Click Here: Please visit our Sponsor

Apr 29, 2024

Potomac River Run Marathon Runner Comments

Back to Potomac River Run Marathon Information & Reviews

Course 4.4

Organization 4.4

Spectators 3.2

Number of comments: 42 [displaying comments 11 to 21]

More Comments: [ < 1 2 3 4 5 > ]

a. p. from VA (5/4/2010) "Liked the race on both courses" (about: 2010) 50+ previous marathons \| 2 Potomac River Run Marathons COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 3 It was a saving grace to run on the towpath this weekend! And I'm just as thankful for the early start and the few drops of rain around mile 22. I've done this race on the Mt. Vernon bike path and the towpath now, finding that I really like double out-and-backs. Organization was good; the RD kept us posted; packet pickup the morning of was a little chaotic, but not so bad when all you had to do was walk over to the start and go. We could have used another aid station Sunday, but the ones out there were well stocked, and even managed to get ice for the runners. Great volunteers as well! Shade from the trees along the towpath helped, as did the little bit of cooling that happened as the path got closer to the river. There was plenty of food at the finish and plenty of choices (pizza, fruit, chips, drinks). I didn't use the ride service between Carderock and Rosslyn, but I appreciate the fact that it was offered. I liked the T-shirt, and was just disappointed that my finisher medal looked exactly like my 2006 finisher medal. But Sunday I was there for the experience, not the medal.
M. L. from Potomac md (5/3/2010) "Beautiful scenery; flat, friendly, small, fun race" (about: 2010) 3 previous marathons COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 2 A very nice, low-key, small race - only 200 runners. There was beautiful scenery along the Potomac River. The race ran down and back twice on the towpath. It was so amazingly flat - what a great run for speed. It was a really hot day, so many of us were struggling. I highly recommend. The reward ceremony at the end of the race was great. Jay, the director, gave away gift certificates to everyone who ran. Great stuff - like $25.00 off at restaurants and running stores, and many others worth much more. I had a great time. Thanks!
SAUL ARROY from Annandale, VA (10/8/2009) "LOVE THIS RACE" (about: 2009) 6-10 previous marathons \| 4-5 Potomac River Run Marathons COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 3 I ran the half. This year will be my 4th time in 5 years and I hope to run it every year. I like how it's organized with a runner being able to start whenever they are ready. The course is smooth and very scenic. This race will continue to grow in popularity as the word gets out. I plan to to have two friends from Jersey travel here to join me in the 2010 run. Great job!
c. s. from Baltimore, MD (9/15/2009) "Race to AVOID?! No WAY!" (about: 2009) 3 previous marathons \| 1 Potomac River Run Marathon COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 4 I ran the half, and it began drizzling around 6 a.m. and continued to do so throughout the morning. This was my first half and I thought the rain would suck. LOL! It didn't! It was in the high 50s when I started (around 6:30), but it was very humid that day. The light rain kept runners from getting overheated as the temperature rose. The race was well-organized, despite the permit problems with NPS. Packet pick-up was easy, the classes were informative, and the carb-loading dinner was good. The course was REALLY nice and, despite what a previous poster wrote, the hills were MINIMAL (though doing them twice, as the full marathoners did) would have been a bit daunting)! All in all, I really enjoyed the race. It was a REALLY good one for a first-timer. I hope I can do it again next year! :)
R. S. from Washington, D.C. (5/3/2009) "Unfortunately, this is a marathon to AVOID" (about: 2009) 6-10 previous marathons \| 2 Potomac River Run Marathons COURSE: 2 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 1 This race traditionally has bad weather. Last year's race was cold and extremely windy. This year's race featured a very heavy downpour of rain, which was constant. Granted, no one can control the weather, but if you are taking your hard-earned marathon training to a race, you might want to pick one that gives you a better shot at decent weather. The real problem this year was the "open start," which permitted runners to start whenever they wanted to, within a 90-minute window from 5:30 a.m. to 7:00 a.m. I'm guessing that the race was forced into this to comply with its permit from the National Park Service (the race is on federal land) and thus have a lower impact on the trail and its "regular" users. What makes this an "AVOID" is that this race was already small. Staggering the runners over a 90-minute start period virtually guaranteed that you'll be running all by yourself with absolutely no other runner in sight. I guess if you like lonely, solitary training runs, then this would be the marathon for you. Add the somewhat difficult course (hills, sharp turns, etc.) and you are certainly not going to run a PR on this course or, if you did, you could have done five minutes faster somewhere else. Bottom line: this marathon is best suited for a certain runner - a loner who: (1) does not need to see other runners; (2) does not need any spectator support; (3) is willing to take a substantial risk on horrible weather; and (4) excels on a difficult course. If that's you, then this race is well-organized and a perfect match. If not, look elsewhere.
J. E. from Rockville, MD (5/13/2008) "My first small race and a good one!" (about: 2008) 4-5 previous marathons \| 1 Potomac River Run Marathon COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 3 I've only run in large races (Marine Corps, Chicago), so this was a very different experience. The out-and-back-and-out-and-back course was kind of nice - you knew what was coming up next! The race director and support staff were fantastic - very informative and organized. The downside is that the course is lonely - although I managed to catch up with a runner from Kansas City and chatted with him for several miles, which helped me through those tough mid-miles. There were a few long slopes, which made the course a bit of a challenge, but the scenery did make up for it. Overall, a great experience!
R. H. from Fairfax, VA (5/5/2008) "Outstanding Small, Local Event" (about: 2008) 4-5 previous marathons \| 1 Potomac River Run Marathon COURSE: 3 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 5 Despite personally crashing, I have great praise for this event especially RD Jay. His emails were plentiful, informative, and motivating and the organization was quite solid. Packet pick-up, parking, aid stations, getting results, etc. weren't additional challenges. (OK, there were long lines for bathrooms!) As always, God bless all the volunteers! Yes, the course IS a bit tedious with the double back-and-forth and the inclines do add up, but... the size of the field and the course design make it possible for family/friends to personally cheer you on at multiple places. That's worth a million! And, locals can conveniently train on the actual course. There was a little bit of congestion at the first turn-around with all the half-marathoners (and, en route, with some of the Early Bird-ers and non-competitors), but I never felt impeded like you can in the mega races. If you don't mind 'missing out' on bumping elbows with a few thousand of your fellow marathoners, this might be a great race to try. 'The marathon can humble you.' ~ Bill Rodgers
Ted Hobart from Arlington, VA (5/4/2008) "Spectacular Marathon Scenery!" (about: 2008) 11-50 previous marathons \| 1 Potomac River Run Marathon COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 3 This was first Potomac River Run Marathon and wow it was awesome! I love the smaller race crowd and how the race organization was very personable. This marathon was my slowest, yet it was the most scenic and friendliest of all. I have another marathon in 3 weeks, so slow was fine with me. I think my time slowed a bit more than usual as I at the scenic beauty. I was truly pleased with everything that this marathon offered. Even though the host hotel was not prepared for the pasta horde, the race director had extra pizza to share with everyone. I met two runners (Chet & Mark) in the morning while waiting for the shuttle and saw them throughout the course. Great job you guys! Thank you to all the volunteers and race staff for one of the best marathon running experiences.
H. O. from California (5/10/2007) "Beautiful, low-key race" (about: 2007) 11-50 previous marathons \| 1 Potomac River Run Marathon COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 3 This is a lovely, low stress (as much as one can apply that term to long distance running) race with friendly folks, beautiful views, and just enough challenging hills to make it interesting. The course is a multi-use bike trail which runs along the Potomac River from Alexandria to just before Mt. Vernon. I did the half which does this course out and back; the full marathon does the out and back twice which I would think to be very challenging mentally. Race morning dawned sunny and cold. The headwinds really picked up during the 'back' portion of my run. By the time I finished, there were white caps on the Potomac and I was very glad I wasn't doing the full marathon. In fact several events scheduled for that same day in the D.C./Maryland area including the Chesapeake Bay Bridge Walk were cancelled due to the high winds. The race only has about 600 total participants and fills up early, so plan ahead. The race director Jay Wind was very helpful and accessible. What other race do you know where the race director will actually post his personal number on the website and then answer his cell phone during warmups to give some poor lost runner directions to the start!? (Yes, this actually happened.) Parking is convenient to the site- no logistically nightmares here. Good course support along the way - no spectators except for the volunteer crews, but they were plentiful and encouraging. Only a couple of things I would mark the race down on - very few mile markers on the course - I have a GPS which will give me my distance, but for those without, there aren't too many clues. Also not too many portapotties, but since the number of runners was low, the lines were short. Shirt and medal were average. Overall, this was a good race experience which I would look forward to doing again.
Frank Pound from Virginia (5/10/2007) "Mental Struggle" (about: 2007) 6-10 previous marathons \| 1 Potomac River Run Marathon COURSE: 3 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 3 I've done 5 Marine Corps and I thought the 14th street bridge was murder until now. This Potomac marathon takes the cake with all the little hills and frigid cold. The random non-racers coming up behind me were aggravating since I thought they were competitive runners. The constant little hills just beat the heck out of me. All in all it was a brutal marathon and a great challenge which is why we do this in the first place.

More Comments: [ < 1 2 3 4 5 > ]

Become an Advertiser

Click Here: Please visit our Sponsor

Click Here: Please visit our Sponsor

Click Here: Please visit our Sponsor

Click Here: Please visit our Sponsor

Become an Advertiser

© 2000-2024, All Rights Reserved by MarathonGuide.com LLC

Privacy Policy Refund Policy Terms of Use