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May 15, 2024

Miracle Match Marathon Runner Comments

Back to Miracle Match Marathon Information & Reviews

Course 4.5

Organization 4.3

Spectators 3.2

Number of comments: 113 [displaying comments 51 to 61]

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J. M. from Midland, Texas (2/8/2011) "GREAT CHALLENGE - VERY REWARDING" (about: 2011) 3 previous marathons \| 1 Miracle Match Marathon COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 4 Ran the Miracle Match Marathon in Waco this year. It's a GREAT RACE. So, here are the TOP 5 reasons you should go ahead and mark Jan. 29, 2012, the date of next years Miracle Match Marathon on your calender and participate in this amazing event. 5. The incredible Suspension Bridge finish line - lots of cheers and support and a "one of a kind" finishing photo 4. The challenge - it is "as advertised." A very challenging course, but one you will love to tackle 3. Waco firefighters - watching the Waco firefighters run the marathon relay in full fire fighter gear gives new meaning to the word "tough" 2. The hospitality and organization - you won't find a better, more enthusiastic group of people all along this beautiful course. They show you how much they appreciate your participation. Great job! 1. The reason - it, along with the other races that weekend, benefits the marrow donor program at Scott and White Hospital... and of course, the "one of kind" finisher medals and jackets!
Sam Orr from Lorena, TX (2/6/2011) "Tight organization, lots of hills, scenic" (about: 2011) 4-5 previous marathons \| 2 Miracle Match Marathons COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 3 My second time to run. The course starts flat to warm you up, running through the beautiful Baylor campus. Then it climbs up Austin Ave. past stately homes. Then it runs out to Lake Waco with beautiful scenery - and the real climbing begins. Add MCC and yet MORE hills - after mile 20! - and gorgeous Cameron Park, and then a thrilling finish across the historic Chisholm Trail Bridge. Tightly organized race, with great support, and plenty of water/fuel stops, music, and beer/wine/food at the finish. I love this course!
Jim Skibo, Ph.D. from Cedar Hill, TX (Dallas) (2/1/2011) "Superb local marathon!" (about: 2011) 50+ previous marathons \| 2 Miracle Match Marathons COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 If you want an honest marathon that is rich in local flavor, then this is your race. The race director is very accessible throughout the whole process, from registration to the chow line at the finish. This is not an easy course, so if you are looking for a PR, this is probably not the best choice. The course has considerable hills throughout the entire race but some really impressive climbs at miles 20 through 24. In my 51 marathons, I would rank this as one of the toughest courses. But it's fun. PROS: Logistics. It is easy. You walk out the hotel door and there is the Start and Finish line. The Course. This is both a pro and a con. It IS very hilly but it is beautiful and wanders all around the city and its many sights. The finish line crossing the suspension bridge is amazing. Course control. This does run on open streets, but that is not a problem. All intersections and turns have volunteers and the entire course is chalk-lined on the street so there is no chance of you going off track. Amenities. There is a nice T-shirt for your collection and then the finishers get a technical windbreaker. Medal. Wow, it is neat. A local fireman handcrafts them one-by-one and they are really cool. It consists of the fireman's symbol of the Maltese Cross that is laser cut out of sheet steel, which is then brushed. The word "Waco" and the year of the race are laser cut out as well. These are not etched; they are actually cut out of the steel. If you get an age group award, those are smaller Maltese Crosses that have a stand built in for display. Too cool - it is not something stamped out en masse; the medals are handmade and unique. Pasta Dinner. Well worth it. They have it in a really nice clubhouse located in the park that part of the marathon course runs through. Race Size. Nice, small field, and it gives you a flavor of what running is all about. CONS: Nothing of significance. Weather. It is Texas and can change by the minute. The 2010 race was in 31-degree weather with snow flurries, while the 2011 race was in way-too-warm, 60-77-degree temps. No one can control the weather, so I hesitate to say it is a con, but it is something to consider.
Kyle Threlkeld from Dallas, Texas (2/1/2011) "Fantastic support; great prep for mountain runs." (about: 2011) 11-50 previous marathons \| 2 Miracle Match Marathons COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 2 Closest thing to a mountain marathon in Texas. Very scenic. Great support - aid stations provided electrolyte gel packets early on throughout. Great test for those training for summer mountain marathons/ultras. A well-run, awesome challenge without the hassles of the really large marathons. Serious veteran marathoners need to add this one to the resume.
D. C. from Raleigh, NC (2/1/2011) "The best (and toughest) marathon I've ever run!" (about: 2011) 4-5 previous marathons \| 1 Miracle Match Marathon COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 If you're looking for some big mega-spectator, mega-participant marathon, then this is not the one for you. But, if you want to go run one tough little marathon, that you will come away feeling PROUD of having run, then this is THE one for you. From the first-class organization, to the folks and spectators of Waco, to the great (and very demanding) course, I am so happy that my running team picked this race to fly out to Texas for. I will warn anyone who is planning to run this race: DEFINITELY train hard for the hills. We actually drove the course the day before and were aware of what was coming, but that sure didn't make it any easier. It did keep me from pushing too hard in the early stages, so I would still have some "gas in the tank" at mile 21. There were no huge, huge groups of spectators, but the ones that were there, more than made up for it with enthusiasm. The organization could not be any better. Miss Goodnight seemed to be everywhere. We saw her at the expo, at the spaghetti dinner on Saturday night and all over the place on race day. She was right there at the start line and then again at the finish line we you came across. Major, major kudos to her! And on top of all of this, the race was a great bargain. For $90 you got registered and got a t-shirt. Then when you finished you got a finisher's jacket and a huge finisher's medal (I was actually worried about getting it through security at the airport, on the way home). Then, at the finish they had beer and wine and margaritas, great chicken fajitas, and all sorts of non-alcoholic drinks, including chocolate milk - all of this, topped off with music from a great-sounding local band.
Marathon Maniac 364 from Dallas, TX (2/1/2011) "Best small race in Texas!" (about: 2011) 50+ previous marathons \| 4-5 Miracle Match Marathons COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 3 This is a tough marathon due to hills. Okay, if that doesn't scare you, be prepared to run the best small race that you will probably ever run, and it is in Texas, of all places. I love the post-race party: fajitas and margaritas the last two years (you know everything is subject to change, but why change perfection?). There is beer and wine as well. I don't remember seeing the chocolate milk this year, but I was busy looking for the fajitas and margaritas, not chocolate milk. Oh, my name (well not my real name, actually) was on my bib! The only thing better was two weeks ago in Charleston where not only was your name (I don't think that you got to use a nickname), but you home city was on the bib! Sweet! But this is Waco, not Charleston, so back to the race. I got a great finisher's jacket... like last year's, but a different color. We got a very nice, colorful race shirt; we also got a HUGE medal and it now has a great lanyard. This race just keeps getting better! The course starts in front of the hotel. The street is closed, so I mean RIGHT in front of the hotel. Now, how sweet is that?! Granted, I only live in Dallas, so I drove down race morning... so what does that mean? Race-day packet pick-up!!!! Sweet for the more local runners. No driving to Waco and picking up bibs for your 100 closest running buddies as nobody wants to drive 90 minutes to get his or her bib. Small races are sweet for this. No crowds, and no waiting for porta-potties before or during the race. A sweet-sized event... I only hope that it doesn't grow. It needs to be capped at like 200 or 250 to protect the atmosphere and ability to feed us good food and not have it crowded. Have you ever run a course that had a chalk line the entire route - not just at the turns, but even for the straights?! They started that last year, or the year before. I don't remember, but it sure makes it nice for the slow back-of-the-packers to know that they are still going the right direction when the mind starts shutting down in the late miles. Tons of rest stops, tons of volunteers, and while there were not many spectators, with all of the rest stops and volunteers, you did not need any. This is one of the best races that you will ever run Did I mention the hills? They are there... but the park and the lake make up for the hills, and what goes up must come down because it's a loop. So suck it up and suck down some great post-race food and drink!
C. R. from Ft. Worth (1/31/2011) "Great as usual" (about: 2011) 50+ previous marathons \| 6+ Miracle Match Marathons COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 2 My 6th Waco, and I look forward to the next one. Thanks to all of the volunteers.
K. T. from MN (1/31/2011) "Tough, tough race!" (about: 2011) 11-50 previous marathons \| 1 Miracle Match Marathon COURSE: 2 ORGANIZATION: 3 FANS: 3 After reading all the comments about this race, I was excited to run and check Texas off my list. However, it was a tough race for a number of reasons that still had a lot of positives to it. Travel: I flew in from MN on Saturday morning and made the easy drive from Dallas with a friend. Hotel and flight were fairly cheap. Packet Pick-Up: Held at the Cameron Park Clubhouse. Very organized and relatively small. No lines and great volunteers. Received a short-sleeve participant shirt, VERY cool design and bib with my name on it. Also a handwritten note welcoming me to TX - nice touch. START: Easy to get to; lots of free parking. Started about 4-5 minutes late. Plenty of bathrooms and porta-potties, water, juice, etc. available. COURSE: UGH!!! The first 5 miles are an out-and-back around the Baylor campus - very pretty, flat. The first hill at 7 miles is no big deal. But, then the farther you go the bigger and longer the hills get. Think of the hill at Twin Cities mile 21.5 and double the steepness and length to understand the size. They are the kind where you cannot see the top. Then have this hill about 12 times along the course in miles 15-23. It's beyond hard and really I don't know if it's necessary. I've done enough of these things that I knew I could finish and deal with the other water stop issues, but man, HARD! At approx. mile 21 there was a sign on a steep hill that read, "This is your last hill... just kidding" and then a mile later, still going straight up a huge hill. "This is your last hill... still kidding." This seemed rude and in poor taste. WATER STOPS: The first stop at mile 2 was out of water. We pass this twice so we did not have water until mile 5, and it was very humid. Many aid stations were out of Gatorade. Had lots of oranges, candy, and gels, but not enough water and Gatorade for the hot day. Volunteers were all awesome! FINISH: Amazing! Cool run across the bridge. HUGE handmade medal! Nice finisher's wind shirt. Fajitas, beer and water at the finish - THANK YOU, COOKIN' COWBOYS! This race has great swag, and a great finisher's party, but I will not recommend it due to the intense difficulty and lack of fluids.
P. B. from Fort Hood (1/29/2011) "Best Little Half Marathon in Central Texas" (about: 2010) 4-5 previous marathons \| 1 Miracle Match Marathon COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 3 The event was small and perfect, and the course was scenic. The hills were not that bad for the half. Finishing the last part over the bridge was awesome. It was a small crowd and everyone along the route supported the runners. Job well done, from packet pickup, to medals, to plenty of amenities. Thank you, Waco.
M. L. from Waco, Texas (2/16/2010) "Beautiful half marathon course; well organized" (about: 2010) 11-50 previous marathons \| 4-5 Miracle Match Marathons COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 3 I have run the Miracle Match Marathon 4 times but chose to run the half-marathon this time because of little training. The full marathon course has improved every year for the better. I have run marathons from New York City to Las Vegas, and without a doubt, this is the toughest I've ever run. Even the half was a little challenging in the Cameron Park part, which definitely makes it fun. I absolutely loved the course as it went through the zoo. What a treat. The half marathon was well organized (as I'm sure the full was also) with plenty of water stops which also had fruit, candy, energy bars and very, very nice people. It was cold, but I had layered up and was just fine. I've run the White Rock Marathon in Dallas 4 times, but this one is hands above. We need to get the word out that Waco is the place you want to be for an overall great marathon experience. Plus the money goes to a great cause.

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