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May 1, 2024

Duke City Marathon Runner Comments

Back to Duke City Marathon Information & Reviews

Course 3.5

Organization 3.3

Spectators 2.6

Number of comments: 66 [displaying comments 31 to 41]

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T. S. from Superior, WI (10/24/2007) "Marathon was not the main event." (about: 2007) 50+ previous marathons \| 1 Duke City Marathon COURSE: 3 ORGANIZATION: 3 FANS: 1 The course was out and back, started out scenic, but quickly became boring. There were many walkers on the last half of the course from the other events. That slowed things down a bit. I appreciated the many water stops, but some food towards the end would have been nice. The food at the finish line was a letdown too. Bagels and orange halves. The Doubletree Hotel was great, and location right at start/finish area was perfect. My 15th state and would recommend this race for 50 states.
Grannie Annie Singer from Suffern, New York (10/23/2007) "Green Chili Peppers Go..Red Chili Stop" (about: 2007) 50+ previous marathons \| 1 Duke City Marathon COURSE: 3 ORGANIZATION: 3 FANS: 1 Green Chili Peppers (Go) 1. Albuquerque Great Place to visit Food excellent, Southwestern Accent 2. Doubletree Host hotel - Excellent Start/Finish, Conventions Center Pasta Dinner, shuttle to airport All within walking distance. 3. Drinks on one table in plastic container with spout to refill water bottles..great idea but water stations should be open for time allowed for race. 4. Brown l/s shirt feels wonderful when worn. 5. Medal big and with all information 6. Duel paths..concrete and gravel 7. Time goes by quickly on this course although some thought it was boring, even, mostly flat parklike setting. 8. Next year 25th Anniversary Red Chili Peppers (Stop) 1. Race start did not have proper announcements..few 5K's came out with marathon runners. 2. No porta facilities..had to cross fields with high brush and come back to course. 3. Little 3 oz cups hard to manage in worst winds they have had since this race began 24 years ago. 4. Pasta dinner $7.00@ Pasta was good but only 1 choice creamed pasta and creamed salad.. Vegetables were good. Cookies would have been a treat. 5. 10+ of us went off course on our way back from turn around..man on bike came out to get us.Little orange flags not enough direction. 6. Finish before alloted time and asked women at finish if I won a medal. She said no about 6 came in before me in my age group. I thought that was strange as there were only 87 women in whole race. When I got home checked Duke website but 2007 results were not on yet so I turned to old faithful marathonguide.com and results showed I was first in 60-64 female age group. Tried two e-mails to Duke site..both came back..so I called Duke -hot line number and yes the gentlemen said my medal will be sent to my home. #42 of my 50 state quest..I have good feelings of this race..needs more attention to actual race day events.
J. S. from NM, USA (10/22/2007) "bq'ed but wish i'd died..." (about: 2007) 4-5 previous marathons \| 2 Duke City Marathons COURSE: 3 ORGANIZATION: 2 FANS: 4 The race was nicely equipped with stations every mile, however, Gatorade was not an option by mile 20 (and I finished in the top 50!) Unfortunately, there was no food during the whole race, even though the halfway point had advertised this. The temps were great, with the exception of the gale force winds that slowed many runners to a crawl with beautiful, but monotonous scenery along the bike path (you gotta love the gravel shoulder as a soft running surface). The course seems relatively flat, yet you will cross 3 hills twice making miles 13-16 a bit slower pace. Yes, I would recommend this marathon for the small, but enthusiastic crowds of spectators and low key feel. But please, Whole Foods, what about more bagel variety at the end and orange quarters instead of halves?
G. B. from Flagstaff, AZ (10/22/2007) "Beautful Course - Poor Oganization" (about: 2007) 2 previous marathons \| 1 Duke City Marathon COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 2 FANS: 2 I have a few complaints about the organization of the race that I feel I must share. But, as I will mention later, the race course is quite wonderful. When I signed up for the race, I paid the extra $10 to have the packet mailed to me, since I live out of town. Unfortunately, the packet did not include my timing chip but instead a note telling me that I must pick it up 10 minutes before the start of the race. Don't know about you but dealing with a timing chip ten minutes before the start is about the last thing I want to be thinking about. My wife and daughter signed up later for the half marathon. They picked up there packets from the festival the day before the race. They arrived there about 1.5 hours before it ended and found that most vendors had already left. Plus, they were forced to go through many lines to get all there materials. And, the organizers had run out of shirts. So, they did not receive them. Out on the course, there were water stations every mile with water and Gatorade. The cups were very small, maybe 2oz cups and they were mostly filled only halfway. This was an out and back so you passed the same water stations on the way back. Some were out of Gatorade when I hit them upon return and I finished ahead of more than half of the runners that did finish. So, conditions may have been worse for later finishers. On the course, the information packet said there were to be bathrooms at the half marathon turn-around and the marathon turn-around. I never spotted them. The only bathrooms I saw were at the two relay points. And they were well off the trail in the parking lots where the relay runners left their vehicles. More distance then someone who was running the marathon would want to add to their run to use. At the finish line, the information packet said there would be a bag of goodies from a grocery store. I never saw that and again I finished ahead of more than half that finished. There was water, Gatorade, bagels, bananas and oranges at the finish line. We stayed at the Doubletree, which is located less than a block from the start-finish. That is very convenient. They were sponsors of the event so I was quite surprised that they would not give us a late check out. They wouldn't even give us an extra hour after check out. Yikes! But, the race is redeemable because of the course. You run through downtown Albuquerque on Rt 66. Then you run most of the route in the woods, bosque, next to the Rio Grande. That's quite beautiful. You then head on another paved trail going east towards the mountains before turning around and coming back. Out you are running upstream and back you are going downstream, which is a nice way of doing it. I would consider running the race again for the course but I just hope the organizers get a bit more interested in this race. If they did, I think it has the potential to become a regionally major marathon.
D. M. from Phoenix, AZ (10/22/2007) "Good 50 State Option, But Some Drawbacks" (about: 2007) 11-50 previous marathons \| 1 Duke City Marathon COURSE: 3 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 2 This is a nice race to 'check off NM' if you're going for 50 states. However, it's not the type of course that will draw me back. There were lots of pluses: the expo was OK for the race size (bigger than other races like this), the long-sleeved shirt is great, the 7:00am start was perfect, the pre-race area in the convention center (with REAL restrooms!) shielded us from chilly temps and wind, the finisher's medal is substantial and well made, and I have no complaints about the organization...everything went like clockwork. I loved the fact that age group award winners could just pick up their medals at the table (versus waiting around for some kind of ceremony)! The cons: the host race hotel (Doubletree) that advertised late checkout for runners said that wasn't available on the Sunday of the race (!) and that I needed to be out by noon. She said I could check back in the morning and see if there was any flexibility, but she seemed not to be grasping the fact that I would be RUNNING in the morning (and wouldn't be around to 'check back'). It was tight, but I made it. How can the race hotel be so inflexible, and I based my travel on my request for late checkout (which was noted at the time of registration). However, it was very convenient to the race start & finish. The race course itself is...well...boring. It starts downtown (which is great), but once you reach about mile 2 expect the same scenery for the rest of the race until the end. It is a nice, paved bike path, but the views were just 'so-so' and the sun and wind were brutal in places. My main complaint is the 1/2 marathon walkers. PLEASE instruct them that this isn't a leisurely stroll where they can walk 5-wide and totally block the path for runners! The last 6 miles of the race, you had to constantly be dodging around the 1/2 marathon walkers. Not good at all on very tired legs! Maybe they should start the half 1 hour earlier, to allow them to get off the course before the marathoners reach that area? Bottom line, I'm glad I ran Duke City and would recommend it for anyone going for the 50 states. But I have no desire to go back.
b. t. from Galveston, TX (2/8/2007) "Flat, but not necessarily fast" (about: 2006) 4-5 previous marathons \| 1 Duke City Marathon COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 3 The thinner air was definitely a factor for me, coming from sea level, but having water stations every mile helped with that. There seemed to be plenty of room on the bike path, and it was great to see balloons launching ahead of us in the early miles.
R. B. from Albuquerque, NM (11/21/2006) "Well organized for a race this size." (about: 2006) 4-5 previous marathons \| 1 Duke City Marathon COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 3 My only complaint for this marathon was the use of PowerAde for the energy drink. Gatorade works better for me. I'm grateful for the aid stations every mile, the Fiesta de Albuquerque Marathon in April only had 12 total and this was not enough. Scenery was good with fall colors and we had good weather. Thanks for the chance to improve my fitness level here at altitude. Best T-shirt I've ever received from a marathon!
H. H. from Carlsbad NM (11/16/2006) "Nice race" (about: 2006) 6-10 previous marathons \| 1 Duke City Marathon COURSE: 3 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 3 Course was easy; the scenery was average to below average; it was well organized; and they water and Gatorade every mile. Good size (200+) so that there was not a mass start but I was never out of sight of another runner. Need to improve crowd control at relay exchange zones - people could get knocked down. Overall, fine.
H. H. from Carlsbad NM (11/10/2006) "fun race" (about: 2006) 6-10 previous marathons \| 1 Duke City Marathon COURSE: 3 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 3 Aid stations every mile - I like that. They stayed out on the course for slow finishers
C. M. from Hartland, MI (11/4/2006) "Mostly good" (about: 2006) 11-50 previous marathons \| 1 Duke City Marathon COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 3 FANS: 3 I came here to visit family and run the marathon, and left with a mostly good feeling about the event (see concerns below). Being from Michigan, I was worried about running at some 5,000 feet, but the flatness of the course seemed to help equalize the effect, and I ended up running my third best time ever (I also was extra careful about my pace and hydration). Overall, the weather was perfect - low 40's, no wind - but the course at the halfway mark turns you directly into the rising sun (not so nice). Still, overall, running in the Rio Grande bosque was quite peaceful and serene, although different from advertised. While the website elevation showed a gradual uphill/downhill course with one steep hill at the midway point, the truth had more subtle elevation changes throughout that included a sneaky, slight uphill finish. Still, a fair test, especially with the altitude factor in play for someone like me. As for spectators, there weren't very many during most of the race, but those at the aid stations and relay points were supportive (while a small marathon contingent, there are many more who participate in the half-marathon, relay and 5K). After the race, the food/beverage, free massage, music/awards ceremony were all good, as was the beautiful downtown plaza it was located in. But I did have some problems too. The pre-race organization needs to improve. I had trouble entering online, and even after I was told it was cleared up, it still wasn't in the system when I showed up to pick up my number (and it was clear several others had similar problems). Additionally, they had problems spelling my name correctly. However, with each of these gaffes, someone was quick to make the changes. Still, it was stuff that shouldn't have been a problem in the first place. That said, Albuquerque is a beautiful place - we went to Sandia Peak and Santa Fe in the days following - and the race was for a good charity. So, if you like smaller marathons and you don't mind rolling the dice of learning how you might do at high-altitude (if you don't already live there), I would recommend it.

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