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City of Oaks Marathon Runner Comments
Back to City of Oaks Marathon Information & Reviews
Course 4.1 
Organization 4.3 
Spectators 3.7
Number of comments: 85 [displaying comments 61 to 71]
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W. R. from Raleigh, NC
(8/17/2008)
 "Very Nice Course!!!" (about: 2007)
2 previous marathons
| 1 City of Oaks Marathon
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 3 I ran the half-marathon last year (2007), and am going to run it again this year. The course is hilly, yes, but it is not awful if you train for it. The first half of the course has been changed from last year. The start is now on centennial campus of NC State University, which has ample parking garages and should make getting to the race much less of a pain. The first 13.1 snake through downtown Raleigh, neighborhoods north of NC State, and the NC State campus. Although I did not run the full marathon, I am very familiar with the course as I train in North Raleigh and Umstead State Park. The second half of this marathon is MUCH hillier than the first. Luckily, they have switched the direction of the route through Umstead. This means that most of the run down Ebenezer Church Road will be downhill instead of uphill. However, there are some good climbs in Umstead State Park, so be ready for that. The marathon also passes the NC State Vet School, which is very pretty. All in all, it should be a very good course for 2008. Do not expect a whole lot of spectators on the second half of the marathon course. Ebenezer Church Road and Umstead State Park are not accessible for spectators during the race, so expect to run 5 or so miles with little fan support. Weather is usually perfect this time of year in Raleigh, which is another bonus! | |
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K. P. from Raleigh, NC
(6/2/2008)
 "Great first-time experience" (about: 2007)
1 previous marathon
| 1 City of Oaks Marathon
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 3 FANS: 4 This was my first half-marathon and it was a great experience. The crowd support helped to keep you moving. It was great to see downtown in a much slower light and see what great work has been done to the area. The only complaint was that there were no supplements at mile 8 as promised. Made it difficult to get the energy that was needed if you had planned for the gel packs. For next year, I hear the course has changed slightly, and I look forward to doing it again! | |
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M. D. from Smithfield, NC
(1/8/2008)
"Tough but rewarding course." (about: 2007)
2 previous marathons
| 1 City of Oaks Marathon
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 4 I have run two other marathons (Atlanta and Richmond) and I think this was just as good as either of those two. I read several comments about the traffic, but I had no problems. (Traffic can be an issue at even a small race if you wait until the last minute to show up!) The course was scenic and displayed the city and neighborhoods of Raleigh well. I trained at Umsted, so knew what to expect with the hills and lack of crowd support. However, it was very peaceful and the miles through Umsted went by quickly. At about mile 12 when the half marathon splits off, it seemed like only about 1 in 10 runners went straight on the marathon course. Despite the fact that the second half is much more hilly than the first, I still PR'd and was very pleased! I believe the volunteers did a great job and the race was very well organized, especially for an inaugural event. Splits were well marked and aid stations were plentiful. The only negative comments I have are regarding the post-race food, which was sparse and not very well policed, as many non-runners helped themselves. Overall, though, this is a great race and one I would recommend! | |
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d. r. from durham, nc
(12/4/2007)
"Organizers are definitely new to this" (about: 2007)
4-5 previous marathons
| 1 City of Oaks Marathon
COURSE: 3 ORGANIZATION: 3 FANS: 4 I ran the half as a warm-up for a full marathon. It could have been better organized. We were stuck in traffic for 30 minutes and got to the race at the last minute. Things were pretty disorganized at the start, and some people were still parking their cars when the gun went off. Volunteers were friendly and helpful and water stops were every 2 miles or so, plus a Gu stop at about 8 miles. Instead of Gatorade or PowerAde, they had something called Ultima, which tasted horrible and made my friend dizzy and a little queasy - I was very glad that I didn't drink any of it. The course got hillier as it went along, and the day was quite warm, so it was a good challenge. This race is local for me so I'll probably run the half again, but they could use some help knocking the rough edges off. and I'll pass on the full marathon - 13 miles of hilly state park trails is more than my ankles can handle. | |
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Karen L. Werner from Northern Virginia, USA
(12/2/2007)
 "It was HILLY but very nice" (about: 2007)
3 previous marathons
| 1 City of Oaks Marathon
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 3 I really enjoyed this marathon despite not having trained for hills much. In previous years, I ran the Marine Corps marathon in D.C. and the Richmond Suntrust Marathon in Richmond, Virginia. This marathon did not have as many spectators, as it is a smaller race, but the people were out where it counted in the hilly section west of the city. The start of the course was nice and wound east from the fairgrounds. The sun was coming up right in our faces, though, for several miles, and there weren't that many people out in the beginning. The race went into the city and downtown and through some pretty neighborhoods. I thought the second half of the race was really beautiful with the hills. For some reason, it felt like I was in the park forever in the woods, but it was scenic as well. I agree with one other reviewer that the end of the race and running around that stadium was not the best way to do it. However, overall, I thought it was well-organized, had good people out there cheering for us, and ample water and water stops, along with the GU toward the end. I even enjoyed the hills. I stayed at a hotel within a mile of the start line, which was convenient as well. The pizza afterward was much appreciated. And, they even mailed me the technical-grade, long-sleeve t-shirt as I got to the expo toward the end and they had run out of them. If I had not vowed to run a different marathon next time, I would do this one again. | |
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J. O. from Raleigh, NC
(11/17/2007)
"Challenging marathon but a great one" (about: 2007)
2 previous marathons
| 1 City of Oaks Marathon
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 5 It was a challenging marathon but I enjoyed the course despite the hilly second half. The race organizers did an excellent job putting this race together, especially since it was the first one in Raleigh for a long time. Super job by all the volunteers out there on the course cheering us on; there was great support on the entire course. A couple of areas for improvement are the finish through the RBC Center, which was very lonely, and also the post-race food, which was sparse. Thanks RRO and Sony/Ericsson for putting on a great race. | |
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P. R. from USA
(11/16/2007)
"Interesting Raleigh event" (about: 2007)
2 previous marathons
| 1 City of Oaks Marathon
COURSE: 3 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 3 Food (pizza) was eaten by the families of the runners or people watching the event. I guess they were getting a lot of exercise out there sitting on their butts as they do most every Sunday. Still very discouraging to finish at ~5:00 and have no food. Traffic needs to be kept under control in the morning. I was getting worried about getting there on time (and yes I did leave early). Last complaint: when you run 26.2 miles, let's try to keep it kind of short. There were some serious hills. I do not think I will be back. Everything else was great for the first event and Raleigh Running Outfitters is always the greatest, so all other categories get high marks! | |
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P. P. from Apex, NC
(11/9/2007)
 "The marathon has returned to Raleigh!" (about: 2007)
11-50 previous marathons
| 1 City of Oaks Marathon
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 First, a BIG thanks to the race directors, organizers from Raleigh Running Outfitters, and volunteers! 1. The course was indeed challenging (more challenging than Boston and less challenging than Grandfather Mountain). The Raleigh area is hilly; thus there is really no way to avoid a hilly course. 2. The course was very clearly marked in terms of both mile markers and turns. As I wear a watch and record splits, I did not feel that need for a clock at mile markers or the half. 3. Runners were very good about starting the race according to pace. Unlike many other marathons, e.g., New York City, faster runners did not have to weave in and out of slower runners during the first few miles. 4. The post-race food and beverages were wonderful! I know that the pizzas were not donated. I have never enjoyed a beer as much as I did the one I drank at 10 a.m. on that Sunday morning. 5. The pasta dinner was a gourmet feast. Much thanks to Chef Sarig! 6. The awards ceremony was very nice, and the Sony Walkman phone provided to the top three overall and masters winners was a very nice surprise and much appreciated. 7. Most importantly, the volunteers were incredible. I was encouraged at each and every water stop and closed intersection. What the race lacked in quantity of volunteers, it most certainly made up for with the quality of the volunteers. | |
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T. D. from Encinitas, California
(11/8/2007)
"Great Race - Almost Missed Because of Traffic" (about: 2007)
1 previous marathon
| 1 City of Oaks Marathon
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 3 I signed up for the Raleigh 1/2 Marathon expecting the usual first-race problems - but amazingly enough the course was great, the start on-time, the volunteers perfect, the water stops well stocked, and the post-race food quite ample and tasty. My only frustration was with how traffic going into the race was handled. I left Brier Creek at 5:45 and got in line to get off freeway at 5:55. It took 50 minutes to go less than 1.5 miles as they didn't have a cop directing traffic at the light! This is a place that moves 60,000 people in and out for a football game and 19,000 people for a hockey game, but 4,000-5,000 people for a race and the whole thing gets backed up??? That's my only complaint though - I enjoyed the hilly course and the brisk weather, and I clocked my PR, so all in all, a great experience. | |
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R. P. from USA
(11/8/2007)
"Hills, Hills, Hills" (about: 2007)
First Marathon
COURSE: 3 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 5 My first and after this one I feel like I can do most any marathon. Very challenging and I train in Umstead, but I was not prepared for Ebenezer Church Rd. I finished around the 5 hour mark and didn't see the food but I did hear that there was some there, just not close to the finish line and I couldn't really walk much more than 10 feet afterwards. Being my first, I expected to see people starting at the 20 mile mark but the people were really just concentrated at the finish line by the time I finished and they were really great. I think maybe a mile marker at 1 mile to go and 1/2 mile to go would be very encouraging at the end. I really felt like mile 25 went on forever because I never saw any more signs or people on the course after that point, so much so I had to ask a boy walking in a parking lot if I was going the right way. Overall, I had a great experience and will be back once trained properly for such a challenging course. |
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