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☰
Air Force Marathon Runner Comments
Back to Air Force Marathon Information & Reviews
Course 4.3 
Organization 4.5 
Spectators 3.6
Number of comments: 344 [displaying comments 301 to 311]
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J. B. from Dover DE
(9/28/2003)
 "Fun race, geat organization and course! " (about: 2003)
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 4 I've been trying to get to this race for the past 4 years. Finally made it. Course was closed with hills at the very beginning and very end (same hills, different direction). Outbound was no problem as the incline was more spaced out and all were very fresh. Inbound was more steep but shorter duration. Steepest part (inbound) was preceded by 2-3 rollers just prior. The rest is fairly flat. More aid stations than I have ever seen passing out gels, fruit, etc. Lieutenant General presenting medals at the finish. Slapped my sweaty back!! Nice touch. At the Navy Marathon, only had a Commander at the finish. Go AF. Only can think of positive comments (huge medal, good expo, great after party at the hope hotel, great historic course, outstanding aid stations). Only possible word of advice is to leave especially early for the start, as there is only one gate in and traffic can be a bit slow. I hope to be back again next year to take part in this great marathon! Thanks to Bob Brodus and the race staff and the men and women of WPAFB for making this a memorable marathon!!! | |
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M. B. from Cincinnati, Ohio
(9/27/2003)
 "A very good marathon!!!!" (about: 2003)
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 3 This was a very good marathon, incredibly organized. The hills going out weren't bad, but coming back in, well, it made it a challenge. The water stops were the best I've seen, with very enthusiastic volunteers at everyone of them. Plus, I liked the blue and white tents that marked where they were; it made them easy to spot in the distance. If you need the crowds to pull you through, this may not be the race for you. Outside of the water stops, there're not many people out there. And I hit some gaps in the race, where I was running by myself. I would only suggest 2 things to improve the race: #1 The traffic prior to the race outside the gates was bad; add more signs to both gates to speed the vehicle traffic along to the parking areas. #2 Put a clock at the 25-mile mark, so that runners (like me) who don't wear watches have a clue as to their times at the end of the race. Other than that, this is a great race, and I recommend it to everyone. | |
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Mike Kolb from St. Louis, MO
(9/27/2003)
"Aye Aye Sir! Well Done!" (about: 2003)
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 4 This is my (4th) marathon, yes (46) to go, and overall my favorite so far. First the plusses - Reasonable entry fee & nice expo. Frequent, friendly, well stocked and 'stayed to the end' water/Gatorade stops. Except for the very start and finish, a very flat course. A superb medal with elaborate engravings on both sides (sorry, but I am materialistic), and a receiving line at the finish of (4) generals/corporals who personally hand you the medal. Nice touch, particularly considering that I finished 6 hours plus. Also, being in the fall, the weather was perfect (50) degrees at the start. It was fantastic to have a pair of F-15's taking off about every (45) minutes, particularly during the time you were right next to the runway. Much of the course was shaded and was on scenic green walkways. The few minuses - Started (10) minutes late due to snarled traffic, and the few hills have grades(slanted) to them which can definitely help you blister. Also, few spectators as the course is basically on the base. The plusses far outnumbered the minuses and I also, like previous comments, strongly recommend touring the AF Museum. (3) full hangars of our nations history, and it's free! All in all a great day. | |
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L. H. from Arvada, Colorado
(9/26/2003)
 "Fantastic course, organization, and support! " (about: 2003)
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 This course was fantastic. The hills were very small and not a problem. The abundant water stops were staffed with very enthusiastic and helpful people. The weather was perfect. Parking at the start/finish was close and easy. The Air Force Museum was a very interesting place to visit and a great place for the start/finish. Every person I came into contact with in Dayton, whether associated with the race or not, was polite, courteous, and friendly. Really a fantastic experience all around. | |
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Ann (PokeSaladAnnie) Singer from New York
(9/25/2003)
 "'The Race with a Different Attitude'" (about: 2003)
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 2 Early morning 7:05 start... runners and walkers invited 8-hour limit... 5K... half-whole and relay marathon. Super organization. Because of security, spectators not allowed on back of course. Aid stations and waters stops filled with fun, helpful volunteers - some stops even had themes i.e. Harry Potter at mile 13... great. Slight hills in beginning and end of marathon. Downhill last mile into runway lined with airplanes just fantastic. Presentation of medals by uniformed personal... very warm, touching experience. Free post-party at 4 pm - perfect. My 23rd marathon - Air Force Museum perfect way to spend the day. Great race,.. medals beautiful... yes I did come in third in my age group: Senior Female 60+, and received watch and replica of Wright Brother's plane as trophy. | |
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K. M. from Columbus OH
(9/23/2003)
"Great marathon! VOLUNTEERS WERE FANTASTIC!" (about: 2003)
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 I loved this marathon! Course was very tough the first and last 5 miles, with more hills than I expected, but I still bettered my previous marathon time by 29 minutes! Organization was fantastic, plenty of aid stations, great support from volunteers and fans. I couldn't have asked for better weather. The aid stations had themes, music and lots of wonderful volunteers. Thank you to all of the volunteers! Traffic jam to get onto the base was bad; I tried to show up by 6 AM, but still didn't make it for the official start at 7:05. Waited in traffic over an hour. Open extra gate EARLIER next time... | |
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S. P. from Orlando, Florida
(9/23/2003)
"Nice race, Air Force" (about: 2003)
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 4 This was my 4th marathon this year and I think this was the best organized race I?ve done once I got to the race start. Though it is not a big race, there was a HUGE bottleneck getting onto Wright-Patterson AFB which caused a late start (around 7:15 AM instead of 7:00) and I heard some runners saying that they actually started late due to not being able to get onto base in time. I left my hotel 3 miles away from the start at 5:45 AM and it took more than an hour to get to the start. After getting past the bottleneck, they directed us to park on a big grassy field that had a lot of dew on it, so my running shoes got a little wet walking to the start line. Port-o-potties appeared to be plentiful so there was little, if any, waiting. Weather was cool at the start (low 50?s) and parts of the course were very foggy. Later, the fog burned off to a bright sunny day, and about the last 8 miles were run in the sun when temps had climbed into the 60?s. Aid stations were abundant (nearly every mile it seemed) and crowd support was very enthusiastic but sporadic. There are some hills at the beginning and end of the course (it loops back) but most of the course is relatively flat. There were also a lot of relay teams running in the marathon and fortunately they were wearing a sign on their backs that said ?Relay? so you didn?t feel too bad when they passed you. You finish the race running between a row of big planes you can see from about mile 24, and they give you a great big 2-sided medal and a bag of replenishments (water & food). At the packet pick-up I also got a nice long-sleeved T-shirt, patch and souvenir water bottle. Added bonus: a sort-of-nice windbreaker that I had thrown away at the start was waiting for me at the finish on a table they had set up for lost and found items :-D. Thanks, Air Force!!! | |
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J. T. from Central Mass
(9/22/2003)
"So many good things to highlight..." (about: 2003)
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 3 FANS: 4 Like the volunteers, the medal, the expo, the course, jets flying overhead during the run, the aid stations, etc, etc, but something needs to be done to improve pre-race parking efficiency. I made my way to the base 1-1/2 hrs before the start of the race and waited in stop-and-go traffic for an hour to park my car. Was beginning to get concerned that I'd miss the starting gun. Only other issue was that there were no post-race showers available as promised in the application. | |
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J. S. from New Albany, IN
(9/22/2003)
"Great course and organization for first marathon" (about: 2003)
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 1 This is a small marathon compared to most others I've seen. There were 3,000 total participants for the marathon, half, relay and 5k, and about 1,300 finished the marathon. The expo was small, but packet pick-up was well organized. our only disappointment was that they ran out of posters the first day. The packet included a patch, water bottle and magnet - all with the marathon logo. We also received a long-sleeved t-shirt. They had a staggered start - marathon first, relay 15 minutes later, half after that, then 5k. The marathon starts on an old taxiway, is flat for the first mile, and then goes up a nice hill (100' or so) and through some rolling hills until about mile 6. Most of the course is on Wright-Patterson AF Base and there are very few spectators on the course. However, there are water stops about every 8 tenths of a mile and the volunteers are very loud and supportive. It was also nice that 3 different places gave out Powergels, and several gave out oranges, bananas, and apples. Several had cold soaked sponges, which were nice as the day got warmer. Near mile 6 you come up an entrance ramp to the highway, then down on the access road around Wright-Patterson?s big runways. You now have from mile 6 to 20 on the flat roads around the base. One nice thing is you can watch planes take off and do fly arounds. We saw a B1B bomber, several fighters and other aircraft during the race. Another nice thing is that miles 13 to 19 were shaded. It was nice because the sun was getting warm. At about 19.5 you come back up over the highway ramp and head back toward the start - rolling hills until mile 23, then the biggest hill on the course - about 130 feet and about .2 miles long. It really wasn't too bad and it gave us something else to do after the long, flat run. At mile 24 you go down the hill that you came up at mile 1. Finally, you have a little over a mile to the finish line. One small problem is you can see the finish line from there and it seems to take forever to reach it. But, then you run between the airplanes, cross the finish, and get your medal from the General. This was a good marathon for a first-timer. They never ran out of anything on the course and no stops closed until everyone was through them. They have an 8-hour time limit so you aren't stressed to keep from getting swept up. The water stops were great. It took 1 minute to get to the start line after the gun sounded (instead of 30 to 45 at Chicago for back-of-the-packers). The longest porta-potty line was about 10 people and we were able to sit in our cars and stay warm until about 15 minutes before the race started. Overall, five stars! | |
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N. G. from Atlanta, GA
(9/22/2003)
"Astronomically-Fantastic Air Force Marathon!!" (about: 2003)
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 5 I enjoyed this marathon a lot. My only complaint was the difficulty getting to the start on time because of all the traffic! The course is surprisingly hilly at the beginning and the end - given the Ohio terrain! It was nice to have the WHOLE road and not to have to compete with cars. Thanks for blocking off all the roads! The tree-shaded middle section was heavenly. There were water stops at almost every mile!!! Most had Gatorade. My only suggestion to achieve perfection there: make the refreshment stops more concentrated at the end. Volunteers and spectators at the stops were SO enthusiastic and joyful - literally shouting their support, military style! My favorite thing was the fighter jets flying overhead; they made for some very cool distractions!!! The very best was getting congratulated at the end by a THREE-STAR GENERAL; how cool is that?! Good job Air Force! |
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