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May 21, 2024

San Antonio Marathon-Marathon of the Americas Runner Comments

Back to San Antonio Marathon-Marathon of the Americas Information & Reviews

Course 3.3

Organization 3.5

Spectators 2.6

Number of comments: 122 [displaying comments 41 to 51]

More Comments: [ < 1 .. 3 4 5 6 7 .. 13 > ]

D. S. from San Antonio (11/13/2006) "Great for the first-time marathon runner." (about: 2006) 1 previous marathon \| 1 San Antonio Marathon-Marathon of the Americas COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 3 FANS: 2 Relatively flat course, and great tour of San Antonio Missions. There were some very lonely stretches of road. If it wasn't for the Team in Training Cheering sections...it would have been a very boring run! Where's the MUSIC, and the entertainment? San Antonio is a city who knows haw to party....this race could use an injection of Fiesta along the way!
P. J. from Austin (11/13/2006) "Good course, good small details" (about: 2006) 2 previous marathons \| 2 San Antonio Marathon-Marathon of the Americass COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 3 The mission-theme course is a winner: some historic downtown, the beautiful historic homes in the King William district, and then a journey to the Spanish missions and back. Water stops at every mile (drinks,oranges gels, and more)and good food and drink at the end. The rousing start to the fire of a cannon at the Alamo was a good touch and the finish at the Alamodome turned out surprisingly well. The new finisher's medallion is attractive. One improvement I would like to see is a mariachi band or two along the course to give the race even more of a sense of place. This is a good destination marathon and one I hope to run for as many years as I can.
R. E. from Flower Mound, TX (11/13/2006) "new course is a winner" (about: 2006) 11-50 previous marathons \| 4-5 San Antonio Marathon-Marathon of the Americass COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 4 The new course for 2006 was great - please try to keep this one going forward! The start at the Alamo and finish at the Alamo Dome was great - the course was great and seeing the old missions along the way was very nice. Great job!
l. r. from Texas (11/13/2006) "Much improved! Come try it." (about: 2006) 11-50 previous marathons \| 2 San Antonio Marathon-Marathon of the Americass COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 3 The new course is great! Now the race starts next to the Alamo and is started with a cannon's boom, fired by Alamo reenactors. It winds around downtown, then to the beautiful King William area, then to the historic Spanish missions, by the river, then back up to the Alamodome. No more running in circles. Runners get to tour some of the city's highlights. Plenty of water and Gatorade, not so many spectators, especially down by the river, which is tough to get to. This is still a very friendly smallish race. The post race feast is still offered, but now is inside the Alamodome. It was a little weird running inside the dome to finish, but I guess on a hotter day it would be welcome. Definitely worth a visit. SA is a great town. The race takes place right in the heart of downtown, so a runner could stay in a downtown hotel, hoof it to the start, run, walk back to the hotel, then go explore the Riverwalk. With the new course, this race ought to flourish.
S. K. from Houston (11/13/2006) "The New Course is Delightful" (about: 2006) 6-10 previous marathons \| 1 San Antonio Marathon-Marathon of the Americas COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 1 What has been San Antonio's weakest suit is now its strongest. The new course is an interesting mix of urban and country. It races through the downtown districts, through some interesting older neighborhoods and out into the National Park Services historic mission district. There aren't many big city marathons where you'll see babbling brooks and waterfalls, beautiful old Spanish missions and get to watch yourself finish on a giant television. This marathon had more, better staffed water/gatorade stations than any I've ever seen and some of them even had energy gel. They had a terrific number of highly visible volunteers including emergency medical types on the course on bicycles. The race is a bit short on some of the niceties like entertainment and the post race food might best be described as spartan. On the other hand, they have a great finisher's shirt and a very nice medal. The race's weakest suit are the spectators. I estimate that there were three volunteers for every spectator and if you eliminate the Team in Training people and the folks rooting for an individual racer, the number is more like 10 to 1. If the organizing committee could generate some enthusiasm in the community for this race, it could easily be one of the best in Texas. On the whole, this is very nice race and I will definitely be doing this one again.
D. P. from Houston, Tx (11/12/2006) "What a course!" (about: 2006) 4-5 previous marathons \| 1 San Antonio Marathon-Marathon of the Americas COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 3 We have all heard the horror stories of the nested loops, however 2006 saw a new course. The course was absolutely amazing, after having run Houston, Austin, and the Big D, this is BY FAR the most scenic beautiful course. Over all it is flat, with only a few significant hills that are far between. The organization was great, water stops every mile, however if you are big on spectators, they're aren't a lot, but ones there are very enthusiastic. If this marathon fixes some of the smaller issues it will be a major institution in Texas. The biggest problem is the lackluster finish. No announcer, some issues with the clock going out for a while, bigger mile marker signs, misinformation in the runners packet pertaining to items at the finish, and the walk from the start to finish line is about 1/2-3/4 of a mile, normally not that far, but its a long walk to do before or after a marathon. Overall, the imperfections were very minor, and with their new course, it was just an incredible beatious run, that lends itself to PRs (it at lest did for me).
H. C. from San Antonio,Texas (11/12/2006) "Half-Marathon Very Good, BUT..." (about: 2006) 1 previous marathon COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 4 I am an half-marathon runner. A FEW PROBLEMS TO IRON OUT: 1. Access to parking is poor and unclear due to the detours of the run. 2. Microphone system for the announcer in the AlamoDome was of poor quality. 3. Heavy congestion right after finish line. Need a bigger area there. 4. Visitors had a hard time gaining and recognizing access to the Dome. 5. The exit of the runners was a double-file line, up multi-stair columns. Very congested and time consuming. The exit routes and areas need a lot more consideration and flow for that many people. 6. The chip collection area was not marked at all. Very hard to tell where or how to return the chip. This area needs to be well marked from the finish and moved back to avoid incoming finish line congestion. GOOD POINTS: Great route, great police and traffic control, great water stations, OK foods at finish, AlamoDome concept (with improvements) will be excellent, scenic course, excellent website, and excellent marketing/expo. and pickup of packages.
Forrest Gump from Texas (9/14/2006) "Not as bad as advertised by these people" (about: 2005) 3 previous marathons \| 2 San Antonio Marathon-Marathon of the Americass COURSE: 3 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 3 The San Antonio Marathon is a must-run event. I really don't understand why people trash-talk it the way they do. Sure, the old course was quite confusing and lonely at times, but that doesn't mean the race itself is entirely horrible. It's a challenging race with the heat and low fan support... I personally like that challenge. I would recommend this marathon to any runner. The SA Marathon rocks!
R. R. from San Antonio, TX (8/29/2006) "Major Improvement!" (about: 2006) 6-10 previous marathons \| 3 San Antonio Marathon-Marathon of the Americass COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 2 I have run this race in the past, both on the double-loop course and the 2003 single-loop course. For 2006, a new course has been approved which more or less follows the mission trail. I've covered this course and other than a dip at mile 12 and the same dip on the return leg, this is a major upgrade to previous courses. I look forward to setting a PR in November and hope that they keep the course the same in the future. Great to get away from the seedier parts of downtown and see the historic King William district, Stinson Airfield and Museum, and the missions.
L. S. from USA (7/23/2006) "Not for the Sunday Runner" (about: 2005) 6-10 previous marathons \| 4-5 San Antonio Marathon-Marathon of the Americass COURSE: 3 ORGANIZATION: 3 FANS: 1 I have read all the negative comments from a lot of people who want flat courses and no hills. I guess they never ran Boston - and, for that matter, with those attitudes, they never will. Marathons are not intended to be easy. It may be hot, humid, and have $10.00 parking; however, isn't the design of a marathon intended to be a challenge? Everyone today wants something for nothing. Train the way you should and you will enjoy the race, even if it is running in a pasture. I just enjoy running no matter where. This is one of the easier courses I have ever run. If people want a flat course, maybe they should run on a track and have movies shown as they run for their entertainment. Try Cowtown before you say this course is hard. I didn't like the two loops, but other than that, put your shoes on and stop crying.

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