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May 5, 2024

Manchester City Marathon Runner Comments

Back to Manchester City Marathon Information & Reviews

Course 3.8

Organization 4.4

Spectators 3.6

Number of comments: 84 [displaying comments 11 to 21]

More Comments: [ < 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 9 > ]

I. C. from Monterrey, Mexico (11/4/2015) "Great marathon, extremely hilly" (about: 2015) 3 previous marathons \| 1 Manchester City Marathon COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 The marathon is great overall. You are sorrounded by beautiful landscapes during the entire race except when you are inside of the city (which is not much at all). The police are very helpful in directing the cars away from runners and giving encouragement. Runners should not take the warning that this marathon is a challenging course because it is just that. The last mile alone is enough to call it a hilly course. For about two segments of a mile each you run through trails. I thought this was really cool and the surroundings are amazing.
L. S. from DE (11/11/2013) "A Nice Marathon Unless You Are A Flat Lander" (about: 2013) 11-50 previous marathons \| 1 Manchester City Marathon COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 I am a 50 stater like many of the people I met on the course. I was properly warned of the hills but when you don't have hills to train on, it does not help. Hill wise I was fine until the last 4 miles and then my legs and hips just said, 'enough'. So if you don't mind the hills, there are many positive things about this race. The expo was fine, the volunteers there very nice. Parking was easy on race morning and the staff at the Radison was super kind to everyone using their lobby and bathrooms even though most of us werent staying there! Most of the course is nice but I agree with the person who said that the last few miles were bad and the last uphill mile was just 'WRONG'. I walked it, and I never do that. The spectators on the course were great as were the volunteers! The police department throughout the course was the kindest I have seen in 21 states! Not just directing traffice but pushing you, thanking you, and cheering you, seriously! The chicken soup and volunteer staff at the end were great as well. I stayed a couple of miles away at the Sheraton 4 Points as I had my labrador with me. They were very nice and it was a quick 5-10 minute drive on race morning. Also, its next door to a Starbucks!! They offered a shuttle to the race but I declined because of the dog. Overall a very nice race but very tough. I thought it was much tougher than Boston, Little Rock and Provo.
M. C. from USA (11/5/2013) "Great organization, but a bizarre course." (about: 2013) 11-50 previous marathons \| 1 Manchester City Marathon COURSE: 2 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 1 I ran the Manchester City Marathon in 2013, my 22nd marathon overall, and here is my summary: Positive Medium-sized, but great Expo that featured Kathrine Switzer. She was very gracious and spent time with every person who had a chance to speak with her. Meeting and talking with her was inspiring. The prices of the marathon swag were more than fair: $10 for hats; $35 for vests - unlike most expos that are way to steep. The Manchester City Police presence was fantastic! They were everywhere on the race course. Water stops were organized. Mile markers were huge signs. The first six miles were great. I liked running through the Mill Yards and was impressed with the buildings that housed the textile industry. The medal was neat with a design of the textile mills. The post-race spread at a city park next to the finish line was so-so. I liked the homemade soup, but other than some water, bananas, oranges and apples, it was low key. It was nice that we were able to go to the Manchester YMCA to use the shower facilities and it was just a few blocks from the finish line. I didn't notice it right away, but I was glad that there were no pacer people holding their finish time signs during the race. I find them to be annoying. A marathon is supposed to simply unfold: there are no guarantees and you take what you get. The pacers have an elitist feel to me. Negative After the six mile marker, the course became bizarre. We went from a neighborhood to streets with traffic, to a short trail, to a pond, to a second short trail, alongside an industrial park, back to the city, across the river to a neighborhood that included absolutely no spectators. AT mile 20, when I could barely move, a motorist looked at me very annoyed because I didn't move to the side. I'm pretty sure he thought I was just out for a Sunday run because there was no indication at this juncture that a marathon was taking place. We crossed the river again, back downtown with two miles to go and nobody around between that marker and the finish line. Wow! No flow or pattern at all to the course design. Sorry, I just didn't get it. I would rather have repeated the first six miles four times. *This has nothing to do with the race course itself, but I may have reached my limit during this race with the ongoing presence of participants who wear ear buds the entire race while listening to their music. Gone it seems, are the days, when we were able to converse with people during the brutal stages of the race beyond Mile 21 (where are you from? how are you feeling?). Instead, I tried to strike up conversations, but people cannot even hear me. I love my music, but there's a time and place for everything. Call me a traditionalist, but I have never once ran while listening to music since 1983. Others should try listening to the birds chirp as well.
R. S. from Swampscott, MA (11/5/2013) "Not a great course from mile 24 to 26.2" (about: 2013) 4-5 previous marathons \| 1 Manchester City Marathon COURSE: 2 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 3 The course is hilly, including some spots after mile 20 that are tougher than the elevation chart makes them seem, and not a good one if you're trying to BQ and you know it's gonna be close. I missed by under 2 minutes. The problem, imo, is the last couple of miles, which are just depressing: looping through empty mill parking lots, hopping on and off curbs and then having to run up a truly crappy little hill on Spring Street before you hit the final flat 0.2 stretch. I had an outside shot at a BQ time at mile 24 but with that final bit, I couldn't pull it out. It was the antithesis of what you want those last two miles to be. Other stuff: shirt sized too small, nice medal, poor expo, you can't pick up your bib on race morning despite the late 9 am start (so lame), decent free parking in the area but the downtown garages will tag you for $10, even on a Sunday. I like Manchester, the city, but I humbly suggest the race director rethink the marathon's final two miles.
D. A. from Otter Creek, Maine (11/5/2013) "What a marathon!" (about: 2013) 50+ previous marathons \| 1 Manchester City Marathon COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 The organizers weren't kidding when they said 'hilly and challenging'. It was. BUT, it was totally enjoyable. No, this isn't NYC so don't expect 1 million people but you can expect about 1,000 that seemed like a million. What made this marathon more special was the outstanding support of the Manchester Police Department. They seemed to be having more fun than everyone else. Perfect weather, challenging course, great volunteer support. What more do you want? OK, maybe a better t-shirt design, but I'm grasping at straws here. I normally don't repeat races but this may be an exception. Thanks, Manchester!!
R. M. from New Jersey (1/3/2013) "Very enjoyable race" (about: 2012) 11-50 previous marathons \| 1 Manchester City Marathon COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 4 Unlike the folks who were scheduled to run in New York, I had been planning on running in Manchester all along. New Hampshire became my 24th state on my way to completing all 50. It was a small and simple race, but quite enjoyable. I agree with a lot of what other runners have said: The course was hilly, so it's probably not the best place to attempt a PR. For the most part, the race was scenic, although as an earlier post stated, parts of the course (especially near the end) were through industrial parking lots that were not terribly well marked. Parking was plentiful very close to the start/finsish, which was nice. I was afraid that November in New Hampshire would be really cold, and in some years maybe it is. But the weather was terrific in 2012. Overall, I give the race a big thumb's up. If you're not doing NYC, Manchester is a good alternative on that weekend...
J. R. from Melrose, MA (11/14/2012) "Great Low-Key Friendly Marathon" (about: 2012) 11-50 previous marathons \| 1 Manchester City Marathon COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 4 This marathon is low-key and low stress. You can park for free in a city lot 1/4 mile from the start, wait in the host hotel lobby until 5 minutes before the start, and be right back at your car at the finish. Area hotels are plentiful and inexpensive. Many newer ones are at the Manchester NH Airport just a quick 5 miles away, and the marathon itself is one of the less expensive ones. The course is a bit hilly for a PR but you can certainly run a good time here if you have trained properly. Some nicer areas of the course include a packed dirt trail portion past lakes and forest and a stretch of the bike path. Spectators were friendly and enthusiastic and I can't stay enough about the police support on the course. The police were very friendly and super helpful at all road crossings. A great marathon or half marathon to put on your schedule.
A. S. from New York, NY (11/12/2012) "Beautiful, challenging, light crowd" (about: 2012) 2 previous marathons \| 1 Manchester City Marathon COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 2 Another NYC-er kicked out. The city of Manchester was nice and cute, the weather was unbeatable (besides a little wind), the course was mostly very pretty. I enjoyed the trail sections, both paved and unpaved. The rolling hills throughout were challenging, as was the total lack of crowd support after the half. In New York miles 16-19 up 1st Avenue are full of cheering people 10 deep on either side, and the last few miles in the park are also insane. When I needed them most (after all those hills), no one was there. A stress-free start was amazing, though. I was well-rested, warm, and ready to go. I probably would not do this marathon again, but I had a positive experience and am so glad I did it.
Laura Dempsey from Watertown, MA (11/7/2012) "Challenging but excellent race" (about: 2012) 11-50 previous marathons \| 1 Manchester City Marathon COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 4 I was one of many runners who registered for the Manchester City Marathon very last minute after the NYC Marathon was cancelled. It was a great alternative and I'm very happy that I had an opportunity to add this race to my list. The course is very challenging with rolling hills from beginning to end. I had trained for a flatter course so I struggled a bit but if you are properly trained its certainly manageable. There are areas that go off pavement and on trails for a bit. I liked the change of terrain and scenery. The last few miles were very difficult and there are a few curbs you are forced to get up and down on - these are tough on tired legs. The wind was nasty at the end too. The last stretch of the race down Elm Street is awesome. There is also a half marathon and relay so the field is larger in the beginning and you do run through the relay transitions. I enjoyed this especially since the crowd was huge at these areas. The crowd support was very impressive considering it's a relatively small race. It seemed all of Manchester was out with their family and dog ringing a cow bell and cheering the runners. It was great to see so much support from the town when I'm sure the traffic and road closures are an inconvenience to them. I thought the organization of the race was incredible considering they had unexpectedly doubled the field 48 hours before the race. Adjustments had to be made including giving some full marathoners half marathon bibs and giving the late registrants last years t-shirt but none of that mattered in the end. I did hear that they ran out of finisher's medals but had ordered more to send to anyone who did not receive theirs. There was plenty of water, Gatorade and gu on the course. A great benefit to doing a smaller race like Manchester is the relaxed start. Prior to the race I was in the warm host hotel lobby stretching and using a clean bathroom with no line. This is not a luxury I would have experienced in NY! I threw my race bag on a truck just a couple of minutes before the gun went off and had plenty of time to line up. They used NuVision Action Image for race photos, which allow you to download pictures for free. I'm a huge fan of this since most race photography companies charge huge fees for race photos. If you are up for a challenging course and well organized race, I definitely recommend the Manchester City Marathon.
E. S. from Atlanta, GA (11/6/2012) "Great alternative to NYC!" (about: 2012) 11-50 previous marathons \| 1 Manchester City Marathon COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 3 I entered this race at the last minute due to the cancellation of the NYC marathon. The organization was excellent and was able to extend the registration time to accommodate the many others who were doing the same thing. The expo was small (probably about 20 vendors), but it had lots of free goodies from the vendors and packet pickup was well organized. The aid stations were well stocked and the volunteers were very helpful. I liked that they gave out cowbells so the runners' support group had something to use to cheer us on. The course was very scenic. It ran past a lake and river. We ran along some packed gravel trails (for maybe 5 miles total). There were trees that were mostly still colorful. And the residential neighborhoods were nice as well. There were definitely some rolling hills, but nothing unmanageable. The finish line had free massages, a band, soup, hot chocolate and coffee, and fruit. The fans were great at the start, finish, and relay areas, but were sparse throughout the rest of the course. Some areas to improve: -The start line was crowded and it was hard to gage pace of the runners without some pace signage. With the narrow road at the start, it took some weaving to get into the right pace. -There was only one porta potty at each porta potty stop along the course, and often times there were lines. -The end of the course was a little confusing. There was one point where I didn't know where I was supposed to go. More signs or volunteers directing you would be helpful toward the end. -Water stops were every other mile. It would have been better if after mile 20, they were every mile. At that point, you're living water stop to water stop. Overall excellent race! I would highly recommend this to anyone who needs to check New Hampshire off their list.

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