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Ken Pearce from Belmont, North Carolina (10/14/2006) "Good "Big Fish" in a Small Pond" (about: 2006) 11-50 previous marathons \| 1 Maine Marathon COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 4 As far as smaller marathons go (fewer than 1,000 entrants), this was good. The weather was superb; however you can't give the climate credit to the organizers for the same reason you can't blame them if the weather is bad. Course was out-and-back, with nice, subtle, rolling hills. Would have liked to have seen more vendors at the expo, but the overall organization was great. Good crowd support considering it's a smaller event. I would recommend this to those shooting for 50 states if you want a nice, clean, beautiful race to knock off Maine.
S. D. from Westchester, New York (10/12/2006) "A must-see area and city" (about: 2006) 11-50 previous marathons \| 1 Maine Marathon COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 3 As a reference point, this was my 44th marathon and my 25th state. Portland is a wonderful place to visit. The coast of Maine from Portsmith, New Hampshire through Portland is unique and beautiful, with a lot of things to do. I only wish I planned to spend more time exploring the coastal towns of Maine and the City of Portland. The race itself is a great excuse to take a fall trip up to one of the nicest vacation spots in this country when it is much less crowded then during the summer. Plan to take two or three days in the area to see everything south Maine has to offer - you will not regret it. As for the race, it is well organized with all the necessary amenities. The course, although hilly and a lot harder then advertised, is quite nice. I would suggest, if possible, closing the road to vehicle traffic. A surprisingly large number of people turn out to support the runners. The expo, although small, is sufficent. The pasta party is to be skipped. Make reservations at one of the downtown Portland Italian resturants. Portland has two that are excellent, but if you don't make a reservation, you will not get a table. This marathon should be included on any runner's list of races to do, especially if you are trying to get all 50 states. Avoid the new Bangor summer marathon and do this race. Portland is much nicer, the area is easier to get to, the race is better organized with a nice course, and the weather is much nicer for running.
S. W. from Denver, CO (10/9/2006) "Nice course, well organized, great value!" (about: 2006) 1 previous marathon \| 1 Maine Marathon COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 4 This was my first marathon but I've run several halfs and other distances so they serve as my comparison here. The majority of the course was pretty nice including some great views out over the water. For the most part, there were plenty of aid stations and those were supplemented by many of the awesome residents along the course who set up their own stations and cheered the runners on. Overall fan support was very good, especially at the main intersections. I had quite a bit of family cheering me on so I'm biased on that count. Also, this race was very reasonably priced compared to the many $100+/- marathons out there and you got a sweet long-sleeve technical t-shirt as well. I was unsure as to whether or not I would want to continue running marathons prior to this race, but I had such a good experience that I will definitely do more and will be back for this one again. The cons for this race were few: A few miles of the course were along a fairly busy state highway - not the worst traffic I've run next to, but definitely a stark comparison next to most of the course, which was quiet and scenic. Seemed like the last aid station was around mile 21 and there could have been one more before the finish, but maybe it was later than that and I was just really tired! The only other thing was that they had a glitch with the timing chips, so start times weren't recorded (damn computers). All times were gun times, but thankfully I kept my own time anyway, so it wasn't a big deal. Congrats to race organizers and participants on a great event!
G. J. from Cape Breton, Nova Scotia (10/7/2006) "Great experience, tough course" (about: 2006) 3 previous marathons \| 1 Maine Marathon COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 I really enjoyed the marathon. The course is tough, with lots of hills, but I still managed to achieve a PB in my 4th marathon. Great support on the course.
T. B. from New Jersey (10/6/2006) "Great Race With Great Organization" (about: 2006) 11-50 previous marathons \| 1 Maine Marathon COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 4 I really enjoyed this marathon. The organization was excellent and the volunteers were supportive, helpful and friendly. The race is easy to get to with more than enough parking and all of the amenities that I wanted were at the start/finish area. There were plenty of water, Gatorade and portable toilet locations along the race route. The course had more rolling hills than I expected, but it wasn't too bad and the scenery made up for the hills. The only suggestion for an improvement that I'd make, and this is minor in the grand scheme of things, is that an information sheet (with race start time, a diagram of the start/finish area and so forth) should provided at the expo for runners. I should note that all of the necessary information was provided on the race's website, but some runners either didn't read the website or forgot what they read, so an information sheet would have been helpful. Overall, this was a great marathon and I'd do it again.
D. Z. from Wakefield,Rhode Island (10/4/2006) "Great Course/Great Organization" (about: 2006) 2 previous marathons COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 4 First time doing the 1/2 - beautiful course... a little hillier than I expected. Great support from other walkers/runners, as well as from the sidelines! Will definitely do this one again!
a. r. from norwich,ct. (10/2/2006) "thanks for the great race support/beautiful course" (about: 2006) 1 previous marathon \| 1 Maine Marathon COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 5 Thanks for a great time. Four members in our family ran the 1/2 marathon. Plenty of water stops, good course - again, thanks to all the people involved.
m. h. from massachusetts (7/24/2006) "Great race & people on tough course" (about: 2005) 11-50 previous marathons \| 1 Maine Marathon COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 4 This is a great marathon for people who like smaller, calmer marathons without all the silly hype. So many marathons these days seem to be about bells & whistles, bands, and throngs of people. I liked this race because it's low-key but very well organized. My only problem with it was the hills; based on race-sponsored info, I thought the course would be relatively easy. If you've done hills, it's fine, but if you haven't and are looking for "flat & fast," you may be disappointed. I just shouldn't have chosen it as my Boston qualifier.
Ron Steinhilber from El Mirage, AZ (10/16/2005) "More hills than I expected" (about: 2005) 6-10 previous marathons \| 1 Maine Marathon COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 This was my 8th marathon and I must admit my heart was more into the vaction from the Arizona heat than the race itself. My training had not been great and I had a slight hamstring problem I was fighting through. The weather was a little warmer than I thought it would be. The later-than-usual start may have had something to do with that. The course was made up of a lot of rolling hills with some serious climbs and downhills throughout. I believe the course map should be updated to show elevation if possible as this is something that has helped me tremendously in other races. I had no problems picking up my race number and shirt.... The volunteers were awesome. The water stops were well stocked with water and PowerAde and the volunteers working them were great too. I believe this race will continue to improve and I suggest it to any 50-staters out there. Also, I want to make a special recommendation for the Sea Escape Cottages on Bailey Island. They are about 45 minutes outside of Portland and they are a wonderful place to stay with your family for a few days if you like peace and quiet.
H. B. from Boulder, Colorado (10/5/2005) "Great" (about: 2001) 1 previous marathon \| 1 Maine Marathon COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 5 I am a walker, and the best part about this race was starting MUCH earlier than the runners, and getting to watch the sunrise over the water. It was so quiet and peaceful. On the loop back, the runners headed the other way were awesome, cheering me on as I was going the other direction. The only recommendation I would meake is to rank walkers separately. The marathon is a personal event, but I was curious where I ended up in the mix. I did it in 5 hours, 42 minutes... but the results are walk/run combined.

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