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.

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.

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.

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!

The Newport Marathon has some of the most amazing scenery of any marathon you will run, but as others have noted it suffers from organizational issues and back-of-the-pack / 50 states / maniacs should be cautious.

THE GOOD:
1. The Location. Amazing scenery and vistas.
2. The Course. If you like challenging courses (hills and running into the wind) then this is for you.
3. Aid Stations. Well stocked with cheerful volunteers.
4. Tech Shirt. Nice but basic long sleeve tech shirt.
5. Medal. Nice multi-colored cast medal. If you run a lot you'll have some nicer ones but also plenty that aren't as nice.

The BAD:
1. Small Expo. Don't plan on buying any forgotten items or getting deals on running gear.
2. Early Expo Close. We ran Hartford on Saturday but with the 5pm expo close we actually came to Newport on Friday to do packet pickup before we went to Hartford.
3. Open Course. Expect to be passed by huge tour buses from behind while running along twisty narrow oceanside roads.
4. Post race food. Don't expect hot pizza unless you finish at the front of the pack.

The UGLY:
1. At 6 hours I saw the volunteers abandon the gear drop. That's right, if you didn't pick up your gear at 6 hours then it was just left sitting in the open with nobody watching it. This is inexcusable.
2. This is a mandatory parking shuttle event. Even though the organizers had published in several places that shuttle buses would run until 4:00pm, they discontinued the service at 2:30pm. Be prepared to pay $20 to get back to your car if they stop running the buses early.

I thought this was a great course, and while the first half had awesome beauty, the second half is still very pretty compared with some courses. The wind was pretty brutal, and the hills were harder than I expected. The spectators were great. Overall, I thought it was a really good small marathon.

It needs organizational work. The race was starting and buses were still arriving. Get to bus pick-up early. Really beautiful course, but it was challenging, with a hilly second half loop. It's worth the trip if you want a challenging run. Tough to PR on. Small pre-race expo. There are just bagels and PowerAde and Harpoon for the back-of-the-pack runners (5+ hours); run fast if you want pizza.

The idea of running in Newport is so appealing; it is a beautiful New England town. That was what drew me to this race. I wanted to run a beautiful course through stunning Newport. I received that, for HALF of the race. The rest was disappointing, putting it mildly.

To explain: I get the impression that this is a half-marathon, with a marathon thrown in because, well, I'm not sure why. Maybe they think they might as well use the police they've hired for the day; I really don't know. The half-marathoners and full-marathoners run together for the entire half-marathon course, right up to the finish line for the half. (It's very disheartening to hear "You're almost there!!" from spectators when you have 13.5 miles left!). The half-marathon course is lovely: beautiful beach views, mansions, enough hills to keep it interesting, but not debilitating. It was spectator-friendly, which kept the runners' spirits up.

When the half-marathoners finished, we continued on to 13.1 of the worst type of miles: out and back, with nasty hills. You can't enjoy the downhills, because you know you're going to be running back UP them on the way back. It was so disturbing to glance behind you at mile 16 to see the mile marker for mile 23, knowing you had such a long "out" to run, before you got to turn "back." Plus, many of those miles were through ordinary suburbia; I could have been running at home. It was hard, and boring, with very few spectators, and drivers in cars glaring at you for holding them up (they don't close the roads fully, and cars can sneak on). I don't understand why the marathoners can't run the half marathon loop again; it was a much nicer course. At the very least, I think they could have figured some way to have the second half be a loop, and not a gruesome out-and-back. I could be wrong, but it really seemed like they put more conscious thought into the half-marathon course.

Other issues: the shirts are terrible (no date??? I know they want to use them next year, and wanted to save money, but the shirt is not the place to skimp), the medals are ordinary at best, and there was nothing else, souvenir-wise, to buy. Nothing. No finisher shirts, no mugs, no jackets, nothing. The expo was tiny, with LIMITED parking at the hotel. Also, there were only water stops every two miles, even towards the end. That isn't a problem for me, but for a lot of runners, that was a big issue to face towards the end of the race.

Positives? The volunteers who were there were wonderful. Some dressed up in costume, they spoke clearly, telling you which tables had water, and which had Gatorade, and they were just the right amount of encouraging. Great job.

The food at the end was pretty good, too, although the pizza was cold by the time I got there. But the volunteers, again, were wonderful there!

The shuttles to and from the parking lot were terrific! There were plenty of them, and they ran frequently. The bus drivers were friendly and accommodating.

The start and finish, right on the beach, was lovely, with stunning water views, right by the entrance of the cliff walk, near enough to some businesses as well. My husband was able to walk to a coffee shop, and hang out there, then come back to the beach to wait for me. Good choice! Also, there was a place to wait inside before the race, which was nice since there was a chilly wind.

Although there were some positives, they were not in the important parts of the race (except the volunteers - they are always important). The main thing, the course, was no fun. I was hoping for a magical, inspiring run, with great New England beach views, and I'm sad to report that in that arena, this race fell way short. Although I might consider doing the half again, I doubt I'll be back for the full.

Newport, RI is #48 in my quest for 50 states plus DC. GREAT COURSE!!! It rolled enough so as not to kill the quads, but the second half was a cumulative downhill. AND... The course is BEAUTIFUL!! Rock cliff views, mansions, yachts, lighthouses, beaches and a quaint little seaside village where 1 1/2 pound lobster dinners were served up for under $20. I'm sorry - did I hear someone complain? Yes, I agree there could have been more volunteers at the Haunted Village - maybe next year you could bring a few. More age group awards would be appropriate - but I still wouldn't have won one. And I'm sorry it rained last year - but the WEATHER was GLORIOUS this year: not a cloud in the blue sky and 45 to 60 degrees over my 4-plus hours. FANTASTIC!! My thanks to the wonderful, friendly volunteers. I will gladly recommend this race and your community to anyone looking to marathon Rhode Island.

I disagree about this being a flat course - I thought the hills were very hard, especially the ones between 18 and 24. I would not try to qualify for Boston on this one. Also, there were not enough water stations or people on the route to help. One person fell over and the closest volunteer had no walkie-talkie.