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May 17, 2024

Providence Marathon Runner Comments

Back to Providence Marathon Information & Reviews

Course 3.6

Organization 3.4

Spectators 2.9

Number of comments: 169 [displaying comments 131 to 141]

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J. A. from RI (10/6/2008) "Great first year for the event" (about: 2008) 11-50 previous marathons \| 1 Providence Marathon COURSE: 3 ORGANIZATION: 3 FANS: 3 This was the first year for the event and it had a few bugs at the start. It did not help that it was raining. Race started 10 minutes late - waiting for buses to arrive. Probably would not have noticed if the weather were better. Their website says that they are moving the start and finish to downtown Providence, near the Weston. Course had a few hills, but if you live in New England, races have hills. I live in RI and run hills all of the time. Plenty of food and refreshments at finish. If you have not been to RI, you will love Providence and Newport: great restaurants, beautiful ocean. I'll be back again.
Blaine Moore from Portland, Maine (7/10/2008) "I enjoyed the race, but there's certainly room to " (about: 2008) 11-50 previous marathons \| 1 Providence Marathon COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 3 FANS: 1 I heard about the lambasting here in the comments and had to come take a look. I can see where most of the commenters are coming from, although I basically never expect huge support or all the amenities and just treat them as a bonus when I get them. I had heard about the mean cop, but the one that I interacted with was very polite and apologetic. They were trying to hold classes and runners can be a noisy lot. I am going to try to plan on going back. I expect that there will be improvements and it will be cool to see the differences from years 1 to 2.
J. G. from Boston, MA (7/7/2008) "Opportunities for improvement" (about: 2008) 2 previous marathons \| 1 Providence Marathon COURSE: 3 ORGANIZATION: 1 FANS: 1 I have never had to organize a marathon before, so I don't know how difficult it can be. But I have run them before and this one definitely left out some of the basics. I don't know how well you can judge the future of this marathon based on this one inaugural disaster. Hopefully they have learned from their mistakes and next year will be better. Things to watch out for though: 1. Expo: Sad and little. Don't go expecting to check out apparel, shoes, running gadgets, GU, et cetera, because it's just not there. There were six tents including the packet pick-up area. 2. Race start: I parked at the state house and was bused to the start. I made sure to get there early, since there were only a limited number of free parking spaces. This was unnecessary. Most people did not arrive until much closer to the start of the race. It was a chilly rainy morning (granted not the race director's fault) but we were kicked out of two campus buildings by an overly righteous security guard who made it clear he was not happy to be there. Everyone was lined up about 15 minutes before the race was supposed to start and had to stand there in the rain getting cold and losing motivation. Then the race was delayed about 10 min. because people were still arriving in buses. The beginning of the course was tough; it was crowded and the roads were in bad shape. One girl who looked to be boxed in stepped in a pothole and blew out her ankle in the first mile. 3. Course: The course was difficult. Streets were not adequately blocked and I saw a group of runners almost get taken out by an impatient SUV trying to turn left. One of the aid stations ran out of water and only had grape Gatorade left. Providence is a very scenic and beautiful city; you would not be able to tell that from the views from the course. The half and full both started together; then the halfers split off. The race went quickly downhill after this split. (I mean that proverbially of course; the race course seemed to have twice as many uphills as downhills.) After that, spectators were few and far between, but so were other marathoners for that matter. Some by-standers even seemed confused by what was going on and where people were running to. 4. Finish: The food at the finish was good. There were bananas, Vitamin Waters, crackers, SoyJoy, DD bagels and cookies, and Willowtree chicken salad. There were also massages. And also very few people. It almost seemed deserted. The worst part of the race as a whole was the organization at the finish. There were no buses available to take you back to where your car was parked. I had to ask a cop how to get back to my car. He told me it was about a 20 minutes walk (up the huge hill in front of Prov. Place Mall). I grabbed another cookie for the long haul and began the shuffle back to my car. I like to think of it as a nice cool down and character-building exercise. It also gave me a chance to "bond" with other marathoners who were making the same trek. With a few adjustments, this has the potential to be a decent race. However, as is, it is sort of a disaster marathon.
e. c. from Rhode Island (6/6/2008) "very disappointing" (about: 2008) 4-5 previous marathons \| 1 Providence Marathon COURSE: 1 ORGANIZATION: 2 FANS: 1 I expected things to be a little shaky being the first one, but this was worse than I imagined. First, the J&W campus was terrible. As a police officer in RI, I was embarrassed by the way the campus cops were treating runners. Inadequate facilities at the start is simply inexcusable. Obviously, a different start location is in order.... The course was disappointing. I love the city of Providence - and most of this race was in East Providence. Maybe I'm spoiled, having run through Chicago and Baltimore, but this course neglects the beauty of Providence. The medal seems like a cheap child's token. Water stops were good, and volunteers were great. Having no gels or anything to eat is a major drawback for me. I was utterly disappointed in my home state's marathon. I want to make this race an annual event and will give it another shot next year, but this race needs to improve. Good thing is there is only one way to go from here....
A. G. from Worcester, MA (5/19/2008) "Room to Grow" (about: 2008) 4-5 previous marathons \| 1 Providence Marathon COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 2 FANS: 2 I love running in Providence and was excited to see a marathon here. There were areas where the organization needed help though. 1) Paper cups are a must. 2) I don't see why we didn't use the Johnson and Wales athletic facility at the start. I hung out there after being kicked out of the other building. Why were we kicked out exactly? 3) Arrow signs instead of cones will ease directional confusion in a course with so many turns. 4) No 180-degrees turns. As far as the course goes, I would rather see it finish at the start of the cobblestones instead of running over it. Traffic direction was well done, but there need to be bikers leading runners who are out on their own. This doesn't mean a billion bikes with the leader and none with the second-place guy. :)
Runners Thoughts from NJ (5/15/2008) "Good first attempt, but needs improvement" (about: 2008) 11-50 previous marathons \| 1 Providence Marathon COURSE: 3 ORGANIZATION: 3 FANS: 2 Without the harshness of other comments, I do believe this marathon can become quite good, but needs continued improvement to do so. I don't believe runners realize how hard it is to pull off a marathon organizationally, let alone an innaugural marathon. It is a real challenge. With that said, the areas needed for improvement are: 1) Start/Finish in the same area without the need for buses, especially in this day of $4 gas prices- Providence is compact enough with good access to hotels to do this. 2) Terrain-wise, the course was fair with its combination of uphills and downhills, but we ran on some pretty traffic-congested roads. Volunteers did well at interscetions, but I hated running with the cars beside me and I have to believe that there are nicer areas to run (although the bike path was great!). 3) Start the race earlier - 8 AM at the latest. 4) For the life of me I can't see how anyone associated with running can provide plastic cups which you can't pinch. Paper cups are a must for running stops. Many stations ran out of cups and gave bottles of water or Gatorade (not optimal). If there was nicer weather, some of the other pre-race issues would not have been issues. I thought the sponsorship was pretty decent for a first-event. Overall, it needs improvement, but I suspect so did every other first-time marathon. Baltimore was fantastic at listening to runners since its innaugural in 2001, and is now a premier event.
M. J. from MA (5/14/2008) "not great" (about: 2008) 3 previous marathons \| 1 Providence Marathon COURSE: 2 ORGANIZATION: 1 FANS: 1 I ran the half, but I feel everyone's pain. I understand it was the first year, and although most of my comments have already been stated, I feel I need to reiterate: 1) If Johnson and Wales was a sponsor, why did we get kicked out into the rain at the start? They need better organization at the start! 2) Also, handing out full bottles of water and Gatorade is ridiculous! GET CUPS! 3) Don't bus people to the start and not tell them it's miles from the finish; we had to cab it back to the car! 4) Get different medals for the 5K/half/marathon - no wonder they ran out! 5) Need more porta-potties. i ran the half and didn't need them, but if I had run the full, I would be very upset at the lack of porta-johns.
B. O. from Martha's Vineyard, MA (5/14/2008) "Disappointing, disappointing, disappointing" (about: 2008) 4-5 previous marathons \| 1 Providence Marathon COURSE: 3 ORGANIZATION: 1 FANS: 2 From the weather, to the hospitality, to the course, even to the medal, this race was a disappointment. First, to call the day before an "expo" was a stretch. They had four tents in the rain with nothing much to offer. Then the day of the race, they send in the Providence gestapo to throw preparing runners out in the rain before the race. I watched a poor woman going into a vacant hallway to retrieve her belonging only to be yelled at by a police officer stating, "What part of 'get out of the building' don't you understand," with other armed police yelling at runners as if they were breaking up a protest sit-in. The kicker was that they threw us out in the rain and then didn't start the race on time or provide adequate bathrooms or port-a-potties for the runners. The race was poorly attended and for the most part runners had to circumvent traffic the whole race, with race volunteers constantly forcing runners to the side of roads, into potholes full of rain water. There was one stretch of the run where we were along the water and had to contend with vagrants and their trash along the road - incentive enough to keep running, so as not to be mugged. The incentive music set up at the end of the race was a 1/4-mile from the finish, so I started my stride to the end a block away, not realizing I had to run through a quiet back alley to get to the finish. I had to ask for help three times, before a volunteer reluctantly helped me with my chip and provided a medal, which did not reflect any difference between the 1/2, 5K, or marathon. Now, I'm not trying to be an egomaniac, but I would like to receive a medal that at least states I ran a marathon. Also it took them 20 minutes to round up my gear, so I stood there in the cold, no blanket provided, in shorts, tightening up like a drum, until someone final located my things. Luckily I had booked a room at the Biltmore Hotel and only had to limp a couple of blocks back for relief; I feel bad for the people who had a mile hike to their cars. The only shining light was that although the course was very hilly, I did run a PR - to my surprise. I guess adversity is the mother of success here. Anyway, that's my take. I will not return to this one.
E. C. from San Diego, CA (5/13/2008) "Good first effort - has great potential" (about: 2008) 11-50 previous marathons \| 1 Providence Marathon COURSE: 3 ORGANIZATION: 3 FANS: 3 If this was organized like Big Sur, it would be a great party. Cons: 1) Start was hidden by buildings, and no general directions were given at the campus; 2) One campus cop was not nice, but the other one did try to be diplomatic; 3) Number and location of port-o-lets; 4) Few volunteers at the aid stations. Pros: 1) The hilly (lots of small ones) course was fun; 2) The RD is responsive to questions; 3) The last mile was like running into a European city; 4) The finish wasn't that far from my hotel. Suggestions: 1) Place the start near an open field and position the runner's village close by; 2) Possibly have a detour around miles 2-3; 3) A finish at the state house would be grand. I enjoyed my short visit in Providence. Thanks to the RD and the city for holding the race!
L. R. from Seymour, CT USA (5/12/2008) "My worst marathon experience yet!" (about: 2008) 6-10 previous marathons \| 1 Providence Marathon COURSE: 2 ORGANIZATION: 2 FANS: 1 This was only my second time running a first-year marathon and I think it cured me from ever doing it again. So many things to address: The worst problem was the minimal amount of bathrooms/porta johns for the amount of runners (lines a mile long!), and the lack of shelter for runners waiting to start in the chilly, pouring rain. My next biggest disappointment was the lack of crowd support- virtually none. Then again, out of the the 4000 runners I was told by the race director had registered, only 500-600 ran the full marathon, so you were literally out there on your own. This was especially hard on me mentally as I found the course to be the most challenging (hills, hills and more hills!) of all my eight previous marathons. By mile 24 (the steepest hill on the course), I was in tears. Another problem I encountered was the lack of water at a few of the water stops. I wear a fuel belt but only supply it with Accelerade, expecting the water stops to keep me supplied with water. At mile 23 I desperately needed water to take a gel, was told they had none and was offered grape Gatorade- horrible choice of flavors! It was sickeningly sweet and made me feel nauseous. To add insult to injury, after finally crossing the finish line of this grueling race (in the worst condition I've ever finished), I had no idea where my car was, and no one 9(not even the policemen) could give me clear directions back to the State House parking lot where we met the shuttle buses that morning. I roamed around the city for almost an hour, and I'd guess that it was at least a mile away from the finish area. Very poor planning! If that's the only parking arrangements the race directors could make, they should have at least offered a shuttle service back to the designated lots. I would never recommend this marathon to anyone, and will certainly not go back myself.

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