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May 2, 2024

Baltimore Marathon Runner Comments

Back to Baltimore Marathon Information & Reviews

Course 3.9

Organization 4.0

Spectators 4.1

Number of comments: 443 [displaying comments 41 to 51]

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J. D. from Detroit (10/17/2012) "not the best but not terrible" (about: 2012) 6-10 previous marathons \| 1 Baltimore Marathon COURSE: 3 ORGANIZATION: 3 FANS: 5 Okay so this race was not terrible. Very hilly so I would not suggest this to a new runner. All of the signs were on the ground that caused problems for people finding their way to the expo, bag drop off etc. Over all I was pretty dissapointed with the expo. I understand that the vendor pay to be at the expo but you can set it up so the runner doesnt have to go all over creation to pick up bag bib and shirt. The vendors were overpriced also and there wasnt a very good selection. Bag drop was too far away from start line, and there should have been some kind of medical tent for vaseline and things morning of race. Post race area was also sub par. Stale bagels and a little bit of fruit at end of the race. They were giving away complimentary beer to runners but had nothing besides water or gatorade for those under 21 or in AA. No post race massage also.
A. H. from South Florida (10/16/2012) "I loved this race!" (about: 2012) 6-10 previous marathons \| 1 Baltimore Marathon COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 The Baltimore marathon fully exceeded my expectations. This was a fun race through a lot of beautiful (and interesting) areas. I found it easy to figure out where things were located at the start because I read the hand book that they sent us. It was a great race and I will be talking about it for a long time.
Ron Steinhilber from El Mirage, AZ (10/16/2012) "Thoughts from the back of the pack" (about: 2012) 11-50 previous marathons \| 1 Baltimore Marathon COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 4 I have run 18 marathons. Due to lingering knee problems, I am now a walker. This was the first one I have walked and I really enjoyed the experience. The expo is a little challenging to get to, as it is easy to miss the signs to the parking lots. It is also a bit of a hike from the lots to the stadium. Then you have to go upstairs. Then to one end to get your number. Then to the other end to get your shirt. Obviously the race director wants the runners to walk by all the vendors. It is more of a pain, though, and I can see it making some of the runners mad. However, it was well organized, and I had no issues getting what I needed. I got to the start about an hour before the race started. If you are going to drive yourself, I wouldn't suggest arriving any later than that, as it got pretty crowded quickly. The course was nice, although pretty hilly, so train for that. It was well marked, with accurate mile markers at each mile. There was plenty of water and Gatorade at each water stop. As a walker, I cannot speak too much about the spectators, but those that remained when I passed were enthusiastic. When I finished, there were still plenty of refreshments left. One of the volunteers even offered me a piece of the big sandwich they had for the volunteers. Overall, it was a good experience for someone who was bringing up the rear in this event.
M. C. from Oregon (10/16/2012) "First Marathon - Great Experience!" (about: 2012) 1 previous marathon \| 1 Baltimore Marathon COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 5 Overall this was a great race. It was my first marathon, but I have run 16 half-marathons and about 20 5ks and 10ks. The expo was small but satisfactory. I was given a men's shirt but BRF immediately responded to my question about this and will be exchanging it for me. I had no issue with parking, and used one of the free lots provided. Race morning we arrived about 90 mins before race start and were able to park after about a 5 minute wait in traffic. They advised that parking was full last year so we left a lot of time for that. The signs to get to the starting line were a little confusing (arrows on the ground), but staff onsite were able to direct us. The race itself was great! Lots of spectators, and some basically at all parts of the race. Lots of hills, as advertised, and went through many parts of the city. Huge variety of snacks provided - donut holes, larabars, gels, pretzels, candy, etc. Plenty of water/gatorade stops. The last 10ish miles I was a little irritated with how many half-marathon walkers I had to weave around (as others stated, the half-marathon started later and combined with the full marathon course). The finish line was pretty smooth, I took 5 hours to finish the marathon and there weren't any crowds or bottlenecks. There was a line to get food, but it went quickly. Overall I was very pleased with the experience. For such a huge event (~25,000 people for all races), I thought it went pretty smoothly. I would recommend this race, but not for a PR due to the hills.
R. H. from MN (10/16/2012) "Interesting and not terribly challenging course." (about: 2012) 50+ previous marathons \| 1 Baltimore Marathon COURSE: 3 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 3 Overall, a good marathon on a perfect day! Organization, T-shirt/medal very good and start/finish area in spacious Camden Yards was a plus. Downsides were bag drop too far from the start, getting a ton of Half runners dumped on the course about midway through the Full was quite a mess and the post race food was mediocre at best (chips and dry bagels do not make a post race treat). Also, cutting off age groups at 70+ is NO LONGER the standard. Most marathons go to 80+ and 85+ is common.
L. K. from Texas (10/16/2012) "Poor race organization" (about: 2012) 50+ previous marathons \| 1 Baltimore Marathon COURSE: 3 ORGANIZATION: 1 FANS: 3 I did not like how the expo was arranged where we had to walk up the stadium ramps to get to the expo then walk past the vendors to get the race number then walk all the back past all of the vendors a 2nd time to get the t-shirt. There were not enough volunteers at the water stops as several times I had to grab a cup off of the table and one of those times the cup was empty. Merging the slower half marathoners in with the marathoners at mile 16 was a terrible idea. It made for an extremely crowded course and I was passing slower half marathoners the last 10 miles. Going around the lake at mile 21 I was boxed in and could not pass due to the large number of runners. Extremely hilly course - more hilly than Boston. The gear bags should have been closer to the start and finish lines. Lime green t-shirts that do not even say 'marathon' on the front? The plus side - there was good crowd support and a nice finishers medal.
L. R. from New York, NY (10/16/2012) "Nice effort but there is room for improvement" (about: 2012) 4-5 previous marathons \| 1 Baltimore Marathon COURSE: 3 ORGANIZATION: 3 FANS: 3 Overall this was a fun race. Nice course starts at Camden Yards, goes through the Zoo, down to the inner harbor, through the city (very hilly), around a lake and back through Camden Yards. One of my main complaints is that they did not have time clocks every mile. It was supposed to be every other mile, but I feel like they did not even have that. I feel if I'm going to pay for a race in a big city, I should be able to get my mile pace every mile because I don't like having to wear a watch and have to worry about losing the satellite. Second, complaint is that all the signs on the course were on the ground. You could not see them until you were right at them. In a race with a large field that cause a lot of traffic jams. Simply mounting the signs for water, toilets, gatorade, mile markers, relay exchange, etc on a pole so they can seen over the crowd would make a big difference. I missed a few mile markers because they were small and I could not find it. They changed the half marathon course which seemed to fix the problem with the merge. If you run the race, make sure you really pay attention to the maps for the expo, pre-race area, and post-race in the race packet. I figured I would just get there and there would be signs or volunteers pointing me in the right direction, but that was not the case. Everyone was really friendly, but they could use more volunteers and staff. There was line about 40 min long to get food at the end of the race. They definitely need to rework the post finish area. The race is sponsored by Under Armour so the t-shirt is a really nice long sleeve tech shirt. Baltimore has a nice inner harbor area. Most hotels in the area offer a marathon rate at a discount. A lot to do in walking distance museums, Ravens stadium, restaurants. Great kids race and post-race entertainment. Nice weekend away for families. I would recommend for people on the East Coast in driving distance. Probably will not run it again, used it to check Maryland off my 50 state list.
D. V. from Hillsboro, MD (10/16/2012) "That was awesome!" (about: 2012) First Marathon COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 This was my first marathon and I had a blast. Thank you for a great experience. I will see you next year.
J. R. from Virginia (10/15/2012) "Disappointing marathon/half marathon" (about: 2012) 6-10 previous marathons \| 1 Baltimore Marathon COURSE: 1 ORGANIZATION: 1 FANS: 3 The expo sucked, not very many vendors! The shirt was great - Under Armour. The race was very crowded and chaotic at the finish. Poor job Baltimore.
Sergio Chacon from Rockville, MD (10/15/2012) "A truly people's running festival" (about: 2012) 11-50 previous marathons \| 2 Baltimore Marathons COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 4 Considering that no race is perfect, this one is very close to it. Even though it is a hilly course, people cheering on, plus the logistic support for runners, greatly compensates even to PR. Organizers listen to their 'clients' and try to resolve any problem/concern ASAP. This is my second year participating and gladly will be back for this fantastic running party.

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