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☰
Rochester Marathon Runner Comments
Back to Rochester Marathon Information & Reviews
Course 4.3 
Organization 4.2 
Spectators 3.9
Number of comments: 164 [displaying comments 31 to 41]
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T. B. from California
(9/19/2009)
 "Interesting Marathon! Beautiful course!" (about: 2009)
11-50 previous marathons
| 1 Rochester Marathon
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 2 I was not sure what to expect based on last year's comments. The course was beautiful and probably safer for those traveling in packs. Those of us alone for 2-3 miles as women were a little nervous. For those of us who don't finish in 3 or 4 hours, we were not fortunate enough to receive our medals; it has to be mailed to us, and that is VERY disappointing. The staff were very apologetic and I understand it was no fault of their own. It would have made the blow a little easier if I would have seen at least ONE photographer snapping a shot of me on the course! Great support and encouragement from ALL of the kids who were serving the water and giving direction! They made the rough moments the best! This made the day less painful because of you. Thank you! | |
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m. b. from albany, california
(9/19/2009)
"An excellent, small-city marathon" (about: 2009)
11-50 previous marathons
| 1 Rochester Marathon
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 2 This event is a little-known gem, with great heart in a tired city. While the course may look as though it's flat and fast, my Garmin told me that for much of the 15 miles or so along the Erie Canal, there was an ever-so-slight incline. The male winner crossed the line in 2:36, which, to me, indicates it's nothing like CIM in Sacramento or Tucson. The expo is dinky, with nothing much to keep you there after you've picked up your race packet. Pre-race parking is excellent, as is timing chip pick-up, and there was good food at the end (pizza and hot dogs!!!). My only complaint, and I mean ONLY, is that the Erie Canal segment, which is most of the race, is deadly boring after 2-3 miles. I needed something else to look at. I am not one who needs cheering Chicago-style crowds, but there was practically no one out there saying stuff like, "Looking good" or "You're almost there." I made a five-day trip of it, including visits to Buffalo, Niagara Falls, and the jello museum. It was great fun. Here's hoping the event continues and helps revive a struggling city. | |
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B. A. from Rochester
(9/18/2009)
 "Class event. Thanks to volunteers and spectators!" (about: 2009)
50+ previous marathons
| 4-5 Rochester Marathons
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 It's so refreshing to see a marathon organization incorporate suggestions over the first few years, tweak the event, and come out with an even better product the next year. It seems like so many nowadays just care about taking your $90. Great job, Rochester! This is about as logistically easy as it gets. Only suggestion for next year is dump the outdated timing chip/ankle-biting Velcro strap. Go with the built-in strip on the bib or the disposable shoelace strip. | |
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K. F. from Fort Worth,TX
(9/16/2009)
 "Great Marathon for New York State" (about: 2009)
50+ previous marathons
| 1 Rochester Marathon
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 4 A great, basically flat race! I would highly recommend it to anyone. The organization was good, and there were friendly staff everywhere they were needed. Beautiful and unusual course, including the Erie Canal. (Some may have found that boring, but I really enjoyed the traffic-free views and path surface.) Rochester is a great place to visit! What snow? | |
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N. W. from Central New York
(9/16/2009)
"excellent experience" (about: 2009)
4-5 previous marathons
| 1 Rochester Marathon
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 5 Flat, fast course. Many water stops had gel, as well as PowerAde and water. Pace groups very helpful. Well organized. Spectators were great. Host hotel service was excellent. All runners had late checkout available. Fresh towels were left in the room for after the race. I will definitely do it next year. | |
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M. V. from U.S.A.
(9/15/2009)
"Love the 1/2 Marathon" (about: 2009)
First Marathon
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 1 I'm a newbie - and I just ran my first half-marathon. I was very pleased with the course and the spectators. I didn't have a problem with water supply at the stations. I can't way for next year. I'll definitely run again, and hope to run the full marathon in September 2010. | |
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R. F. from New Yawk, New York
(9/14/2009)
 "Nice, small marathon" (about: 2009)
1 previous marathon
| 1 Rochester Marathon
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 4 This was my first marathon; it was a nice experience. The course started out badly, after running through downtown Rochester we were pigeonholed into cones alongside a major road - not fun. However, then we veered into a park and were able to run alongside the Erie Canal, which was just plain beautiful. A lot of nice sights here. Then near the end you pass the very nice campus of the University of Rochester, and it ends near Frontier Field where the minor league team plays. A couple of gripes about organization: one, chip pick-up and bag drop-off were in opposite places. This was really annoying for me as I brought my own overnight bag and had to drag it all over the place. Also, there were not nearly enough port-o-johns; I didn't get to go before the race and had to duck into the woods when the call of nature came. Finally, they advertised music along the course, but all we got was a recording of "The Final Countdown" at mile 25. Still, I want to thank as much as I can the WONDERFUL volunteers throughout the race who busted their behinds to make it a nice experience. Thanks so much; you are not forgotten. Their enthusiasm alone is what made me give this a good score. This is their marathon and they are proud of it. Spectators, it's a small marathon but there were many small groups along the course - again much appreciated, as they were very enthusiastic. Overall, for a small marathon, I give good props. Thanks for everything, and for making my first marathon a memorable experience. | |
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J. S. from Greenville, PA
(9/14/2009)
 "Hmmm.... Where should I begin?" (about: 2009)
11-50 previous marathons
| 1 Rochester Marathon
COURSE: 2 ORGANIZATION: 1 FANS: 2 Well let's start with the good part of the race experience. Two thumbs up to the Hyatt for taking care of the runners. We had a very relaxing stay. The pasta buffet and late check-out were great. Now to the race: Is there some reason the timing service can't show up at the expo or the starting line and hand out timing chips? That would be way too easy. We all got to walk/drive to the finish line (Frontier Field) the morning of the race to pick up our chips. I guess they lose fewer of them that way? Then we all get to walk to the start. Pardon me if I don't want to get a tour of the city the morning of the race. That in itself killed my warm-up and focus before the race. The race course is fairly flat. Mile 9 takes you onto the canal path with 6 miles of gravel path - which is great for joggers, but horrible for runners. At mile 15 the path converts to a paved bike trail that twists and turns through to mile 24. Three miles after the gravel path I was fading fast. I wonder why? If you want to PR or run a sub-three-hour marathon, don't bother with this race. If you want to be treated well, don't bother with this race for that matter. The crowds were great at the water stations, and downtown the last two miles. The rest of the course is no-man's land. Congrats to the volunteers at the water stations. They seemed to know what they were doing more than some of the race officials. The finish was great. The announcer was very enthusiastic, calling out racers' names. The refreshment tent, aid station, and ice pool were great. The massage tent was a different story. I had to wait over an hour to get a massage. The half-marathoners had started finishing more than an hour before the first marathoner crossed the finish line and had taken over the massage tent. Tell me something. If you expect a massage after running a half-marathon at a 12-minute pace, what would you expect after running a full marathon? Well the marathon runners definitely weren't going to get the VIP treatment today. Could they have a massage table or two designated for marathoners? That would be too easy. The awards were a total fiasco. Awards were supposed to be at 12 noon. The awards MC didn't even sound like a runner or that he even cared. He would rattle off the top 3 names in an age group and move on to the next - giving no finishing times or anything. The half-marathoners got their awards then the waiting began. The race officials wanted to wait for every last marathoner to finish. All of the runners that earned awards had already finished a long time ago, but that didn't matter. By now it was 1:30 p.m. The band had packed up and left, so there was no PA system for the marathon awards. Some of the marathoners had grabbed their awards and left. It was a total joke! The MC was running back and forth from the finish line to the refreshment area like a chicken with his head cut off. A handful of runners gathered around the awards table. Mind you, the MC didn't even announce that he was doing awards. He just started reading names out. Everybody cheered when a runner came up to the table, almost mocking the MC for not properly honoring the runners who had busted their humps all morning. I will not be back to this race! My relatives who live in Rochester were absolutely embarrassed to see such a sloppy event in their city! It's sad to see how a few little details ruin a race experience for so many people. I can't imagine that the only problem with this race last year was the heat! | |
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S. M. from Ottawa, ON
(9/14/2009)
 "Okay..." (about: 2009)
11-50 previous marathons
| 1 Rochester Marathon
COURSE: 3 ORGANIZATION: 3 FANS: 2 The part of the course along the canal was a bit boring. It was pretty to look at but there were not many fans. More port-a-potties and more Gatorade at the stations would help. The volunteers were great, and the fans who were there were fun. | |
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d. w. from Penfield
(9/13/2009)
"Fantastic RUN!!!" (about: 2009)
1 previous marathon
| 1 Rochester Marathon
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 3 I just finished the 2009 Rochester Half Marathon, and I have to say, what a major improvement over the 2005 full I ran. I got there at 6:30, and got my chip right away. The bathrooms were stocked, and there were even porta-potties at the start on Andrews Street. Breaking out the full and half start worked REALLY well, and there was TONS of room at the start for both groups. I would have liked pace markers for the half, but that's just being greedy, s I went out way too fast. ;-) Those 7:30's helped in the end, I think. ;-) Mile markers and aid stations were appropriately placed, and the variety of running locations was good (i.e., road, path, road). The finish line was GREAT to see, as I started cramping badly at the end - a full body cramp. The post-run eats and drinks were GREAT! In 2005 we finished inside the stadium, but the outside worked just fine and was closer anyway. I liked the chocolate milk, pizza, fruit, and water at the end. Overall: 5 stars. I appreciate all the volunteers and officers on the route. I thought that the 1/2 was a little light on spectators, but I loved to see all of them dearly! OVERALL: 5 STARS - this was a fun run. - Dan W. from Penfield: 1:54:30, with an average pace of 8:45,I think ;-) |
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