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Apr 28, 2024

Little Rock Marathon Runner Comments

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Course 4.2

Organization 4.6

Spectators 4.2

Number of comments: 409 [displaying comments 31 to 41]

More Comments: [ < 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 .. 41 > ]

M. B. from Indiana (3/11/2014) "Great race - some issues with communication" (about: 2014) 11-50 previous marathons \| 2 Little Rock Marathons COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 3 FANS: 5 I'll start by saying that this is a great race and please don't let the difficulties experienced in 2014 keep you away. About the expo: it was easy to get to and parking wasn't a challenge. There were many vendors if shopping is your thing, and if not you can get in and out quickly. My friend and I began with the early starters (they allow a 2 hour early start at 6 AM if you think you may take more than 6 hours) as my friend was injured so I can't comment on any of the problems with the start corrals. The early start was well organized and we enjoyed the nice weather for the first 2-3 hours. The 'couch potatoes' at mile 14 handing out potato chips and (fresh and hot!) tator tots were my heroes. I never expect food on marathon courses, but this race had several fruit stops (one station even offered king cake, another donuts) which was fabulous as I prefer real food to the gels. Several churches were also handing out food, water and gatorade which was greatly appreciated. We were at mile 22 when we first got news that the race was 'called off' and we needed to get off the course, but at the next water station they had the red flag up so we were pretty confused. However, we kept running and finished without being rerouted. I think that some marathoners may have preferred the buses to the finish as several were wearing shorts/tanks in the 35 degree + rain/sleet + wind we experienced in the last few miles (at one point there was hail... coming sideways due to the wind). I must say that the volunteers and some spectators stayed THROUGH ALL OF THIS and were absolutely wonderful-some were riding the course in golf carts handing trashbags to runners so we could keep warm. Both times I have done this race the volunteers and spectators have been PHENOMENAL!!! Kudos! Were there major communication issues about the race cancellation or non-cancellation? Yes. But I've run 2 other marathons that were red/black flagged and I wouldn't describe the communication in either of those as 'good' or even 'adequate'. At this point I've come to accept that if a race is cancelled or the weather is bad enough that some feel it SHOULD be cancelled there are going to be some problems - it's unavoidable. I know that many felt the weather did not warrent even the hint of cancellation, but I think that's coming from those of us who live north of Little Rock. Living in Indiana, I wouldn't say that the weather should have resulted in cancellation, but when I lived in Georgia I probably would have!!! The medal is huge (as advertised) and the superhero theme was fun, with many runners/spectators dressing up. I can't comment about the post-race food as we were both shivering so badly that we just grabbed a cookie and left to get into dry clothes. Due to the horrible weather our 9+ hour drive home became 13+ hours, but it was still worth it. If this race was closer I'd do it every year!
R. H. from Midwest (3/8/2014) "Race Directors Botched this Race" (about: 2014) 11-50 previous marathons \| 1 Little Rock Marathon COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 1 FANS: 3 Some have described very well before this posting about the race being cancelled. Or was it cancelled? No one knows! I was at about mile 21 when we were told the race had been cancelled and there would be a bus waiting for us somewhere ahead. Why would we get on a bus that was towards the finish line if we had only 4 or 5 miles to go? We kept running and kept hearing or seeing signs that the marathon had been cancelled. One lady yelled at us to seek shelter but that was ridiculous as there was no place to seek shelter plus it wasn't hailing or lightening. We only had cold rain pouring on us. If you are going to cancel a race, cancel it, be firm about it, leave no doubt about it, and provide transportation immediately to take runners to shelter. I never saw a bus to take us away and I wouldn't have taken it anyway because I'm a 50 Stater and wasn't about to let cold rain keep me from the finish. We continued on to the finish line not knowing whether our results were official or not. When we crossed the finish line, the clock was still running, the announcer was still doing his job with enthusiasm, and we were given our huge medal. Why was all of this taking place if the race had been cancelled. There is no doubt that the race directors botched this race. The storm warnings had been posted on weather apps for a day or two so the directors had plenty of time to plan for the worst. The weather apps showed that the weather would drastically deteriorate around 10 a.m., so why didn't the directors move up the race to a 6 a.m. start since they had an early group starting at 6? I believe this was the first year they had us start in corrals, but this only delayed things further. I was in the 5th corral and they gave us the green light 16 minutes after the official race start. Notwithstanding the terrible performance of the RDs, there were some positives to this race. The race took us by the Little Rock Central High School, the school that was in the national spotlight in 1957 for its desegregation efforts. It is a beautiful building and I give kudos to the RDs for taking us by this place in history. Beyond this feature point, I liked the race course just fine. The course went through neighborhoods and some wooded areas. All cities have potholes and rough streets, and this city did as well, so I look at this as a given to be dealt with in any race. The course was long by .4 of a mile. This was corroborated by others. This was the 12th running of this race so it is inexcusable that the RDs wouldn't have the correct distance by now. The volunteers were great. They hung in there with us through the cold wind and rain and served us well. The medal is unbelievably huge and beautiful. I showed it at our local runner's club and they couldn't believe how awesome it was. I stayed at the Double Tree Hotel downtown. It is less than a half mile from the start, so very convenient.
J. R. from New Hampshire (3/7/2014) "Poor planning, mass chaos, #EpicFail" (about: 2014) 11-50 previous marathons \| 1 Little Rock Marathon COURSE: 3 ORGANIZATION: 1 FANS: 3 Despite the debacle that was Little Rock 2014, I'll start with a few pros: (1) the course was a fair one- nice and challenging, especially the 2+ mile hill from 14-16. Not flat, but streets were mostly wide enough for the crowd; (2) decent crowd support considering the cold rain; (3) decent 'perks'. But I didn't run this for the three pound medal, I ran it to get my Arkansas sub-4 at a professionally run race. And here's where LRM falls flat. There are two RD's who spent far more time producing a spectacle than planning a race. That weather got worse through the race is unfortunate; that the police, volunteers, and RD's had no communication was inexcusable. Was the race canceled? The cop who tried to block me at mile 24 loudly said yes. Most near me simply ran around him and continued toward downtown on the course. There were no shelters and nothing to prevent hundreds from slipping into hypothermia. I finished around 3:55- and I was in Corral C. Hundreds who waited almost a half hour to start weren't so lucky. For a city that's tricky to get to from the East Coast, I'm glad I don't need to come back. Definitely would not recommend.
C. B. from Madison, WI (3/7/2014) "Tough weather" (about: 2014) 11-50 previous marathons COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 3 FANS: 4 I was able to finish so my perspective is different than the many whose race was cut short. They have every reason to be frustrated but give this race a chance! Pros: -very unique and enormous medal -nice course through a neat city. I didn't love the out-back portion (and the wind) along the river the last 7 miles or so but most city races don't have 26.2 miles of spectacular views -expo was solid, efficient, not overly crowded -the people! Seems like the town really gets behind this race. The spectators were great for the most miserable race weather you can havecold, windy, rain. Cons -weather! No control over it obviously but it was terrible -the start was too slow. I've done bigger races through narrow streets that were way more efficient at moving people through -communication with the 're-route' As to the 're-route'... I have yet to hear of a smooth cancellation where everyone is happy. Clearly the weather was bad and no one wants to be known as 'the race' where someone gets hurt because of a race director's inability to make a decision. Having said that, there is plenty of room to improve the process. The police and many folks on the course clearly believed it was over. A little humility from the directors regarding the poor communication would be refreshing. Every runner I talked to at the airport was under the impression it was canceled. Insisting afterward it was re-routed is disingenuous and rightly ticked off a lot of runners. Overall it is a good race. Don't let one tough year scare you away, this is a gem and the people of Little Rock should stay proud of this race!
J. A. from Missouri (3/6/2014) "Contingency Plan FAIL" (about: 2014) 1 previous marathon \| 1 Little Rock Marathon COURSE: 1 ORGANIZATION: 1 FANS: 1 The course and spectators for this race are great! The rain and cold this year didn't make it the best race, but that is just part of running you accept. What was unacceptable, was the chaos in the last 8 miles. The RD's said the race was never officially cancelled, how does that type of statement get miscommunicated to the LR Police Department? In their statement they said that miscommunication just happens. The weather was not entirely an unexpected event, they were watching it all week and should have had a contingency plan in place providing a clear and consistent message along the course. While the message on the course varied, once we saw the black EXTREME signs, per the race booklet, we understood the race was over (the RD's said these were never posted, but this is false). But in the video the RD's posted, they said it was never cancelled. The corral start was also a FAIL. I have experienced races with double the runners and smaller streets get people across the start line faster. Overall poor organization. I do enjoy the course, but will not run again. This shed a very poor light on Little Rock, which is traditionally a very nice location. On a side note, the Race Director's should really consider hiring a PR firm... their statement after the race was unprofessional and only made it worse.
D. S. from Chicago IL (3/6/2014) "I would run this again" (about: 2014) 11-50 previous marathons \| 1 Little Rock Marathon COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 5 Loved the challenge of the hills and turns. The crowd support, music, volunteers were wonderful. Thank you to LRPD and med personnel. RDs can not control the weather. Read about the course before signing up. Walkers and runners need to be truthful when signing up re expected marathon times so proper corral placement can occur. It was rainy at the start, no one forced any of us to start. Be thankful you have lived another day to run/walk another marathon. This experience will make you stronger for the next one. Take responsibility for your own self. Marathons are an outdoor sport.
B. P. from KY (3/6/2014) "Chick's in Charge? Walkers get in your own corral" (about: 2014) 11-50 previous marathons \| 3 Little Rock Marathons COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 1 FANS: 5 This race is normally one of my favorites, but 2014 left me disappointed & confused. The new corral system will not work in the current version, please modify it for 2015. This was put on more like a party mixer than a top rated road race. We didn't need girls from the local seriority house to act as RD's. We needed experienced RD's to handle ALL issues that might come up. Did they have a contingency plan in place? What did the Chick's in Charge actually communicate? What did they say first, 'Marathon is cancelled? Marathon is rerouted? Or what? Each Aid Station said something different. Confusion mixed with angry/confused/cold runners, plus the threat of bad weather left this a tough call to make. BUT WHAT DID THE CIC's CALL? I understand it is a difficult job as a RD but where are they now that the criticism is being blasted from every corner. Admit mistakes were made and move forward to next year. Last thought: a lot folks spent vacation time, money, gas, hotels, and other ventures in the little Rock area, I am so sorry you had to do all of that and have your race cancelled(rerouted). Always next year..................
J. C. from Jonesboro, Arkansas (3/5/2014) "Third Time is a Charm" (about: 2014) 4-5 previous marathons \| 3 Little Rock Marathons COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 I ran this race for the third time in 2014, and set a PR! This was largely due to the quality pacers that ran my group in (3:15). It's a small marathon with some big hills, but the organization was great and the volunteers were amazing for standing out in that weather. I was lucky enough to make it in before the confusion set in about course closure or warnings, but know that the race directors here have big hearts and will definitely learn from what happened to have a better communications plan in place for the future.
Y. F. from New Mexico (NM) (3/4/2014) "Winter Storm Titan kicked our butts..." (about: 2014) 11-50 previous marathons COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 3 It's hard for me to write a useful review about a full marathon when I was able to run only half of it due to its being cancelled/rerouted a few hours after I crossed the start line-so the 'stars' for course, organization, and spectators are not valid. The threat of lightning and the miserable cold/freezing rain led the organizers to take that drastic step, and I applaud their decision. So I can just offer a few comments. The Expo was good, just the right size, not too crowded, easily accessible (I went twice, once on Friday and once on Saturday), everyone very friendly. The start took way too long for a field that was not that big. It took >45 minutes for me to get to the start, and I was not in the last corral! I would suggest having the full marathoners start a half-hour or an hour earlier than the half-marathoners. It was just too crowded. Some people were walking from the very start, often four or five abreast. Made for a lot of weaving through! I would also suggest an earlier start time, since it was light at 7 a.m. The 8 a.m. 'start' which turned out to be closer to 9 a.m. for the last half of the corrals is just a bit too late. If we had started earlier, I might have finished the marathon; as it is, I only did about half the course before we were rerouted. So I did not see the second half, but the part in North Little Rock was not that exciting. Overall, in all of LR the street surfaces were in disrepair, so it was important to watch where you were running/walking. Not suprisingly, crowd support was not huge, but I give kudos to anyone who came out in this awful weather, and really cannot thank enough all the volunteers at the aid stations; very well done, clearly indicating Water or Gatorade. Although we did not run the entire thing, we (full marathoners) still received the medal. The medal of course was HuMonGous, maybe TOO BIG? Tough to carry the extra pounds back to the hotel a mile away in the freezing rain! Postrace food was okay. My banana was almost frozen-but I can't complain. Oh Titan, could you not have spared us? I guess I'll come back to do the entire thing another year.
M. H. from Nashville Tennesse (3/4/2014) "Chaos in Arkansas" (about: 2014) 50+ previous marathons COURSE: 1 ORGANIZATION: 1 FANS: 1 Cancelled the marathon in the middle of the marathon, then announced they had not cancelled the marathon after all. I wont go back. I don't think they have any idea what they are doing.

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