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Pocatello Marathon Runner Comments
Back to Pocatello Marathon Information & Reviews
Course 4.5 
Organization 4.8 
Spectators 3.7
Number of comments: 113 [displaying comments 31 to 41]
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L. G. from Atlanta, GA
(9/11/2011)
 "Great 'country' marathon!" (about: 2011)
11-50 previous marathons
| 1 Pocatello Marathon
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 4 Great marathon! The expo was small, but way more than I expected for a race this size. Excellent value for the money - $45 and we got a gender-specific long sleeve tech shirt, nice duffle bag, and a bag of potatoes! The race was decent, even though there were hardly any spectators. The ones that were there, plus all the fantastic volunteers at the plentiful water stops, were great though. My only complaint was at the end of the race - there were two final turns to get to the finish line, but they were not well marked and there were no volunteers to direct us (disappointing for a 'back of the pack' runner). Also, the pulled pork sandwiches had run out by the time we got to the finish, but there were still baked potatoes (yum!), ice cream bars, free beer, and massage therapists remaining. Great race! | |
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L. D. from United States
(9/9/2011)
"Wonderful race" (about: 2011)
6-10 previous marathons
| 1 Pocatello Marathon
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 4 The organization of the race and post-race party was exceptional. Limited number of spectators but not an issue for me because of the beauty of the course. I was a little dissapointed with the pace group leader for the pace group I had planned to run with - the pacer told us her strategy and then proceeded to take off a full 45sec to 1min faster than the target pace. Ran into her at mile 7 at an in-and-out loop and she was not far behind other pace groups (faster). However, I paced myself and was able to finish in the time I wanted. | |
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B. B. from Texas
(9/9/2011)
 "Excellent small race" (about: 2011)
11-50 previous marathons
| 1 Pocatello Marathon
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 2 This was my 30th so I have a little perspective, and overall PM was a fine marathon. OK, not perfect, but I have yet to run one that is. Some of the comments were incredibly picky, so assuming someone is reading this wondering whether to run it next year, here goes: PROS 1. Web site - great map/elevation/photos of course (to give you perspective on the beauty and the downhill first half)/etc. 2. Ease of registration. Piece of cake. Low low reg. fee. RD noticed my wife changed from 1/2 to 10K and emailed us to refund the other race fee, wow. And I couldn't figure out how to sign up for the pasta dinner, emailed the RD, and he immediately wrote back and said I could just mail him a check (that would get there after the race) and he'd put me on the list. It's that kind of race.) 3. Host hotel = expo + meeting of 50 staters + pasta dinner + bus departure only 1 hour before race? And only $81 total, and no fee for hotel computer and late checkout and quiet? Wow. 4. Easy bus trip to start - take that Boston and NYC. 5. Waiting under the stars - enough light to see unless your eyes were closed - and ok, the busses were 10 minutes late, bfd. No silly National Anthem, prayer to Jesus, cross dressing Celine Dions, speeches. 6. Excellent pacers 7. Great volunteers and plenty of aid stations - every 2 miles so you could plan ahead, unlike so many when they appear out of nowhere and you have to rip open a GU. Oh, lots of GU handed out on course, which few races do. And fruit at least 4 times. WTG! 8. Scenic first half coming down the mountain. 2nd half was a little boring, but it was mostly flat, with good roads, no traffic issues, miles were well marked, and about as good as you can get for 26.2 miles. 9. Finish area was wonderful. Lots of space, runners had own area, lots of food and beverages, including beer if you wanted it, $15 massages, music, immediate results, couldn't have been better. 10. My wife drove to start and walked the 10K so we had vehicle, with lots of free parking just across the street, and use of the city's aquatic center. Not sure about waiting for the busses, but so what? And the Red Lion easily gave me a late check out and I heard the nice front desk woman saying they were doing that for all runners. Most hotels don't. 11. The shirt being small? Then exchange it at the registration. Really, that's something to bitch about? 12. Size of race was perfect. I think about 420 finishers. Just enough to have a small crowd at the start and find a few folks to pace with. Halfers were not a problem - road plenty wide to go around them. And they started 13 miles in front of us. The other races weren't even noticed, unlike so many marathons when the start is a zoo. 12. Pocatello as a town wasn't an amazing destination, but Idaho was. After the race we drove to the Craters of the Moon area, which is unique, then Sun Valley, then to a guest ranch, then Boise, stopping at Redfish Lake to chill my legs and drive through some gorgeous mountains, and not many races offer you this kind of vacation over the Labor Day (or any other) weekend. Overall rating: 9 out of 10. A new favorite. So glad I chose this for my Idaho race. So bravo, Mike and your crew, well done! | |
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S. W. from Idaho
(9/8/2011)
"Top Notch Marathon" (about: 2011)
11-50 previous marathons
| 1 Pocatello Marathon
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 3 This marathon fits me to a tee. The packet pickup was easy-in easy-out. Some marathons require you to go to about five different places to get all your things and in the process route you by every vendor. This was basically one stop pickup. There was a small expo for those interested. The volunteers were excellent in terms of number and helpfulness. Aid stations were well stocked with both supplies and people. How many times do you see a dozen or more people at an aid station in a marathon this size. The course was beautiful with the first half lots of downhill and the second half a few small hills. I paid $45 to get in as an early bird. How many marathon's can you run for $45? Pace groups were there all the way out to 5 hours. I only gave spectators 3 stars because of the low numbers. Some were at Century High School but other than that they were all at the finish line. Overall excellent experience. I plan on being back. | |
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J. S. from Arizona
(9/7/2011)
"THE best small marathon around" (about: 2011)
11-50 previous marathons
| 1 Pocatello Marathon
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 5 This is an excellent race and only continues to improve. The race director takes feedback very seriously and every year it gets better and better. I've never been to a race with better SWAG. The duffle bag is not a cheapo. It's very nice, and I will use it often. The course is challenging but doable and very beautiful. My only con about the race was that there were several problems with the results, which made for a very long awards ceremony. | |
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Ben Nickell from Pocatello, Idaho
(9/7/2011)
 "Great first marathon experience." (about: 2011)
1 previous marathon
| 1 Pocatello Marathon
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 I've done the half marathon 2 years now in Pocatello and decided to step it up to the full. Challenging but great first marathon experience. Only snafu was with bussing in the morning since this years race had almost doubled in size. That issue was dealt with professionally and without much delay. Food and swag were great and everyone was super encouraging and friendly, great event. | |
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D. M. from Franklin, ID
(9/6/2011)
 "Disappointing...." (about: 2011)
50+ previous marathons
| 1 Pocatello Marathon
COURSE: 2 ORGANIZATION: 3 FANS: 2 The goody back, shirt, and fiunisher's medal were very nice, and I got a kick out of getting a bag of potatoes! However, I expected much more of the race. Maybe after 80 marathons, I am getting 'picky', but there is no excuse for a race this size to start late. Sorry. The farm (and animals!) at the pre-dawn start were interesting. The first few miles wound downhill through forests, which was pretty. However, from about mile 9 on the scenery was all the same and very boring. There was no shade the entire second half, as the temperatures were rising. Fortunately (?) there was a strong headwind, so that helped cool, but many were suffering. The finish is 5+ miles from the host hotel, and the buses to take you back didn't start until 11am (the website and other papers showed mixed times, like 11:15 and 11:45 for the first bus, so that was also confusing). You basically had to wait around for the buses to take you back so you could clean up and check out (and the host hotel, Red Lion, was very reluctant to grant late checkout). They offered showers at the pool 'across the street', but you had to be in there by 10:45 and out by 11:00am (so even us middle-of-the-pack runners didn't have time to finish, get our drop bags, and use that shower facility, especially with the late start!). So, bottom line, I would not recommend this race, although times tended to be fast since it is mainly downhill. | |
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Ken Wilhelm from Laramie, WY
(9/6/2011)
"Scenic, well organized & supported, I recommend." (about: 2011)
1 previous marathon
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 This race is challenging with the downhill and then the long flat section. The community support of this event is incredible with aid stations every mile for the last 5 miles. The organization is superb as well as the timing. There was a hiccup with having enough buses before the race but just a hiccup is all. I really enjoyed the scenery. It was nice to not have the sun in my face during the run. I would definitely do this again, especially at the price, $45 early bird. | |
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J. H. from Tacoma, WA
(9/5/2011)
"Fun times" (about: 2011)
50+ previous marathons
| 2 Pocatello Marathons
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 4 This was my 2nd time running this marathon. We drove 12 hours to come to Pocatello. I love the marathon, the scenery, the organization, the swag, the medal, all are great. My only complaint is that each year I have gotten a shirt that I can't wear. The first year (2008), I didn't realize that the shirt sizes were gender specific, so the shirt was way too small. This year, I made sure to check and make sure the shirts weren't gender specific when I signed up. They weren't. Even my tag on the bag says 'unisex' on the size. However, when we got there, they were gender specific and I was told that the signup said it was gender specific. It did not, at least not when I signed up - I know I looked and checked after the last time. So, be aware that they do gender specific shirts even if the website and signup do not say so. | |
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K. L. from United States
(9/5/2011)
"Thoroughly enjoyed myself!!" (about: 2011)
6-10 previous marathons
| 1 Pocatello Marathon
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 3 To begin with, packet PU was smooth as silk :D Nice little 'mini' expo too! The course was completely engaging for me because of both the awesome beauty and the downhill challenge. I really felt like I was on a wonderful ride!! Volunteers were outstanding by both their friendly, helpful nature and their competence in the jobs they were doing :) Everything was remarkably well organized. The duffel bags and long sleeve tech shirts were extra nice, loved the bag of potatoes since we were camping! The finish area was set up in such a way that it was easy for my husband, a non participant, to talk with me over the 'fence'. Yummy pulled pork!! Yay Michelob Ultra too! Really felt well taken care of throughout the entire event. The only improvement I would like to see is my finish time :)) |
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