May 11, 2024
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Philadelphia Marathon Runner Comments
Back to Philadelphia Marathon Information & Reviews
Course 4.3 
Organization 3.6 
Spectators 3.8
Number of comments: 749 [displaying comments 691 to 701]
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A Runner from Harrisburg, PA
(11/25/2002)
 "Was the town sleeping in?" (about: 2002)
COURSE: 2 ORGANIZATION: 2 FANS: 1 This was only my second marathon, so I suppose you could take my comments with a grain of salt. However, my perception was that the course was boring and the fan support should've been a lot better. Not to mention, the organization was mediocre. I may have only run one other marathon, but I've been involved with a few others and PHilly just doesn't seem to handle the logistics of the event with the importance and organization as say; Steamtown, Baltimore, the Marine Corp or a handful of others in the area that are around the same time of the year. Fortunately, I had about a dozen friends and family running all over Philly to see me at four different points throughout the race. However, the design of the course prohibited them from positioning themselves at any point beyond mile 15 without sacrificing the possibility of seeing me at the finish line. It was apparent to me that the only people that were along the course route were those people that had a vested interest in the race. Where in the heck were all the people who live in the city!? Were they all sleeping in? I didn't know why they call it 'the city of brotherly love' and I still don't know. The support in the first half of the race was good, but it was almost non-existent (and that's NOT an exageration) beyond mile 14 or 15. The only exception was, as someone else mentioned, the crowd at the turnaround at about mile twenty. You really need fans the last few miles and it was tough waiting until there was less than a half of a mile left (literally) to have people cheering you on. Finally, I agree with the person who commented on the abortion activists. That was absolutely ridiculous! That is one of, if not the most, inappropriate forums for a political statement such as that one! They should be ashamed of themselves for subjecting people to that horrible display. It has nothing to with whether or not your pro-life or pro-choice, that simply is neither the place or the time to exercise your free-speech rights. I'd be willing to bet that they didn't change the mind or heighten the awareness of a single person. What they did do was tick off, depress, and disgust nearly 5,000 people who had worked real hard to compete in a marathon. With all the options available to me in this region of the country and at this time of year, I will never choose to run this marathon again. | |
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A Runner from charlottesville va
(11/25/2002)
 "Wonderful day" (General Comments)
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 5 My two sisters and myself ran this race yesterday. It was one sisters first marathon and she did incredible. My other sister ran a PR of 15 minutes and I ran a PR of 25 minutes. It was a beautiful day and a relatively flat course. I have to say I didn't mind the out and back run at the end because I felt like the people running the opposite direction were my cheering section. The course was a great mixture of city and country. I had a great time and if I run another marathon, I would definitely run this one again. | |
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A Runner from Brooklyn, NY
(11/25/2002)
 "I'd run this one again" (about: 2002)
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 3 A lovely day, a beautiful course, a couple of hills (no biggie), a great host city (as far as staying the night before), decently organized (nothing you couldn't figure out on your own if you had to), easy for friends and families from out-of-town to park a car, see me multiple times ... Yeah, the out-and-back was a bit tough, but at least you knew where you'd be going next. Yeah, the fans were very sparse, and when there were fans, they were unusually quiet (and I had my name on my shirt), but sometimes the quiet was welcome, and fellow runners were totally awesome (a stranger tried to help me beat 4:00 for the last 6 miles). Missed a number of mile markers; JUST got into the porto. before the start; no gel/GU (bring extra). My third marathon (a nice change from NYC!), a PR of 30+ minutes, still tough, but I may be back (after NYC next year or ...). Thanks! | |
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A Runner from Richmond, Virginia
(11/25/2002)
"Beautiful day, great race" (about: 2002)
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 3 FANS: 4 Nice course, rather flat, even the hill at mile 10 wasn't that bad. Nice mix of scenic park running with urban city center. The 10 mile out-and-back loop at the end is a pain, but what 10 miles at the end of a marathon aren't a pain? Finding where in the expo race packets were being handed out was poorly organized - no signs telling you where to go, had to ask or just meander about til you found them. My biggest gripe: they need MANY more toilets at the beginning! Plan on getting there very early if you usually need to use the toilet before starting. Also - hardly any food (that I found) at the end. | |
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A Runner from Philly Suburbs
(11/25/2002)
 "Great" (General Comments)
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 3 What a great day for a run. Course was pretty fast and fan support was great in most areas. Nice run through downtown and I thought the out an back on Kelly Drive was no big deal (except for note below), even though there weren't many fans, it's flat and that was easy for eating up the miles. Note: I agree with the runner from Chapel Hill, that the anti-abortion protesters and their graphic signs were in extremely bad taste. It's a marathon not a rally and nobody needs to see a half mile of large disgusting pictures. It's sad that they chose an event like this to push their beliefs. | |
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A Runner from Chicago, Illinois
(11/25/2002)
"Philadelphia Marathon-2002" (about: 2002)
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 3 FANS: 4 This was my first marathon and I really enjoyed it. The first 8 miles of the course was run thru downtown neighborhoods and fan support was great. The short stretch of cobblestones was no big deal. After that the course hit park areas and turned pretty hilly (well it was for me, but I'm from Chicago). The last 10 miles of the course was tough--a 10 mile loop along the river. Not many fans there and it was a grind. The turnaround at 20 mile mark was a neighborhood with many fans and helped re-energize me. Organization could have been better. Couldn't find any water for the runners at the start line, so I settled for a few sips of hot chocolate. While the water stops were plentiful, the gatorade was handed out before water, I think that should be reversed. Overall, it was a nice race race with a challenging course and good fan support. The weather was super. | |
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Georgie Fear from New Jersey
(11/25/2002)
"Scenic run, mentally tough second half" (about: 2000)
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 4 I ran this race in both 2000 and 2002. There are nice sections of scenery, boathouse row and the river, but the second half can be monotonous. It is flat and straight, you run out 5 mi on one side of the road, then double back and run back the way you came. My suggestion: run this race, bring someone to talk with and support you during the long flat stretch, and cheer on the runners passing you in the opposite way. It lifts them up and distracts you from your own pain! | |
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Vynce Krystal from Chapel Hill, NC
(11/25/2002)
"Great race minus the dead babies!" (about: 2002)
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 4 I've run 11 marathons throughout the east coast and philly was beautiful. Great city, friendly people lots to look at and perfect weather. The thing that made me extremely angry were the abortion demonstrators after mile 15. I believe in free speech, but I do not want to look at pictures of mutilated babies! I took up marathon running as a safe alternative to martial arts tournaments, but after seeing these atrocities I was about to take it back up on them - that made me sick to my stomach! I did not train, save money and sacrafice my time for this! Other than that philly is highly recomended to other runners who want a beautiful course and brisk weather. | |
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A Runner from York, PA
(11/1/2002)
 "1st time to run this one." (General Comments)
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 Mentally abusive? What marathon ISN'T mentally abusive? Come on --run HAPPY! | |
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A Runner from Bethlehem, PA (USA)
(9/30/2002)
"It was very fun and a great accomplishment." (about: 1999)
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 The Philadelphia Marathon was a wonderful experience for me. There were many supportive runners, and supportive people in general. I enjoyed the scenic route as well. It was nice to have the contrast of running through the beautiful park, and also the actual city streets. The facilities and supplies were quite adequate in my opinion. I am looking foreward to running this year's marathon! |
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