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May 5, 2024

OC Marathon Runner Comments

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Course 3.5

Organization 3.4

Spectators 2.8

Number of comments: 181 [displaying comments 61 to 71]

More Comments: [ < 1 .. 5 6 7 8 9 .. 19 > ]

S. Z. from Hesperia,CA (5/5/2009) "Great but needs porta-potties and gels" (about: 2009) 1 previous marathon \| 1 OC Marathon COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 3 FANS: 4 I had a great time, but the porta-potties were a shame. Thousands of over-hydrated runners were all trying to squeeze into a tiny, chaotic circle of porta-potties. I was OK, but the girls were literally crying with nowhere to pee. No gels or bars during the race. The course was fun, but it got very tight in two sections, which slowed us down quite a bit. I will try it again next year if they promise to fix the porta-potties.
T. L. from dallas,tx. (5/5/2009) "much improved" (about: 2009) 6-10 previous marathons \| 2 OC Marathons COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 3 The race has gotten much better since I participated 2 years ago. The course now has characteristics of what a SoCal race should have. Also, it has seemingly better organization (with corrals at the start), and a separate race for the kids. I did see some fan support (granted, it is 6:30 on Sunday morning), but since I ran the half, I can't comment about the full marathon. Overall, it's vastly improved, and I will think about doing it again next year.
L. S. from Orange County, CA (5/5/2009) "Great course; MORE porta-potties; better parking" (about: 2009) First Marathon COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 3 FANS: 4 I ran the half. Great course. Beautiful weather. Spectacular scenery. Loved running Back Bay. Spectators were encouraging. Goal was to PR. On track until I had to wait 14 minutes for the porta-potty! Definitely need at least half a dozen at each mile. Exit from parking was terrible - needs to be much better organized so that it doesn't take 45 minutes to reach an exit.
C. K. from Diamond Bar, California (5/5/2009) "NIce new course but there are issues" (about: 2009) 2 previous marathons \| 1 OC Marathon COURSE: 3 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 2 In general, I really liked this course more than the previous one; and in general, the organization in terms of water stops, police control, and volunteers was great - but they really needed more porta-potties, especially at the start. Also, the new course is somewhat constrained: a good portion of the first half of the course is on a bike lane and sidewalk or bike path, which is fairly narrow for the number of people running. There was one point on the course where the path crossed under the Pacific Coast Highway and the congestion was so bad that we actually came to a stop. I foresee real difficulties if a lot more people sign up for the race.
D. W. from Irvine, CA (5/4/2009) "Great new course, good organization!" (about: 2009) 4-5 previous marathons \| 1 OC Marathon COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 2 The first half of the course was awesome! The second half was much less interesting, but does it matter, after mile 16? Overall, great new course! It would be neat to get more spectators out there to cheer you on and have a beer garden at the finish line! : )
A. T. from California (5/4/2009) "THIS MARATHON WAS LAME" (about: 2009) 6-10 previous marathons \| 1 OC Marathon COURSE: 1 ORGANIZATION: 1 FANS: 2 I was looking forward to this marathon for months. I decided to complete this one instead of the San Diego Rock and Roll, and boy am I disappointed. This has been by far the worst marathon EVER! Almost everything about it was disappointing. When I arrived at the fair grounds they charged me for parking ($5). Once at the expo, there were very few vendors, I basically walked the whole expo in 5 minutes. The goody bag was empty, with only a pack of gel shots - yuck! The shirt they gave out was the only decent item. On race day, they charged for parking AGAIN! I could not believe that, especially since they charged me an entrance fee of $107. The starting line was poorly organized. It was really difficult for me to get up to speed because there were way too many people, most doing the half-marathon. The water stations were not at every mile. The course was dull, with lots of hills. When passing by residential areas, there were some spectator cheering the runners, but overall the race felt really boring. I would not recommend it. Seriously.
G. S. from San Diego (5/4/2009) "Making Great Improvements" (about: 2009) 2 previous marathons \| 1 OC Marathon COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 4 The new course is a significant improvement, taking you seaside, through the nature preserve area, and over mostly quality roads. The support was exactly what was needed, with plenty of volunteers at stations, water and sport drink not running out, and good enthusiasm from the staff. Out of 8000+ runners, fewer than 1400 did the full 26.2, making the start/self-corral method a little dense. The things to know for next year: 1. Miles 20 through 25 are lonely, running alongside the aqueduct/golf course, with minimal support from staff or fans. Bicyclists out for Sunday rides also use this path, possibly causing dodge/collision situations. 2. Harbor Blvd. (Mile 25) was semi-open to cars, causing a few runners to stop upon PD direction. Not the place you want to stop for traffic, depending on the condition of your legs. 3. The overpass for the 405 between mile 20-21 is quite an elevation gain. I'm not saying that they should change the course to go around it; I'm saying to runners that this is a challenging climb. 4. The dirt portion through Fairview Park (mile 23-24) surprised me, since we'd been on paved path until then. All it takes is a little rain, and that becomes a major issue. That could be something to look at next year. Overall, a good, new course. Major props to the organizers for their improvements, and I may be back next year, depending on the registration fee (this cost as much as an RnR Marathon). Maybe if we had more full-marathoners, the fee could come down? I recommend this marathon.
M. B. from Mission Viejo, CA (5/4/2009) "Ooohhh my quads!" (about: 2009) 1 previous marathon \| 1 OC Marathon COURSE: 3 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 3 The Back Bay was pretty and the weather for the first half was great! The hills killed my quads too! I'm definitely walking funny today. The Santa Trail was pretty boring... could have used an additional water station with people cheering us on out there. The police officers did an awesome job of controlling traffic.
Jim Doti from Orange County, California (5/4/2009) "OC Beautiful" (about: 2009) 11-50 previous marathons \| 2 OC Marathons COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 3 Fabulous new course. Terrific organization. The OC Marathon has dreams of greatness, and with the 2009 race, it went a long way toward making those dreams come true.
T. V. from Anaheim, CA (5/4/2009) "great course; need more port-a-potties" (about: 2009) 2 previous marathons \| 1 OC Marathon COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 3 FANS: 3 I loved the course, which was varied and scenic. They need more port-a-potties, though; lines were too long to stop. Also, I would have liked more liquid nourishment at the end.

More Comments: [ < 1 .. 5 6 7 8 9 .. 19 > ]

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