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☰
Cleveland Marathon Runner Comments
Back to Cleveland Marathon Information & Reviews
Course 3.9 
Organization 3.9 
Spectators 3.3
Number of comments: 295 [displaying comments 231 to 241]
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d. s. from painesville, ohio
(5/28/2005)
 "this was my first marathon/ran the 10k last year" (about: 2001)
First Marathon
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 3 FANS: 3 I was excited to run my first marathon for Rite Aid after doing the 10K in the past. The course was great. I didn't like the porta-potties, couldn't find a place to wash my face and hands. Twinkies at the end!!! Where was the fruit? Terrible food and drink at the end. | |
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c. s. from Stow, OH
(5/26/2005)
 "Decent course but the crowd support was horrible" (about: 2005)
1 previous marathon
| 1 Cleveland Marathon
COURSE: 3 ORGANIZATION: 3 FANS: 1 This was my first marathon and I chose it over my hometown marathon Akron because I felt it would be flat. It was a pretty good course, though I didn't enjoy running for long periods of time on concrete with no crowd support. Since I was a slower runner, some of the water stops had run out of cups and the bands were shutting down, which made the final miles difficult. The expo, shirt and medal were great! | |
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M. P. from Cleveland, Ohio
(5/26/2005)
"Very Nice Race" (about: 2005)
4-5 previous marathons
| 1 Cleveland Marathon
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 2 This was a big improvement over last year's race. The expo was a good size, with a nicely stocked goody bag. Lots more of free stuff at the health and beauty expo next store. The course does have a couple of hills in it, but nothing that bad, and mostly in the first half. Miles 11-20 are very easy on the legs. I feel this is a fast course. I have only a couple of minor suggestons for improvement. 1) It would have been nice if at the water stops, PowerAde could have been on one side and water on the other. The stations on the first half of the course got jammed up at times. 2) Home of the "Rock 'N Roll Hall of Fame" - how about a couple more bands on the course? I'll even take a couple of marching bands. | |
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Mark Johnson from Flat Rock, MI
(5/26/2005)
 "Enter this Marathon" (about: 2005)
2 previous marathons
| 1 Cleveland Marathon
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 4 This was my first time in Cleveland. Neat/clean downtown and area. Expo was good too. The course is basically flat with a couple of inclines. All areas of the course had their own distinct appeal. My only complaint has to do with the first two fluid stations. The first one was too crowded on a narrow bridge, and the second station did not have enough water/PowerAde prepared in advance. Another thing was the person passing out the energy gel was not marked well as I ran past. There were at least two porta-johns at every mile. The spectators were supportive and vocal. Traffic control was good. The shirt and medal are real nice. I would recommend running the Cleveland Marathon. | |
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P. I. from Bay City, MI
(5/25/2005)
"definitely not flat and fast" (about: 2005)
2 previous marathons
| 1 Cleveland Marathon
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 3 The corresponding Rite Aid women's expo was nice if you are a woman. Lots of people but lots of free samples. The race expo was good. The pasta party was held at the host hotel and was very nice. The host hotel was within 5 blocks of the start and finish, which was great. I liked the course. I think it offered a nice variety of city and scenery. All of the same thing can get boring if you are running for 4 hours-plus. The aid stations were well stocked with both PowerAde and water. And porta-johns were plentiful along the course at every aid station. I must say I did expect more music. I counted about 5 bands and a couple radio stations. The police were friendly and did a fantastic job of keeping traffic stopped for the runners. I made sure I thanked them for being there. The medal was very nice and the race merchandise was nice. Lots of volunteers along the course! And a nice straight finish that you could see for about 5 blocks. Sure made it more enjoyable to run that last half-mile, and loved having lots of people at the end and a very enthusiastic announcer calling names and encouraging words! My only complaint was that the course was definitely not flat. If you are looking for flat, this is not the one for you. My husband rode a bike along with me and he said several times he had to shift into lowest gear to get up the hills (mind you he is not in terriffic shape and this was his first time on a bike since last summer.... Nevertheless, he was talking about the last 8 miles!). I would recommend this marathon, but only if you are prepared for hills. Check the course elevation chart in advance. | |
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K. K. from Detroit, MI
(5/25/2005)
 "(At least) the weather was really nice!" (about: 2005)
2 previous marathons
| 1 Cleveland Marathon
COURSE: 2 ORGANIZATION: 3 FANS: 1 This was only my second marathon, but maybe my first experience in Detroit spoiled me. The good: The expo was jumping and well organized. The weather was excellent. The volunteers that were there were friendly. The pace runners held their own and kept (at least my group) going. The medals are nice. The bad: I never ran the 'old course' but the layout now is not suited for a crowd, especially those from out of town. Six family members from Michigan came to support me and only saw me at mile 12 and the end. They wanted to see me at my wall (about the 22-mile mark), but because we were running on the expressway, there was no way for them to see me there and at the finish. I experienced a number of 'unmanned' water stations and in fact went without a drink for about the last 4 miles. Not only is it dangerous, but unacceptable. Overall, my time in Cleveland was nice. I reached my personal goal of breaking five hours. We visited the R&R HOF and had a great time at the House of Blues. However, I would not make the trip again. | |
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T. P. from Akron, OH
(5/24/2005)
 "This race leaves a lot to be desired" (about: 2005)
6-10 previous marathons
| 1 Cleveland Marathon
COURSE: 3 ORGANIZATION: 1 FANS: 1 I loved the university circle part of the race. I didn't like the water stop that was dry or the one that was out of cups. For a "rocking" marathon there wasn't much music. I finished in 4:13 and there wasn't any fruit left - only some dry hard rolls and chips. I've run 8 different marathons and this one ranks 7th. The organizers could learn a lot from Akron or Cincinnati. | |
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D. K. from Pennsylvania
(5/24/2005)
 "I'll be Back." (about: 2005)
11-50 previous marathons
| 1 Cleveland Marathon
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 3 These comments are a repeat of what I first wrote on bulletin board: "I liked Cleveland better than many sights, and had no reason to be biased towards liking it. I expect I'll go back, schedule permitting. Here are my reasons: 1) Course is 26 almost entirely non-repeated miles. More marathons than I thought repeat significant parts of their routes. 2) A lot of time spent seeing the Lake; it is no Miami Beach, but that's fine. 3) Very nice and shaded residential area (4-8); this was really pleasant. 4) Views of downtown from both the east and the west side. 5) Close up views of both football and baseball stadiums, plus a variety of other museums, public buildings, and a theater area. 6) Gorgeous park area from 14 or so to 20, 21? Really pretty. 7) Hills modest, mostly when climbing up to highway bridges; compensated by downhills elsewhere. 8) Organization was fine. Volunteers at water stops are volunteers. Only wish they'd keep fingers out of the drink. Plenty of stops along the way. 9) Expo easy to find; parking plentiful day of the race on the street. 10) Food at the end was minimal, medal a beauty, but who cares? Really nice and not-boring course. There are always a few dull miles (except possibly Big Sur, but I've not been there...); even NYC has Queens industrial parks; but there were far less dull spots than many of the small-town and country marathons I've tried. Cleveland was interesting and entertaining, and I'll be back." | |
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E. M. from Oregon Ohio
(5/24/2005)
 "Cleveland rocks" (about: 2005)
4-5 previous marathons
| 1 Cleveland Marathon
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 What a great race!! This marathon impressed me in many ways. The expo was great. The race course is awesome but is a bit hilly in some areas. However, this should not discourage any potential runners because the hills are not very severe. The fans were great at the finish line and support along the course was great. I would highly encourage you to participate in this fine event! | |
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J. K. from Pittsburgh, PA
(5/24/2005)
"Great Race in Cleveland" (about: 2005)
1 previous marathon
| 1 Cleveland Marathon
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 1 This was my first marathon and I thought the organization and course were excellent. The course is basically flat, though there are several hills early and then late to keep it interesting. There were not a huge number of spectators, but I would have done a bigger city marathon if I was interested in masses of people cheering me on. I liked running on the closed highway early in the race and thought the finishing loop around downtown was great. My only suggestion for improvement is to update the map on the race website for course changes; though the changes weren't that significant, I'm not sure why they published an incorrect map. |
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