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May 6, 2024

Seattle Marathon Runner Comments

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Course 4.1

Organization 3.9

Spectators 3.1

Number of comments: 182 [displaying comments 51 to 61]

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D. C. from New York, NY (12/4/2008) "A memorable 1st marathon." (about: 2008) 1 previous marathon \| 1 Seattle Marathon COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 2 FANS: 4 The course had a good balance between few spectators on the land bridge and Seward Park and plenty on the actual streets. The pacers were not consistent as I stayed with the 4:45 group (4:00 was the next one up), and then they swapped pacers around the halfway mark. The fresh pacers then ran faster (perhaps to compensate for the hills towards the end). Also, I wasn't able to find details and meet the pacers beforehand at the expo even though it was listed as an event. Throughout the race there weren't enough portable toilets (e.g. 15 people standing in front of 1 toilet), and there were no GU gels leftover for the slower racers on both locations where there should've been.
B. L. from Seattle (12/3/2008) "Nice route but lacking organization" (about: 2008) 2 previous marathons \| 2 Seattle Marathons COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 3 FANS: 3 This is the second time I have done this race. It is the only major race I have done, so maybe they are all this way and I am too picky. The race started in a very crowded intersection. I was warming up and headed to the starting area 10 minutes before the start. I could not get up to the start area and had to shove through spectators and climb a barrier to get onto the race route. Shortly after the start, I found myself dodging walkers while running the race. The rest of the race was fine; I had no complaints until the finish. I had to fight a crowd of finishers and spectators and walk uphill to the recovery area. In the recovery area, there was no place to sit; in the approximately 50 chairs that were set up, there were several non-running family members relaxing. It was hot and stuffy (not the race's fault - it was a balmy day) with no place to sit, and as soon as I grabbed a banana and a chocolate milk, I booked it out of there. I have run 10K's with 500 finishers that have a better recovery area, which was a little disappointing for our city. Overall, it is a good run. If you are not concerned about the "accoutrements" of the race and arrive early for the start, you will have a good race. It is a "hilly" race; I don't think "rolling" is quite the right term.
M. G. from La Mirada, California (12/3/2008) "Washington off my list" (about: 2008) 6-10 previous marathons COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 4 I've set a goal of running 50 marathons in 50 states. This marathon was state number 5 and number 8 total for me. The course was great, though hilly at the end. The volunteers were helpful. My only complaint was that the first water station was out of cups - probably due to the fact that there were staggered starts for the half-marathon run and walk, and the marathon walk. Other than that, I had a great time running this marathon.
J. M. from Sacramento, California (12/2/2008) "Worth doing but a few improvements suggested" (about: 2008) 4-5 previous marathons \| 1 Seattle Marathon COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 3 FANS: 4 Overall, this was a very nice marathon. We lucked out with good weather, especially considering the time of the year it is held. The runner's expo was nice, but several of those staffing it, including at the information booth, did not know where some of the basic contacts were, including the pace team members. I finally found someone to talk about the pace team, but they weren't able to answer why there were so few involved, and why the time spreads were so great, in my estimation. I understand the pacers were based on Boston Marathon qualifying times, but it would have been helpful just to have a few more. I posed a similar question about the pace team via e-mail and telephone directly to the marathon office. While cordial, they were unable to provide much of an explanation for so few pacers involved. As for the race: it was well organized, considering all of the different races and participants. However, one sizable challenge was dealing with the walkers who set out before us. Many would cover a lot of the road, which at times was fairly narrow. It left longer distance runners to have to bob and weave through the masses, taking precious energy away from the main objective. I imagine those used to hills would be fairly comfortable during the last 10K, but this flat-lander really suffered (beware of going up Galer in particular). One hiccup included no cups at the very first aid station. (People were drinking out of the pitchers.) Fortunately, all of the other aid stations were well stocked and had very supportive people. The participation T-shirts were well made but bland, just like the finisher's medal. On the positive side, the crowd that turned out was somewhat small but energetic, and the stadium finish was cool. Also, participants are able to get a printout of their race, which is a very detailed, three-page report! I thought the event was very well run and worth doing, despite the issues noted.
J. S. from Seattle, WA (12/1/2008) "Not My Favorite Race" (about: 2008) 4-5 previous marathons \| 1 Seattle Marathon COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 2 FANS: 3 This race was my 6th marathon event and by far the worst from an organizational standpoint. The starting area was not clearly marked as far as the location of the baggage check and even the start line. There was one speaker being used to announce which group was starting when and it clearly was not loud enough for everyone to hear. There were herds of people with no pace signs to line up with. As I started the 1/2 marathon I was running with 1/2 marathon and full marathon walkers. It is very frustrating to be in the start of a race and not have any clear organization. The course: the course for this race is very beautiful. It is fairly hilly but that is something most people research before running. There are too many areas that bottleneck with people and also flow into traffic. The last thing a marathoner wants is to have to stop for 30 seconds for cars to go through. Spectators: This is not a race to run if you are looking for constant cheering. Everyone that was out there was fabulous, but there is definitely a lack of people for what is supposed to be a major city! It would be fun to get the city of Seattle more involved in the race as far as teaming up with local companies, etc.
S. S. from Seattle, WA (12/1/2008) "Great first marathon!" (about: 2008) 1 previous marathon \| 1 Seattle Marathon COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 4 This was my first full marathon and it was great. The course is indeed tough, but I had practiced on the hills from mile 20 on, and that really helped when it came time to run the actual race. The weather was PERFECT for running, although I agree that the fog obscured a lot of the scenery (it made running across I-90 really cool though!). I didn't have any major issues with the organization, the course, or the walkers. The expo was great and I am really glad I chose my hometown marathon as my first one. :) The volunteers and spectators were amazing!
K. M. from vancouver, canada (12/1/2008) "tough course, great volunteers" (about: 2008) 1 previous marathon \| 1 Seattle Marathon COURSE: 3 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 4 I had heard mixed comments about this race, so I wasn't quite sure what to expect. Amazingly, the weather was perfect for running - I think that happens about once every ten years for this race. I thought the course was quite boring. Running through the tunnel was pretty cool though. The hills for the last 6 miles killed me - I wasn't expecting them to be so tough. The volunteers were great. Very enthusiastic and I like how they called out your time at every mile. The one really negative part of the race for me was how the cop car was right behind the last runner in the race with sirens flashing. There are two out-and-backs on this course, so this poor woman had to see everyone else running and she looked really embarrassed - they were making it so obvious that she was the last runner in the race. The car was literally 1 foot behind her! I thought it was terribly insensitive. Is this how they always do it in races? I've never run a course with out-and-backs like this before, so I have never noticed.
C. W. from eastern Washington State (11/30/2008) "Disappointing changes since I last ran Seattle" (about: 2008) 11-50 previous marathons \| 2 Seattle Marathons COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 3 FANS: 4 The organization of this run is still great, except that the first starters (marathon walkers) were delayed by 10 minutes. Grrr. The weather was Seattle sublime: foggy, chilly. The course is gorgeous except that in '05 we ran east and west on the top of the floating bridge; this time the east segment was inside the tunnel. Yuck. And with the change of sponsor those distinctive Harris-Asic logo'd shirts, with great colors each year, were replaced with a thoroughly uninspiring white tech shirt with the opportunity to pay for a finisher's shirt. I spend enough on insurance premiums; I'm not going to buy an extra shirt from these sponsors. Bring back Harris!
C. K. from Vancouver, B.C. (11/30/2008) "great course, support, organization" (about: 2008) 4-5 previous marathons \| 1 Seattle Marathon COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 4 Having read numerous critical comments about Seattle, I was wary about it. However, I have nothing but praise for the marathon. THE COURSE The course was good and wasn't that hilly. Yes, there were hills, but if you completed your hill training, you wouldn't find it to be that tiresome. I was expecting mountains based on previous comments, and found the hills to be nothing major (and I'm from Ontario, where it's flat). Having the hills at miles +21 was challenging, but again, with proper strategy it's more than manageable. The walkers and half marathoners were barely noticed, except for the last mile. Otherwise, they kept to the side or weren't even on the course because of how the course divided and separated the different groups. FOOD Water and Gatorade were available every 2 miles, which didn't seem to be often enough. Post-race food was okay. Chocolate milk was perfect, and they had some bananas and fruit cups. Nothing special but who really eats a lot immediately? EXPO Expo was ok but seemed to focus on selling merchandise. Couldn't find a pace band anywhere, but brought a back up. Free t-shirt was ok. Sizes were unisex and the shirt isn't that special. MISCELLANEOUS Medal is simple but nice. They had paperweights for the top 10 finishers in each division, which was a nice bonus for me! AND the weather was AMAZING! Couldn't have asked for better running weather. It was cool and dry, with a slight fog. Absolutely perfect! Overall this marathon was GREAT! HOTEL Comfort Suites hotel wasn't the host hotel but they allowed me to check out one hour later (while the Westin, the host hotel, was charging for a late checkout past 12 p.m.), had a great carb breakfast, and was a 5-minute walk from the starting and finishing line. They also had super comfy beds and followed my request for 2 double beds and didn't charge extra for the third person. I highly recommend staying here for future Seattle Marathons.
S. P. from Portland, OR (11/30/2008) "OK weather. Good race." (about: 2008) 11-50 previous marathons \| 3 Seattle Marathons COURSE: 3 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 2 When the weather is nice, the Seattle Marathon is a very enjoyable race. This year it was misty, gray, and calm. For a November day in Seattle, this is pretty good running weather. Start time temperatures were comfortable enough that I ran the race in shorts and a t-shirt. The size of the marathon field is just right (a few thousand) - not too large, and not too small. The enthusiastic atmosphere at the start line made for an energetic run through downtown. The course is not fast. There is a bottleneck going up the freeway ramp early in the race, and the hills come late in the run. Still, this course has much to offer. Running through downtown is visually interesting. Low clouds obscured much of the scenery along Lake Washington, but going through the arboretum is beautiful. Good race-day organization. The water stations were plentiful and well staffed. Although not many spectators along the course, there was a good crowd at the finish. The finisher's medal is nice. The recovery area is indoors - nice, but it's hard to find a place to sit. The Seattle Marathon has a good expo. They give you a nice goody bag, but this year's race shirt looked very plain (plain white).

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