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☰
Pocono Mountain Run For The Red Marathon Runner Comments
Back to Pocono Mountain Run For The Red Marathon Information & Reviews
Course 4.2 
Organization 4.4 
Spectators 3.5
Number of comments: 195 [displaying comments 141 to 151]
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J. K. from The Woodlands, Tx.
(5/6/2008)
 "Great, small marathon... but..." (about: 2008)
6-10 previous marathons
| 1 Pocono Mountain Run For The Red Marathon
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 3 I agree with the comments from 2007 regarding the route and elevation chart. Most of the downhill is between 7 and 10 and is so steep that my quads were gone early in the race. The rest is composed of rolling hills, with a few tough ones late in the race. This isn't a PR or negative split course, unless you train in the hills. Pros: ~Very well organized, and volunteers were very friendly. ~Great that 100% of proceeds go to Red Cross. ~Having a school with a gym and restrooms was very nice before the race. ~Free pasta party the night before. ~Scenic course that was closed for traffic. ~Fans were sparse... but vocal. Cons: ~Worst finisher "medal" I've ever received... I think it is a hard plastic. ~8 a.m. start? Too late. ~Need someone calling splits and/or time at mile markers. ~Provide a better elevation chart. You really need to drive the course if you're a first-timer. | |
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Angel Glitch from Bridgeport Ohio
(5/6/2008)
 "Great time!" (about: 2008)
6-10 previous marathons
| 1 Pocono Mountain Run For The Red Marathon
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 3 We just returned home from running our first Run for the Red Marathon. It was a great experience. This was our seventh marathon, and it rates as one of our top. If you're looking for a marathon that is just for the sheer pleasure of running, this one's for you. There are no "big race" amenities. We barely heard the gun fire for the start of the race, and there were only a few spectators to see us off. There were very few spectators on the course, and no music or cheering. Very different from our experience last year in Nashville. But the course is beautiful, with no "ugly" areas, and for us it was a fairly easy course. There are lots of hills, but they were fun and not nearly as much as what we train on. We PR'd by five minutes. We highly recommend it, but don't look for a fancy expo, and lots of cheering. Run it because you love to run! Thanks to all the great people who volunteered. Everyone was very nice, especially the state troopers who did a fantastic job! | |
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Lisa Schaeffer from Pennsylvania
(5/5/2008)
"Good marathon; terrible pasta party and expo" (about: 2008)
1 previous marathon
| 1 Pocono Mountain Run For The Red Marathon
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 5 The expo was advertised as having speakers, and the pasta party was described as having lots of pasta, bread and baked goods. The expo had 4 tables; nice people but no speakers, per se, and the pasta party had watery, flavorless spaghetti and NO bread or dessert. The hotel had turned off their heat for the year (in the Pocono Mountains!!!) and was extremely small. But the marathon was pretty well organized, and the volunteers were the most encouraging and fabulous cheerleaders you could encounter. There were a lot of hills, even though it was advertised as downhill. The scenery was the most beautiful, most breathtaking I have encountered. I plan to run it again, but skip the pasta dinner. | |
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Joe O'Leary from Medford, MA
(4/10/2008)
"Everything I hoped for" (about: 2007)
11-50 previous marathons
| 1 Pocono Mountain Run For The Red Marathon
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 4 I ran this last year (2007) after having blown up at the Boston Marathon 3 weeks earlier. I could not have been happier with it. I knew the course was fast, but was very impressed with the organization. The only misstep I saw the whole day was a single mile marker out of place. That was it. Most of the course was scenic, the volunteers were good, and they blocked off the entire road for us the entire way. I thoroughly enjoyed my experience | |
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R. G. from Pennsylvania
(11/29/2007)
 "Good race" (about: 2007)
3 previous marathons
| 1 Pocono Mountain Run For The Red Marathon
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 3 I've run 3 marathons now, but this was my first. I like to refer to it as "Steamtown Jr." Course: A lot of downhill running to start and some hill action on the back stretch. A scenic, enjoyable, fast run. Organization: Well organized. No complaints. Local support: Not a great deal, but you go through fairly small towns or sparsely populated areas. Personal support factor: Since my wife attends my marathon runs, I've learned to try to find courses that are good for the spectator. This one is not. Being a point-to-point race, your cheering section pretty much has to wait for you at finish line. Overall experience: This is a fairly small marathon and it did get desolate and lonely and times. However, it's worth running since it is organized well and for the scenery. | |
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S. S. from CT
(7/20/2007)
"Great spring marathon if you don't like crowds!" (about: 2007)
6-10 previous marathons
| 1 Pocono Mountain Run For The Red Marathon
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 4 I'll just echo everyone else's positive comments about the scenic course, great organization, comfortable amenities at the start (indoor waiting at the school), and enthusiastic (if sparse) spectators. I'll also add that it can be a PR course if you run smart - something I finally managed to do in my 8th marathon. Try to stay roughly on pace for the first 9 miles or so of rolling terrain. Stay relaxed on the big downhill portion starting in mile 10; you can pick up a little time, but if you don't overdo it you'll have plenty left for the moderate hills in miles 22 or 23. | |
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D. S. from Buffalo, NY
(5/31/2007)
"Absolutely Terrific!" (about: 2007)
3 previous marathons
| 1 Pocono Mountain Run For The Red Marathon
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 4 Our three previous marathons had 5000+ runners and lots of "bells & whistles," so we wondered what this one would be like. It was great! We loved it! It was small but we never felt like we were running alone in the middle of nowhere. Here is what we loved about it: The course was beautiful and scenic. It was not as easy as it looked, but we were prepared for that. If you train smart, it is not bad. I PR'd. This was very well organized: The buses ran on time to the start. It was so nice to be able to wait in comfort inside the elementary school until the race started. The water stops were plentiful, as were the port-o-johns. We especially appreciated the oranges at a couple of the stations. Although there were not tons of spectators, those who were out were extremely friendly and cheerful. We thought it was great when they read our names out as we passed. The finish was fine, the cookies hit the spot and there was plenty of fluid and fruit. We enjoyed this marathon immensely and have already recommended it to others. | |
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L. M. from East Stroudsburg, PA
(5/20/2007)
"Quickly becoming my favorite race" (about: 2007)
6-10 previous marathons
| 2 Pocono Mountain Run For The Red Marathons
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 4 I've run big-city, small-city, and small-town marathons, and The Run For The Red is quickly becoming my favorite race. This is truly a community event with quite a few of the Pocono's main roads closed to traffic. The small crowds are enthusiastic - even for the back-of-the-pack runners like me. From the expo to the bus ride to the start to the finish, Mr. Werts and his folks did a great job. This is mainly a rural marathon with sparse crowds, but those who were out made even a slowpoke like me feel good. Specific pluses include a great course, well-staffed water stops, and police, fire, and local town volunteers blocking the roads. The course is not designed for out-of-towners to chase their runners. If you are not a local, stick to Main Street and/or the high school stadium. Plenty of free parking and places to hang out downtown. For locals, well you know the back roads! For the money, you can't beat this race. I will be back next year and for as many years as I can run this distance. | |
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E. S. from Brooklyn, NY
(5/15/2007)
"Three weeks after Boston..." (about: 2007)
11-50 previous marathons
| 1 Pocono Mountain Run For The Red Marathon
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 5 I was excited to run this. Everyone was so nice, the volunteers, fantastic, so helpful and I loved that it was smaller, with a hometown feel. You couldn't put a price on the scenery, it was fantastic. And although the crowds at times were small, when you got to someone, they were so supportive, and I was fine with that. The last few miles the screams never ended, thank you for such encouragement. The course...well, It was harder than I anticipated, didn't expect so much uphill & was looking forward to the easy downhills (what on earth did I expect I was in the Poconos?) I'll be ready next time. All in all, I thought it was a great experience. I've run New York the last 8 years and Boston the last 7 years and this smaller marathon reminds me why I run. Great Job! Thank you so much!! | |
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B. G. from upstate NY
(5/11/2007)
"Fantastic small-town race" (about: 2007)
6-10 previous marathons
| 1 Pocono Mountain Run For The Red Marathon
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 4 Great course, some declines and inclines throughout, but not so bad that it sapped your energy. The fact that they closed all the roads to traffic was unbelievable. In response to others' comments: Despite the small numbers, I was never far from other runners. Someone commented about the lack of amenities, but I have no complaints. After the race there were bagels, cookies, protein bars, water, Gatorade, bananas and oranges - more than I've gotten at many other marathons. And I think the t-shirt is nice, not ugly at all. And I certainly don't expect any info mailed to me before the marathon - the website was sufficient for that, if sparse. The pre-race amenities (bus transportation, gym to stay warm, bathrooms) were flawless. The spectators were enthusiastic and plentiful, but don't expect them every step of the way. For only the second year this small race has been around, I think they do a fantastic job and would definitely do it again! |
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