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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 71 to 81]
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B. C. from Worcester, MA
(10/21/2008)
 "Add This One to Your New England Marathon Schedule" (about: 2008)
11-50 previous marathons
| 1 Newport Marathon (RI)
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 3 FANS: 2 The course is the real star in this race. What a beauty! The miles clicked by very quickly along the seaside roadways. Wind can be heavy, so dress accordingly. You can go fast on these roads. My wife was even able to shop in town while I ran... so you can guess that she wants me back next year! I like Saturday marathons. More time to celebrate the finish and still make it back to work on Monday. It's easy to get to Newport. No traffic so early on race day. Parking not a problem. It's nice not having an expo and just picking up my number. What a relief from the bigger races. No stress. Just show up and run. It's a fan-friendly course. It's easy to drive around and cheer on a runner multiple times. Most of the roads were car-free so early in the am, which was nice. The fellow runners were a friendly lot. This is a BQ course, so I'll be back to try for my fastest. | |
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I. L. from New Jersey
(10/21/2008)
 "Most beautiful marathon course I've ever run" (about: 2008)
11-50 previous marathons
| 2 Newport Marathon (RI)s
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 3 I ran this marathon two years ago and was excited to do it again when I heard about the new course. I am so glad I did. This was by far the nicest marathon course I have run. Beautiful ocean views, a historic fort, homes fitting in with the natural scenary, and lovely rural roads just begin to describe the course. The volunteers at the water stations were friendly and the finish line spectators were enthusiastic. I would highly recommend this race. The only downside was there were areas in the end where we could have used more direction. Otherwise a perfect day. | |
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P. W. from Ithaca, NY
(10/20/2008)
 "Hard Race" (about: 2008)
11-50 previous marathons
| 1 Newport Marathon (RI)
COURSE: 3 ORGANIZATION: 2 FANS: 1 Good news: you see a lot of Newport while running Breakers; however, it was a very tough run. The weather was cold and windy, but no one can control that, given that it is mid-October in RI. The course was poorly marked and very hilly. Not a flat course at all. There are several places where the drivers didn't seem to care that we were running a marathon because they were driving fast and close to the runners. At the finish line there was no water, food or medical tent!! I had to get on a bus and ride back into town to get what I needed. | |
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Rev Kienz from Pennsylvania
(10/20/2008)
"Beautiful Scenery!" (about: 2008)
11-50 previous marathons
| 1 Newport Marathon (RI)
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 3 FANS: 3 MOST UNDERRATED (of 29 I've seen) COURSE I know: this was a beautiful, New England, seacoast run, circling the town of Newport. Postcard-perfect clean downtown of shops and restaurants left quickly to the coastline, sailboat harbors, parkland, rocky beaches, and mansion-laden coast and neighborhoods. The few hundred marathoners were privileged in my mind to find this run.... As a matter of fact, avoid it. No fun at all. Stay away. Gentle hills and easy logistics are simply annoying. Perfect temperature provided no challenge. Poking around town afterward just reveals too much seafood, over-priced ice cream, and a wonderful end to a picturesque day. Blecch. ;-) | |
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Dotty Maddock from Phoenix, AZ
(10/20/2008)
"Beautiful Course!" (about: 2008)
11-50 previous marathons
| 1 Newport Marathon (RI)
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 3 FANS: 3 This was my 44th marathon, and I have to say it was the most scenic one I've run! The views really don't get any better than this... ocean, boats, bridge, fort, mansions, fall foliage, wildlife refuge, etc. There was enough variety to speed the miles along, so that I actually didn't even mind the hills near the end! The weather was perfect for running (high 40s, overcast most of the time), even if the wind was a little brisk at times. You HAVE to run this one, if only to experience the beauty of this part of the country! That said, there were some areas for improvement: 1. The website said you could bring your personal Champion Chip along and it could be programmed in at the expo. Not so! I asked several times, and apparently they just hadn't made any arrangements for this. The issue was important to me because they also didn't have any "ties" for their chip, and suggested weaving it into your shoelaces. As predicted, the finish was a mess, with their having to untie shoe laces to get chips out (and then not bothering to retie them, but expecting tired runners to do that!). 2. It's been said before, but the race finish is 1-1/2 miles from "town" (where the post-race area and hotels are). So you have to wait and board a school bus to take you from the finish. I was grateful for the bus, but this really crunched my ability to make the late checkout time! The lesson here is to plan an extra 20-25 minutes after the finish for the lace untying and school bus catching/riding in your travel plans. I wish they would have an earlier start (say 7:00 a.m., versus 8:00 a.m.), to help with this challenge. That said, the issues were relatively minor compared to the specialness of the race. The "expo" is very small, but adequate. The T-shirt is long-sleeved, but cotton and a boring "gray" color (with one color design print). There were enough porta-potties to keep me happy, and the finisher's medal is nice. The race director apparently listened to feedback, and added a much-needed water station around mile 25. The post-race food was superb, even if the "awards ceremony" hadn't happened by the time I had to leave for a plane (1:30). Overall, I would highly recommend this race. Although I'm going for the 50 states, this is one I wouldn't mind coming back to in the future. | |
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C. S. from Springfield, Illinois, USA
(10/20/2008)
"Good race; watch out for the parking fee ($21.75!)" (about: 2008)
11-50 previous marathons
| 1 Newport Marathon (RI)
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 3 This is a pretty nice marathon, with some of the best scenery around. We got to see an old fort, some really nice mansions, and lots of ocean. There were a few hills, cold weather and some wind, but I haven't found an RD yet who can control the weather. Water stops were great. The post-race food was tremendous, with pasta, clam chowder, etc. The busing from the finish to the post-race area worked out better than I thought it would. The only real negative is parking. The day before the race, the RD told me to park in the lot behind the visitors' center, and that it would cost about 8 or 9 dollars. We parked there on race day from 7:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m., and it cost $21.75!! While I was willing to pay $10, the amount they charged was outrageous. | |
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C. D. from Boston, MA
(10/19/2008)
"Marathon Relay" (about: 2008)
2 previous marathons
| 1 Newport Marathon (RI)
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 3 FANS: 2 I think this may have been the first year of the relay, which I participated in this year. I have run 2 full marathons and am glad that this was not one of them!! The organization was very poor, the course route was not well marked and cars could drive alongside the runners throughout the course!! At some points it seems outright dangerous! Race day happened to be very cold and there was no shelter for relay transition teams - I happened to be at the third leg waiting for my team member for almost 2 hours in the freezing cold, wearing light running gear. Race director was very rude and unfriendly. | |
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Iris Chen from New York, NY
(10/19/2008)
 "Beautiful course and unmatched after-party" (about: 2008)
11-50 previous marathons
| 1 Newport Marathon (RI)
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 4 This was my second small-scale marathon and I loved it. As other runners have noted, the course was spectacular and the hills and gusty headwind along the ocean presented a tough but ultimately rewarding challenge. The volunteers along the course were generous and helpful. The after-party was the best I've seen, with bountiful selections of pasta, pizza, bagels, clam chowder, and a cash bar. There was an enclosed tent at the start (same venue as the after-party) and plenty of tables and chairs for both runners and family/friends. A bonus was access to real, heated, sparkling-clean restrooms with roomy showers at the start and after-party. While I highly recommend this marathon as a must-do, the race experience could be significantly improved with clearer instructions for runners. The website contained scant information on race logistics, with unclear directions for number pick-up location and no information on critical details like baggage check, transportation to the start, and starting line procedure, making it tough for first-timers and out-of-towners to plan or pack appropriately. I spent 20-30 minutes circling the area trying to find race registration the night before the race, only to arrive a few minutes after registration was officially closed to find everything had been taken down early. There were several other runners in the same situation who also had gotten lost due to unclear directions (i.e., no street address or cross street provided; no signs for how to get in the gated area once you got there). Unfortunately, most people we asked directions from were from out of town as well and so could not help. Also, it would have been great if the host hotels made basic accommodations for runners - while our hotel (Holiday Inn Express) started serving breakfast at 6:30 a.m. and was very nice about making cab arrangements. There was no late checkout (our hotel was firm on 11 a.m. checkout) or organized transportation to the start. Finally, while I found most of the course adequately marked, one of the larger rest-stops on the course was incorrectly but prominently marked Mile 23, when we had just passed Mile 22. To be fair, this appeared to have been done unofficially by well-meaning fans, on several large hand-written signs, but it was still misleading. Overall, despite the logistical challenges, I had a great time and hope to come back. This is the perfect marathon to run for the experience, not the PR; and I highly recommend that every marathoner get in at least one 'to-experience' marathon at some point! | |
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J. C. from Falmouth, Maine
(10/18/2008)
"Beautiful, Tough Course; DANGEROUS TRAFFIC" (about: 2008)
6-10 previous marathons
| 1 Newport Marathon (RI)
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 3 This was a GREAT fall marathon with a very scenic course. I missed the expo, but got to pick up my packet in the morning. Because I was there early, around 7 a.m., I got to park right next to the start for $10. Very helpful volunteers! I heard that there was limited water along this course, so I carried water and I am glad that I did, as there was not a lot of water for the first half, and it was windy and cool. The second half there were more water stops. The volunteers were great and decked out in Halloween outfits - very fun! The first half was relatively flat and had a lot of traffic support with police officers on mountain bikes, which was great. The back half of the marathon was much more rural, hilly (killer hill at mile 25), and less prestigious. This section of the course was riddled with two-way, very-fast-driving traffic from mile 17-18 onward. I actually had a car honk at me and I had one person yell at me to "get off the road!" I felt unsafe a great deal of the time on the back half; in fact, a group of us stopped in the middle of a tough hill, as we thought that a runner behind us had been hit by a car. While the volunteers were great, it felt like the police support for traffic was limited to the city and the wealthier parts of town, not in the rural sections. That said, overall it was a really great, hilly and fulfilling course with great volunteers, a good shuttle ride and parking very close to the start. | |
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E. Brandes from New York, NY
(2/14/2008)
 "My First Marathon" (about: 2007)
1 previous marathon
| 1 Newport Marathon (RI)
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 3 FANS: 2 I would say that the course was the best part of this race. Having never been to Newport, RI, the course offered the racers to see all of the treasures Newport has to offer. During the 3rd mile you are running behind an old fort along the water. After going through some neighborhoods, you get to the ocean where from around the 6th to 8th mile you are running along the shore. What a spectacular run. Thereafter, during miles 9 and 10 you run through a part of town that has all of these mansions and by the time you get half way, you see the crowd there. The 2nd half was more lackluster in terms of the course and the crowd. At times, you felt lonely because there was nobody around you, especially when you are running through the fens part of it - around mile 17. But thank God I did not have to run around the infamous track that I saw as I passed mile 20. Thereafter, the crowd started coming back. It was funny: There was a gentleman that I would also see consistently every other mile. After awhile, I noticed his car pass me and then stopped to cheer the runners on. He seemed to have the lonely job that the crowds should have had. I thanked him at mile 25 and made light of the fact that I had seen him a couple of times beforehand. Otherwise, a great race. I would have also appreciated a chip because the start of the race was extremely crowded where the field had to pass through about a 14 foot-wide gate and driveway to get on to Newport's streets. Thus, I do not know what my real time was, even though a gun time of 3:31:49 is still respectable for my first marathon. While the lobster and clam chowder lunch was great for the runners, those that were cheering me on, my friends, were not allowed any of it. I had to double fist a few bowls to make sure they had something to eat after cheering me on. There should be something for those who cheer. The runners were great. Many were not from RI and were running it to cross off RI on their 50-state list. I met an experienced marathon runner during the beginning of the race, as we were getting out of Newport. I told him this was my first marathon during that initial mile. When I passed him later at mile 25, all I could hear him say was "ROOKIE!" LOL |
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