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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 71 to 81]
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A. C. from Calgary, Canada
(1/3/2013)
 "First Marathon- Philly can't be beat" (about: 2012)
1 previous marathon
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 My first marathon- chose it because it wasn't too big city, and seemed to tick all of the boxes for the flat course, good crowds, nice weather- all turned out to be even better than expected on race day. Just adding my praise to the heap - absolutely amazing course, excellent organization, and truly fantastic crowd support. I am a little worried because I don't know how another race will ever top Philly - truly the best race experience ever. | |
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K. S. from Takoma Park, MD
(12/12/2012)
"Philly is the best!" (about: 2012)
4-5 previous marathons
| 2 Philadelphia Marathons
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 This is my second consecutive year running Philly, and I think I'll keep doing it until I can't any longer. The combination of beautiful course, great crowds, excellent organization, and PERFECT WEATHER make this marathon fun all the way through. It will be even more fun when I learn not to overhydrate before the race ;-) I won't go into the praises in detail. Let's just say that from sign up through the finish it was all done very professionally. Even though it is a huge number of runners, the event is very much focused on making it good for all the runners. My only complaint is that the post-race food is somewhat lacking, and too few distribution points so that the waiting lines are longish. The same was true in 2011 so I brought some post-race food in my gear bag, too. | |
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B. N. from New York, NY
(12/4/2012)
 "Well-organized, lively fun race" (about: 2012)
6-10 previous marathons
| 1 Philadelphia Marathon
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 4 Marathon number six, but my first in Philly and this goes down as probably the best organized of them all. Loved the location of the start and finish - near a lot of the downtown hotels and the expo was not difficult to get to at all. The crowds were great, although I would echo what others have said about a few dead zones in the 22-25 mile range - would have been great to have some more spectators there. Relatively flat course with just a few inclines makes this a fast race. I would definitely run this again. | |
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J. C. from Peoria, IL. USA
(12/2/2012)
"Worth the Trip - Ideal Weather and Great Course" (about: 2012)
11-50 previous marathons
| 1 Philadelphia Marathon
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 4 I'll start out by saying that this race was worth the travel. I was an out-of-state participant who was talked into running this race by one of my training partners who has been raving about it for a few years. On the plus side, the expo was well organized. It was fairly standard for a race this size and you could spend a little time or a lot of time there wandering the expo hall, whichever your preference. On race day, getting in and out of the race start/ finish area was a breeze by foot. Also, the bag drop at the start and pickup area at the finish was surprisingly fast for a race this size. The most impressive part of this race was definitely the course, itself. It was a fantastic tour of the city. You can get the full breadth and diversity of the city running through the downtown area, University City, near the river, and out to the near suburbs. Like with any race, there were a few negatives. The race corals were fairly spacious, but a bit disorganized. The large number of people in each coral resulted in a slow start to the race. In addition, there were a couple of 180 deg turns in the course that were throwing several runners off. I wasn't particularly bothered by the tight turns, but heard other runners around me complain during the race. The final main negative was several crowded fluid stations. This might be a one-time complaint because of the extra runners from NYC. A few minor adjustments by the race committee could take this race from good to great. | |
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W. C. from Rhode Island
(12/1/2012)
"Great marathn" (about: 2012)
1 previous marathon
| 1 Philadelphia Marathon
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 The 2012 was only my second marathon, and I'm so glad I picked this one. The volunteers were great, it was well organized, and the course is flat! The only suggestion I would have would be for the half to start a bit later than the full because it was too crowded until the half people split off. All I could think for the first half was that less people would be in my way once they finished. | |
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Ed Countryman from Dallas
(11/27/2012)
"Terrific city, terrific race" (about: 2012)
4-5 previous marathons
| 1 Philadelphia Marathon
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 3 I registered in 2011 but had a DNR, so I was looking forward to this year. Luck was against me and my right knee went out at mile 14,but I'd bought a finisher jacket and wanted to earn it, so I accepted the injury and walked most of the rest. Though I was way, way late (a good hour and ten minutes off my goal) the crowd support in Manayunk was still good and at the end it was terrific. Thanks, Philly. If my knee heals (possibly problematic-I'm 68 and know that time is not on my side), I'll be back. | |
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W. M. from Jackson, Wyoming
(11/24/2012)
"Great but for the announcer" (about: 2012)
11-50 previous marathons
| 3 Philadelphia Marathons
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 4 My 3rd & perhaps final. A native, I came back to run it one more time. Really enjoy all the memories it stirs up and is still one of my favorite courses of the 31 different I've run. The fans are great, but occasionally get a bit too impatient in the downtown area trying to cross in front of runners. The ONLY change I would suggest is to get a new announcer for the start. Waiting in one of the rear corrals, he was the most annoying, grating, person on the mic I've heard in all the races I've run, and a shameless shill for the mayor. | |
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T. C. from Ottawa, ON Canada
(11/24/2012)
"5 times & counting - e this race !" (about: 2012)
11-50 previous marathons
| 4-5 Philadelphia Marathons
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 Pros -great course -great spectators -great race shirt (& theme) -super friendly city -great weather for running marathon Cons -few 'dead zones' on course, would have helped to have music playing (e.g. stretch 22-26k) -my gun and chip time difference was 10mins, race results show 2mins, why does this race adjust the difference? there were 22000 runners we obviously all didn't start at the same time. :) | |
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Kanaka Rajan from New york, New york
(11/22/2012)
"It's always sunny in Philadelphia!" (about: 2012)
1 previous marathon
| 1 Philadelphia Marathon
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 4 Eye of the tiger plays at the famed Rocky steps, and that's only the start. Held on a cool Fall day, this is a well-organized race that is not as overwhelming as its NYC cousin. Fast course, although it is not as flat as people lead you to believe. Crowds are not always consistent, but Philadelphia has its own special brand of run-fans. Brownies (all kinds ;)), oranges, beer and gummy bears all made their appearance at some point along the course. As did giant burritos, believe it or not! I could run a fast strong marathon - 4:19 - not bad for my first, and eat real food along the way! | |
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S. M. from Berlin, NJ
(11/21/2012)
"Enjoyed the Marathon!" (about: 2012)
3 previous marathons
| 1 Philadelphia Marathon
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 5 The weather was perfect for a Marathon and I really enjoyed the scenic course. It wasn't what I would call flat but I enjoyed the unanticipated inclines. The crowd support was fantastic especially around Chestnut St, Manayunk and the Start/Finish Line. By far the biggest race I've done as far as runners and crowds go. Overall a great experience! |
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