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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 451 to 456]
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S. H. from Suwanee GA
(3/25/2007)
 "This marathon has potential to be great!" (about: 2007)
4-5 previous marathons
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 3 FANS: 4 The scenic course and the supportive spectators were the strength of this new race. The race is hilly but it is a rolling course, which does not add that much to your finishing time. The spectators were great from sprinklers, water hoses, ice and words of encouragement. The bibs had our names on them, which was a nice little added detail. The expo was fast and organized, but I was in line before the expo opened. I heard many others complain about waiting hours on Saturday afternoon to pick up their race packet. The technical shirt was great, but honestly, I don't run 26.2 for the shirts. However, the medals are important to me and this medal is my 5th and my favorite. Things that could be improved for next year from my experience: * More PowerAde (I only saw it once on the course and they were a sponsor) * More preferred starting options (take a look at other large races such as Chicago, Houston, etc.) * More porta-potties at the start * Get the universities involved (take a look into Boston - Wellesley is one of the highlights of that race) I think this race has potential. Give it a few years to work on the details and Atlanta has itself a world-class marathon. I plan on making this an annual race. | |
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M. S. from Gainesville, Georgia USA
(3/25/2007)
"Atlanta Could've Done So Much Better" (about: 2007)
4-5 previous marathons
| 1 Georgia Marathon
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 2 FANS: 4 This was obviously a first-time marathon, but for a city that puts on the largest 10K in the world, I would've thought certain things would've been no-brainers! Before I lay out the downers, let me say that it was a great course, on a great day, through some of the best neighborhoods in Atlanta. This is much better than some of the industrial marathons you'll run where you're hitting office parks and boring places like that. Furthermore, let me say that I will do this race again. I was prepared for everything that played out figuring that an inaugural race was going to have its bumps. I'm laying out the following list in order to let race organizers know what the heck was going on over the 26.2 mile course (cause the news got it all wrong) and to prepare others for the bumps they will encounter running "inaugural" marathons. 1. There were no starting corrals. Half runners started with full runners, and there was no lineup based on expected pace. It was just a mass of hysteria. 2. Water stops are supposed to be an oasis, not a mirage. There were a couple of stops where there were signs, but not even a table, much less water or volunteers (mile 6 comes to mind). 3. You've got thousands of runners coming through in a short period of time. You need to have the water/PowerAde already poured. The volunteers simply can't keep up with it. The Peachtree Road Race has this down pat, with cups already laid out, presumably filled, and stacked 6 rows high. 4. I saw PowerAde advertised at most stops, but it wasn't there. They had run out. The news says, "Organizers ordered extra water and PowerAde" - but ordering it and actually having it are obviously 2 different things. I didn't get any until late in the game. 5. Volunteers were mostly friendly. There was one in particular that made a runner behind me aware that "we're just lucky she's out there." Yeah, we were. It'd be even better if they hadn't run out of cups and PowerAde at her stop. I'm sure organizers will learn from this in the future and it will become the world-class event it should be. If you're looking at my review and wondering, "Should I run this in '08?" - my answer is YES. Look for me to be there, too. Just bring a fuel belt with some water and Gatorade. | |
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D. W. from North Georgia
(3/25/2007)
 "Half Marathon Disappointing" (about: 2007)
4-5 previous marathons
| 1 Georgia Marathon
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 1 FANS: 3 I ran the half marathon today. I was VERY disappointed that there were no mile markers for the half marathoners after we split from the full marathon course. The half marathon is the bread and butter of these events. If it weren't for the humble masses (~9000), the event could not attract the extensive sponsorship and vendors at the expo (which was wonderful). The Atlanta Track Club does a superior job of marking the course for both full and half marathoners on Thanksgiving. I expected at least as much from ING. There were no starting corrals. The finish area was crowded, and with poor (if at all) signage and directions. | |
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Ben Kell from Fayetteville, GA
(3/25/2007)
"Great Race, No PowerAde" (about: 2007)
1 previous marathon
| 1 Georgia Marathon
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 2 Second marathon. Great expo. Easy packet pickup. Difficult to find start line on race morning. Needs more toilets at the start, though had plenty on the course. Biggest complaint is that there was little to NO POWERADE!!! Though there were plenty of signs for it! The one time they had PowerAde, it was watered down significantly. Thankfully I had packed my own. Fairly easy to find mile markers, though I missed a couple. The course is beautiful, meandering through some nice neighborhoods. Somewhat hilly but not too bad. Fan support was good, but not great. Finish area was lacking in organization. Couldn't find water. Timing chip dropoff was not marked well and I almost missed it. As for post-race stuff, it was lame and there was nothing to do. Overall, good race. I'll do it again, though there were some inaugural bumps. Thanks for the race, ING! | |
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r. g. from atlanta,ga
(3/25/2007)
 "More water..." (about: 2007)
11-50 previous marathons
| 1 Georgia Marathon
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 4 Not enough water stops for a hot spring marathon in the south... need water every mile. Good, challenging, hilly, rolling course, with great scenery. | |
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H. V. from Florida
(3/25/2007)
"Nice course but big glitches to work out" (about: 2007)
4-5 previous marathons
| 1 Georgia Marathon
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 2 FANS: 5 Can I be one of the first to comment on this race? I ran the 1/2 marathon. Lots of rolling hills as I expected. Not an easy course, especially for a Floridian like me who isn't used to the hills! Pros: (1) Great expo. Not the largest, but great quality booths. I've never seen so many food samples at an expo before. (2) Enjoyable course through neigborhoods and the city. Lots to look at. (3) Spectators were great, and many came out of their homes to cheer us on. Some offered beer and food for runners. (4) Nice technical shirt Cons: (1) And this is a biggie!!! There was supposed to be PowerAde out on the course. NO stations had PowerAde that I saw on the 1/2 marathon course. NONE! Just water. And there was a problem with that, as the water tables were on only one side of the street, with maybe 2 tables set up. It was a traffic jam at every water stop as runners had to wait in long lines to get water. A mess! (2) Mile markers were hard to see, and without clocks, I relied on those mile markers to time my mile splits on my watch. I missed a few of the markers. (3) Because of multiple mats, it was hard to tell exactly which mats were the starting mats. Same with the finish. That part was a little confusing. (4) "Real-time" tracking/runner tracking didn't work for my chip. It shows my start time but nothing else. I'm bummed. I know my approximate finish time but not exact, due to problem #3 above. So the course was nice and despite the heat and lack of PowerAde, I had a nice time. Just wish I didn't have a faulty chip. |
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