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Ft. Lauderdale A1A Marathon Runner Comments
Back to Ft. Lauderdale A1A Marathon Information & Reviews
Course 4.0 
Organization 3.5 
Spectators 2.7
Number of comments: 121 [displaying comments 31 to 41]
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J. B. from Washington, D.C.
(2/22/2011)
 "The half was great." (about: 2011)
11-50 previous marathons
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 3 I was a little worried doing a race in South Florida because I was coming in from the Northeast and was not acclimated for the warm weather, but the temps weren't a factor for the half-marathon. Well, not for anyone finishing under two hours, in my opinion. All in all, I really loved this race. It was everything I hoped (flat, fast, scenic, and well-organized). I ran with the 3:30 pacer, who was on the money, until the half split off. My only gripe was with the bag pick-up area. It was not particularly secure and took four people a half-hour to find my bag, which had been misplaced (yikes). Other than that, everything went smoothly. I was pleased with my time because it was one of my faster halfs, even though I haven't been training that hard. Did I mention the course is fast? :-) | |
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Suzanne Sweetman from Ft Lauderdale, FL
(2/22/2011)
 "good but needs definite improvement" (about: 2011)
4-5 previous marathons
| 1 Ft. Lauderdale A1A Marathon
COURSE: 3 ORGANIZATION: 3 FANS: 1 I ran the Ft Lauderdale AIA marathon for the first time this year (have run four before) and generally can say I had a good experience. There were plenty of water stations, friendly volunteers, and the nice addition of cold towels in the last few miles. It was great EXCEPT for the totally illogical decision by the race directors to host a children's race at the last mile of the marathon at approximately 10 a.m.!!! How RIDICULOUS. Runners finishing at around my pace (4-hour finish time) had to bob and weave around hundreds of kids as they dashed toward the same finish line... with NO separate lane for the absolutely fatigued marathoners. I understand there were only 800 marathoners compared to the 3,700 half-marathoners, but the decision by the directors as well as the fact that there were virtually no port-o-lets in the last 18 miles certainly left a bad taste in my mouth. My sisters, who are also runners but did not participate in this particular race, had to run in front of me and clear the way to make sure I didn't get tripped up by any of the children. I don't, of course, blame the children, but rather the directors on such a poor decision on the timing and location of the kid's run. | |
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D. R. from Miami, FL
(2/21/2011)
 "Great Race" (about: 2011)
3 previous marathons
| 1 Ft. Lauderdale A1A Marathon
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 4 I've always liked this marathon because it's small and well organized, especially if you compare it with the ING Miami. It's flat (with the exception of one drawbridge) and it's a certified course too. The only problem this year was the weather. I am slow and by the time I finished, the temps were at around 80F. A shadeless course that was aggravated by the weather. The water stations were well stocked and had water, the Title drink, and ice. My only recommendation is to change the drink brands because the Title drink is not good. This is the second race where I've tried it and it tastes so bad that it made me nauseated. | |
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A. G. from Toronto, Canada
(2/21/2011)
"A great race if you don't mind running in the heat" (about: 2011)
11-50 previous marathons
| 1 Ft. Lauderdale A1A Marathon
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 3 The course was really well organized - plenty of water at every mile and lots of mile markers along the way. The course is quite nice (pretty and flat), but there is no shade, and the last half was really hot and sunny. The people were super nice - after the race people were shouting their congratulations to me from their car windows! Due to the heat, I had a lousy finishing time, but despite that it was a great race. | |
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K. H. from Florida
(2/21/2011)
 "2011 - a few regrets" (about: 2011)
1 previous marathon
| 1 Ft. Lauderdale A1A Marathon
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 2 FANS: 3 OK, just to be clear I'm comparing this mainly to Miami as a yardstick, which may not be fair for a smaller race. From what I understand from these comments, 2011 was a big improvement over 2010, but I saw some issues that make me think I will not run A1A next year. Parking - There should have been some police presence/coordination to help with traffic ingress in the morning. There was huge traffic on Broward after 5:00 a.m. I waited for about 45 minutes, stoplight to stoplight. Running out of time, it looked like I wouldn't be able to park downtown by 6:00 so I pulled into the first lot I saw and parked; unfortunately this was a private lot with a tow-away sign. From what I understand, there were dozens of other runners who made the same mistake who were lined up at the tow yard. Granted, parking is up to the individual and I could have left even earlier, but due to the traffic many runners had either to choose to park or not run in the race. Avoiding this should be a prerogative for the organizers and the host city. Sponsors - I do not care for Title sports drink. Mix1 is a good recovery drink. The bananas were way over-ripe. I think I heard there was some jambalaya or something but I don't care for spicy food after a race. Overall I was a little unsatisfied with post-race support. Traffic control - Not great; I saw and heard that there were some near collisions with pedestrians. The volunteers on the course (some of whom look like bike gang members) weren't that attentive. Kids' race - I realize that the kids' race was free and sponsor-supported, but frankly I think we're lucky this wasn't a disaster. No safe place for the kids to rally up before the race so there were 50+ kids standing on the sidewalk with hotel traffic and A1A traffic going by. We had marathon runners and even hand-crank wheelchairs and their bike escorts going by as the kids ran. Next time it should be on a controlled course that goes out-and-back, rather than sharing the race course. Bag check - No security at the bag check. Course - I understand that this was better than last year. Running by the ocean was good, and Birch State park was OK, but of course the "condo alley" stretch was a bit lame and seemed to go on forever. Also would be better as a loop or otherwise provide more shuttle support, I thought I saw the shuttle once but ended up catching a private ride back to the start. | |
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D. H. from Minnesota
(2/21/2011)
"A very well organized race." (about: 2011)
50+ previous marathons
| 1 Ft. Lauderdale A1A Marathon
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 3 I was impressed with the race organization. With packet picket, you get a race program that includes maps of the start and finish areas. The aid stations were plentiful and well run. The course is well marked. There were digital clocks at every mile. In the last mile, there were banners every quarter-mile. Finish area had a wide variety of foods and beverages. The course is flat (except for one bridge in the early miles). Most of the course follows A1A, and there are views of the ocean. It's a hot-weather race, so you have to be prepared for that. | |
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L. K. from Miami, Fl
(2/20/2011)
"This race gets better every year" (about: 2011)
11-50 previous marathons
| 4-5 Ft. Lauderdale A1A Marathons
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 3 Apparently the race organizers listened. The course is improved with water/Gatorade stops every mile. Water stops were well stocked and well manned. There was ice on several of the stops in the full marathon and, as the temperature was well into the 70s, it was greatly appreciated. Volunteers were fantastic! Traffic control was good. The course is flat and fast with only 1 bridge to contend with early in the race. Porta-potties at every water stop. The race remains small and I hope it stays that way. I will definitely run this race again. Thank you, race organizers, for listening and responding! | |
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C. S. from Washington DC
(2/20/2011)
"Beautiful scenery, obnoxious spectators" (about: 2011)
4-5 previous marathons
| 1 Ft. Lauderdale A1A Marathon
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 2 FANS: 1 The good thing about the course is that it is completely flat except for a small hill in the beginning. But, there were so many negatives. There were hardly any spectators out to cheer since we started at 6 a.m. The spectators who did come towards the end barely cheered. Most of them just stood there. The most obnoxious thing was that towards the end at mile 25, there were many shoppers/spectators stopping to get a "free drink" at the water stop that were intended for the runners. There were so many of them that I (and the runners next to me) actually were not able to get a drink. Also, towards the end, it was the kids' Fun Run, so I had to finish the last 1.5 miles dodging herds of kids who were oblivious of where they were going (I finished in around 4:20). Last but not least, people handing out the medals were socializing instead of handing out the medals (after running a full marathon, you barely have energy to reach for the medal - let alone to have to interrupt people for it). Overall, it is a fast course, but with obnoxious spectators and poor planning. I've been to at least 3 other marathons and they stagger the races (start 30 minutes apart) and make sure that spectators are not standing in the running path of those trying to finish. | |
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J. c. from fort lauderdale
(1/24/2011)
 "Great Opportunity to Qualify for Boston" (about: 2011)
50+ previous marathons
| 6+ Ft. Lauderdale A1A Marathons
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 2 I've participated in each year for which the marathon has been instituted (starting seven years ago). In my experience it is a good marathon to test yourself in preparation for a qualifier. | |
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D. M. from Ft. Lauderdale
(4/7/2010)
"No fans, no sports drink on route" (about: 2010)
6-10 previous marathons
| 1 Ft. Lauderdale A1A Marathon
COURSE: 2 ORGANIZATION: 3 FANS: 2 The first 3 or 4 miles and the last 2 miles of this race are scenic, but the rest of the race is winding between 1970 condos. There were nearly no fans on the route and the only refreshments supplied were water and Active water (which is a low-calorie water). The expo is small, but nice; and that's about it. There were lots of half-marathoners. |
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