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Apr 28, 2024

Phoenix Marathon Runner Comments

Back to Phoenix Marathon Information & Reviews

Course 4.0

Organization 4.7

Spectators 3.4

Number of comments: 47 [displaying comments 21 to 31]

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M. S. from Missouri (3/6/2015) "Good Race" (about: 2015) 4-5 previous marathons \| 1 Phoenix Marathon COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 4 Race was well organized. Expo was smaller but good. Loved getting a deal on last year's shirts for $5 many of which didn't include the year! Race morning was early, but the buses took you out to starting point. Heaters and bonfires were nice, but almost not enough of them to keep everyone warm. First part of marathon course was great-scenic and downhill. Lack of spectators up there was made up for by the scenery. Missed a beautiful Phoenix sunrise due to the clouds. Course became less scenic as you went on and spectators were fewer and far between. Water stops had lots of enthusiasm though. Best part was the post-race foodso many healthy(!) snacks I coudln't believe it.
P. L. from Minneapolis, MN (3/3/2015) "Overall Awesome!" (about: 2015) 50+ previous marathons \| 1 Phoenix Marathon COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 4 Great event for runners in several distances. Very impressed. Expo was nicely done. Packet Pick Up was quick and easy. I love the race shirt. It doesn't have all kinds of sponsors all over it. It is a running shirt that will be worn many times over. It is an early race due to busing to the start. However there were no issues with the buses to the race start. Nice warming heaters and fires at the start to keep us warm. Yes, some of the race route was boring. Not many spectators on the course. But everything else about the race makes up for that. BMO Phoenix Marathon - I highly recommend this race. The medal is high class. The Finish Line also was very well done. Great food and lots of vendors. Loved IT!!
B. R. from Atlanta, Georgia (3/3/2015) "A wonderful race. Well organized" (about: 2015) 50+ previous marathons \| 1 Phoenix Marathon COURSE: 3 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 4 The best part of this race was the wonderful people running it. The race founder, Brad, was so kind and helpful when he found me a hotel room after my reservation was not honored by the Dobson Ranch Inn and Suites (DO NOT STAY THERE). He even gave me a ride to the hotel. He is my hero. Then some volunteers gave me a ride back to the hotel after the race. I love the women's singlet (better than the standard race shirt). The water stations were staffed by very enthusiastic volunteers. The only negative is that the course is not as downhill as I was led to believe from the website. The weather was perfect as it was cloudy but there was definitely a very strong headwind.
M. G. from AZ (3/2/2015) "Great Arizona Gem!" (about: 2015) 50+ previous marathons \| 3 Phoenix Marathons COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 4 Friendly, intimate, and fun. Easy packet pick-up, organized buses to the start. Excellent shirt and medal. An army of helpful, smiley volunteers throughout. Starts on time. Tons of water and Gu stops. Nice downhill stretches and only one long uphill at 4.5. Lucky with the cloud cover this year but the unusual headwinds tested your nerve for the three southbound legs. Early 6:30 start helped. Huge finish line festival; results posted immediately. Can't beat the low price either. Updated emails/FB posts daily. About 2000 runners so you're never alone nor crowded out. Will be back for #4 next yeargreat job!
j. h. from los angeles (3/2/2015) "Good first half" (about: 2015) 50+ previous marathons \| 1 Phoenix Marathon COURSE: 3 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 3 Organization was first class. Expo was small but adequate. Buses pickup can be improved by better markings and maps handout maybe? Tons of runners were looking for buses from all different locations. The post race food and support were the best I ever seen, you can eat until you drop. Staff were so pleasant and supportive. Surprised this was only their third year doing this. Course on the other hand is not as fast as it looks on the elevation map. I have done few downhill 'fast' courses, Ojai, CIM, Tucson, Big Cottonwood and Utah Valley. From the elevation map, I thought only from mile 4-6 were gradual uphill, but the second was not downhill as it appears. The second was actually more gradual uphill in 2 different places and they were long Stretches. Mile 4-6 were long uphill which I prepared for. I lost 45 seconds per mile from my race pace During those 2 miles. But you can catch it up from the downhill right after mile 6. Bad head wind showed up on the second half as you were running uphill. That stretch reminds me of that uphill section in Santa Barbara, but not as steep as San Diego's. Second half was the ugliest half I ever run. Only run around Mesa's neighborhood. CIM is a much better course than Phoenix as the rolling hills there were short and does help break up the downhill, where as in Phoenix (in Mesa actually) were miles of long ups. I would actually prefer Utah Valley more as their second half was all gradual downhill with no surprises. If you are running this race, make sure you train 2-3 miles of uphill as well. The host hotel stay is a must as it is right at the center of the race with 3:30 am breakfast included and race buses pickup couple blocks away. The fireworks at the start line by the gun ranch was very cool, good amount of camp fires and lamps to keep us warm. Music and announcers were fun but not too entertaining. Maybe next year just play music and announce things that are important. The announcer telling her runner husband to keep running so he can stay hot for her doesn't sound too attractive to the rest of us at 5:30 in the morning. I look at this race as a good training race for Boston's second half Section. If you train for this course correctly, it is a good course to get PRs and BQed.
M. C. from Buffalo, NY (3/2/2015) "Great Organization!" (about: 2015) 11-50 previous marathons \| 1 Phoenix Marathon COURSE: 3 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 4 This is a nice winter marathon. I can not believe that it is only the 3rd year of this race. The organization was top notch. The bus pick up to start was flawless. Heat lamps and camp fires were a nice touch. I thought the course to be a bit boring and drab but the swag at the after race was second to none. A great race. I would recommend for any looking to knock Arizona off of the 50 state quest.
F. M. from Sault Sainte Marie, Michigan (10/27/2014) "Top notch early spring marathon!" (about: 2014) 4-5 previous marathons \| 1 Phoenix Marathon COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 4 This was a wonderful marathon. Excellent organization in both shuttling runners to the start and having a well-oiled expo. The fan support was enthusiastic and the course was scenic and fast.
C. S. from Guatemala (3/17/2014) "Excellent organization, fast course." (about: 2014) 11-50 previous marathons \| 1 Phoenix Marathon COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 4 One of the best organization I have seen, buses to the start worked perfectly, the course is fast, hydration tables are well loaded, they gave gels at 4 points on the race (never seen that before), lots of food , water, recovery drinks and massage tables at the end with a very nice family fair just at the finish line. I did a PR and BQ even after facing the rain and some headwind, finished 10 seconds faster that in the Chicago marathon. This marathon is going to grow very fast. The only thing I would change is related to the chips, saw a lot of people with bleeding nipples because of the weight of the number/chipset that hanged from their shirts.
J. S. from Portland Oregon (3/15/2014) "A Fabulous Winter Marathon" (about: 2014) 11-50 previous marathons \| 1 Phoenix Marathon COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 3 Before the race started they announced that 14% of the 2013 field qualified for Boston. This course is so fast I would have expected more BQers. Coming from Portland Oregon, the Phoenix Marathon weather was perfect. the rain soaked us 5 minutes before the race began and sprinkled again about a half hour into the run. I finished the race dry. The previous two days was mostly sunny and 81 degrees. Thank you weather Gods for giving us cooler/perfect temps. The course was scenic and fast. Passing through downtown Mesa was great, the desert overall beautiful, and the Orange Groves smelled fantastic. I'm glad there was a slight uphill portion of the course from miles 4.5-6 for some variation. Organization was good, expo was small but sufficient, aid station volunteers had big smiles and enthusiasm. Bus shuttles were easy and early in the morning. Bring a snack for the ride. The pace group leaders I saw were spot on. The host hotel is highly recommended. They set up early breakfast for marathoners which offered grilled food, oatmeal, etc. While it is located at mile 26 (awesome) it's also very close to the Chicago Cubs training camp baseball stadium. I wish I would have known this earlier and caught a game or two. Only negatives for me were mentioned below: Terrible timing chip, that sucker is huge and the traffic situation at the end of the race. I've run marathons in many states and this marathon ranks up there with anything else. I'm going back to Boston for the 4th time. Cold weather residents, come to Phoenix for this fabulous winter marathon.
M. E. from Minneapolis, Minnesota (3/7/2014) "Downhill beginning, mostly flat 2nd half" (about: 2014) 6-10 previous marathons \| 1 Phoenix Marathon COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 3 I think this is still a fairly new marathon for the area. Mostly, it's pretty well organized with just tiny fixable glitches. My friend in Phoenix talked me into flying down from the frigidness of Minneapolis. I was a little worried it'd be hot after reading reviews here and on blogs. Not that 60s and sunny is terrible, but coming from training in the Polar Vortex, that is a tough quick adjustment for the body to make. But we were in luck! It was a crappy rain at the start for a few miles and drizzle through maybe mile 6, then it stopped. The sun stayed away the entire race and I'm a mid-packer (just under 3:55) so it was nice because there is NO SHADE on this course. Just beware if sun is predicted and you overheat easily. Perhaps two hours after the race, sun peeked through making for a very enjoyable recovery afternoon and nice respite from the cold of the Midwest. Backing up, the shuttles to the start of the race were well organized. Many buses available. We were told to show up at the shuttle pickup, which is on the other side of the strip mall where the expo is held, at 4a. We didn't really need to do that but we catnapped in the car and got on a bus to get to the start area by 5:30sh. The start area was full of heat lamps, thankfully, and had lots of port o pots. The DJ was a little over the top, but I'm not a morning person. The start area could've used more signage to show bag drop off and to show where you actually go line up, especially because it was still dark. Enjoyed the fireworks send off. The first part is downhill, except for the gradual hill b/t 4-6. I fell off pace here but found a gradual hill easier to handle than a long steep hill, plus it slows down your pace if you've been going too fast. Immediately after you pass the 6 marker, it goes straight down so you can catch up a little. Weather was good but this was not my day in the end. I chugged through the second half like I was on a dreadmill. It's a mostly flat 2nd half. Unlike what you see on the elevation chart, it's not as downhill as that conveys. The downhill is so gradual that it feel flat and until the very end, where there is an actual downhill, it can feel tough on the legs to have no terrain change. I guess I wasn't mentally prepared and kept waiting for some 'downhill help' to get back on pace again. The people in my group who ran BQs or PRs on the course also said they found the second part flatter than expected. Not a bad thing but just something to better prep for. Fans were about average in terms of how many turned out, though I felt really zoned out, during this race. And the rain is to AZ like a blizzard is to MN so understandably not many fans came out in the beginning. Lots of kids out cheering. I usually love the energy of the fans but I think I got caught up in my Garmin to notice/enjoy this race. We did pass many Megachurches which had good turnout. Definitely could use some booming music during some spots on the course where it was more industrial. Fellow runners were friendly, unlike the RnR San Diego race last spring. I didn't meet anyone to run with for a stretch but most were friendly giving each other smiles or good jobs along the way. Cheer and water stops were good. I enjoyed the oranges starting at 11 I think. I don't know if it's the dryness but I did feel the need for an extra bump outside my planned shot block intakes so the oranges helped. GUs were given out too starting in the 2nd half. Some water stations were shorter than others so you had to move around the runners who just stopped at stations even if you ran to the last water person. Volunteers here were good at yelling out where the Gatorade was and where the water was. I liked the race was small enough so my friends and I easily met and saw each other at the finish line. Being from out of town, I was a little worried about meet up since there's no family meet up area like larger marathons. However, the finish area could use more signage to direct runners to bag pick up and post race food. The finish area is compact but kind of feel likes a blob w/o good direction or signs of where to go. Not much post race food, just plain sarah lee bagels, fruit cups and some choc covered pretzels. Did appreciate receiving water right at the finish line. Would also love to see some of that yummy Shamrock Chocolate Milk Phoenix has to offer at the finish! Once we found bag pick up, it was organized and efficient. The timing chips were the size of the bib and way too big! I was glad the chips were recyclable but I'd advise the D- or B-tag system. Overall, this is a well organized race that will only get better with cosmetic fixes. Hope they keep the size as is. Good small to midsize race and never felt lonely. I was very thankful to be quick enough to make it across some of the intersections not closed down. The race day weather may have been a downer for local folks, but for us coming from the Midwest or Northeast, it was a treat for racing and the only 'bad' weather day of the weekend. The expo was fun for us since it was held outside, and it was low 70s. No major vendor for GUs, blocks or things like that so you had to hope Sports Authority had what you needed if you forgot your fuel. Great shirts too. If I can be superficial, the ladies would've liked their arm warmers to be orange too. But seriously, the swag was nice and not over the top so you know your money must be going mostly to the race and foundation.

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