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May 5, 2024

Charlottesville Marathon Runner Comments

Back to Charlottesville Marathon Information & Reviews

Course 4.2

Organization 3.6

Spectators 3.0

Number of comments: 240 [displaying comments 41 to 51]

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Dick Rawdon from Georgetown KY (4/19/2010) "Great small marathon" (about: 2010) 11-50 previous marathons \| 1 Charlottesville Marathon COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 3 This year the weather was truly perfect. The course has 3 very major hills and the rest is rolling. It was really a beautiful course when in the country. I wish the whole marathon would have been in the country instead of over half in town. Running through UVA was nice. The negative was the lack of GU. It was advertised that there would be GU at several points, but I saw none. A worker said they were given one box. The volunteers were really great, as were the numerous water stations. Overall, a very nice marathon.
S. S. from Richmond, Virginia (4/19/2010) "Beautiful but don't try to race it" (about: 2010) 11-50 previous marathons COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 2 FANS: 1 It was a bad day for me but I don't want that to cloud my overall race judgement. The course was beautiful - no two ways around that. Rolling countryside in the first half and a beautiful section along the river in the second. It is certainly not a fast course but it would be an enjoyable place to run (not race) a marathon. Unfortunately I tried to race it and blew up badly in the second half. My only complaint was the organization. The start was on an extremely crowded narrow street and there were no corrals set up to distinguish paces. With an 8K, half, and full all starting together it was way too crowded. There were no porta-potties on the first half of the course (that I saw - and I was desperately looking!) and only 2 on the second half. I also would like to see more water stops out there as we went more than 3 miles at times without water. Spectators were virtually non-existent but that isn't a big deal to me. I would do this race again but only as a training run or fun run. The hills just don't allow for a PR attempt. Charlottesville is a great city and the trip was worth it just to spend some time there.
J. D. from Washington, DC (4/18/2010) "Good, but not great" (about: 2010) 2 previous marathons \| 1 Charlottesville Marathon COURSE: 3 ORGANIZATION: 3 FANS: 3 Like the comment below, I signed up for this race because I heard what a beautiful course it was. There were parts that had spectacular views that made the time "fly" by as I ran, but the hills were not what I was expecting! I ran the San Francisco Marathon last year and I have to say, the hills in Charlottesville were worse! I also didn't like how the last 12 miles were two 6-mile loops. It would have been nice to see new things. Charlottesville is a great city for a marathon. There were great restaurants and the "expo" and start/finish were in walking distance from most of hotels runners stayed at. As for the organization, I thought there were plenty of water stops, although at times, there were no race directors on the course, at places I thought were important, at like one of the turn arounds. There wasn't even a cone to run around. There also weren't enough bathrooms along the course. At Mile 5/8 there were only 2 so the lines were fairly long. There were also points in the course where I didn't know which way to go and I had to ask a spectator sitting out on her front lawn which way the runners before me had gone. Lastly, after I crossed the finish line I was given a half-marathon medal because they ran out of the full marathon medals. I thought that was very poor organization and a true disappointment. Overall, I enjoyed myself. This was my second marathon and I PRed, but I'm thankful this wasn't my first. I think mentally the hills would have really gotten to me.
K. B. from Arlington, VA (4/18/2010) "Decent race, but NOT a "must-do"" (about: 2010) 2 previous marathons COURSE: 3 ORGANIZATION: 3 FANS: 2 I ran the half-marathon yesterday and I have to say, I really don't get the hype that has been written about this race (Runner's World, NY Times). This is my third half-marathon, and I am two weeks away from finishing my second full marathon. So I still consider myself a new runner, but have been racing consistently for about 3 years now. The good things: most of the course is really pretty and it's very peaceful. Charlottesville is a super cute town and everyone there (spectators, volunteers, fellow runners) was incredibly nice. My issues with this race boiled down to this: poor planning. Which is why I think it is so odd that this race has gotten so much positive press. I don't get it. I picked up my race packet the morning of the race. Yes, it was efficient, however I was told that "the distributor didn't deliver all of the t-shirts" so I had to write my name down on a random piece of paper and they were going to mail it to me. I sort of think that if the distributor doesn't deliver what you ordered on time, either you didn't ORDER on-time, or you didn't order the correct number that you needed. Not a huge deal, it's just a t-shirt, but it's not what I expected from a highly regarded race. So then, after getting my packet, I do the next logical thing and find the port-o-potties. They had about 16, maybe 18, set up in a "U" shape at the start area. THAT WAS IT. The line curled around forever and I know a lot of people did not get chance to use the facilities before starting the race. Just simply not enough port-o-potties for a race day serving about 4,000 distance runners and their spectators. This should have been a sign of things to come, because it got worse from there. First set of port-o-potties out on the course? Mile 5.5. And there were TWO. Yes, TWO. The line was long, of course, and it's not like it moved quickly because you know that anyone that REALLY needs to stop at that point in the race doesn't just have to pee. And the kicker is that the course was an out-and-back course, so these were the ONLY two port-o-potties on the entire first half of the marathon course. TWO. I am very serious when I say that I lost over 10 minutes of time waiting at those stupid bathrooms. And of course, I was looking at my watch and just stewing with anger. Maybe because it is a rural course, the thought is that people can just pull over wherever and there's no need for as many bathrooms? Maybe they don't have permits to place port-o-potties on the route? Then change the route or do SOMETHING because 2 bathrooms for a few thousand runners is just completely inadequate. I am done ranting. Overall, the race was a good test for my patience, attitude and mental toughness. That's just not what I had in mind when I signed up....
C. W. from Charlottesville, VA (4/18/2010) "Wonderful course and great fun at post-race" (about: 2010) 6-10 previous marathons \| 4-5 Charlottesville Marathons COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 4 I had a wonderful time at the race yesterday. I live in Charlottesville, so I am familiar with how great this place is, but it was a pleasure to see some of my favorite places all stringed together. I was feeling pretty tired at about mile 19, so I grabbed a handful of GU and felt better, and I looked forward to what was coming up: it was nice to have seen that part of the course in the fist loop. My favorite part was BY FAR the post-race expo. They had 4 bands playing all day long, several local chiropractors with great info, massages, and an awesome coffee booth with the best coffee I had ever tasted (I think it was called Bearclaw, for those of you interested). I stuck around longer that I would have normally. I would recommend this race to anyone.
A. R. from Franklin, TN (4/17/2010) "good race in a beautiful city" (about: 2010) 11-50 previous marathons \| 1 Charlottesville Marathon COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 4 I had heard great things about this marathon in Runner's World, from other runners, etc., and while I thought it was a good race, I wouldn't call it the most scenic course in the East or a must-do run. Packet pick-up was efficient; there was no expo, but pick-up was in a running store, so it was easy to pick up anything that was needed at the last minute. The race went off on time. There were plentiful and well stocked water stops with very eager volunteers. I never saw any GU at any stop, and I was in the top 100 runners to finish. Maybe they hadn't put it out yet. Luckily, I had taken my own, but to advertise having it at a couple of stops, and then to not pass it out is pretty bad. The post-race spread was very weak - only cups of water or Gatorade, bananas and pizza. That's it. No cookies, Cokes, or salty snacks - much less any beer. The course is not flat at all. I would call it heavily rolling hills. Nothing was too bad, but they were constant. The double loop section in the second half of the race was unusual, but I liked knowing what was coming at me in the final few miles. The City of Charlottesville is a fantastic place for a race. With UVA, Monticello, tons of fabulous restaurants, and multiple wineries in the area, it is a great place to make a long weekend trip. Overall, a good, but not great race in a GREAT city.
M. H. from Tenn, USA (12/27/2009) "Loved the Charlottesville Marathon and the area" (about: 2006) 11-50 previous marathons \| 3 Charlottesville Marathons COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 3 I am looking forward to the 2010 run. I ran the first Charlottesville Marathon at the vineyard, and again in 2005 and 2006. I have loved all three events. I recently got a note that there was a new course and I am excited to run the race again "in the city" and see more of the town and the green space along the river (as well as to have some more spectator support). I am heading to Florida now for a flat course but a fun place to run in the winter.
S. B. from Dublin, OH (12/23/2009) "Best Race Ever!" (about: 2009) 11-50 previous marathons \| 1 Charlottesville Marathon COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 4 My friends and I just registered for the next Charlottesville Marathon (actually 2 will run the full marathon and 1 the half marathon). I am the only one in the group who has run this race and I've got the group very excited about this year's race. I loved the beautiful town of Charlottesville. The start and finish are located in the heart of downtown and you really get a sense of the history of the area. I am also excited to run the new course, which seems to go through some very old neighborhoods and along the river.
R. S. from NY then NC now (11/4/2009) "History, Scenery, Mountains and Horses" (about: 2007) 11-50 previous marathons \| 1 Charlottesville Marathon COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 3 I am planning to head back to the 2010 Charlottesville Marathon. I ran it with a cousin in 2007 (April 21 - it was his 40th birthday and 19th marathon). We had fun in Charlottesville - Thomas Jefferson's home, and home to Dave Matthews' bar and a fun, scenic race. There were plenty of great volunteers on the course and the scenery was amazing. I came from New York, and we had not had spring yet, so I loved the greenery. As I was dragging about halfway through, I enjoyed the views all around me. I used to run on hills but have since moved south to a flatter area, so this will be fun for me.
P. B. from Chicago (10/31/2009) "Beautiful Race" (about: 2009) 4-5 previous marathons \| 1 Charlottesville Marathon COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 4 My friend Sue and I will be going back for a second year to run the Charlottesville Marathon. We ran in 2009 and had a great time. For Sue, this was her first race, and she felt the scenic nature of the course really helped make the time fly by. We hope to spend a few extra days this year visiting some of the historic sites.

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