May 17, 2024
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☰
Rocket City Marathon Runner Comments
Back to Rocket City Marathon Information & Reviews
Course 4.0 
Organization 4.7 
Spectators 3.5
Number of comments: 285 [displaying comments 261 to 271]
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A Runner from Georgia USA
(12/21/2002)
 "Wonderful people,blah course" (about: 2002)
COURSE: 2 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 3 This race is a great value, especially if you stay in the host hotel. The logistics are great--walk out of your room to the start and finish at the hotel. Volunteers and police are especially nice, and the track club has started an 'adopt a mile' program where companies & organizations send people out to cheer at designated areas. I just don't like the course. It is monotonous & doesn't seem to be especially flat to me--the Bailey's Cove stretch is only 5 miles but seems to go on forever. But if you like that sort of race and are a very fast masters runner, they duplicate awards, so someone quick & 40+ could get prize money in both masters and overall. | |
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A Runner from peoria, IL
(12/20/2002)
"well organized!" (about: 2002)
COURSE: 2 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 3 I ran this race in 2002. It is well organized; traffic control is excellent. Thee are lots of turns and few minor hills towards the end, but otherwise a fast course. The scenery is rather dull. But, this race attracts tons of 'midpack' type runners so this 4 hour runner had lots of company the whole way. That really helped! There wasn't much crowding; the back of the pack took 20 seconds to cross the start line (815 finishers). The food afterward was good (plenty for lunch) and the Space Museum was well worth seeing. One negative: most marathons have some sort of shorter even in conjuction with the marathon; this one does not. | |
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A Runner from Massachusetts
(12/20/2002)
 "Very Good Overall" (about: 2002)
COURSE: 2 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 2 The runners' comments for the races prior to 2002 give a fair appraisal of the event with an important omission. The monotonous suburban course has a great number of turns in the first seven miles and final five miles or so. Personally, I don't mind this in the beginning so much, but at the end it's torturous. No doubt this also slows down finishing times somewhat. In my mind the marathon cannot be in the top ten nationwide, as advertised. These criticisms aside, Rocket City, based on its flawless organization, perfect size, and competitive field, is a very good marathon overall. | |
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A Runner from Indiana
(12/16/2002)
 "AS GOOD AS THEY GET" (about: 2002)
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 4 If you want value for your marathon buck, go to the Rocket City Marathon. I have run 36 marathons in about 25 different cities and they don't get any better than this one. This was my third Rocket City and they just keep getting better. The race director, Malcolm Gillis, the HTC, the sponsors and the volunteers combine to put on a first class event. The city of Huntsville can really be proud of their marathon. This marathon does more for the runners than any marathon I have ever ran. This is one marathon you will want to put on your calender if you are a first timer or a veteran. | |
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A Runner from Runner from Alabama
(12/15/2002)
"Great small marathon" (General Comments)
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 3 Just ran the 2002 edition and what a great race. Well organized, great carbo supper and a good mix of rolling hills and straightaways on the course (fairly fast course). Few spectators, but very enthusiastic. If you are looking for a smaller, well run marathon, this is it. | |
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A Runner from Mobile, Alabama
(3/12/2002)
 "Good, but hilly for a lower elevation runner" (about: 1995)
COURSE: 3 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 4 This was my first marathon and having trained in Mobile, wasn't ready for the higher elevation. This may not seem high to some but is for anyone from the Very deep and low South. The organization was good but by the time I finished there was not hot water left at the hotel to take a shower and only a few people left at there finish line to help runners in. (Yes, I'm slow). I will say that the people of Huntsville were there. Even one family opening their home for runners to use the bathroom along the way. All in All I would say this was a good first marathon. | |
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A Runner from Muskegon, MI
(12/13/2001)
"Well organized and competitive small race" (about: 2001)
COURSE: 3 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 This is a small marathon that turns out a relatively high number of sub 2:50 finishers. The course is nothing to write home about in terms of scenery (mainly well kept residential areas) but who cares when you're trying to run fast. It is not flat as a pancake like Chicago and it has a large number of turns but the hills are small and I found I could negotiate nearly all the turns without breaking stride or slowing down. Overall it is a course where you can run a PR. The race is well organized and its nice not to fight a huge crowd at the start. My only complaint was there was no place to check a bag near the start area. If you can't stay at the host hotel and have no one to leave it with, that could be a problem. The spectators were great, very supportive. | |
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A Runner from Brentwood, TN
(12/12/2001)
"Very Efficiently Managed" (about: 2001)
COURSE: 3 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 3 I found everything very well organized -- from the check in to the finish. My only disappointment was that the post-race food/beverages were practically non-existent. I saw a little bread and some sweet rolls, but could not find anything to drink. This is, however, a pretty low cost marathon ($25 to pre-register), so maybe that's an area where they economize. The course was not very scenic, but was pretty flat. Most notably, there are two fairly long grades between 20-22 miles that threw me off my pace a little. You might want to build in a little time (1-2 minutes) for those, because it's nearly impossible (at least for me) to make up time from 22-26. Spectators were few, but it was raining, so I'm sure that kept some away. The names on the race numbers helped. It's a lift to have people cheer for you by name. The expo was pretty small scale, but definitely had some good merchandise at good prices. All in all, I would do this marathon again. The course is pretty fast, it does not cost much, and is a convenient location for those in the 'mid-south'. | |
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A Runner from mcminnville, tn
(12/11/2001)
"Super-flat and fast" (about: 2001)
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 3 FANS: 2 Great course if you're looking for a PR. Only 1 or 2 hills. And I say hills in jest because they are actually just 'rises'. Negative - Really need 'ChampionChip Timing' instead of the cards at the end. | |
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A Runner from Cleveland, OH
(12/10/2001)
"Great organization and volunteers. boring course." (about: 2001)
COURSE: 3 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 2 Positives: Well organized. Enthusiastic volunteers. Accurate, large mile markers. Negatives: Boring course that winds through neighborhoods for much of the first 7 miles with lots of turns, then runs on major roads past strip malls and finally back through neighborhoods and downtown. Crowd support is virtually non-existent. For some reason, instead of using chips, race has volunteers to meet you at the finish with cards that have to be filled out followed by waiting in line to get your finisher's medallion and hat. Pre-race dinner very tightly scheduled (5:00-6:30). You are literally turned out at that point so that they can re-arrange room for motivational speaker. |
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