May 8, 2024
Current Year Results
Results Search
Biggest/Best Boston Qualifier
2024 Results
2023 Results
2022 Results
2021 Results
2020 Results
2019 Results
2018 Results
2017 Results
2016 Results
2015 Results
2014 Results
2013 Results
2012 Results
2011 Results
2010 Results
2009 Results
2008 Results
2007 Results
2006 Results
2005 Results
2004 Results
2003 Results
2002 Results
2001 Results
2000 Results
☰
Austin Marathon Runner Comments
Back to Austin Marathon Information & Reviews
Course 4.0 
Organization 4.0 
Spectators 4.1
Number of comments: 421 [displaying comments 401 to 411]
|
A Runner from san Antonio, TX
(1/3/2002)
 "Fast and fun." (General Comments)
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 3 Of my 110 marathons this is one of my favorites, the fastest for my present age group (55-59) in 3:11. I like the course, which is never straight enough to be boring or winding enough to be a distraction. I ran first in 1990 when I moved to Texas and have missed only a couple of years, plus one when I ran a 2-person relay. Course was more fun with the finish at the bottom of Congress Ave. at Town Lake, but still a fun race. | |
|
Todd Whittemore from Singapore (but proud to be American)
(12/7/2001)
 "This race is fast!!" (General Comments)
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 3 So what if the expo stinks and the goodie bag is not that good. This race rocks!! I have run 10 marathons now and my best two times are in Austin. Three of my other marathons have been in Houston, which is also a fast course, so this is saying something. The course is fabulous. Downhill for the first 15 miles and then rolling the rest of the way. There is water every mile. The size is perfect. Small enough to get up to pace in the first 1/4 mile, but big enough to avoid running alone. Austin is a great city and fun after the race. I highly recommend this race. If you are after a good race time, want to see friendly people, and relax a bit, then Austin is perfect. | |
|
A Runner from freezing Iowa
(9/30/2001)
"5 star 26.2, they practically run it for you" (about: 2001)
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 3 I ran this race last year on a whim, got my plane ticket and flew to Austin. The people of this city are extremely nice, friendly, and helpful. We're talking like they know you as family here, a nice lady at the airport got me my room, shuttle, and hooked up a jamaican taxi driver for the weekend!. Lots of stuff to do here while your visiting with great foods and music (of course). Coming from snow to sunny Austin, the course is quite pleasant, fast with few hills and spectators that are very supportive. RW pace groups are GODS! ran with the 3:30 group and finished 3:30 on the dot. All in all, if you want a race that gives PR's, great medals, and sunny hospitality in February look to the south! | |
|
Clint Ogilvie from Dallas, Texas
(6/22/2001)
"Fast Course, Scenic and Fun" (about: 2001)
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 4 When I read some of the negative comments about the Austin Marathon I thought perhaps I ran a different race. I rate the Austin Motorola Marathon as the best in Texas and I've run in all the larger Texas marathons (as well as Chicago, Boston, New York, etc.) Austin is a great place to set a PR (I did) and to enjoy the sites of Austin. The only negatives were the inconsistent and crowded water stops and the sparse crowds from 19-26. The rest was great. The first half is downhill and fast. The second half is fairly flat. The finishers medals were the best I have gotten anywhere. The RW pacing teams were very helpful. I'm going back. | |
|
A Runner from Austin, TX
(5/20/2001)
 "Fun and fast course, but needs promoting" (about: 2001)
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 3 FANS: 2 I ran the Motorola in 2000 and 2001. The course is great... gradual downhill around the capitol, UT, and Town Lake. As others have mentioned however, the crowds are thin. It actually seemed like they had decreased by half from 2000 to 2001. Right after mile marker 25, when you need the most encouragement... you feel as if you're in a vacuum, or that you got off course somehow. It's not until the the final .2 and chute that you hear cheering again. Water stops and starting line were very well organized. The finish at Zilker park is perfect, since you can get right into Barton Springs pool and chill your tired muscles immediately. The expo and goodie bag aren't really worth much, but again, the course is fun. | |
|
A Runner from Dallas, Texas
(5/4/2001)
"A great finish to an outstanding race" (about: 2001)
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 3 Okay, so the expo and goodie bag weren't the best. I enter marathons to run the course, and I thought it was great fun. Weather nice and cool. The finish was outstanding with plenty of food and drink. Best crowd support was downtown; elsewhere pretty thin but always enthusiastic. Austin is very hard to get around in, though; the beloved town of my college days has long since outgrown its antiquated road system. Still, it's going to be my spring marathon of choice until something better comes along. Good job, guys. | |
|
A Runner from Madison, WI
(4/18/2001)
"Great course in a fun city" (General Comments)
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 4 I've run this race 3 times and it's been refined and improved each time. I set a PR this year on a flat, fast course. The expo is o.k., not great but I would disagree on the t-shirt. It's nice to get a finisher's shirt and they're usually an interesting graphic design; a lot better than Boston where if you want an even slightly interesting shirt you have to buy it since the official shirt is so plain. I don't enter a race for the 'freebies', I want a fast course with good support and hopefully have a little fun. Austin does that for me. | |
|
A Runner from Uvalde, TX
(3/29/2001)
 "Disappointing" (about: 2001)
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 1 FANS: 3 Pathetic Expo. The goodie bag was a joke! The pre-race dinner was good but was bheld way out on the south side of town. Getting the bus to the start was almost a problem. No one at the Expo knew much about when it would run or from where it would pick people up. In the end, the bus didn't even stop at the place indicated on their map, but around the block! I ran the first half of the relay. A good fast course, with pretty reasonable crowd support in the neighborhoods, but few people on 'the drag' or around the Capitol. No medals for relay finishers as noted by another poster. Much preferred Dallas White Rock. If it were not so convenient, I would think twice about attending again. Hope the organizers read these comments and make some changes. Thanks to the volunteers though. | |
|
Andy Katz from Boston (Winchester) MA
(3/10/2001)
"Great race, terrific weather. Overall, a fine day." (about: 2001)
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 3 FANS: 3 Travelled from Boston to run a Texas race, and this has got to be the best one. Friendly people, course both interesting and fast, some fan support. Good organization, but the fluid tables were (as usual) confusing (which is water, which sports drink?) and the expo/dinner were Texas-style distances from the start (recommend rental car for out-of-towners). The weather was terrific, offsetting an underwhelming expo, and the pace groups were a plus. | |
|
A Runner from Houston, TX
(3/10/2001)
 "Not Very Impressed..." (about: 2001)
COURSE: 3 ORGANIZATION: 3 FANS: 3 This was my 2nd marathon. I had run my first, the Houston marathon, the previous month. I came expecting great things from this marathon, given the hype. I wasn't very impressed. The reasons are the same pointed out by others below. But, I'll point out some small things that were not addressed by others... The crowd support was very lacking. It seemed like no one in Austin cared. Motorola definitely could have hyped it more, but as it was I got the impression they just wanted their name on it and didn't care how it turned out. The water stops seemed to be spaced erratically. In my opinion, they were not consistently at the same points per mile and there was no way to gauge how far you were away from one. The 'highly visible mile markers' touted in the race documentation were actually 'kind of visible'. They were small and I'd be right up on them before noticing. At the start of the race, it was interesting to run by the Capitol and the UT campus. The 2nd half of the race was through run-down areas with almost no crowd around. I definitely agree with the previous poster in that the last 5 miles (if not the last 8) definitely left something to be desired. One thing I liked about the Houston marathon, and it's probably not the norm, is that it starts and ends in the same place (indoors). I can't imagine how I would have felt if I'd gotten to the end of this one and it had been raining with no where for us to go. |
Quick Links
Marathon Search
Upcoming US Marathons
Upcoming International Marathons
Search Marathon Results
Latest Running News
Recent Newsletters
Race Director Tools
© 2000-2024, All Rights Reserved by MarathonGuide.com LLC
