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Georgia Marathon Runner Comments
Back to Georgia Marathon Information & Reviews
Course 4.1 
Organization 3.1 
Spectators 4.0
Number of comments: 459 [displaying comments 431 to 441]
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K. M. from Atlanta, GA
(3/26/2007)
 "Has potential but need to work out the kinks!" (about: 2007)
11-50 previous marathons
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 3 FANS: 4 Keeping in mind that this was an inaugural race, it is expected that there would be a few snafus. However, I just cannot understand how water stations could be without water and/or Gatorade! The race director knew the course and that 15,000 people would be hitting the first few water stops before the marathon runners split off from the half marathon runners. The course did not have time clocks or individuals calling out splits. With ING as a major sponsor, I am not sure why this was not addressed during pre-race planning. Although not the fault of the race staff, MARTA did break down, causing an influx of runners to miss the start of the race. I got to the start just as the gun went off, but unfortunately I lost a lot of time being stuck behind the walkers. From what I heard, the line-up for the race was not organized by pace per mile. Thus, many walkers were situated at the front, which caused a dangerous situation with runners trying to pass by. Hopefully this will be addressed next year. On a positive note, the course was beautiful and the crowds were enthusiastic. | |
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S. P. from Macon, Ga.
(3/26/2007)
 "Tough course on a hot day" (about: 2007)
11-50 previous marathons
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 5 This was a fun race for me simply because of the spectator turnout. The only negative would be the lack of enough fluids on the route. The course is very challenging, but there are plenty of turns and nice areas to run through. | |
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m. l. from atlanta, ga
(3/26/2007)
 "Too many hills, too few water stops, no PowerAde" (about: 2007)
6-10 previous marathons
| 1 Georgia Marathon
COURSE: 2 ORGANIZATION: 2 FANS: 4 If you expect this race to be a success that will entice repeat marathoners, the course needs to have a good 50% fewer hills. I've never seen so many runners having to walk the last 6 miles. There was only one PowerAde stop. Ridiculous. You need hydration every mile or mile and a half, not every two! | |
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Alan Ford from Atlanta, GA
(3/26/2007)
 "1st ING Georgia" (about: 2007)
11-50 previous marathons
| 1 Georgia Marathon
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 2 FANS: 3 Some things can't be controlled and others can. The weather didn't cooperate very well. Just 1 week before the temps were in the 30's, but for the race, Atl. set a new record high. Some things can be controlled like the first water stop being prepared when the runners come through. The table was stacked up 5-6 people deep waiting on water. Another thing that can be controlled is making sure that there is a water stop where they say there will be one. We had a water stop at approx. 3.1 miles. Right after this the half marathoners split off. For the marathoners, we had a sign posted at mile 5 that there was water/PowerAde just ahead - then nothing. We went to approx. mile 8.25 before we had the next water stop. Five miles without water - with the heat increasing quickly - and that early in the race spelled disaster for a lot of people. There was a lot of cramping going on late in the race. There were a group of us talking after the race. There are going to be mistakes made for a big event - but with the experience ING has in running Paris, New York, and Miami, the mistakes made today shouldn't have happened. The spectators that were out were great. I thought some of them went a long way to help, for example by bringing out big bowls of ice for runners, extra water, sprinklers, etc., all of which really helped. The course, although tough, was nice, as it mixed neighborhoods and the downtown area. There were hills, but this is Atlanta - and we have hills. | |
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E. H. from Savannah, GA
(3/26/2007)
"beautiful, hilly, hot" (about: 2007)
3 previous marathons
| 1 Georgia Marathon
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 3 FANS: 5 What a great race. Very challenging and beautiful. However, not having any PowerAde on the course at all was inexcusable. Had to stop at CVS for GATORADE. Nice expo; great shirt. Be ready for hills. Good for and inaugural race; just get Gatorade to show up next year. | |
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N. B. from Ohio
(3/26/2007)
"Great course, huge field, no PowerAde" (about: 2007)
11-50 previous marathons
| 1 Georgia Marathon
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 2 FANS: 3 I trained to the letter for this race and part of that was to train with PowerAde, drinking it every 2 miles. Well, by mile 2, it was gone. I'm not a back-of-the-packer and was moving about 8:20/mi so they shouldn't have been out. That turned out to be a trend... turns out that I got PowerAde at mile 8 and 16 and never again. Ironic that at one stop over 20, they were serving Gatorade, the competitor to PowerAde. Combined with the sky-high pollen count and temperature (which they couldn't control), a race that I should have done well at ended up a disaster. However, it is a beautiful course and well planned out. To me, serving only water was a huge blunder. One last thing: you'd never guess what they were serving at the finish.... Warm cans of Coke products! No thanks! As my 13th marathon and spending the last 6 months in frozen northeast Ohio training, it wasn't the marathon I "dreamed" of. I thought all winter it would be first-class all the way, considering that ING (who does NYC) was the sponsor. I hope the future races will do much better. I for one will not return and risk it again. There are many others to pick from. The medal was very cool, though! | |
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C. Graham from Atlanta
(3/26/2007)
"The Hills Have Eyes" (about: 2007)
4-5 previous marathons
| 1 Georgia Marathon
COURSE: 2 ORGANIZATION: 3 FANS: 4 I live in Atlanta and was extremely excited to run this inaugural race. However, I was very disappointed in the course. Although extremely scenic, the course was poorly designed. Every mile, every turn, runners were challenged uphill. From the beginning, the course was a steady uphill battle. I don't mind running hills but a balance of hills and flat streets is most desired. Also, the water stations on the marathon left plenty room for improvement. I believe there was a 5 - 6 mile gap between the first and second water station. Also, only a few of the water stations had PowerAde. Unfortunately, someone thought it was a good idea to water it down. Colored water doesn't cut it in Hotlanta!! Atlanta is a great city; please redesign the course and improve the water stations. Great medal!!!!! | |
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A. R. from Atlanta, GA
(3/26/2007)
"Decent effort but needs LOTS of work" (about: 2007)
11-50 previous marathons
| 1 Georgia Marathon
COURSE: 3 ORGANIZATION: 1 FANS: 5 As background, this was my 16th marathon. The expo was excellent. It was well organized and loaded with booths. The race itself left quite a bit to be desired. There were 15,000 registered, and 13,730 started. There was no organization at the start. Everyone was just lumped together in one big group. There was no water or PowerAde at the start (that I could find). We didn't even know that the gun went off until the crowd started to surge forward. The course was nice, but very hilly. Organizers dropped the ball when it came to water stops. Several had run out. We went from mile 3 to mile 8 without water and there was only one stop that had PowerAde. Several parts of the course were right next to traffic. When we crossed the finish line, the beverages were warm and much of the food was already gone. The one thing there in abundance were photographers (that way they could get more money from you). Thank God for the spectators. Not only was their cheering great, but they set up there own water stops, which was a huge help. I doubt I will run this race until they have a couple more years experience. | |
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D. O. from Atlanta, Georgia
(3/26/2007)
"Hills; Heat; Not Enough Volunteers" (about: 2007)
2 previous marathons
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 2 FANS: 4 First of all, the course was stunningly beautiful, showcasing all that makes Atlanta such a unique city. The hills were tough, but it's Atlanta and there are hills. Spectators were great and there were a lot of homeowners out on their lawns handing out water to the runners. That was awesome. Last week it was winter with temperatures dipping into the low 30s. On race day, the temperature was already 65 at 7 a.m. and quickly climbed to a high of 87. Dangerous weather because no one expected it or trained for it. There was clearly a deficit of volunteers at the water stops. Volunteers at the first two water stops were completely overwhelmed. At mile four, the table was surrounded by runners waiting in line for the four volunteers at the table to pour water into cups. I almost didn't stop, but it was a good thing I did because there were no more waters stops until mile 10. There were signs for water stops, but no actual water. One homeowner had a hose hanging from his mailbox and runners were drinking from that. On the course map there was shown a water stop every mile. There were fewer than half that number. PowerAde ran out pretty early, creating a dangerous situation for the slow runners drinking lots of water on this hot day. Next year instead of running the race, I'm going to volunteer. This race has incredible potential... too bad for the rough inaugural run. | |
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j. G. from atlanta, georgia
(3/26/2007)
"Poor Organization" (about: 2007)
11-50 previous marathons
| 1 Georgia Marathon
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 2 FANS: 3 Starting line: no organization. Races were combined at the start (8,900+ half marathoners and 4,300+ marathoners). Too many WALKERS lined up in front, causing delays in the starting area. They ran out of water at the first aid station (4 miles - before the split), so the next water stop for the marathoners was at 8 miles. Thanks to the community that allowed runners to use water hoses and that provided cups of drink. Without them, a lot of runners wouldn't have finished the race - temps were in the mid 80's. There was very LITTLE PowerAde or Gatorade on the course. HEY ING, they have been forecasting upper 80's for the race all week. The shirt was nice but my medal was put together upside down... like the race. |
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