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May 12, 2024

Pittsburgh Marathon Runner Comments

Back to Pittsburgh Marathon Information & Reviews

Course 4.6

Organization 4.5

Spectators 4.6

Number of comments: 224 [displaying comments 31 to 41]

More Comments: [ < 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 .. 22 > ]

M. T. from Pittsburgh, PA (5/5/2014) "Great marathon. I highly recommend" (about: 2013) 6-10 previous marathons \| 3 Pittsburgh Marathons COURSE: 3 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 I have run this race multiple times and really enjoy it. It is very well organized. Pittsburgh is an extremely hilly part of the country, but this marathon does a great job of avoiding most of the hills. That being said, there are a couple hills that can challenge a runner if they are not prepared. The crowd support is wonderful. The course takes runners through all of the different communities and each of the communities shows their support in unique ways. There are bands/singers/music at every mile. Water is plentiful. My only complaint is that it can be difficult getting into town on race day. Make sure to plan accordingly and get there early. I highly recommend.
K. M. from Dallas, TX (5/5/2014) "Great marathon in a great city" (about: 2014) 50+ previous marathons COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 Wow what a great race. Pittsburgh was a happening place not only with the race, but baseball and hockey too. They shut the city down for the marathon/half - spectators, volunteers and bands are awesome. Everything from the expo to the race and post race were super organized. The course was hilly but manageable - running over the bridges over all three rivers was very cool. 25,000-30,000 runners, but only about 5,000-6,000 do the full so after the half/full split at mile 11 it is much less crowded, but still lots of energy. Large expo, nice shirts and medals too. Would recommend this for a large/big city race. If you travel from out of town I high recommend paying a bit more and staying downtown - once there you can walk everywhere. Traffic was bad - espeically on race morning.
t. l. from lebanon, oh (5/5/2014) "Great Marathon very impressed!" (about: 2014) 2 previous marathons \| 1 Pittsburgh Marathon COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 5 I ran this Marathon on 05/04/14. Overall it was excellent. I loved exploring the city of Pittsburgh and seeing the sights of a classic midwestern city. The skyline was excellent. You cross 5 different bridges spanning the rivers around pittsburgh. My only few complaints were the beginning was packed with so many people we could not get into our corral. The roads were very narrow and it was hard to manuever around slower people. Some bands on the course were very bad. Each neighborhoold usually had a big party setup and there was plenty of volunteers, water, and gatorade stations. Porto johns were plenty available. The first half is relatively flat through the city and the over the bridges. The 2nd half starts a very long steep hill by the university of pittsburgh. After that it was neighborhoods which was ok but still with lots of spectators. The last 4 miles was excellent because you can see the city skyline and run slightly downward toward the finish. The metal was a big steel/silver skyline of the city and very good quality. Overall I really enjoyed it and would recommend it to anyone.
N. v. from Curacao (11/2/2013) "Beautiful marathon" (about: 2013) 4-5 previous marathons \| 1 Pittsburgh Marathon COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 Lovely city, nice course with bridges but a bit hilly, fantastic crowd, lots of bands, fantastic medal, well-organized, great hotels close to start and expo affordable, pretty nice expo. Only disadvantage is maybe the half that is starting at the same time and makes it very crowded at the finish line.
N. R. from Virginia (6/8/2013) "Great Marathon" (about: 2013) 4-5 previous marathons \| 2 Pittsburgh Marathons COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 3 FANS: 4 I have participated in this marathon two years in a row. There were a lot more runners in 2013, my biggest problem was how crowded the first 8 miles was. I had difficulty getting up to my race pace until the half marathoners seperated. Next year pittsburgh needs to separate the start for the marathoners and half marathoners. I liked the earlier start for 2013 and the expo was good
B. C. from Cleveland, Ohio (5/19/2013) "Excellent!" (about: 2013) 6-10 previous marathons \| 2 Pittsburgh Marathons COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 I have raced competitively and collegiately and have run multiple marathons and Ironman. I am a very tough critic of race events and I rate this race is excellent. Further, I am from Cleveland and I am endorsing this marathon in the highest regard. Need I say more?
D. B. from Belleville, Canada (5/12/2013) "Kudos Pittsburgh great marathon" (about: 2013) 11-50 previous marathons \| 1 Pittsburgh Marathon COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 I stayed at the Mariott which was a great spot, next door to the expo and a few blocks to the start line. I attended the expo Friday and found the expo fairly clear, it was a nice expo with many unique vendors. Bib and packet pick up was simple, the event shirt is one I would actually wear. The marathon is well organized, the extra security was to be expected. I was in corral B and found entry very easy since there were large signs for several blocks showing directions to the different corrals. The run is awsome running across the beautiful bridges, yes hilly but running through some great areas of the city. The waterstations were well staffed and long, the crowds and bands were all enthusiastic and plentiful. The finish medal is truly a' runner of steel' big and heavy, nice to have a big grassy area to sit and relax after the race. Overall a race I would highly recommend!
Ed Landon from DC (5/12/2013) "Nice challenging course with tons of support" (about: 2013) 2 previous marathons \| 1 Pittsburgh Marathon COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 My second marathon after Baltimore. The organization and crowd support was first rate and much better than BAL. While the course was a bit more challenging (one big long climb and a good number of rolling hills in the last third), it was a much more enjoyable second than my first. Pittsburghers are great race fans - they had the energy of Boston!
K. C. from Pittsburgh (5/11/2013) "Yinz come run dahntahn n 'nat" (about: 2013) 11-50 previous marathons \| 6+ Pittsburgh Marathons COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 5 Love the course, spectators and volunteers. Streets downtown were packed with cheering people, and all along the course there was good support from the community. Friends and family could easily see their runner(s) multiple times. I had no trouble with parking and walking to the start. For visitors from out of town, there should be a map of the starting line. Maybe it wasn't included for security reasons. If you are traveling, I would highly recommend staying at a hotel downtown. It will be worthwhile. Bring along family, too. They will not be bored. Lots to do, all within walking/subway distance. (My only complaint: pre-race announcements should not reference any local, professional sports teams. We do not need a pep talk from a football player. Every runner is an athlete that day! Celebrate the participants: regular people who have regular jobs and train hard for this day. And NO STYX, please!)
J. H. from Greensburg, PA (5/10/2013) "A great event with some minor tweeks to improve" (about: 2013) 6-10 previous marathons \| 4-5 Pittsburgh Marathons COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 3 FANS: 4 The organizers pulled off a successful event on a nearly perfect weather day. I was in coral B and had no problems at the start. Stayed at a hotel the night before, so parking was easy. Ran with the 3:30 pace group which had two leaders and both were outstanding, keeping a steady pace throughout and providing peviews of upcoming sections and strategies to attack them. Crowds were enthusiastic, especially in Shadyside, but overall, it seemed like there were less spectators than in the past three years. Waited in line for 40 minutes for a post-race massage, but it was well worth the wait. Took the T back to the hotel with no problem. Post race food was a disaster. Race organizers should have put items in bags and handed those out to runners, rather than allowing a free-for-all at the tables. I suspect the half marathoners ravaged the Smiley cookies, bagels and bananas. Like the person who noted all there was left was chips and fruit cups (ugh!), I found the same thing after finishing in under 3:30. Also, an email I sent to race organizers 4 days ago remains unanswered. Better attention to detail could make this an even better event. Still, despite a few warts, I'll be back.

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