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Apr 28, 2024

Drake Well Marathon Runner Comments

Back to Drake Well Marathon Information & Reviews

Course 4.1

Organization 4.7

Spectators 3.5

Number of comments: 39 [displaying comments 21 to 31]

More Comments: [ < 1 2 3 4 > ]

M. G. from Virginia (8/23/2010) "Great" (about: 2010) 4-5 previous marathons \| 1 Drake Well Marathon COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 4 Great race. I'm not sure, but I swear the bike path inclines outbound and inbound. How did you do that?
D. L. from Sourth Jersey (8/22/2010) "Great race, but really, really brutal downhills" (about: 2010) 1 previous marathon \| 1 Drake Well Marathon COURSE: 3 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 So this is a very nice marathon. The two uphills are challenging, but a marathon should not be 100% pancake-flat, in my humble opinion. That being said, we started a little late (10-15 minutes or so) due to them clearing a tree from the course that had blown over the night before. As commented about below, the downhills were really the hardest part. I was hoping to run just about a 3-hour marathon, but jammed my knee really hard on the second major downhill. Pulled my calf a few steps later. The downhill (particularly the second one) is a borderline sprint/or your knees take a beating. But like I said, I hurt myself so I am a bit biased. This was my first marathon and the water station staff and fans were wonderful. Trainers helped me as soon as i finished. I hobbled in at the end, but that was largely my own darn fault. I would really like to run this again, this time with a much better result.
P. D. from Mass (8/15/2009) "Great, little race; competent, friendly organizati" (about: 2009) 11-50 previous marathons \| 1 Drake Well Marathon COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 4 I enjoyed the race and the town very much. I have run smaller races that were still a lot less friendly and larger ones that were a lot less well organized. Dane did a great job and obviously poured his heart into this. I would recommend the race without reservation. The course was tough and different, with easy sections too.
David Terrill, Sr. from Tarentum, Pa. (8/14/2009) "Hills, heat, and humidity. Let's dance!!!!" (about: 2009) 50+ previous marathons \| 2 Drake Well Marathons COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 The climbs are long, but the degree of slope is not brutal. The descents, on the other hand, are steep. Some folks can bank time on them, but the impact is more than I care to absorb. My advice is simply to do your own thing. The hills come early, and there is a lot of great running left to do. Exercise patience. Titusville was a very clean town. Litter-free streets are a pleasure to run on. Traffic was light on a Sunday morning, and everybody was pleasant. I love running in small-town, USA-races for that reason. There's too much apathy in big cities. Atmospheric conditions were tough today, but we have all run in tougher at one time or another. We play the hand Mother Nature deals us. It's mid-summer in northwest PA. We should expect tough conditions and pace accordingly. The out-and-back through Oil Creek State Park was very enjoyable, under a sprawling canopy of greenery. The sound of water flowing over rocks was the only sound I could hear at times. "Soothing" is how I would describe it. I have always loved a track field finish, and this one was sweet for two reasons. First, it was similar to an Olympic Marathon finish, where runners enter the oval and run a full lap to the finish. And secondly, my lap brought back some fond memories of the 105.5 laps I ran with 20 other souls in the 2006 DWM. While that version was unique and memorable, this one is more palatable for most of us. I'm hoping this one takes root and becomes an annual tradition. If it comes back next year, so will I. Check out the museum equipment while you're there: Prime examples of industrial revolution-era man-eater gadgetry. No OSHA back then. Workers used common sense and good judgment or they lost body parts.
S. O. from Niagara Region (8/11/2009) "New race with great potential" (about: 2009) 11-50 previous marathons \| 1 Drake Well Marathon COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 3 As I get older I still want to run fast, but the entire weekend experience is also important to the family, too. Packet pick-up was easy, but there was no real expo (no big deal - I just drove to the supermarket to get PowerBars). Pros: - great small-town atmosphere - nice start on the bridge - miles 9 - 26 on a beautiful bike path - track finish - great Drake Well oil museum visit afterward - kids loved the local pool with slide ($4) - great to have an August marathon (shaded bike path will help on REALLY hot days - we got lucky with just humidity) Cons: - 2nd mile was steep (my slowest of the whole race) - some uphills are fair game, BUT these corresponding downhills were NOT any compensation as they were too steep to run smoothly AND with poor footing (mile 6-7 should be rerouted directly into town) - the water stations were plentiful and they will solve this problem easily in the future but THOSE RIDICULOUSLY SMALL DENTAL HYGIENE CUPS CONTAINED ALMOST NO WATER. A race in August HAS TO HAVE ADEQUATE WATER (and people hoping to run a certain time should not have to stop to get it). Overall: GREAT potential with a few small course changes in the first 6 miles and larger cups. Special note: you MUST eat at the BLUE CANOE after the race. That meal and the beer samples alone made the trip worth it.
B. T. from Atlanta, GA USA (8/10/2009) "Loved to hate this race" (about: 2009) 1 previous marathon \| 1 Drake Well Marathon COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 4 This was my first marathon, so I have nothing to compare this to, but I'm glad I made this one my first. I have a love/hate relationship with this course. The course had two decent-sized hills at the beginning. Once those were out of the way, the rest of it was flat. Along the way you ran on asphalt, cobblestone, gravel, dirt, and through a field; and you ended on the high school track. The volunteers were all very pleasant and eager to help. Many of the locals were out cheering, set up sprinklers for us to run through and even set up their own tables with water pitchers on them. It was a very nice race, well organized, and had a little bit of everything in it.
J. E. from United States (8/10/2009) "What an experience!" (about: 2009) 50+ previous marathons COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 The course was just as described: Challenging! Those hills were great for coming down. Those are what I call God's gifts. Volunteers were very helpful, from packet pickup and dinner on through to the end. Being last wasn't so bad. I had two men in a truck who gave me water to pour over myself when I finally reached the top of that second hill and found out that I was still alive! They were always nearby, making sure that I was OK. Then the run along Main St. seeing those gorgeous old homes and beautiful flowers was a very nice treat. I took pictures. The bike trail afterward was a welcome change, and the trees saved us from some of the steaming heat. Other runners heading to the finish were generous with their motivational comments. One man, who I had met the evening before, Nate Skipper, stopped and chatted a bit and he still came in first in his age group! Another Marathon Maniac informed me that the riverside was cooler. I moved to it! A lady with a dog was there for the beginning and I saw her along Main St. also. At nice, friendly, small races, these kind of nice things happen. There were plenty port-o-potties at the beginning and end, and there was a sign along the trail for others. Miles were clearly marked. Volunteers had water and Gatorade. There was plenty food at the end of the race, a rarity for me. All of this was just as had been advertised. The shirt is gold, with Drake Well and Road ID logos on the front (and a blank back). NICE. I didn't get the toe socks that I read about, but I did get a big pill box that had a space for morning, noon, evening and bedtime meds. I think someone figured out what would be better for me. And I appreciate it. The finisher's medal is very nice, with purple ribbon and the logo. I finished with a water bottle in one hand, my hat in the other. (I always wear my hat.) I also had my shoes over my shoulder, since leg cramps at mile 19 resisted all of my attempts to make them go away, so I simply took the shoes off and ran the rest of the way barefoot. I haven't done that since I was a kid and it worked out fine. I may be able to save some money on shoes now...???? I would highly recommend this race to anyone who likes a challenge, a peaceful place to run, and friendly, helpful volunteers. I just want them to know: I was serious about that cup of coffee at mile 20. Next time, OK? Dane and company did a great job. If they could just cut those hills into three instead of two....
D. F. from Mpls, MN (8/10/2009) "Interesting course and great organization." (about: 2006) 11-50 previous marathons \| 1 Drake Well Marathon COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 It took me a while to convince my wife to allow me to run this event. My final plea was, "I only get one chance to run a marathon on the day of my 60th birthday." When I called to make my hotel reservation, they didn't know anything about the event. I burned a lot of frequent flyer miles to go on the spur of the moment so close to Christmas (12/22 and 12/23). The pre-race meal was good. It's not often that everyone running is fed around one large table. Before the race, the DJ played "Happy Birthday" for me and all of the runners and spectators sang. My daughter had alerted Dane to my birthday. The goody bags and fleece blankets were great. The water and bathrooms every lap were a great plus for this event. As I said to someone at the run, running that many laps on the track reminded me of the joke about sled dogs: "If you're not the lead dog, the scenery never changes." I had to leave before everyone else had finished, as I had a plane to catch back to Minneapolis, MN. I was home by 10:30 p.m. the day of the event. There was still time to celebrate my birthday at home. It's not very often I finish in the top 20 or 1st in my age group. Thank you to Dane and family!!!
Gid Oswitch from Kent, Ohio (8/10/2009) "Nice, small-town, summer race" (about: 2009) 11-50 previous marathons \| 1 Drake Well Marathon COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 2 For a small-town marathon, Drake Well exceeded my expectations: Positives: Small field, water and Gatorade at each stop, lovely last 16 miles of the course, nice shirt and medal, friendly volunteers, and an enthusiastic race director that really wants to make this race succeed. Negatives: The first 7+ miles of the course are very hard and had many people walking by mile 3 up the hills. If you like running alone on a nice bike trail in the state park system, this is a good race for you - just pace yourself early. I am glad I ran this marathon.
D. F. from Wexford, PA (8/10/2009) "Easy half" (about: 2009) 11-50 previous marathons COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 3 I ran the half and we started the run at the marathon course's mile 10. The half course was changed at the last minute, and the hills at the beginning were eliminated. This was an asphalt trail running along side of Oil Creek. The trail is beautiful and I didn't notice any type of incline, if there was one. The trail is tree-lined, with a covering, so it would protect you from the weather. It was 75, with max humidity at the start. Although it was humid, you couldn't ask for a better day in August, as it was overcast. Parking couldn't get much easier. There is a lot right next to the start. And a lot at the finish. The start and finish are about a quarter mile apart. Every mile was marked. There were no spectators on the trail except for the volunteers. There is a turn-around, and you will pass the other participants, which is motivating. It looked like the water stops were about 2 miles apart, so you may want to consider carrying your own fluids. You finish on a track, with music and enough goodies to eat.

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