calendar icon May 1, 2024

Mobile Marathon (prev. First Light Marathon) Runner Comments

Back to Mobile Marathon (prev. First Light Marathon) Information & Reviews

Course Rating Course 4.4 
 
Oranization Rating Organization 4.7 
 
Spectator Rating Spectators 3.7 
 
 
Number of comments: 153 [displaying comments 21 to 31]
More Comments: [ < 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 .. 15 > ]

 

B. S. from Connecticut (1/14/2014)
"Down-Home Southern Charm" (about: 2014)

6-10 previous marathons | 1 Mobile Marathon (prev. First Light Marathon)
COURSE: 5  ORGANIZATION: 5  FANS: 4


This race has a great small town feel. I ran it the day after the MS Blues, and feel great about the experience.

Pros
- It feels good to be part of a race that benefits a worthy organization.
- The course is a real test: flat, then hilly, then very hilly, and then flat again  probably not a PR course, but a good challenge
- Mobile is super convenient. Stayed at the Quality Inn two blocks from the start for $74. Nice to walk out the door and go straight for a run.
- Very cool dinner the night before. Fun to meet a mix of locals and hard core 50 state types.
- Nice shirt.
- Medal made by the beneficiaries of the race.

Cons
- I hate to complain about volunteers, but some consistency to the water/Gatorade distribution would help. Here's a tip: Gatorade, and then water
- Not a lot of spectators were vocal and excited
- In this day and age, chip timing would be nice, although I am happy if they saved some money around the edges for the charity
 

K. P. from Loxley, AL (1/13/2014)
"Loved running my hometown marathon!" (about: 2014)

11-50 previous marathons | 1 Mobile Marathon (prev. First Light Marathon)
COURSE: 5  ORGANIZATION: 5  FANS: 5


Awesome experience running my hometown marathon! For years I dodged it because of the hills and difficulty of the course. Now that I've run it I am so glad I did. The spectators are awesome, the course is scenic, and the volunteers and race staff do a great job of putting together a 5-star race. An added bonus is the great cause that the race helps to benefit. Kudos to the entire L'Arche Community!
 

J. T. from Texarkana, TX (1/13/2014)
"Feel good race, back 2 back advice" (about: 2014)

11-50 previous marathons | 1 Mobile Marathon (prev. First Light Marathon)
COURSE: 4  ORGANIZATION: 5  FANS: 4


Hospitality abounds. Love my handmade bling, and love the picture & bio on back of my B2B plaque (thanks to Annie, who is a jokester.) fed me warm donuts at mi 18. For.Real.
For back2back crowd: protein, compression socks, sleep aid, drain yer blisters good, beer bad after Jackson. The host hotel for mobile race has a tough to find entry and very rude (finger pointing and head bobbing) desk help. Just take a breath and be ready... Hard to shake off after 26 hilly mi, 3.5 hr drive, and thought of doing it again. Shake it off at the pasta dinner. They have pie :)
 

B. C. from Pontotoc, MS (1/12/2014)
"Great Run, beautiful route" (about: 2014)

1 previous marathon | 1 Mobile Marathon (prev. First Light Marathon)
COURSE: 5  ORGANIZATION: 5  FANS: 3


All was wonderful until both my husband and myself became sick from the dinner the night before, we suspect. Many runners along the course was sick as well. It slowed my expected time down by 20 mins. Had to visit too many porta potties. Disappointment for my first half and my husbands first marathon. :-(
 

M. W. from Gulfport, MS (1/12/2014)
"Great race for an awesome cause" (about: 2014)

6-10 previous marathons | 1 Mobile Marathon (prev. First Light Marathon)
COURSE: 5  ORGANIZATION: 5  FANS: 4


Did online registration and packet pickup the morning of the race (did not go to the expo). I got to the race about an hour early and was able to park 100 yards from the starting line for $10. Packet pickup was easy, took less than five minutes. The route got a little hilly in the middle of the course. My garmin showed a +/- elevation gain of 719 ft. There was a little bit of everything to look at... downtown, residential neighborhoods, country, college campuses, etc... Crowd support was a little thin in places but when there was a crowd they sure did cheer! There were 20'ish water/aid stations. All had porta-poties, water and Gatorade, about half had fruit. The volunteers were some of the best ive seen at any event, very supportive and nice. Finally, I normally do not place much value on finishers medals but these were handmade by the charity the race benefits (adults with mental disabilities). This medal is one of the few that I place any value on. Great race, go ahead and do it.
 

R. R. from New York, NY (1/19/2013)
"Way to go Mobile!!" (about: 2013)

11-50 previous marathons
COURSE: 4  ORGANIZATION: 5  FANS: 4


This marathon far exceeded my expectations and may be the best smaller marathon that I have run!

Pros
* great medal made by members of benefitting foundation
* great course through a variety of areas
* great pasta party
* friendly city - and I mean friendly ... from cabbies to hotel workers to course monitors and police
* recommend Spot of Tea for pancakes
* great post race celebration

Cons
* better distinguish water from gatorade at stops
* I'm nott a huge fan of relayers flying by me at mile 22, but at least they were identified as such
* weather - out of the race director's control, but it was hot and humid unseasonably so

Beware: the course has a series of hills from miles 10-20, but is flat on the ends

Mobile is a great smaller city and did their marathon up right!, Way to go!!,
 

A. S. from Fairhope, Alabama (1/17/2013)
"Overall Great Event" (about: 2013)

11-50 previous marathons
COURSE: 4  ORGANIZATION: 5  FANS: 4


So well organized. Obviously an army of dedicated volunteers. Police presence for traffic control was amazing. Aid stations plentiful. After-party had a nice variety of food and great music. Those over-priced Rock N' Rolls' could learn a thing or two from these folks! Thanks...I enjoyed
 

L. H. from Pine Bluff,AR (1/16/2013)
"Good course,Great town" (about: 2013)

4-5 previous marathons | 1 Mobile Marathon (prev. First Light Marathon)
COURSE: 4  ORGANIZATION: 3  FANS: 4


I drove 7 hours to run this race in hopes of finishing under 4 hours. The coures was great up to mile 21 where I waited 7 1/2 minutes for a train to pass, my legs were shot after that.
 

C. N. from Bishop, CA (1/16/2013)
"Race made convenient!" (about: 2013)

1 previous marathon
COURSE: 4  ORGANIZATION: 4  FANS: 2


The Expo was plesant and the pasta feed was really good. We stayed at the Holiday Inn downtown which is recommended because you can just walk out the door to the start in the morning and not worry about parking, that was sweet. It was pretty humid on race day and alot of runners had to slow down early in the race, but its location and nothing you can do about the weather.

The water stops were layed out about every other mile or so. I would make a suggestion that they place signs on the tables marking which is water and which is powerade. I at many water stops had difficulty getting what I needed and the volunteers were just holding the cups in their hands and not reaching them out to the runners, so it made it difficult as we had to stop and get the cup out of their hand or from the table.

The police dept. did an awsome job at directing the traffic for the runners. Also, be aware, you may get stopped by the train while on the course. A couple of marathoners were stopped for 4 minutes while waiting for the train to pass through. UGG! The finish announcer was so funny. He did an awsome job. Thank you for the experience.
 

J. G. from Wisconsin (1/15/2013)
"Great Alabama marathon" (about: 2013)

6-10 previous marathons | 1 Mobile Marathon (prev. First Light Marathon)
COURSE: 5  ORGANIZATION: 5  FANS: 4


This was my choice for my Alabama marathon and it did not disappoint. I love the wooden finisher's medal and the fact that it was handmade makes it more special. Course was hilly in the mid part as has been mentioned prior, the humidity made those hills worse for me. Police were out in force at almost every intersection- it was fantastic! Course was great, I enjoyed running through the two colleges and having the students cheering. Hampton Inn was good- asked for a later check out and was refused, asked again on race day and was told I could check out one hour later. That made the difference as I was catching a flight right after. Location of hotel was close to expo and start. Great job Mobile!!
 

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