Click Here: Please visit our Sponsor

May 5, 2024

Gettysburg North-South Marathon Runner Comments

Back to Gettysburg North-South Marathon Information & Reviews

Course 4.2

Organization 4.5

Spectators 4.0

Number of comments: 53 [displaying comments 41 to 51]

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

G. F. from Houston, Texas (8/8/2011) "Stunning." (about: 2011) 3 previous marathons \| 1 Gettysburg North-South Marathon COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 This is my third marathon. I've run the big city, Houston, the medium city, Pittsburgh and Gettysburg. For an inaugural event, the organizers did a fantastic job and the lord above gave us a great course with great weather. Highly recommended.
B. S. from Southern NJ (5/12/2011) "If you love country roads...!" (about: 2011) 11-50 previous marathons \| 1 Gettysburg North-South Marathon COURSE: 3 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 4 Great inaugural race. Very well done. The website kept you informed so you knew what to expect. Short-sleeve, blue/gray, tech t-shirt is awesome, and you get a great finisher's medal too - one of the best I have after 42 marathons. Everyone was friendly and I struck up quite a few conversations with other runners. The course was a bit hilly, so take your time (as I did) and enjoy a run in the country. Plenty to see and do in Gettysburg; I took my family horseback riding on Saturday. I wish I could have stayed another day!
D. S. from Central Pennsylvania (5/12/2011) "Great tougher-than-average marathon!" (about: 2011) 6-10 previous marathons \| 1 Gettysburg North-South Marathon COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 3 The RD did a great job in organizing the inaugural running of this event, including well run aid stations and one of the better medals I have ever received. The course is beautiful, traversing the countryside on rolling, country roads. The hills do make this a tougher course than the description or elevation profile might suggest, but it is well worth the effort. My only negatives on the course were that a few mile markers were missing, and I think runners should have been better instructed to stay on the correct side of the road; there was a lot of switching from left to right and back again. The spectators were great; there just aren't that many, as much of the course is along country roads with farmland. Even with not a lot of spectators, they did help keep me motivated through the final miles.
B. G. from Chambersburg, PA (5/9/2011) "Rough, Rolling Course" (about: 2011) 2 previous marathons \| 1 Gettysburg North-South Marathon COURSE: 2 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 Rough, rolling course. RD could have done better with a description of the course on the website. All other facets of organization were top notch.
B. G. from Chambersburg, PA (5/5/2011) "Tough, rolling course" (about: 2011) 2 previous marathons \| 1 Gettysburg North-South Marathon COURSE: 2 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 The RD did an excellent job of organizing the inaugural race, from race e-mails, to logistics, to packet pick-up, etc. Tough course could have been described better on the website. Much tougher than advertised, and I run on rolling hills all the time. Other than the course, I had a great time running this for my second marathon.
Andy Sansbury from Spartanburg, South Carolina (5/5/2011) "A beautiful, hilly course" (about: 2011) 11-50 previous marathons \| 1 Gettysburg North-South Marathon COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 4 This out-and-back course was over beautiful and hilly country roads. The water stops and volunteers were excellent. The finisher's medal is a beautiful work of art. The town of Gettysburg is a history buff's dream.
A. E. from Howell, NJ (5/5/2011) "Beautiful but very hilly course" (about: 2011) 2 previous marathons \| 1 Gettysburg North-South Marathon COURSE: 3 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 The marathon was very well organized - water/gatorade and gel stops were exactly where they said they would be. Porta potties, too. The after race food/drinks were not at the finish line - and they were too far to walk to after running a very difficult course for 26.2 miles. Also, there were no heatsheets at the finish line. The scenery was beautiful, though the roads weren't closed to traffic and the shoulders were very narrow. The only reason why I gave the course 3 stars instead of 5 is due to the hills. Although it is beautiful, the course is extremely hilly and very challenging. There were hills of all sizes from mile 1 to mile 25. There were even hills at miles 22 and 25 and that last hill at mile 25 was especially brutal. If you're going to run this marathon, be prepared and do lots of hill training. Check out the elevation profile here: http://connect.garmin.com/activity/82897825
S. H. from South Carolina (5/4/2011) "Beautiful course, enthusiastic spectators," (about: 2011) 6-10 previous marathons \| 1 Gettysburg North-South Marathon COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 5 The race organizers did a great job of organizing an inaugural marathon. The course was hilly, but the beautiful views made the climbs worthwhile. Although the course was open to traffic, there were very few cars and the drivers were courteous and patient. The spectators and volunteers along the route were friendly and encouraging. The aid stations were well stocked and there were plenty of port-a-johns. Since the marathon commemorates such an important event, I was surprised not to hear the National Anthem before the race started. Also, other than providing two sets of results and different color race numbers, there wasn't much emphasis on North v. South. It would have been fun to have had more of a 'Rebels' vs. 'Yanks' theme during the run. Maybe I would have passed someone just for the thrill of beating a Yankee. THE SOUTH WILL RISE AGAIN ! -and next year we'll bring home the beer mugs!
D. L. from Sunbury, Pennsylvania (5/3/2011) "Impressive inaugural event!" (about: 2011) 6-10 previous marathons \| 1 Gettysburg North-South Marathon COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 4 This was a fantastic event! The price was right, location was beautiful, weather cooperated in spite of the threat of rain, shuttle buses were organized, volunteers were outstanding. The course was an out and back, and there was just one course for the North & South rather than the original plan of two separate ones, which seems a better idea anyway. The course itself was gently rolling with no monster hills. We ran through a small section of the battlefield/park, but the majority of the roads were nice country roads, not closed to traffic. Not too much of a problem, really, though there were a few congested spots with traffic and runners vying for road space. Aid stations were located every 2 miles, and they did a wonderful job at these with the exception of the one at mile 2. Apparently they didn't have enough help to fill the cups, or they underestimated how fast the cups would fly off the table and runners had a short wait while their water/Gatorade was poured. That and trash cans need to be placed a bit further from the aid stations so the runners can actually use them. Port-a-pots seemed sufficient, though it would have been nice to have had some kind of hand sanitizer available for use afterwards. Everyone was friendly and helpful. Spectators were phenomenal, though there weren't tons of them due to the remote location of the roads. Shirt and finishers' medals were outstanding! And the icing on the cake was the nifty pint glass all the Northerners received for being on the 'team' with the most accumulated points (overall winners' times tallied up, N -vs- S). I would definitely recommend this marathon to anyone!
R. L. from Adrian, MI (5/3/2011) "Great scenery, plenty of good to grow here!" (about: 2011) 3 previous marathons \| 1 Gettysburg North-South Marathon COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 3 FANS: 4 When I saw this race after spending many summers in Gettysburg studying the Civil War, I instantly signed up for the race. I was not disappointed by it. Originally planned as two out and back courses (which one you were to run was based on your home state), due to local logistics it was consolidated into one out and back course. Hilly run, including a table top hill at the start and finish (ugh!) made for a great route. Locals were super supportive of the race, though you are running country roads so it was spaced out. The only bad bit was the finish area. Plenty of water and gatorade, but there was no access to bananas/bagels/food. I later found out that they were a good quarter mile away...too far in my opinion. A couple tweaks to the finish line area by the race director could make this a must do rave run!

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

Quick Links

Marathon Search
Upcoming US Marathons
Upcoming International Marathons
Search Marathon Results
Latest Running News
Recent Newsletters
Race Director Tools

Become an Advertiser

Click Here: Please visit our Sponsor

Click Here: Please visit our Sponsor

Click Here: Please visit our Sponsor

Click Here: Please visit our Sponsor

Become an Advertiser

© 2000-2024, All Rights Reserved by MarathonGuide.com LLC

Privacy Policy Refund Policy Terms of Use