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Apr 27, 2024

Rockford Marathon Runner Comments

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Course 4.1

Organization 4.4

Spectators 3.4

Number of comments: 34 [displaying comments 11 to 21]

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S. R. from Chicago, IL (6/4/2012) "Just glad i survived...." (about: 2012) 1 previous marathon \| 1 Rockford Marathon COURSE: 3 ORGANIZATION: 1 FANS: 1 Being from Rockford, I wanted to love this race, but 2012 was a disaster. Granted, no one expected it to be in the 90's, They did know the temps would be abnormally high, yet they didn't add extra water stations. The volunteers they had we're WONDERFUL, but there were too few, and they didn't have the supplies they needed. In fact, towards the end, water stations had begun shutting down with runners still on the course, and the few stations left were rationing the water, which was molten lava hot anyway - not even drinkable. Thank god I had family there, and was able to ask them to bring me water on the course which i then shared with the few remaining runners (well, all walkers at that point - it was in the 90's!) There is no excuse for creating such a dangerous situation. If you don't have the resources to support the runners in such severe conditions, then cancel the race.
S. S. from Ames, IA (5/22/2012) "well organized in trying conditions" (about: 2012) 2 previous marathons \| 1 Rockford Marathon COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 4 2012 was a hot one: seventy degrees at the start, mid-eighties when I finished 3:50 later, ninety when the last marathoners finished between 1 and 1:30. It was bad enough that the average finish time was 4:30 instead of in the 4:10 ballpark like it had been for the previous four runnings of this event. Fifteen percent of starters didn't finish, which is a lot for a marathon these days. The organizers knew this weather was coming in advance and they had a lot more medical personnel out on the course than I had ever seen at a similar sized marathon, and they had a lot more water and sports drink out at the aid stations than usual, according to the article in the Rockford newspaper the next day. They had enough medical people at the finish area that they did not look overwhelmed when I finished or at any time in the next hour before I left. I make a point of mentioning all this because conditions like these are when you find out if the organizers really know what they are doing. From my limited observations it sure looked like they did, though I have no way of knowing what was happening at the aid stations after I went through (closer to the front of the pack than the back). Contrast this with what happened at the Green Bay Marathon held on the same day in nearly identical (according to weather.com) weather conditions. Green Bay had the exact same temps and full sun and just slightly higher humidity. The organizers of that race called it off after 2.5 hours saying their medical personnel were 'overwhelmed.' Confusion ensued as some runners waited out in the sun for buses to take them back to the start and some runners kept running to find the finish area barricaded, according to media reports. If you live in the Midwest and are looking for a spring marathon and want to be confident the organizers know what they are doing, in my experience Rockford is a good one to try.
J. H. from Virginia (5/20/2011) "Very nice small race" (about: 2011) 11-50 previous marathons \| 1 Rockford Marathon COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 3 I went to Rockford to cross IL from my 50-state list, had zero desire to run Chicago with the mega-gobs of other runners, just way too crowded for me. That's what makes this one so much better, about 1,000 to 1,500 runners in the half marathon, and about 300 for the full marathon. So as expected, once the split occurred around mile 12 it got rather lonely, some spectators here and there but if that's your main interest then you'd be in Chicago. The course was very nice, mostly through residential neighborhoods and on a paved trail through some park. Not really hilly but also not pancake-flat, so a nice mix. Organization was great, no hitches anywhere in the process and the water stops were well stocked with water, gatorade, and boxes upon boxes of Gu. I've seen comments on other races where gels were advertised but not delivered or maybe ran out this was not a problem here, the stops were loaded up very well. Weather threatened rain but mostly held off, was quite windy but the course changed directions many times so one mile's strong headwind was the next mile's strong tailwind, so it was mostly a wash. So go run Rockford and enjoy....
E. G. from Naperville,IL (5/17/2011) "Great Small Marathon!" (about: 2011) 6-10 previous marathons \| 1 Rockford Marathon COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 4 This is a nice small marathon! Well organized and I liked the Davis Park start and finish area. The course was interesting in that you ran pretty much the whole half marathon route and then did an almost completely different route for the 2nd half. This one example where it was good to run with the half marathoners for almost 13 miles, because it made it feel like a much larger field. Also, I really enjoyed running along the river. The volunteers were great always, a big thanks to them! The after race party was still going and fully stocked when I finished. The second half of the course was a little lonely, but that is when I put my music in. The rain held off and it stayed really cool. I PR'd the course by 15 minutes! So it was a good day.
D. W. from Illinois (5/16/2011) "Great Course-Sparse Spectators" (about: 2011) 4-5 previous marathons \| 1 Rockford Marathon COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 1 ...I didn't decide to run this until the week before and even then I was weary because the forecasts projected rain the whole day...and even when I was driving to the race during the morning it was raining until 1 hour before start..But it stopped for most of the race so we got real lucky..Temps hovered around 50 degrees the entire race with a brisk wind.. ...For a marathon course, this is one of the best I have ever run...Great combination of small hills and flats..On hills you use mostly calf muscles which saves on your quads..If you have trained on hills, this course will be to your liking...Part of the course is on side streets, roads and parks...I was hoping for more spectators especially toward the end (last two miles) to help cheer me on to the finish, but was somewhat disappointed..All in all, not bad for a marathon especially if you want to pick one at the last minute and live close to the area Positives * Great mixture of small hills and flats and scenery * Water stations well stocked and great volunteers * Plenty of pace groups to meet your liking, unless your a speedster (I heard the fastest pacer was 3:30 pacer) Negatives * Not many spectators ..... I wished there were more to cheer you on especially to the finish..The last two miles you run through a dead part of town No Expo only a packet pick-up Post marathon celebration-Not much, it appears a lot of runners took off shortly after the race
C. B. from Twin Cities, MN (5/16/2011) "Great support" (about: 2011) 2 previous marathons \| 1 Rockford Marathon COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 3 I registered for this run as a training run for another upcoming marathon. The on-course support was great. Water/nutrition was available every couple of miles. I actually ditched my fuel belt early on because it just wasn't needed. I had a bit of trouble with some concrete surfaces around mile 4-5, but most of the route is residential pavement, or some nice paved trails. The real treat of this course was mile 22-24, as we ran through some nice paved wooded trails. As with most half/full combos, the 2nd half was pretty lonely. But I was prepared for that. Great event.
D. H. from Bourbon MO (2/23/2011) "Will be back for 2011!" (about: 2010) 4-5 previous marathons \| 1 Rockford Marathon COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 Loved the small feel of this race. It was 48-49 degrees at the start, maybe 55 at the finish. By the way, I did the half - one of four that I did last year. The other three were "big city" races with huge entry, motel, and parking fees, and of course huge crowds. I parked within 1/3 mile or so from the start in a free business lot. The crowds were sporadic but that doesn't matter to me. The volunteers were well trained, and awesome! To comment on the hills that others have posted about: I am from southeast Missouri and thought the course was FLAT. One more thing: the after-race food was the best I have seen; some of it was from Panera Bread, and they actually had iced-down sports drinks, beer, soda, and water. Yeah, real ice!
A. M. from Chicago (5/30/2010) "Really Nice, Small Race" (about: 2010) 11-50 previous marathons \| 3 Rockford Marathons COURSE: 3 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 3 I've run this race every year and I really enjoy this smaller event. From being able to pick up my packet on race morning, to being able to park for free a couple of blocks from the start and finish, it is a nice race that won't waste your time. Race management and the volunteers do a great job and the downhill finish across the bridge is a finisher's and spectator's dream. Sure, there are a number of smaller hills, and the first half is more lively with the half marathoners mixed in, but isn't variety the spice of life? I ran this year with my eldest son and we had a great time. I will likely be back next year.
M. B. from Fort Wayne, IN (5/23/2010) "Great race with less stress" (about: 2010) 11-50 previous marathons \| 1 Rockford Marathon COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 4 Perfect weather, convenient and accessible start and finish, and plentiful support helped make this one of the better spring marathons I have run. I ran it only to get the BQ I missed 2 weeks earlier, which I did at Rockford. It is probably natural that I left with a very positive perspective on the whole experience. Rockford is big enough to have all of the lodging and dining options you might expect, but without the big-city traffic and confusion. The stress level is just lower at these simpler races. The course has only a few gentle, rolling hills, which after Pittsburgh seemed perfectly flat. The course varied enough to keep us from being bored. It certainly does not have the spectator support of Boston, but it could not be expected to; and those who did come out were very supportive. It made for a memorable, positive experience that I can heartily recommend to any runner inclined to run a more low-key event.
S. M. from Chicago, Illinois (5/18/2010) "well organized, with nice amenities & a low price" (about: 2010) 2 previous marathons \| 2 Rockford Marathons COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 4 Sparse but enthusiastic crowd. Plenty of porta-potties at the start and fuel at the end of the race.

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