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Sydney Marathon Runner Comments
Back to Sydney Marathon Information & Reviews
Course 4.1 
Organization 3.7 
Spectators 3.2
Number of comments: 35 [displaying comments 11 to 21]
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Jon Roland from Arizona, USA
(10/15/2008)
 "Awesome course!!!" (about: 2008)
2 previous marathons
| 1 Sydney Marathon
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 3 FANS: 5 I ran the Blackmores Sydney Marathon this year (2008) for my first time (3rd marathon). What a great course! Not long after the start, we climbed the bridge, and what a great time (the night before I did the Bridge Climb, highly recommended). The support throughout the course was emotionally great (generous and friendly people), water and electrolyte support was good (as were the jelly beans!!!), but as others have said, not so good on the gels. The finish line, running through the chute with the crowd cheering me on by the Opera House was an awesome experience. Overall, I highly recommend. As others have said, the expo was weak, even smaller than the one at a small marathon I ran earlier this year. Also, the finish line was a little chaotic, and I was not able to find my bag, as none of the official helpers seemed to know where to go, and I finally had to ask a fellow marathoner who had found it. I highly recommend this challenging race. Great scenery, wonderful people!!! | |
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m. p. from usa
(10/10/2008)
 "needs improvement" (about: 2008)
11-50 previous marathons
| 1 Sydney Marathon
COURSE: 3 ORGANIZATION: 2 FANS: 2 This is my first Blackmores Sydney Marathon. I knew from the start that the weather was going to be too warm. I ran and finished the marathon. I was worried about the five and a half-hour cutoff time, but I finished before then. Since it was going to be so warm, there should be volunteers handing out wet sponges for the runners (especially the full marathoners). I think there should have some splits called at certain intervals. Also, when I finished the race at 5:08, there were no food at the recovery. I did managed to get a slice of apple, but I need more than that after running for five hours!! I also noticed that the finisher's medal doesn't have a date. It is nice, but it would have been better if there is a date. How do I know the medal I got wasn't from last year's? Also, the porta-potties didn't have toilet paper, and there were lots of female runners!! I didn't care much for the part of the course that took us on the Pyrmont Bridge, as it seemed boring, and running on the slant on the expressway is hard on the feet. The beginning and middle part of the course are nice, and I especially enjoyed running through the Centennial Park. At the expo, not much is given to the runners. Why? Also, how can I get my finisher's certificate? In summary, it needs improvement on having food at the food area for all finishers - especially the full marathoners. I love running, but this is my last Blackmores Sydney Marathon. I also lived in another continent and it was expensive going there to run, but we did other things tsoo, and made it into a holiday. | |
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s. b. from vancouver,Canada
(9/25/2008)
 "Great, but the expo and finish were bad" (about: 2008)
4-5 previous marathons
| 1 Sydney Marathon
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 2 Me and my daughter (who's 13) went to Sydney just to do the half (she's trying to be the youngest person to do a half marathon on every continent). I have done a few marathons and love the expo, but this one was... well... lame. They had just a couple of stalls with very expensive shirts. The course was awesome, and the weather perfect (around 20 Celsius), and although the cut-off time was tight, we made it. But the finishing area was a disaster; we finished at the same time as thousands of the 9K bridge runners and 3K family runners did. Our bag check -in was hard to find, and anyone could access our stuff (my fleece had my credit card and cell phone in it). From there, we had to take off our own chips and some lady snatched them away from us and put them in an empty box. Instead of a medal, we were handed a key fob and the directed to the recovery village. My daughter was excited about the free massages, but there were hundreds of people in line, all of whom had the fun run 9K bibs on. To be honest, we felt a little cheated. We had just done 21K, and due to the huge number of fun run runners, we just left - with no food or drinks. The lines were just too long. The recovery village should just be separate for the full and half. I feel for the full runners who didn't get gels because they were out there for the half runners. Overall, I would love to do this again. The course was spectacular, and the weather was perfect, but our finish was a complete letdown. "Chaos" is a good word that comes to mind. | |
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Scott McCamish from Canberra, ACT, Australia
(9/22/2008)
"Wonderful event, magnificent course!" (about: 2008)
11-50 previous marathons
| 1 Sydney Marathon
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 4 This was my 13th marathon, and my first since 2003. I really enjoyed the event. Apart from a few minor hiccups, I couldn't really fault the organization. Fans were great, particularly at the end since the finish is through busy Circular Quay. The course is awesome - although there are a lot of out-and-backs thrown in, that doesn't really detract from starting over the Harbor Bridge and running through the rocks area in the last few kilometers. Some testing hills, but also a lot of inner city streets to navigate, which really gives the race that big-city feel. Highly recommended. | |
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R. R. from Australia
(10/12/2007)
"Beautiful Course" (about: 2007)
1 previous marathon
| 1 Sydney Marathon
COURSE: 3 ORGANIZATION: 2 FANS: 5 This was my first marathon, so my comments may be naive. There were a few tough hills but the route was just so beautiful. The police and volunteers were great all along the route, cheering and encouraging us. The spectators were sensational, particularly the last kilometer along Circular Quay. More experienced marathoners have said they were very happy that the half marathoners were started and gone before the full marathoners started. The recovery village was a little disappointing even though we arrived in a good time (4 hours and 15 minutes) and it was a little haphazard how our medals and finisher's shirts were handed out and chips collected. I was concerned that our bags were just left out in the open and unsupervised. That said, it was a fantastic experience - the people were brilliant and I will do it again! | |
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A. Q. from Singapore
(9/26/2007)
"Tough and Hilly" (about: 2007)
11-50 previous marathons
| 1 Sydney Marathon
COURSE: 3 ORGANIZATION: 3 FANS: 1 I am glad to run before the sweeper bus came! The course is not easy. This seems like for a running festival than a serious marathon. The expo was only a few tents. Though GU power gel was supposed to be given at various spots along the course, I only managed to get one at 33-34KM mark. The energy drinks were so diluted. The half-marathon runners get the vest and caps - as many as they want. By the time the full marathon started, there were none left. I don't understand why these were not given out as part of the race package. The baggage was left unattended after the race. Anyone could have taken my bag. I am glad I found my bag on my own. The tough course makes it very challenging. I feel great to have completed it. | |
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H. W. from Texas, USA
(10/1/2006)
"Good race but nonexistent post-race organization" (about: 2006)
11-50 previous marathons
| 1 Sydney Marathon
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 3 FANS: 5 The course meanders through Sydney's landmarks (Harbour Bridge, the Opera House, the Botanic Gardens) and beautiful places (Centennial Park in full blossom since it is springtime over there). The race itself was well organized. There were many police officers helping us through intersections and lots of volunteers at the aid stations, and there was plenty of water and PowerAde for everybody. The crowds were very cheerful and one could see that they were having a good time too. I also liked the last mile or so running along the Botanic Gardens, next to the Conservatory of Music, with a great decline taking the runners to the finish line near the Opera House. What a spectacular ending to a nice race! However, the organization before and after the race was somewhat disappointing. Before the race: The packet pick-up and exposition were located in the pedestrian area of Sydney, under a very small canopy. As a result, runners were waiting outside the tent to pick up their packets, and the exposition was nonexistent. There were only two vending booths, a massage booth and the Tokyo Marathon booth. On race day, since the only means to get to Milson's Point (the start) was public transportation. It was just easier to walk across the Harbour Bridge closed to cars for the occasion with the sun rising over Sydney and the Opera House. We were not the only runners either! After crossing the finish line, it was a little confusing because I was expecting a volunteer station to recover my chip. There was nothing and the only way out was the path leading to the Recovery Village. Volunteers in charge of retrieving the chips were wandering amidst spectators and runners, and I would still be wearing my chip if one of the volunteers had not spotted me. And since the volunteers in charge of retrieving the chips were not wearing any official marathon gear, I was a little reluctant to give the chip away to anybody. I watched him as he dropped my chip in a white bucket held by another volunteer, and noticed that more people were dropping chips into the same bucket. Good. Once in the Recovery Village, getting the finisher's medal and T-shirt was a little confusing too because the line was meandering between vendors with their own waiting lines, and after a while nobody knew which line was waiting for what. After having received my finisher's medal and shirt, there was another frustrating moment as I went in search of food. There was no more food left for us marathoners. Since Sydney hosts four races on the same day (a family run, 5K, half- and full marathon), the runners from the three shorter races got all the goodies (door prizes, gizmos and food), all that was left was paying vendors, and of course I had no money on me. The organizers NEED to do something about it. How about keeping some food for the 4+-hour runners? Or ticking bib numbers as they do for the shirt and medal? Although I hear that one solution is to run a sub-3 in order to beat most the half-marathoners to the goodies. Also, the entry fees are very steep (we live outside Australia), even more so since my husband and I did not get anything in the Recovery Village. Still, I liked running Sydney, despite my frustration at the Recovery Village. | |
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S. H. from Brooklyn Park, Minnesota, USA
(9/19/2006)
"Great Race" (about: 2006)
50+ previous marathons
| 1 Sydney Marathon
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 4 The organizers of the race have clearly listened to and responded positively to the comments provided over the years. The baggage drop-off was smooth. There was plenty of water and gels. The post-race was excellent. The course is great, and while there are some hills, it's no worse than NYC or Boston. But it's clearly not Chicago-flat. But the last incline is a real pain, literally. The good news is that it's followed immediately by 2KM of declines and flat course to the finish. The day was perfect so I think that may have encouraged more spectators to be out. Their support is much appreciated. Thanks for a great race. | |
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b. d. from london.england
(11/29/2005)
 "good" (about: 2004)
50+ previous marathons
| 6+ Sydney Marathons
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 Good. | |
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Scott ONeile from Sydney
(11/5/2005)
"Excellent challenge, earlier start may assist" (about: 2005)
6-10 previous marathons
| 2 Sydney Marathons
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 2 The course is fantastic, as you would expect from a marathon with superb scenery, great icons and challenging second half sorting the people who pace themselves. Disappointed with several areas: First, crossing several city streets where we had to wait for traffic by police or officials; second, getting to 30K-plus and having lack of food at a critical period of the race for many; and finally, we finished at such an amazing icon and then had to walk uphill to the recovery area. The finish shoot was amazing and thanks to the several thousand lined up to bring you home. Most disappointing is starting after 1/2 marathon runners; really feel with a Sept. race we need to get off first to get as much done pre-heat build-up. Thanks Sydney, will be back again, and although it was expensive, being a local I understand the massive logistics required to organize it. |
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