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Apr 28, 2024

Marine Corps Marathon Runner Comments

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Course 4.5

Organization 3.9

Spectators 4.6

Number of comments: 937 [displaying comments 31 to 41]

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A. K. from Washington, D.C. (10/31/2015) "2015 chaotic start line made thousands late" (about: 2015) 11-50 previous marathons \| 1 Marine Corps Marathon COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 1 FANS: 4 This race is way too big to not have a wave start or serious corrals or to have security figured out. The recommended entrance at the Pentagon had eight metal detectors for 30,000 runners plus family and friends, with no separate entrances for runners and spectators, people with and without bags, etc. I arrived at 6am for an 8am start and waited in line, on my feet, until after the race had already started to get through the security disaster. I was 20 minutes late to the start. They issued somewhat of an apology on Tuesday, but for their 40th marathon, I find it hard to make excuses for this chaotic lack of organization and respect for how long people train for this day. This was my fifteenth marathon, and worst experience. The course is amazing, and spectators and volunteers great, but running 26.2 miles after standing for over 2 hours, for no reason, is just tough, and hard to forgive. The 'reason' of security is not an excuse. Bottlenecking thousands of people for hours created way more of a security hazard, or as one runner-veteran put it, a 'target rich environment.'
A. B. from Alabama (10/30/2015) "Race was awesome, Expo & Security Terrible" (about: 2015) 2 previous marathons \| 1 Marine Corps Marathon COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 3 FANS: 5 I was able to make it through a security checkpoint near Ft Myers in 20 minutes or so, so I can't complain about that. I did hear of most lines being in excess of 1 hour which is inexcusable. The start and the course itself was really awesome. DC is a tremendous city to visit and the crowd support along the way was the best I've seen in my 15 races. I visited the Expo at approximately 10:00 am on Friday, October 23rd. Brooks was the company that was in charge of running the only retail outlet where 2015 Marine Corps Marathon (MCM) merchandise was sold. As I entered the store, I saw that there was a tremendous line of people standing well outside the meandering corrals meant to stack people up as they waited to checkout. I observed at least 400 people in line which would have taken at least one hour to process through at the pace the checkouts were moving. As a logistics expert, I found it incredible for such a large event to have such a poorly run retail operation. I sent Brooks and email and they said they were sorry but nothing will be done about it. My family and I had planned on spending several hundred dollars buying MCM merchandise for ourselves as well as for Christmas presents, the incompetence of the Brooks mobile retail team prevented this. It also appears that there will be a very limited amount of merchandise available on the Brooks website when it finally begins selling the leftovers from the event. This I also find unbelievable. I would be very interested to understand how such a monumental failure could occur at this massive race event. The performance of the Brooks retail team at this event as well as the Chicago Half Marathon in July show that this is not in their wheelhouse. It appears that the MCM staff may be focusing on making money a bit too much instead of making sure they can handle the logistics of such a large event. Maybe take a lesson from Disney on the management of large events.
J. A. from Colorado Springs, CO (10/29/2015) "2015 THE YEAR OF THE MCM DEBACLE" (about: 2015) 11-50 previous marathons \| 6+ Marine Corps Marathons COURSE: 3 ORGANIZATION: 1 FANS: 4 This review is specifically regarding the 2015 race. I have run MCM 7 of the last 8 years, and the 2015 40th anniversary edition was a mess compared to the prior 6 I have run. I have also run LA and Chicago so I have a good frame a reference on how a big city marathon can be organized. Course (3) It depends what you are looking for. If you are looking for a fast course to PR or BQ, this is NOT the race for you, for several reasons. First, the beginning 2-3 miles are mostly uphill, with a few miles of uphill getting over the bridge in the later miles. Second and most importantly are the crowds and how the runners are handled. MCM does not have seeded corrals like other large events. They have signs at the start area for runners to use as a guide based on pace, but apparently these signs mean nothing to a good portion of the field. You will be constantly bobbing and weaving through traffic on a good year, and 2015 was not a good year and I personally was weaving through traffic for the entire 26.2 miles. All that negative aside, running through the National Mall and having the course lined with Marines, and to finish and get your medal from a Marine who salutes you, is a one of a kind experience. Organization (1) As others have said, entering the secure runner's area was a mess. In past years it took about 20 minutes. This year I arrived the earliest of any year and I waited 45 minutes. I only got through after panic set in when about 5000 people we still outside security 20 minutes before the race start. They opened up the gates around the metal detectors and most of the crowd, including myself, went in unchecked. So much for the long wait being worth it due to security. Prior to opening of the floodgates, I timed my movement and I moved about 20 ft. in 30 minutes of waiting. With about 200 ft. to go to get through one of 7-8 metal detectors for 30,000 plus their families. At that rate it would have taken 5 hours to get through security. To MCM's credit they did issue a sort of apology with an explanation, and it appears a series of events unfolded to cause this problem, however, it could have been handled better. The gates should have been opened up and more Marines brought in prior to 20 minutes before the start, because at that point everyone in the crowd was pretty much guaranteed to miss the start. It's a long walk to the start line, and takes time to check your bag, etc. While I am certain that MCM will learn from this mistake and correct for the coming years, it doesn't take away from the confusion and ruined race experience for everyone who started late. The reason this cause a problem was because then you started from the back of the pack, and were running into much slower runners and even walkers, for the entire, yes entire, race. I personally wan't looking to PR or BQ during this race, but if I was, it was have been nearly impossible. I could hardly maintain my slow pace much less if I was trying to run my PR pace. Further, by missing the start you miss the Osprey flyover, the skydivers, the national anthem, and the firing of the cannon to start. All that contributes to the overall race experience. If you are going to run MCM and are concerned with your finish time trying to PR, I would suggest lining up at the marker one level up from your target pace. Example if your target is 4 hours, line up at the 3:45 marker. Further organization problem are at the Expo. I was there at the very beginning of the expo on Saturday and I still waited in line for 25 minutes to checkout. In 2014 I waited 50 minutes. I don't know if the MCM or Brooks is to blame for this, but they continue to make the same under-staffing mistake year after year at the expo in the MCM official merchandise section. If you are just looking to pick up your bib and free shirt, the Marines handle that and that is always a breeze and handled well. I personally did not encounter this problem, but many later finishers reported of later aid stations being out of Gatorade or water at the end of the race, and the later finishers also reported that there was no food or warming jacket/blankets at the finish, only water. Fans (4) The fans that were there were great, and there were a lot of fans on most of the course. I can't besmirch anyone who came out and supported us on this cold, rainy day. But there are in fact long stretches of the course without fans. In summary despite this year's review, if you haven't run MCM, I would recommend it. Just know what you are in for first. However, if you are looking for a big city destination marathon, from my personal experience I would suggest both LA and Chicago over MCM. Especially Chicago, which was a first rate experience on every level. I've taken the time to write this review because I care about the MCM because it was my first and at one time favorite marathon.
C. W. from Washington State (10/29/2015) "Organizational Chaos, But Still Bucket-List Worthy" (about: 2015) 4-5 previous marathons \| 1 Marine Corps Marathon COURSE: 3 ORGANIZATION: 1 FANS: 3 I'm glad I did this run, I enjoyed it overall, and I'd recommend it to others. But I'm mystified that this even just celebrated it's 40th anniversary. The organizational chaos certainly doesn't speak to all that experience. My friend & I met in DC, having traveled quite a distance, especially in my case, having anticipated a world-class destination marathon. For a variety of reasons, it wasn't. Here's how things played out for us: EXPO ~ This was actually a pleasant surprise, as we'd braced ourselves for long lines and huge crowds. We went around 5pm on Friday and it was largely empty. Piece of cake to get our bibs and & gear. We wandered briefly through the expo itself, which isn't of real importance to us. Seemed fine, nothing special. Hosting the expo at the convention center was a great idea, very easy to access & much better, based on what I've heard, than past expos at the armory. Turns out, though, that as of next year the expo is being moved farther away so who knows how that will play out. PRE-RACE LOGISTICS ~ As other reviewers have noted, it was a chaotic mess. Of course with 24,000 runners it's going to be crowded, but this wasn't just a crowd issue. There was literally NO organization. Tens of thousands of us took the Metro & shuffled like sheep without a shepherd to what we assumed must be the athlete's 'village'. We stood for anywhere from one to two hours in the dark & on-again, off-again showers. And we stood. And stood. And didn't move. No one had a clue what was going on, why we weren't moving, what was supposed to happen. At some point, we knew the race had started but we weren't able to appreciate any of the vaunted race start dramatics. At this point, they finally gave up on the metal detectors or whatever 'security' measures they were attempting, and we slowly flooded toward the start. But even then, it took a fair amount of time to drop our bags, use the toilet, and walk (and walk...and walk..) to the start line. I think I can safely say that just about every runner I encountered at this point was hugely disappointed and frustrated. The most bizarre, disorganized large-event experience I've ever encountered. RACE & COURSE ~ Hard to feel real motivated after the pre-race experience, but it was great to be moving. Sort of. Even crossing the start line nearly half an hour after the gun, it was elbow-to-elbow. That was the case for much if not most of the run, thanks in part to out & backs that require the entire field of runners to share the road. The course itself simply doesn't take advantage of what DC running has to offer. There are miles that are wonderful: running along the Mall, in Potomoc Park and Rock Creek (?). And then there are miles of traipsing about in bedroom communities and skirting memorials. Particularly toward the end, after the odd bit in Crystal City, it's no man's land. Also many areas where crowds were minimal thanks to the routing. Even the 'wear blue' mile was not what it could & should be. The placards honoring fallen soldiers are at ground level, so one has to come to a near-stop to actually see them, or risk tripping over your feet and the feet of hundreds of others. Put them up higher ~ and why not more? I also expected them to extend a full mile, as goodness knows we've lost enough. FINISH ~ For a few fleeting moments, everything seems ideal. You cross the line and your Marine salutes you, places the medal around your neck, and you stand in the shadows of the massive Iwo Jima memorial. Fantastic buzz! Then you realize that anything relating to the race-end experience requires a hike. Families & friends are unreachable, on the other side of a fence. You immediately have to head to a street where you shuffle along for a mile to get to the UPS trucks where you dropped your bags. You then realize there are no changing tents anyway. We were absolutely baffled at how poorly organized it all was. So. Many disappointments. And yet there were many aspects of this event that I appreciated & enjoyed. Just the fact that we were in our nation's capital, that it is indeed a 'people's marathon' with participants of all kinds. People honoring loved ones who served or are serving. People carrying flags throughout the entire run. The humanity of it all was very touching and for that, I'm grateful. Now put that together with a genuinely well-organized event and I'd be back. As it is, this is a one-and-done at most.
A. Y. from The Sunshine State (10/29/2015) "Great Experience" (about: 2015) 50+ previous marathons \| 3 Marine Corps Marathons COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 3 FANS: 5 There were some issues with the start and the RD is aware, has said he's working on them. One problem was a blue line train hit a deer, resulting in delayed trains on the major line into the race. There are things that happen in big races, e.g., the bus driver gets lost and tries to leave you at Mile 6 (Boston), the sports drink is mixed too strong at an aid station so that your stomach seizes after a gulp (NYC), they give you half a banana at the end (SF, the year Runners World took it on), etc. As one other runner explained, do your part to roll with the punches and pack some stuff in your drop bag to eat and wear. The runners who line up where they shouldn't really is the Major Complaint I have at races. The ones who take more than their share at the end is also annoying. Before we get too angry with the RDs, let's try and do something about policing ourselves a little better in terms of encouraging runners to respect one another and play by the rules. This is a fantastic race, one to consider doing at least once. Each time I run it, I find some new level of awe and respect for our service corps. We have a lot to be proud of and it shows in this race. I hope the overriding mission and all the incredible things done well are not lost in the cacophony of whining that's ensued post race.
D. K. from southeast Michigan (10/29/2015) "Great Race, Big Race, Not Perfect...." (about: 2015) 3 previous marathons COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 This is a great event. Thanks to the Marines and organizers who put it on this year! There was a security check with metal detectors, but to the disappointment of many runners it took a long time to get through. My friends and I arrived early enough such that we were at the start line on time. Although it was crowded, it thinned out by the the second half, right before the 'Wear Blue Mile' section of the course where fallen service members are commemorated along the roadway decorated with American flags. This was my favorite part of the route. I also enjoyed running through Rock Creek and Potomac Parkway looking at all the fall foliage. At the finish line I waited in line for food and water longer than I had anticipated. Unfortunately I did not get to take photo at the Iwo Jima Memorial; nor did I do post-race stuff, so I can't comment about that. If you are doing a marathon because you just want to run, and have been spoiled by doing smaller races with a lot less fuss, you may get frustrated. It is not for everyone. You need patience for crowds, long lines, and long waits. But overall it was a great event taking into consideration the number of runners and the location.
K. S. from Richmond (10/29/2015) "Patriotic but disorganized" (about: 2015) 1 previous marathon \| 1 Marine Corps Marathon COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 1 FANS: 4 Nice course with the scenery and monuments. Blue mile was very moving and a spirit lifter! Porta potties on course all had long lines. Pre race was a disaster!!! My first marathon and I was on my feet for two hours waiting in security line and catching metro...complete disaster! No direction at all on where to go. Burned thru my breakfast fuel by the time i started my race and legs were tired already. Finish line and medals were awesome though! However finish festival needs big improvements as you had a long walk to bag drop and I heard they ran out of food. Too small and crowded of a space to meet family afterwards.
L. D. from New England (10/29/2015) "Huge marathon, great experience" (about: 2015) 4-5 previous marathons \| 1 Marine Corps Marathon COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 5 I had none of the security issues others seemed to have had, 2 friends and I took the 1st shuttle out of Crystal City, breezed through security (of course it hadn't started raining at this point, which caused issues with the metal detectors.) We had ample time to sit, chat, eat, use the porta potties. Went our own ways at the start. I am a back of the packer and seeded myself as such, took me 24 minutes to cross the starting line. I see from another poster that some BOP went up ahead to faster corrals where clearly they did not belong, I agree there should be more structure to the starting corrals. If you are looking for a BQ or a PR (unless you are towards mid to back of the pack) this is not your race. If you want the experience of a lifetime, this is for you. Running by so many monuments, landmarks, active duty marines, and the blue mile, you cannot help but being moved.Crowd support is generally awesome, some areas it is sparse, but it was good to take a break from the noise. I have previously done 3 smallish full marathons, this was a definite change, and I really liked the fact that I was never alone on the course. There were no finishers jackets (instead of space blankets) when I finished, and no food boxes. Apparently the jackets were being given out to the 10k finishers, I usually expect this and my family had brought me a jacket and food. There was watermelon and water when I finished, frankly I have no appetite after a race like that anyway. Is it right to run out? No, do I expect it when I finish? Yes. Maybe I shouldn't, based on the complaints on the Facebook wall, but I do so am prepared. I had a memorable, awesome race, and would highly recommend.
m. k. from NYC (10/28/2015) "Monumental Race" (about: 2015) 11-50 previous marathons \| 1 Marine Corps Marathon COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 1 FANS: 5 Overall this race is a great way to enjoy the beautiful city of DC, but it has quite a few organizational problems. Expo: Centrally located and convenient at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center in DC. Easily accessible by Metro. The pickup was easy and helpful. Nice vendors but the official store checkout line was way too long. Almost 1 hour to purchase an item. Start: Getting to the start via the Metro is easy, but getting out is deadly. The Pentagon station was so overcrowded; some runners were getting hurt on the escalators. It seems that to exit the station one must rescan their card, making exiting time about 30 minutes just to get out of the station. Luckily one brave Metro attendant opened the gates to let everyone out. It seems the Metro system is not designed for large crowds, as I could not find the stairs, only egress was the escalators where runners dont seem to know how to exit properly so others can get off. So after waiting 30 minutes, I was finally out of the station, this is where it got really disorganized. There was no staff to direct the runners to the runners village. The crowds just surged and others followed. Leaving some to climb over cement barricades & trip over sidewalks. Then the backup began. NO ONE directed the runners to where to go. The next step was the security check. The large crowd made the wait from exiting the Metro to passing through security 1 hour and 15 minutes. I was able to enter about 10 minutes before the official start time leaving me time to use the Porto Potties. As there were also hundreds behind me waiting to get in, most likely starting very late? By my count there were about 10 metal detectors to screen 25,000 runners. Great for the people inside the village, but for all the runners outside it made the situation very dangerous, as many could be hurt by a few antagonists. A few required medical attention and wheelchair runners also caused panic getting their vehicles through. This situation needs to be addressed before next year. After finally getting into the village after standing for 1 hour and 45 minutes, I was able to use the porto-potty as others ran for the baggage trucks and the start lines. The start lines were also a mess, no one directed runners where to go, leaving some on the wrong side of the barricades. The whole start area was way too disorganized for such a large city marathon. Need to go to Chicago or NYC to see how to organize for a large crowd. Course: The course was very scenic. The only real hills were in the first 3 miles. Unfortunately due to the mass start left the early miles very crowded. With runners zig-zagging around it made it hard to get into a comfortable pace early. Also I noticed so many walkers in the early miles. It did not seem to open up until about the halfway point. Most of this could have been easily avoided with wave starts. Maybe start using waves every 15 minutes to alleviate the crowd on the course. The miles on the National Mall were incredible. Seeing the Washington Monument in your sight was awe inspiring. The cheering crowds were incredible. Mile 12 the blue mile was so touching to see portraits of fallen Marines and the hundreds of USA flag procession were touching. Finish Area: The distribution of one of the most beautiful medals I have ever received in 30+ marathons by a Marine was touching. It made the struggle over the 26.2 miles so worthwhile. Thank You. After that the finish area was a mess. The area was too small to accommodate the mass of runners finishing. Food was plentiful, Gatorade, Water, and a nice finisher jacket to keep you warm. I am still looking for the free beer for the finishers. The Metro ride back was a long wait to enter the station. Overall a disorganized experience but worthwhile to cross off your marathon bucket list. First timers might be discouraged, but it was worth it.
J. J. from Audubon, NJ (10/27/2015) "Chaotic and crowded but a special marathon" (about: 2015) 11-50 previous marathons \| 1 Marine Corps Marathon COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 3 FANS: 5 This was my 20th marathon and my first MCM. It was suggested to be at the athletes village two hours ahead of time for the start. We were but still had to wait a very long time to get through the security checkpoint. We saw the flag raising and paratroopers from a distance but missed the start. The race was very crowded; it was difficult to get into an even pace trying to catch up while avoiding the walkers. Nevertheless the spectators and Marines along the route were fabulous with the support and spirit they gave. The 'blue mile' was special and somber; it really made you grateful for being able to run at all. Post race was well organized with ample provisions.

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