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Apr 27, 2024

Spinx Run Fest Runner Comments

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Course 4.1

Organization 3.9

Spectators 3.0

Number of comments: 78 [displaying comments 21 to 31]

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H. C. from Richmond, VA (11/15/2011) "Beautiful course...but..." (about: 2011) 6-10 previous marathons \| 1 Spinx Run Fest COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 3 FANS: 2 Beautiful course and fantastic volunteers!! The weather was perfect and I enjoyed the Swamp Rabbit Trail. I do not live in SC and opted to stay in the host hotel, thinking that made the most sense. Unfortunately, they would not accommodate a late check-out AT ALL (they required a 12p check-out and the marathon began at 730a) and they were a good distance from the start/finish with no shuttle. I had to check-out at 6a and did not get to shower before heading back to VA. I recommend out of town runners opt for a property closer to the stadium and check in advance to see if they will accommodate a late check-out. Additionally, perhaps the race director can work with the host hotel in the future to make sure they are more accommodating. The Swamp Rabbit Trail does cross many streets and some railroad tracks. The police were fantastic but there was a train that crossed the course between mile 23 and 24. The train finally stopped but we had to climb the ladders on the box car to get over the train. Getting stopped for a train and having to lift your legs much at all at mile 23 in a marathon are both quite strange events. I was not qualifying for Boston but I was on pace to PR ....until the train. Another posing mentioned that the medal doesn't say 'marathon'. They also didn't sell any clothing or posters with the race name on it, but they did have coffee mugs. No souvenir options, if you're into that. Loved the finish in the stadium but would have liked some music or an announcer or something. Again, BEAUTIFUL course and amazing volunteers. Great downtown area with nice shops and restaurants. It was a very clean city and I felt safe walking around.
H. E. from Greenville, SC (11/13/2011) "Beautiful course!" (about: 2011) 1 previous marathon \| 1 Spinx Run Fest COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 4 Being a Greenvillian, I am thrilled to hear all the wonderful comments about our fine city and its' people! I'm also delighted that the other marathoners liked this course as much as I do. This was my first marathon and it was great to be able to train on the race route every weekend. The race itself was very well organized, the route beautiful, the (few) spectators enthusiastic! The state police were very supportive and encouraging as well!
D. W. from South Carolina (11/7/2011) "Phenominal Course. Definetely laid out by runners" (about: 2011) 1 previous marathon \| 1 Spinx Run Fest COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 3 FANS: 4 The course is very obviously laid out by runners.....it is a joy to run with some challenging sections. Not a lot of spectators but those that are there are GREAT. The only real problem I had was course support...GREAT food at the end but nothing on the course. GU was hard to find and I missed 2 of the stations it was apparently at....I guess volunteers were handing it out at the end of the water stops rather than put it on the table. Some fruit / pretzels / bagels or other small items at a few later stops would make a huge difference. Other than that it is a truly enjoyable marathon course with a great small city to enjoy after. Skip the race hotel....they offer very little and stay closer to the stadium. Definitely recommend this race....just carry a few packs of GU with you.
J. D. from Greenville, SC (11/6/2011) "Great Smalltown Race" (about: 2011) 1 previous marathon \| 1 Spinx Run Fest COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 4 This isn't a huge event, but it's not small, with 436 marathons, 1269 half marathoners, and 935 5K runners. The city itself is great. The course for the full was changed, and it's quite scenic all the way now, though a long stretch is 'out and back' on bike trails with few spectators, so if you want huge crowds pick another race. It's very, very well organized and the finish is great. Word of warning: the courses for the full and half are all really hilly by most road race standards. Mile 8 of the half is 855 feet and mile 12.5 is 1030 with only one real downhill, so it's quite a climb at the end for that. Mile 9 is 70' of climb with no fall whatsoever. The marathon has most of its climb in the middle, with the worst mile being mile 8 with 68' of climb and only 1' of fall. It's not the course to BQ on if you're cutting the time close.
R. N. from Austin, Texas (11/6/2011) "Very Nice Small Marathon!" (about: 2011) 11-50 previous marathons COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 4 POSITIVES: Beautiful city, friendly Southern style hospitality, Course was spectacular, volunteers were awesome, finish in the stadium addeed a nice touch, nice technical shirt, enough support on the course, many other positives NEGATIVES: perhaps pickybut the medal does Not say Marathon anywhere on it, Could have had a MC calling out runners names as they were finishing. OVERALL would rate this marathon a A. It was great.
L. D. from Greenville, South Carolina (11/4/2011) "A great, small race with only a few negatives" (about: 2011) 3 previous marathons \| 2 Spinx Run Fests COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 3 This is the third time I have run at the Spinx Runfest...I ran the half in 2009, the full marathon in 2010 and the full marathon again in 2011. Taking my specific goals in mind (qualifying for Boston) this was a great race. Flat except for maybe 5-7 miles of mild rolling hills, marathoners start 30 minutes before half-marathoners making it much less crowded and for the most part it was organized. There were some negatives, however. There was a lot of confusion among different race organizers of where marathoners were supposed to start, which was never an issue in past years. Another issue, which was a bigger deal to me since I am trying to qualify for Boston and every second counts, was that they decided after the race to not have chip times for the marathon runners only. Half-marathoners and 5k runners had chip times recorded, just not the marathon (and there were timing chips on the back of marathoners bibs). I asked the person who was in charge of the chip times why they had not posted any for the marathon and he said it was due to the low number of marathoners. What bothered me was that runners were never made aware of this and the difference between gun time and chip time could be minutes. Had I known, I would have been on the start line but because I didn't I was in the middle of the pack. As someone who is trying to qualify for Boston, this issue bothered me a lot. Advice for those who run the marathon next year and are potentially trying to qualify for Boston...e-mail the race director and clairify the use of chip times/gun times. Other than that, the race was great and the weather was perfect. Thanks to everyone who worked hard to put it together!
Brian Smith from Charlotte (11/2/2011) "Great weather and race" (about: 2011) 6-10 previous marathons \| 2 Spinx Run Fests COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 3 This is the second time I have run this marathon, I enjoyed it so much last year that this is one of my favorites. The reasons I like this race include; start marathoners first, early start time, beautiful scenic course, starting and finishing at the baseball stadium and being able to pick up your packet on race day. They changed the course this year and made adjustments to take the route on more rural scenic roads and hope they keep it the same for next year. All the volunteers were friendly and helpful. The only negative that I can think of is that it was a smaller race and I felt like I was running alone at times.
Chris McGrath from Westminster, MD (11/1/2011) "Great small race" (about: 2011) 2 previous marathons \| 1 Spinx Run Fest COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 4 Greenville is beautiful and the people are very friendly. The course was tough but fair. The uphill at the end was a real challenge. The fans that were there were great but like all small races there are many sections where there are no fans. All the water stations and surrounding areas has boisterous friendly people. The only real negative was the colder than expected weather. It was mid to low 30's to start the race and the course was wet from the rain the prior day so my feet started cramping very early on. By mile 21 through 25 everything else was cramping (maybe I changed my stride because of my feet?). I thought I wasn't going to be able to finish but managed to hobble to the end. I would love to run it in 50 degree sunny dry weather.
P. C. from Downingtown PA (10/31/2011) "Almost did not run this marathon" (about: 2011) 4-5 previous marathons \| 1 Spinx Run Fest COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 2 FANS: 4 There was a big crowd of half marathon runners merging with the slower marathon runner, several of us ran 1 1/2 miles before realizing we were going the wrong way. Too make it even worst none of the voluteers or police on site knew the acutal marathon route. Luckily we found someone with a map and were able to negotiate our way back to the course. The crowd was small but enthusiastic and the course was beautiful.
j. s. from Maryland (10/31/2011) "Nice Fall small town event" (about: 2011) 50+ previous marathons \| 1 Spinx Run Fest COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 3 Greenville is a cool city which is big, yet has small town Southern charm. Pros " Course is very nice a few miles in the city then you hike the bike path and right about the time you get bored you exit the path and into a nice neighborhood. The start and finish at the baseball stadium was different and running inside the stadium for the finish was a nice touch " Good pasta dinner at nice hotel " I stayed at the Hilton and they granted me a 2pm check out which was great " Race shirt was nice, however lose the sponsorship on the shirt or make them smaller, Runners DO NOT LIKE shirts that are billboards. Improvements " Spread your h20 table groups I ran with a pace group and it was crowded to grab H20 " Have the GU 100 yds prior to the H20 stop not at the end of the table " Get quality pacers, putting a 'call out' is not the optimal way for pacers. By having professional groups this can help attract more runners. " Louder PA system and more directions at the start, runners did not really know where to line up " Get the locals out!! We ran through a neighborhood and no one was really out, support the runners, we are putting money into YOUR community This race has great potential, with continued improvements should be a an A+

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