Click Here: Please visit our Sponsor

May 2, 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 41 to 51]

More Comments: [ < 1 .. 3 4 5 6 7 .. 17 > ]

T. L. from Connecticut (5/13/2012) "Good Mid-Size Marathon" (about: 2012) 2 previous marathons \| 1 Providence Marathon COURSE: 3 ORGANIZATION: 3 FANS: 3 Course: Only about 5 miles of the course are in Providence. Most of it is outside of town on nice bike paths and neighborhoods. Most of the hills are in the first six miles. However, there are a few hills in miles 23 and 24. Two big issues though: On mile 25, there is a bridge crossing where we had to use the pedestrian lane which was still open to cyclists and other foot traffic. At the end of the bridge, we had to go down the corkscrew. Also, some of the mile markers were way off! I would recommend a GPS watch for this race. Organization: Easy registration process. I registered day off. Two of the aid stations between miles 15-20 ran out of cups. The volunteers were great and poured water and gatorade into our mouths. Plenty of GU along the course. Spectators: There weren't that many spectators on the course. Since the course was open to traffic along most parts, those few spectators that were out traveled around and cheered us on at multiple spots. Motivation: A group of High School students ran the marathon and there were a lot of 50 staters.
G. B. from Glastonbury, CT (5/10/2012) "Great city with alot to do!!" (about: 2012) 1 previous marathon \| 1 Providence Marathon COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 3 My first marathon and it was a lot of fun. Course was flat, well marked, plenty of fluids and GU. Finish was not good having to cross a very thin pedestrian bridge. Also, my GPS is pretty accurate and according to it I ran 26.4???. Should have different shirts for full vs half.
B. M. from Brooklyn. NY (5/10/2012) "Great PR course, bad confluence of races at mile 2" (about: 2012) 4-5 previous marathons \| 1 Providence Marathon COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 3 FANS: 5 Hi, I loved this race. The conditions were ideal, the course was fast. My only complaint relates to the final two miles of the race. After crossing a narrow foot bridge and negotiating an awkward ramp, the marathon suddenly merged with the BACK end of the half marathon. There were slower runners clustering around the aid stations and running three or four abreast. Because the faster marathoners were coming from behind, the onus was on these runners to weave and at points break through lines of slower runners. There was a single finishing shoot. Runners competing for place could not get a visual lock on the marathoners in front of them. A spectator told me he had trouble identifying the winning marathoners at the finish line, as they were lost in the crowd. This is sad. The second and third male and female runners were barely announced, and the overall winning male came in amongst other runners. The overall winning male should have had the glory of coming down an empty shoot, ALONE and highly visible. For that reason, I believe the half marathon should enter the city from a different direction and come down a separate shoot. I mean no disrespect to the slower half marathon finishers, but people working hard for 26 miles and gutting it out for time and place shouldn't have to weave in the final mile and they should be recognized for their efforts.
M. C. from Virginia (5/10/2012) "A Nice Mid-Size Race" (about: 2012) 3 previous marathons \| 1 Providence Marathon COURSE: 3 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 5 The race was 'mostly flat' especially in the middle stages of race. The hills on mile 21-23 the same as miles 6.5-8.5 were brutal and took out a lot of runners. The original map avoided some of these steep hills, but the revised course put out just prior to to the race added these hills in. The course was pretty scenic at points with some great views of the ocean in Barrington. The worst part of the course was the highway bridge on mile 24 which was quite narrow and had a difficult to traverse exit ramp that was not kind to my already tired legs. I have to agree with the previous comments about running into the slower half marathoners at the end. However, I greatly appreciated having a separate start time and course from the half crowd Spectators were thinly spread out, but great. If you have family members at the race, it is very easy for them to drive along and catch you at various points along the race. Food was plentiful at the finish line and included everything a runner could possibly want from Greek Yogurt to Pizza. Packet pickup was easy and accommodating (they actually allowed for same day pickup) a rarity these days. There weren't a ton of vendors, but they had everything that one could ask for
J. R. from Alexandria, VA (5/9/2012) "Room to improve, but so much to like." (about: 2012) 11-50 previous marathons \| 1 Providence Marathon COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 4 Providence was a great example of what could be an outstanding marathon. It's got a ways to go, but despite a few cons, there are so many pros that it's my kind of race. This was state 13, marathon 16, and I'd do this one again. What worked: 1. Good variety of course: Providence isn't huge, so most of the course is outside the city. That's a plus for avoiding bleak post-industrial areas and heading into older suburban areas. You get some city, some 19th century burbs, some rural country roads, some rail trail. 2. Good aid stations- I've never seen so many stations with GU. Nice. 3. Cool, cloudy weather- o.k., that could vary, but the ocean and fog kept the temperature cool. You don't get much of that in May. 4. Easy viewing spots for family around the halfway point in Barrington. 5. Hey, except for the mile 5/23 hill, this is very flat. Gentle rollers and railroad grades with long flat stretches over most of the course. 6. I had good competition. Lots of BQ's here for all the reasons above. Runners I encountered were seasoned, knew their 'runner's etiquette', and relaxed... and fast. What needs work: 1. The mile markers were off- some long, some short. Most of us have GPS watches, so no big deal, but how hard is it to place these correctly? 2. The course runs along a busy road from mile 5-9 and 20-24. The cones were out, but more police/volunteers would have helped. 3. The 'Runner's Village' area came together about an hour before the race. Volunteers seemed unsure of where to locate the bag drop and other basics. I PR'd here by over three minutes- and I've been doing marathons since 2000. Overlook the flaws and check this one out.
L. G. from CT (5/9/2012) "Bare Bones Well Organized" (about: 2012) 6-10 previous marathons \| 1 Providence Marathon COURSE: 3 ORGANIZATION: 3 FANS: 2 Agree with all the comments...the mile markers were very screwed up. I was glad to be wearing my Garmin. The cups were gone at most of the water stops by the time we came through and the single file bridge coupled with the switch back running/off ramp definitely slowed me down. Don't be fooled, there are hills in the last six miles of this course. Also roads are open to traffic which had us stopped twice along the course for cars to pass. Great pizza and beer post race!
R. F. from Boston (5/9/2012) "A few tweaks could make this a better race overall" (about: 2012) 50+ previous marathons \| 1 Providence Marathon COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 3 FANS: 2 I have run over 100 marathons and have therefore seen a few courses; first time here. The course: fair and reasonably fast, no monster hills. Some complain about the 'switchback' ramp as you descend from the bridge around mile 25 - would not do in a 'world-class' marathon but not an issue for a race where 2.28 is good enough to win men's division Distance markers: all over the place as others have noted. I took an hour for the last 6.2 miles yet ran the 'mile' from 25 to 26 in barely five minutes! Needs to be fixed for 2013. Aid stations: Two stretches of three miles between stations in the first ten miles, after that more frequent and not a problem. First ten would have been a big problem on a day like Boston was this year. The website said some stations would have bananas, which I like, but I never saw any the whole way. Crowds: Supportive but thin most of the way. The question is does one want a more scenic 'country marathon' which this really is, or one that traverses downtown and suburbs where you will see more spectators.
N. L. from NY (5/9/2012) "Average" (about: 2012) 6-10 previous marathons \| 1 Providence Marathon COURSE: 2 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 3 The Good: The start was really well organized and went off on time without a hitch. The end had a nice supply of gatorade, pizza, apples, beer etc. Volunteers were great and water stops were adequately manned. Not a lot of crowd support. but those that were there did a nice job. The not so good: Splits were all over the place. This is unacceptable. Mile markers were anywhere from 0.8 to 1.2 and it seemed more were off than were accurate. Cups used were dixie cupes which half the time had maybe 2 oz of water or gatorade and were hard to pinch and drink. Also, contrary to what others say, this is not a PR course. It has a lot of turns and has hills the first 5-6 miles and then the last 4 or so have some hills as well. Additionally, the one lane path followed by the narrow switchback at mile 25 is just plain ridiculous. Finally, I didn't particulary enjoy passing/avoiding the 2:30 half marathoners finishing their race when the marathon course merged with them somewhere near mile 12. All in all a decent race with much room for improvement. Probably wouldn't run it again.
G. S. from Illinois (5/9/2012) "Nothing to write home about" (about: 2012) 11-50 previous marathons \| 1 Providence Marathon COURSE: 3 ORGANIZATION: 3 FANS: 2 This was a nice race. The course was diverse and quirky; relatively interesting except for the long stretches along a busy road. Definitely not flat. Would have been nice to see more of Providence itself, but running through Barrington was pretty. Glad it was a cloudy day as it would have been brutal in full sun. Organization was good with one fatal flaw: Running out of cups at the water stations - which must have happened pretty early because even those of us under a 4 hr pace were left dry.(Thank God an unknown spectator handed me a water bottle mid-mile 18...) Liked the fact that start/finish and expo/hotels were all in same area. Very convenient for out of towners. Loved the medal, not the shirt. All in all a decent event, worth doing to cross RI off the list, but nothing to write home about.
J. B. from CT (5/9/2012) "Poorly organized" (about: 2012) 6-10 previous marathons \| 1 Providence Marathon COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 2 FANS: 3 This was my 10th marathon. I have run races of many sizes, including very large and very small races. Most of them very well runthis one, not so much. For starters, I was surprised to not find any race day info at the expo particularly a map. I inquired at the hotel where I was staying (the host hotel) and they weren't even certain where the start was. I found it easily enough as several other runners were heading in the same direction, but I like the comfort of having the info in front of me the night before. Once I got there, I found it to be kind of a maze, trying to find bag check and the starting area. The sound system in the start area didn't even reach the bag check area, and I nearly missed the start of the race. Once I got started, I found that the mile markers were completely inaccurate. This was really frustrating, since I couldn't accurately figure out what my pace was. Water stops were a disaster. The cups at most stops were tiny and most people had to take more than one, Later in the race, several stops ran out of cups so I had to choose to either go without water, or drink from the jug. I actually saw volunteers picking up used cups off the ground to reuse. Gross! I am about a 4 hour marathoner, and there is no way that cups should have been an issue. I also was counting on Gatorade at some of the stops, only to discover that they had run out. The shirts are ok. I don't know why more races don't do a men's and a women's shirt. I took an extra small and it's still too big. I doubt I'll ever wear it. The course was nice in spots, downright ugly in others. I found it to be fairly hilly at the beginning and end, but I knew that going in. Overall, I'd say they have a lot of areas in which they could improve. I only live a couple hours away, but have no desire to ever run this race again.

More Comments: [ < 1 .. 3 4 5 6 7 .. 17 > ]

Quick Links

Marathon Search
Upcoming US Marathons
Upcoming International Marathons
Search Marathon Results
Latest Running News
Recent Newsletters
Race Director Tools

Become an Advertiser

Click Here: Please visit our Sponsor

Click Here: Please visit our Sponsor

Click Here: Please visit our Sponsor

Click Here: Please visit our Sponsor

Become an Advertiser

© 2000-2024, All Rights Reserved by MarathonGuide.com LLC

Privacy Policy Refund Policy Terms of Use