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Apr 29, 2024

Georgia Marathon Runner Comments

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Course 4.1

Organization 3.1

Spectators 4.0

Number of comments: 459 [displaying comments 11 to 21]

More Comments: [ < 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 .. 46 > ]

M. R. from Georgia (4/3/2017) "Great first marathon" (about: 2017) 1 previous marathon \| 1 Georgia Marathon COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 3 FANS: 5 I chose this as my first marathon as I am a Decatur resident and wanted to run through my town. Decatur spectators were by far the best, with the Burma-Shave style signs. But all the spectators were good; in addition to the race water stops, residents in Druid Hills and Lullwater handed out water, bananas, and oranges, and the students at Agnes Scott had a water table. Plenty of portapotties, and water stations every two miles - I never was thirsty too long. Yes, the course is hilly, but Atlanta is the second-most mountainous city in the US - hills are to be expected. I trained on them, and was able to run all of them, so it's all about prep. My only big complaint was the wish that the organizers had set up some heaters in the park before the race. I didn't shuck my hoodie and warm-up pants until about 10 minutes before the gun; I was freezing. Expo was smaller than previous years (I've run the half twice), and I didn't see the video recap of the course I had in years past. But overall, a great experience, and a great way to see a lot of Atlanta. Will race again next year.
k. k. from St Louis,MO (3/27/2017) "Excellent Race!" (about: 2017) 11-50 previous marathons \| 1 Georgia Marathon COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 4 I really enjoyed this race. Course is hilly, very hilly, but I certainly wasn't expecting to PR so that was not a problem for me. It's also beautiful course and you get to see lot of ATL and surroundings. I've run 20+ different marathon courses and I thought this was one of the best. Volunteers were fantastic, very cheerful and enthusiastic. They really made the race fun. Water stop were well stocked. Spectator were sparse in the marathon portion of the course but those who were out were very supportive. As other reviewers have said, the start was very crowded but I think that's true for any medium to big size race. Overall, I highly recommend this race.
M. L. from Orange Park, FL (3/26/2017) "Hilly But Great Support" (about: 2017) 11-50 previous marathons \| 1 Georgia Marathon COURSE: 3 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 3 Yes, the course is hilly as advertised, but the support on the course was awesome. Plenty of aid stations which were well stocked and had many energetic volunteers. The Expo was small, but I did like the long sleeve shirt. The post race venue at the Olympic Park was nice, but the food or lack of it was an issue. I usually like to graze and socialize with other finishers, but this time I just grabbed a banana and walked back to the hotel to check out. I found a nice Diner a few miles away and enjoyed the time with family. The organizers did a great job separating the half and the full marathoners except the final 30 yards, where I was cut off by a much slower halfer, not cool. Overall, I did enjoy the race...despite the hills.
Paul Burns from Kennesaw, GA (3/22/2017) "Exceeded Expectations" (about: 2017) 6-10 previous marathons \| 1 Georgia Marathon COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 3 Pre-race communication was adequate. The expo was small. I was disappointed that a race with this level of participation didn't have a bigger expo. Parking was easy and there seemed to be plenty of options. The race starts at 7 am so it is dark walking around Olympic Park. They could use a few more lights in the Group Area. The wave start went off without a glitch and the course itself was excellent. Yes it is hilly. Very hilly! I really enjoyed the different sides of Atlanta that were shown off throughout the race. Candler Park, Piedmont Park, Emory University, Decatur, on and on it went. I had an excellent pace group and pacer. I'll run with him every chance I can get. Small crowds but very enthusiastic. They gave me the extra push I needed. The medal was ok. The Atlanta Track Club jacket handed out after the race kept me warm as I cooled down. I enjoyed this marathon more than any of the other 7 I've run. Well done ATC! I will be back next year.
H. G. from Atlanta, Georgia (3/19/2017) "crowded" (about: 2017) 50+ previous marathons \| 4-5 Georgia Marathons COURSE: 1 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 3 Good: easy parking (aquarium deck), lots of portojohns, well stocked aid stations Meh : hills. but you can't avoid that in Atlanta. Not a lot of spectaters for this size race, but I don't need that, and the ones there are enthusiastic. Medal is boring. Bad : INCREDIBLY crowded on the course, also I'm sure some pacers are good but every year I've ran with them, different pacers they start much too fast. A positive split is not the best way if you're running close to your actual ability. Coming in under time isn't the only measure of a pacer. Wonder about quality control for them. Forgo the pace groups at this race. Cost is slightly high for what is offered. Far from the best GA race, but if you want to run downtown or it's close, it's an option. There are better options if you're traveling in or only do a couple a year, though. I would not run if I weren't local.
D. O. from Little Rock,Ar. (3/29/2016) "Big race small town feel" (about: 2016) 11-50 previous marathons \| 1 Georgia Marathon COURSE: 3 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 3 Hilly course but overall great experience, did not like the way the waves at the start were set up, I started with the 4 hour group in corral C and before we ran a mile people were walking and clogging up the course. Considering I had to sign up to run with the 4 hour pace group how did all these slow runners get in corral B and C? Hopefully in the future this can be rectified. Course support was very good with water stops about every mile.
C. B. from Detroit, MI (3/27/2016) "Beautiful, Challenging Big City Race" (about: 2016) 11-50 previous marathons \| 1 Georgia Marathon COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 5 I loved everything about this course! We were warned about the hills. If hills are what is required to show off the city properly, I don't have any problem with that. We had beautiful weather, nice expo though not as big as I expected, good organization at the start except for one thing: the gear check trucks were a little hard to find, the lines were very long, and they were labelled with tiny signs that were hard to see in the dark. Otherwise, everything was great. Plenty of water, plenty of on-course snacks, plenty of crowd support. Also, I don't train on hills and I still managed to BQ here (only my 3rd BQ out of 40 races), so don't be afraid of the hills. Be aware, but not afraid. Nice medal, super nice long-sleeved tech shirt (I've already worn it on two of the three runs I've done since returning home from GA), all around stellar race experience!
M. D. from Georgia (3/27/2016) "2016 Marathon" (about: 2016) 50+ previous marathons \| 6+ Georgia Marathons COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 4 This was my 10th running of this race and it gets better each year. Yes, it is very hilly. The downhills are very nice. The flattest portion of this race is the last 1.1 miles. This is an industrial area that is very unflattering. The hilly section is lovely, volunteers are great and the organization is excellent.
B. R. from Aspen, Colorado (3/21/2016) "Well organized except for the start" (about: 2016) 11-50 previous marathons \| 1 Georgia Marathon COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 4 I should first point out that I thoroughly enjoyed my expereince at this event. I have experienced many of the biggest marathons and this one held it's own. The pre-race communication was good, the expo organized, there was great on- course support and an enthusiastic crowd. The only drawback for me was the start. As someone who was trying to run a 3:30, I found it very unfortunate that the half- marathoners and the full started at the same time. This made it far too busy and congested at the start. It also seemed that they had people with different time goals scattered throughout the corrals, as I was also in the 4th out of 5. Meaning those at the back had to pick their way through walkers and slow runners at the outset making it a bit harder to get into a rhythm. This one detail would not keep me from recommending this race, but it should be something the organizers take into consideration.
K. M. from GA (3/21/2016) "Hills! Great race support, Expo stinks" (about: 2016) 3 previous marathons \| 1 Georgia Marathon COURSE: 2 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 4 This is a notorious hilly course. Especially the back half. I live and train in ATL, so I am used to the hills, but The Atlanta Track club should really look at changing the course to level it out some ( especially Stillwood and 12th). Also, keep in mind that there are sections where the runners lane was fairly small, due to keeping car traffic open, but there is a camber to the roads, so it is an issue for uneven running. My left glute and ITB band locked up pretty good because of this. The Course support was great. Plenty of water and food and friendly faces. This was the best part of the race. The Expo stinks. Since the ATC took it over this year, there were half the number of vendors, not much freebie sample stuff. The T-Shirt design was terrible with some dogwood / cherry blossoms on it. At least the shirt and medal were 'marathon' only.

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