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Newport Marathon (RI) Runner Comments
Back to Newport Marathon (RI) Information & Reviews
Course 4.2 
Organization 3.6 
Spectators 3.1
Number of comments: 138 [displaying comments 31 to 41]
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Adam Pratt from Chicago
(10/16/2012)
 "nice views, poor organization" (about: 2012)
11-50 previous marathons
| 1 Newport Marathon (RI)
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 1 FANS: 2 Packet-Pickup: Quick and easy, not much to see but that's what I expect from a small marathon Tshirt: design and quality were average, but it would be nice if they had my size. Parking: Fine for me as I got there 1.5 hours early, but I know it was a nightmare for many. Course: nice course with great ocean views was pretty flat in the beginning and some some harder rolling hills in the second half. The course should have been cleared of parked cars. The half-way part where the half finished needed course marshals because it was clogged with spectators. I was dodging spectators who were standing in the middle of the marathon course with baby strollers. They weren't crossing, just standing there in a small crowd. Start: They started 15 minutes late without any warning, communication, loudspeaker, etc. This was poorly executed. Also, the fact that the pre-race area (packet-pickup, gear check, bathrooms, etc.) is in FRONT of the start it's challenging for people to make their way around the back of the start corral. If I was the RD I'd consider moving the start location to the west or reversing the course. Volunteers: On-course volunteers were nice, but some of the early stations were poorly organized. At one point I came to a table with 4-6 people, dozens of large bottles of Gatorade, and ONE guy pouring it into cups so people had to wait in line. it's not tragic, but with a bit of coaching it could have been much better.Volunteers I encountered after the race were disappointing. Post-race volunteers handling food seemed like the local high school football/wrestling team without a chaperone. Instead of handing out food (much of which was still in boxes on a palette) they were eating the food and goofing off with their buddies. Good volunteers can make up for a lot of weaknesses in a race, but this crew needs some coaching and oversight. Post-race food: Okay. I got water, gatorade, and a banana. The soup was awesome and the woman serving it was working harder than every teenage boy combined! Post-race shuttle: I got back to my car quickly without a hassle. | |
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Michael Helm from MA
(10/16/2012)
 "Good and not-so-good" (about: 2012)
2 previous marathons
| 1 Newport Marathon (RI)
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 3 FANS: 3 Pros: -Staying at the hotel down the street made it extremely easy - 3 minute walk. So, I can't comment on getting to the event. It started 15 minutes late and saw buses coming in the whole time. -Beautiful run! I grew up in RI but if from out of New England, I recommend this race for scenery alone. Challenging run - especially if there is wind like we had. -Medal, shirt and 'swag' were very nice. -Support was light along the route but some people made up for that with enthusiasm. Cons: -NO food at end of race!! :( For me that was 2:28. I saw people walking away with boxes of pizza! They should NOT let non-runners into the food/beer area nor let runners take whatever they want. | |
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Michel Runner from New York
(10/15/2012)
 "WOW! Fun, beautiful, and great marathon." (about: 2012)
6-10 previous marathons
| 1 Newport Marathon (RI)
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 If you're looking for a very scenic race with rolling hills, then this marathon is for you. The volunteers were plentiful and the water stops were terrific and each included energy drinks and bathrooms. | |
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M. L. from Kildeer, IL
(10/15/2012)
 "Very scenic course, but organization is poor." (about: 2012)
11-50 previous marathons
| 1 Newport Marathon (RI)
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 2 FANS: 2 Positives: Extremely beautiful course. Bus transportation between remote parking was efficient. Negatives: Absolutely awful traffic control getting to marathon parking even following their instructions to the letter. No gatorade the first couple of aid stations. Parked cars along the crowded early miles and very little course protection from vehicles. Another race that highly favors the half marathoners to the detriment of the marathoners. | |
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G. M. from Berlin Germany
(10/14/2012)
 "Extremely disorganized" (about: 2012)
6-10 previous marathons
| 1 Newport Marathon (RI)
COURSE: 3 ORGANIZATION: 1 FANS: 2 This is the worst organized race I have the misfortune to participate. There are about 4000 or more runners in the marathon and half marathon all trying to get into parking spaces on long lines. At the start no one seem to be in charge or could direct us to the start line. The race started 15 mins late and no one announced this. | |
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E. R. from New Jersey
(11/1/2011)
"Beautiful and Challenging!" (about: 2011)
50+ previous marathons
| 1 Newport Marathon (RI)
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 3 FANS: 3 The course is absolutely breathtaking in the first half. Challenging but not over the top in terms of difficulty. The views and vantage points are just amazing. The second half is very rural and it is an out and back. Nothing to write home about but the first half makes up for it! My opinion was that the post race setup was great, but I would like to see more runners being a bit less selfish when it comes to taking WHOLE PIZZAS for their friends and filling their bags with Gatorade bottles. Not sure if that became an issue for the later finishers. The t-shirt and medal were nice, if that is important to you. Crowd support was OK. Relatively speaking this is not a huge race, and many areas are not prone to crowd support. In the later half, the scenery is not as great but the crowd support is better. So choose your poison... Only complaint is that the expo was pretty light on information and was also very difficult to get to. I recommend that they hold the expo on the Middletown side where there may be more adequate parking and less tourist congestion. This was my 'RI' on the 50 states, but as an NJ resident, I would run this again because it is fun and Newport is beautiful! | |
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Sarah Gross from Harrison, OH
(10/30/2011)
"Awesome course, medal and shirt." (about: 2011)
11-50 previous marathons
| 1 Newport Marathon (RI)
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 3 FANS: 3 PRO's: This was my 49th marathon and I have told everyone that it was probably the 2nd most beautiful run. The medal was awesome (very different from others in my collection)and the shirt had a nice design. The shuttle system worked very well. They ran non-stop and allowed 'pedestrian' riders which enabled my husband to see me several times without having to stand in the cold for the entire race. CON's: The expo can only be described as CHAOTIC including getting to the expo site with all the traffic, parking and finding out where to park on race morning. I ran CT on Saturday and by the time I got to expo all marathon parking flyers were gone. The volunteer gave me 1/2 marathon parking and said, 'it's probably the same.' It took 3 volunteers to finally get handed over to race director who blurted something out. (Course map only showed 1/2 marathon parking.) I'm running the 50 states and assembling a scrapbook of all my runs. I ALWAYS order race photos. Unfortunately, someone hired a German-based company. Seriously...we don't have photographers in the US??? As a result, the extra-tax (not quite 25%) and the shipping is costing a ridiculous amt. The Germany company was very nice and recommended I purchase the 'download' version. This way there would be no shipping cost. OK, but the download prices completely exceeded shipping costs. | |
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D. C. from Chicago, IL
(10/25/2011)
"Awesome Scenery!" (about: 2011)
11-50 previous marathons
| 1 Newport Marathon (RI)
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 2 What a course! Best I have seen as far as views. I basically agree with other posts about the event, although I think the organization was pretty good overall. Lots of Pizza and BEER at the end of the race, and the traffic along course was no big deal. The shuttle bus system could have been a little better, but overall I would highly recommend this race for Maniacs or 50 Staters. The town of Newport had a lot going on that weekend, so other than sparse parking availability, it is a great place to spend a day before or after the race. | |
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Gustaf Virkus from St. Louis Park, MN.
(10/21/2011)
"Unique - but not well thought through." (about: 2011)
11-50 previous marathons
| 1 Newport Marathon (RI)
COURSE: 3 ORGANIZATION: 2 FANS: 2 Small expo - but ok. Bus transport was adequate. At all of the water stops with Gu, they gave you the Gu at the last table - then you had nothing to down it with! The course was not cleared of parked cars, and we even had tour buses on the narrow streets. There was no info about the race in the pickup packet. Great scenery, but lots of room for improvement. | |
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A. Z. from Vermont,USA
(10/20/2011)
"Incredible, scenic course" (about: 2011)
11-50 previous marathons
| 1 Newport Marathon (RI)
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 1 This is the first time. I have run this course. By far, it is the most scenic and visually pleasing course I have ever done in the USA to date (this is my 17th marathon). The first half of the marathon was outstanding as you ran along the water front, down the coastline with panoramic views of the rolling breakers and multimillion dollar homes and then into the mansion district of Newport. Pure eye candy. The second half, while not as glorious, was just as pleasing. Rural rolling roads with some ocean views. A definite must attend. What was good: - Same day registration. I always find this to be a plus for last minute decisions - Easy to get to parking - Easy/short commute to the start - Bananas at aid stations What was (not bad, but could be better) - After race food. Slim pickings - Location of expo. This was hard to get to (at least the way the GPS guided me) with tough parking - Expo closed early on Saturday. Six pm would be more reasonable - Very low crowd support. If you need it, this is not the run. Very slim. All in all this was a great run and I would do it again! |
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