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Jun 2, 2024

Central Park Marathon Runner Comments

Back to Central Park Marathon Information & Reviews

Course 4.5

Organization 4.4

Spectators 3.4

Number of comments: 36 [displaying comments 21 to 31]

More Comments: [ < 1 2 3 4 > ]

Tom Smith from Baltimore (Charm City!) (2/26/2014) "Great low-key (for NYC) marathon" (about: 2014) 50+ previous marathons COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 Yes, it is 6 laps around Central Park, but that includes some of the greatest scenery in the world! Other people, carriages, cyclists, tourists from everywhere, melting snow. Well organized, no hype, friendly, BEST AID stations ever, esp. the 2nd one with lots of water and gatorade even for slow people like me. I ran the NYC marathon the last time it was in Central park - 1977? - and this was a great re-enactment. Not fast, but fair course. Congratulations!
E. H. from Brooklyn (2/26/2014) "Great small race" (about: 2014) 2 previous marathons \| 2 Central Park Marathons COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 4 Lots of fun! I've done the half a few times and it's always a blast. The full marathon would probably get boring with so much repetition but the half is great. I recommend the half highly. It's small. The course is bordered with tiny orange cones. There's no PA so I couldn't hear the start. But it was a great time and a fun course. Central Park is gorgeous.
T. C. from Brooklyn, NY (2/26/2014) "EXCELLENT February distance race option!!" (about: 2013) 3 previous marathons \| 1 Central Park Marathon COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 3 For starters, running and racing means many different things to many different people. Ask a hundred runners what inspires them, what motivates them, what continues to attract them to the sport, and you'll receive a hundred different answers. That said, race directors and producers are always faced with the challenge of pleasing thousands of subjective opinions by morphing into some fluid, undefined blob of crowd-pleasing event coordinators. Some people will always whine 'the course is too hilly', or 'it was too redundant'; meanwhile the gestalt shift can be made to define the course as 'a great challenge' or 'a route that won't hit you with surprises'. Newsflash for people who complain about a repetitious marathon course in Central Park: you're running USATF-certified 26 miles in an enclosed area with a 3 mile radius... what'd you expect? To NYC Runs credit, I think they have carved out an exemplary method and personality for themselves. They do things the way they do things, and that happens to be play to the satisfaction of the vast majority. Therefore what you end up with is a consistently well-managed race with high expectations that are routinely met. Anyway, my experience was: Pre-race: super easy and friendly bagcheck. Loud, clear directions and alerts for race starts. Despite there being quite a few bathrooms, a formidable line still formed. During race: The half marathon course was probably the best course you could've managed with Central Park. Clear mile markers, aid stations, and route guidance. Post-race: Fast bag pickup, great amenities and food, organized, uncongested, swag, immediate results, etc. Overall, this was a fantastic event that I would highly recommend to anyone looking for a February marathon/half. The race directors and volunteers were a delight, everyone was super helpful, and the overall environment had a great, friendly, communal, run-loving feel. MASSIVE thanks to NYC Runs and all the friendly volunteers! Also: it's CRAZY AFFORDABLE!
R. P. from CT (2/26/2014) "Excellent, but a little early." (about: 2014) 1 previous marathon \| 1 Central Park Marathon COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 2 Beautiful course, well organized, a great experience all around. My only suggestion: I would have preferred a later start time, mainly because it would have attracted bigger crowds. I have plenty of friends in the area who would have come out to support me in an afternoon race but were not up for the 8 am start time.
J. B. from Hoboken, NJ (2/26/2014) "Half Marathon Runner enjoyed race overall" (about: 2014) 2 previous marathons \| 1 Central Park Marathon COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 3 FANS: 2 I ran the Central Park Half Marathon which was the same day as the marathon. The half started 30 minutes prior to avoid congestion which worked out very well. I think the route for the half was much better than the full (I would not have wanted to run the same loop 6 times for the full). The medals they gave out were nice along with other finish area items (food, hot chocolate, fruit, bagels) but I couldn't find water or gatorade at the finish which I really needed after a race. It was difficult to find the start when entering the park. In the future there should be signage to help runners locate to avoid pre-race stress. During the race I found myself dodging a lot of non racers (strollers, cyclists, walkers, runners, etc.) This is difficult as the park is still open to the public but think it could have been managed better - there weren't volunteers around the course route to help (only handing out water at stations). Also, the water stations didn't seem appropriately spread out and cups weren't filled enough. Overall I did enjoy the race but would consider it a no frills race which is what I expect more with a 5k or 10k, not a half or full marathon.
Tyler Beebe from Brooklyn, NY (2/26/2014) "Great marathon in beautiful Central Park!" (about: 2014) 1 previous marathon \| 1 Central Park Marathon COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 3 This is a smaller more local race with about 1500 or so runners. It was my first ever marathon (and first ever race!) And I had a great time with it! The loops did get a bit tedious but Central Park is beautiful enough that I didn't really mind much. The race started on time and was well organized. The aid stations seemed to always be where I needed them, but towards the end a few did run out of Gatorade. The scarf, long sleeve tech shirt (not a hoodie this year?), and medal were all really awesome and I was impressed at how great they look. Minor complaint: when I finished at 4:34, all of the men's smalls and mediums were taken and I had to grab a Large. I'm a pretty slim guy so this was a little bit annoying, but nothing major. The post race food spread was a little lacking. The berries were.. Disappointing, and I don't know how people choke down a dry bagel with no cream cheese or butter. That's probably more so the typical race nutrition tenets going on though, so as a low carb athelete it is annoying but I understand I'm in the minority. I loved the announcers at the end saying my name and hometown as I crossed the finish line. Since this was my first race I don't know if that's a regular thing, but it was pretty cool hearing it. Overall, great race that I expect to grow in popularity over the years. I'll be back next year!
R. C. from Columbia, MD (2/26/2014) "Fun Race!" (about: 2014) 4-5 previous marathons \| 1 Central Park Marathon COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 1 Big thanks to everyone who were a part of this marathon, including the volunteers, photographers, and support. I've run Central Park often, and I was very happy to know they had eliminated Harlem Hill from the full marathon course. I knew what I was getting into beforehand, so the hills were not a problem for me. True, lap upon lap can be boring, but since I love the park so much, I thought the course was great. Some good points about doing laps: 1. You know exactly where the water stops are. 2. You know exactly what to expect from every hill, as you get to know them intimately. 3. If you have support on the sidelines, you can count on seeing them 5x. 4. You know where the photographers are, so you can smile (or avoid them). Here are the only suggestions I have for the next race: 1. Bananas at the finish line please! 2. Maybe put some cardboard under the bags if they're sitting on snowy grass. 3. If there's any way to involve more runners and increase the cap for the full marathon, that would be awesome. 4. Have a volunteer meeting for everyone involved with tips like: 'Always announce whether you're holding water or gatorade,' etc. Most of them were fantastic, but there were a few of them that added some confusion. 5. Move the timer forward in a prominent spot so the final time shows up in the finisher photos (I had requested this, and someone moved it up for me, thanks!) Other than that, thank you guys for a great race!
S. U. from NYC (2/26/2014) "Great Grass Roots running Event" (about: 2014) 11-50 previous marathons \| 1 Central Park Marathon COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 Other than a crowded course of racers and recreational runners, it was a great Half marathon course and post race experience. A heck of a lot more than and NYRR Half marathon. easy race pickup, great shirt and medal.
P. W. from West Nyack, NY (2/26/2014) "A nice NYC Half Marathon" (about: 2014) 1 previous marathon COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 4 I ran the half and enjoyed the event! Great volunteers, nice hilly course, and fantastic finisher swag. No complaints from me, weather was ideal, event well organized and the price was right. I'll be back next year.
M. F. from Tennessee (2/26/2014) "Great Race, lots of fun!" (about: 2014) 11-50 previous marathons \| 1 Central Park Marathon COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 4 This was my first time running the NYC Central Park marathon and didn't know what to expect. The course was beautiful, not to challenging, and the water/aid stations were perfectly placed. The organization for this race was great and everyone was very friendly. I had a great time doing this race and hope to run it again some day.

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