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May 5, 2024

Via Marathon (formerly the Lehigh Valley Hospital Marathon for Via) Runner Comments

Back to Via Marathon (formerly the Lehigh Valley Hospital Marathon for Via) Information & Reviews

Course 4.1

Organization 3.8

Spectators 3.5

Number of comments: 82 [displaying comments 41 to 51]

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

A. L. from Dallas, TX (9/12/2013) "Nice, small marathon" (about: 2013) 4-5 previous marathons \| 1 Via Marathon (formerly the Lehigh Valley Hospital Marathon for COURSE: 3 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 4 Mostly run on trails through park. Shaded course, but much is on narrow path that is packed dirt, cinders, and stones. Excellent & plentiful aid stations. Mostly flat course with some big down hills and few small up hills.
J. B. from Herndon, VA (9/11/2013) "Very enjoyable experience" (about: 2013) 1 previous marathon \| 1 Via Marathon (formerly the Lehigh Valley Hospital Marathon for COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 This was my second half marathon, and it was a very enjoyable experience. The trail was beautiful. I was pleasantly surprised by the ease of the terrain and definitely feel that it contributed to my PR! I especially loved the enthusiasm of the aid station volunteers. Having names on racing bibs was a great addition because total strangers could give you personalized shout-outs which was very motivating. I had a great race and would definitely run this again!
M. B. from Virginia, USA (9/11/2013) "Fast course, beautiful area, solid race" (about: 2013) 4-5 previous marathons \| 1 Via Marathon (formerly the Lehigh Valley Hospital Marathon for COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 4 The course has some long stretches on some very hard-packed dirt, double-track trails, but the course is very flat for the most part and can be very fast for you. It's not a 10k+ participant race, so don't expect an aid station every mile, but they are there where you need them. There are a bunch of spectators in some areas, and it was big enough to the point there was always lots of racers ahead and behind me. The medals are really nice, and I think it was well put-together. This is a solid marathon that I recommend!
J. B. from Michigan (9/10/2013) "Think twice before you run this marathon" (about: 2013) 11-50 previous marathons \| 1 Via Marathon (formerly the Lehigh Valley Hospital Marathon for COURSE: 3 ORGANIZATION: 1 FANS: 2 I have run 20 other marathons and hundreds of other races. This was the worst race from organizational stand point ever ! It is a boutique marathon that expanded at expense of runners. It is a modified trail marathon with variable footing and crowded trails. I saw one significant injury as result. The expo was crowded with long lines. Race day parking was terrible !! Major traffic jams with no direction - had to park at different site to make start. Many people missed start. No food at end except stale cookies an huge pretzels. No fluids except water and beer. Horrendous lines for shuttles which were promised to be Easton coaches but ours was a employee shuttle which broke down on expressway State police were called and second bus arrived. Almost missed flight out. Limited bathrooms on course.
A. R. from St. Louis, MO (9/10/2013) "Train for trails" (about: 2013) 3 previous marathons \| 1 Via Marathon (formerly the Lehigh Valley Hospital Marathon for COURSE: 3 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 4 I traveled to this marathon from St. Louis, MO to qualify for the Boston marathon in 2014. It was my third marathon and trained well for this 'flat and downhill' course. I read online there were some trails but had no idea about 10 miles of it would be on unpaved, gravel, dirt trails. My first half my time was 1:46:12 and the trails in the second half slowed my time down because it is different footing on trails and couldn't keep my pace up. I finished right around 4 hours. Which means my second half was well over two hours. My legs were shot by mile 22 and at that point i was just glad to finish. It is a very scenic course and has a lot of spectators on the paved areas but it was pretty lonely for a good time in the trails. The start had good weather with humidity which wasn't a problem until about mile 20 when it got warmer. Most of the course was shaded which was nice because you didn't get beamed with the sun which drains the energy out of you. Overall is was a good course, I just wish I would have known about how long you had to run on trails. SO TRAIN ON TRAILS TOO. It will pay off.
G. P. from Georgia (GA) (9/9/2013) "Great course, great race support, poor logistics" (about: 2013) 2 previous marathons \| 1 Via Marathon (formerly the Lehigh Valley Hospital Marathon for COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 3 FANS: 3 The Good: (1) The course is spectacular and runner friendly. Net downhill, no real big uphills, and forgiving surfaces for the most part; you have to be careful on some of the cinder trail; (2) the scenery of running by the river is nice; (3) the support stations were well staffed with water and gatorade, and the gels were at all of the advertised places (4) the finish line and bag check were well managed The Bad - despite knowing how many people were registered, somehow the race organizers didn't manage the pre-race logistics well. No one was directing traffic coming into the parking lots from the two or three roads leading into the lot, and there was a massive traffic jam. Many people didn't make it on time for the race start. And, the bathroom port-a-potty I used had no toilet paper in it - how can that happen? Made for a nasty start to the race. The Ugly - transportation back to the starting line was, in three words, a total disaster. We waited over 2 hours for a shuttle. We had a room to check out of and a flight to catch. How Via could strand people who fly into a marathon, after advertising a shuttle back to the starting line, is incomprehensible. We tried to call a taxi but none were to be had (we were quoted a 30 minute wait but that taxi never showed up). This put a damper on what otherwise would have been an awesome marathon experience.
Kenny Rogers from Fairhaven Ma. (9/9/2013) "Great course and great aid stations and medical su" (about: 2013) 50+ previous marathons \| 1 Via Marathon (formerly the Lehigh Valley Hospital Marathon for COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 3 FANS: 3 It was my 1st time in the area and running this marathon. I loved the course, aid stations were great, good medical support. I train on a lot of trails so dirt sections along the river were perfect. Nice area to visit with a lot of history, would come back.
B. H. from Philadelphia, PA (9/9/2013) "Comedy of errors" (about: 2013) 11-50 previous marathons \| 1 Via Marathon (formerly the Lehigh Valley Hospital Marathon for COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 1 FANS: 3 This is a point to point race from Allentown to Easton. The course was primarily paved and hard-packed ground that ran through parks on the D & L Trail. Some roads but mainly early in the race. Watch out for those roots on the trail! To start, there was a huge backup on the Cedar Crest exit of I-78 on the morning of the race that was not moving. Some runners got out of their cars and started to walk from the exit ramp. I decided to reset my GPS for Fish Hatchery Road and go 1 more exit down. I bypassed a lot of the mess, but ended up parking 3/4 mile from the race start in the Hospital parking lot. The aid stations had no food, only water, Gatorade and gels later in the race. No Vaseline, either. Ouch! The biggest complaint by far was the bus schedule that took runners back to the race start after the race. I waited in line for a solid 2 hours before getting 1 of three buses (1 large and 2 small). There was a feeling of dread in the air as the runners lined up and waited. Not a good way to end a race. If possible, try to have a friend pick you up in Easton after the race. Oh, and the port-a-John ran out of toilet paper....
Edward Bear from New Jersey (9/9/2013) "Pretty but not that fast" (about: 2013) 50+ previous marathons \| 1 Via Marathon (formerly the Lehigh Valley Hospital Marathon for COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 3 First time at this race. A very pretty course but not fast due to all of the trail next to the river. Also, no mile clocks. Finally, not enough buses at the finish line. We waited 45 minutes, not fun after a 4 hour marathon. Spectators is a 3 because there are few people on the trail next to the river. Course is 4 stars, 5 for scenery, 3 for speed. I would run it again but not to qualify for Boston.
J. V. from Philadelphia, PA (9/9/2013) "A runner's race" (about: 2013) 6-10 previous marathons \| 1 Via Marathon (formerly the Lehigh Valley Hospital Marathon for COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 2 Overall, a great course, one of my favorites. It's tailor-made for a BQ; net downhill, mostly flat, protected from heavy sun and wind. Also run by a lot of experienced runners who know how to keep a consistent pace. I was aiming for 7 min/miles and was able to pace off several groups of runners for long stretches who didn't go out too aggressively. Even shared pacing duties with a couple of guys; people who run this race just know the sport. The course is gorgeous - the majority of it is on hard-packed dirt trail next to the Lehigh River. Very scenic, protected from sun by lots of trees as well. With the exception of a giant downhill at about the 1.1-mile mark, the hills are minuscule. Frequent aid stations (about every 2 miles), GUs around mile 12 and 17 (I think). Nice medal and short-sleeve tech shirt. It doesn't lend itself well to fan support, but not a big deal. Only problem was that their shuttles after the race were not well organized or frequent... we waited over an hour to catch a ride back to the start-line, and the line behind us of about 200-300 runners probably waited longer. On a point-to-point course, this should probably be addressed. Overall, great race, would definitely recommend for a serious runner looking for a BQ.

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

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