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☰
Newport Marathon Runner Comments
Back to Newport Marathon Information & Reviews
Course 4.7 
Organization 4.6 
Spectators 3.4
Number of comments: 107 [displaying comments 31 to 41]
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M. B. from Troutdale, OR, USA
(6/7/2010)
 "A Marathon That Gets Most Things Right" (about: 2010)
11-50 previous marathons
| 3 Newport Marathons
COURSE: 2 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 5 I say "most" because I love virtually everything about this marathon: The generally flat and scenic course. Great volunteers. More aid stations and mile markers this year. Fantastic weather, in a small-town race where you can actually find a place to park if you want to right near the finish line. The unique, handmade, glass medal is a nice touch also, something really different. BUT, it seems that when the course was changed after 2008, they added too much. I've now run the updated course twice (in 2009 and 2010). Both times my GPS Garmin measures it at 26.35. I run the tangents, taking as straight a line as possible. Upon comparing my Garmin with other runners GPS watches, it appears that the course is approximately 0.10 - 0.15 of a mile too long. For some runners this will not matter one bit. For others it could mean the difference between a PR/Boston qualifying time or not. I understand that GPS is not 100% accurate, but multiple watches recording the same distance would seem to give some validity to this distance issue. If there's anyone reading this that has some knowledge on this subject, I'd be curious to have it explained. | |
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A. K. from Boise, Idaho
(6/7/2010)
 "Great views, fun course" (about: 2010)
2 previous marathons
| 1 Newport Marathon
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 3 FANS: 2 This was my second marathon. The packet pickup went smoothly and the gear for the race was priced really well. The start was quite unorganized. There wasn't really a chute and the gun sort of just went off with no real flair. Also, not having a timing chip made wanting to start up front really hard to ignore. But, I don't belong there. The miles were marked very well. After the 15-mile mark, the later aid stations were out of water and some of the porta-potties were gone. I finished in a little under 5 and there were still half of the participants out there. There really wasn't any post-race food except for chowder. The medal was awesome and the race was gorgeous. There were really no spectators. | |
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E. M. from Seattle, WA
(6/6/2010)
"Great course, great race!" (about: 2010)
2 previous marathons
| 1 Newport Marathon
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 1 Newport is simply a beautiful, flat, fast course. There are really only four hills (one in town, one in the park, and two on the out-and-back), none of which are any big deal. Final hill before the finish is gradual and not at all difficult; after that, it's a quick downhill to the finish chute. Miles were all clearly marked. Pre-race pasta feed was inexpensive, good, and plentiful. The race organization was fantastic, schwag bag was good, post-race food and drink (free beer! and more free beer if you stopped by Rogue!) were good, the T-shirt had a great design, and we had great support on the course. Volunteers were very friendly and enthusiastic as well. Weather this year was sunny and warm (10 degrees warmer than usual, I understand) but I'll take that over the rain any day. I PR'd by 10 minutes, and will be back as soon as I can, hopefully next year, to get my BQ. My only complaint (and not at all the fault of the race director) is that the people at the finish line hardly managed to cheer for any of the finishers! So I did as much cheering as I could as I waited for my peeps to cross. Oh, and Newport itself is a great place to visit, with lots of good food, drink, and things to do. I'll be back. | |
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Dotty Maddock from Phoenix, AZ
(6/6/2010)
"Smaller, Well-Run, Pacific-Northwest Race" (about: 2010)
50+ previous marathons
| 1 Newport Marathon
COURSE: 3 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 2 Overall, I enjoyed this race. Everything was well-organized (packet pick-up was efficient, bus transportation to start as advertised, started on time, very nice finisher's shirts, etc.). I didn't notice any absence of water stations (as mentioned in past comments), and the oysters at mile 20 were fun (shouldn't there be an official photographer there?). I stayed at The Landing right by the finish line and would highly recommend it! And Newport is a really fun little coastal town to visit. On the negative side, those LONG miles out and back along the river were endless, and the sun was unrelenting (with only a few stretches of shade). I wish some of that "partly cloudy" weather had materialized! Also, I'm not impressed by the finisher's medal, although we got some background explaining it was locally crafted. You simply can't make out the design at all. It was nice seeing all of the maniac yellow, though, and the first few miles of the course were awesome (Nye's Beach, the harbor, etc.). So this is a nice, "low key" race with limited spectators, but an overall enjoyable way to see coastal Oregon and check off another marathon. | |
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C. H. from San Antonio, TX
(6/13/2009)
 "Fabulous first-time marathon" (about: 2009)
1 previous marathon
| 1 Newport Marathon
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 This was my first marathon, and I loved it. It was mostly flat, other than some small hills for the first 3 miles, and the hill at mile 4 that reappears at the end. It was great to follow the bay. I live in Texas, but grew up in the Northwest, and it was so great to run my first marathon where there was perfect weather, you could see the water the entire way, and where I had great memories (I went on my honeymoon to the Oregon coast). I ran it with my twin sister, which made it perfect. I do agree with other comments made - namely that it would have been nice to have mile markers the first 5 miles, so that I could have known my pace better, and that the HEED was a bit watered down. There's a very long break from mile 20-25 with no water, but my husband met us at mile 22 with Gatorade, which was perfect. We also brought our own GU ge; -at the race they had some at about mile 13 and mile 15, but it's Hammer Gel, which I'm not a fan of. I thought it was a very well organized race, and the volunteers were very helpful. We thought that the spaghetti dinner the night before was very good, as was the clam chowder at the end of the race. The weather was probably in the high 40's at the beginning of the race. It warmed up, and the sun was out for most of it, and then towards the end a fog came in off the coast, dropping the temperature quite a bit. I cried at the end - it was in the top-5 best experiences of my life, with the first three being my husband and 2 kids! | |
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E. A. from New York, NY
(6/5/2009)
 "Beautiful course, nice folks" (about: 2009)
2 previous marathons
| 1 Newport Marathon
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 This was my third marathon, but my first in Newport. The course had more hills than I expected, though they weren't bad. They're mostly early on, although there is a gradual ascent from mile 25 to 26. There were more spectators than I was expecting, which was very nice. People running were very nice too. My only complaints are (1): there were no mile markers for the first five miles; with the hills and lots of turns in those miles, it was very difficult to judge pace, and I started out too fast without the mile markers. (2) the spacing of the water tables was a little far, especially in the last 6 miles (I think they were around mile 21 and mile 24?). But great tech t-shirt and Rogue beer at the finish! | |
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S. S. from Calgary, Alberta, CANADA
(6/5/2009)
"Small-town feeling was uniquely wonderful!" (about: 2009)
2 previous marathons
| 1 Newport Marathon
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 4 Looking for a flat, spring course on which to qualify for Boston brought me to Newport. I enjoyed the course from start to finish. It was nice sleeping in more than usual before the start of a race, and simply walking to the starting line and easily getting into position (we stayed at the beautiful Elizabeth Street Inn). The chatter among runners was friendly and I got the feeling that many people knew each other. Supportive smiles were plentiful and the organizers seemed to be on top of everything. I brought gels, so I had no issue with the HEED (as mentioned in other posts), and rather enjoyed trying one with a healthy ingredient list for a change. No problems there. Everything about this marathon was simply charming. If you are thinking about trying a small-scale marathon, Newport satisfies. Even without a lot of spectators, the seal "cheering" on runners passing through the harbor more than made up for it. I enjoyed the challenge of the hill at around mile 25 and to top it all off... I qualified! Newport, you rock! I send my thanks to the race director and volunteers. A lot of townspeople were supportive as well. | |
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L. T. from Idaho
(6/4/2009)
"Great first-time marathon" (about: 2009)
First Marathon
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 4 This was my first marathon and it was awesome. My goal was to finish the race happy and healthy, which I did. I thought the water stations were sufficient (though the HEED was watered down). The course was basically flat, and the scenery was very pretty. | |
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A. H. from Portland, OR
(6/2/2009)
"Great race; HEED seemed very watered down" (about: 2009)
6-10 previous marathons
| 2 Newport Marathons
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 4 This is my 2nd time running Newport. It is a beautiful, flat course - a great one to race on. The spectators, although sparse, were enthusiastic and volunteer support was great. My only issue, which I'm wondering if others had this same problem with, was that the HEED seemed very watered down. It almost tasted like water. I was plagued with leg and foot cramps from about mile 10 on, which was frustrating, and wonder if the watered down HEED was part of the problem. Other than that, though, it was a great race that I look forward to running next year - minus the leg cramps, hopefully. | |
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John Keehan from The Woodlands, Tx.
(6/2/2009)
"Good Small-Town Race" (about: 2009)
11-50 previous marathons
| 1 Newport Marathon
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 2 The 2009 course was different from the one in 2008. There were many twists, turns, and small hills in first 4 miles. A little distance had to be added, as the previous year's route wasn't a full 26.2. Hence, all of the comments about PR's. Positives: Miles 4 through 26 are nice, along a river. Very friendly volunteers and staff. Easy parking at finish area, and the bus transfer to the start was quick. Good weather and finisher shirt. Negatives: While it didn't bother me, don't run this race if you want fan support. Water stations need to be larger and have more volunteers. It was hard to find a flat spot on the road along the river. The slope/grade was tough. Overall, I'd recommend to others. This is a neat little town with friendly people. Good choice for Oregon on my way to 50/50. |
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