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May 5, 2024

One City Marathon Runner Comments

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Course 4.7

Organization 4.9

Spectators 4.4

Number of comments: 28 [displaying comments 11 to 21]

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J. W. from Va. (3/12/2019) "I loved it!" (about: 2019) 1 previous marathon \| 1 One City Marathon COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 It was my first marathon and I had a great time! I will be entering again.
Ivo Benov from North Carolina (3/12/2019) "Awesome marathon" (about: 2019) 11-50 previous marathons \| 1 One City Marathon COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 4 Flat, fast, and fun course. Outstanding communication and organization. Probably the best one out of the 10+ I have competed in.
C. H. from Newport News, Virginia (3/11/2019) "One City Marathon Race Review" (about: 2019) 3 previous marathons \| 2 One City Marathons COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 Newport News One City Marathon Race Review (2019) The EXPO was small but nice. It was held for 2 days, Friday 12-7 and Saturday 10-6. There were vendors selling various race items such as socks, bib belts, Gels, etc. There were other vendors offering presentations on nutrition, health insurance for the elderly/uninsured, free 15 min massage, live entertainment, games and much more. Once you entered the EXPO to pick up your race bib, you needed a picture ID and if you were picking up for someone else, you needed a copy of their picture ID. Also, while inside the EXPO, you could stop and present your ID to pick up your wrist band for your two complimentary beers. On the day of the race, you had to park downtown Newport News where the race ended. The city provided heated shuttle buses to bring all race participants back to Newport News Park where the race began. Each corral was marked with a mile per minute time, starting at 6 mins - 12 mins per mile. The race course was a fast pace course. Mostly flat with a few hills. The community truly came together and supported all runners. The high school band drum line played as runners passed. The community cheered runners from start to finish. There was plenty of water, Gatorade and GU Gel on the course. Some members of the community set up stations at the end of their driveway and offered bottled water, protein bars, Pepsi, bananas, orange slices, Reese Peanut Butter cups and more. Some of them motivated runners by joining in and running with them around mile 22. There was live entertainment at various locations along the course. The crowd support was AMAZING!!! The finish line was a beautiful thing to see. You could hear the DJ's music before getting to the last turn. Once you crossed the finish line, they offered fruit, bagels, bottled Gatorade, bottle water, a fitful zip up recovery jacket and four food trucks to choose from with your food ticket off your bib. In addition, they offered free body massages, OCM towels, free photo booth and OCM glass with celebrating 5 years logo. Since this course is USATF certified and a Boston Marathon Qualifier, I recommend it to anyone who needs to BQ or running their first marathon. The airport is located in the City of Newport News with hotels, shopping and Point 2 Running Company all in close distance to travel. Newport News One City Marathon celebrated their 5th year of this race being offered and inaugural Half Marathon. The weather was perfect for this race and overall, I would rate this marathon 10 out of 10. However, I overheard some complaining about the half marathon runner slowing them down, since we all ran the same course. Other than that, I give the City of Newport News two thumbs up.
T. M. from North Carolina (3/7/2019) "Flat, well organized" (about: 2019) 11-50 previous marathons \| 1 One City Marathon COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 4 Flat point to point course. If possible get dropped off near the start so you don't have to get up as early to take the shuttle. Weather was a perfect 40 degrees and overcast.
J. J. from WI (3/7/2019) "Fast course pretty flat great organization" (about: 2019) 50+ previous marathons \| 1 One City Marathon COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 3 I recommend this race to anyone! Great organization, fast flat course, fairly scenic, and wonderful volunteers. Water stops about every two miles, a 'Gu' station along the way, easy packet pick up, and shuttle from host hotels to loading area for buses to start line went smooth. Fortunately we had decent weather--dry after weeks of rain. Finish area had food trucks for finishers plus heated tents for massages. Definitely a race I'd come back to.
S. M. from ONTARIO (3/4/2019) "130th full marathon! Worth the drive from Canada" (about: 2019) 50+ previous marathons \| 1 One City Marathon COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 4 I never heard of Newport news, VA until Cyber Monday last fall and was looking forward to the drive. The city is pretty and everyone is very friendly. Met a nice couple at lunch who were retired from NASA. The expo was easy to get to with free parking and good vendors. Parking was free and close to the start. Course had a few long inclines with water and gatorade every 2 miles. Good volunteer support and scattered fans are very vocal. Loved the finish line swag and food trucks with free food to runners. Worth checking out. If you can do it - pair it with the Virginia Beach marathon a couple of weeks later.
M. G. from Deland, FL (3/19/2017) "Great Marathon!" (about: 2017) 6-10 previous marathons \| 1 One City Marathon COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 4 I don't normally leave reviews but just felt the people that put this marathon on truly deserved some kudos. The weather was exceptionally cold and their organization and execution of the race was absolutely TOP NOTCH despite the conditions. (For instance, they had heated tour buses at the start to keep runners warm before the race). The spectators still came out in force to support the runners and they were great. The volunteers at the water stops were excellent. The point to point course was well-thought out and pleasant. The finish was awesome. Would highly recommend this race to anyone looking for a well organized race.
D. G. from Scranton, PA (3/18/2017) "Great marathon" (about: 2017) 6-10 previous marathons \| 1 One City Marathon COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 We ran the race on 3/12/2017. It was cold and windy but the organizers did a great job keeping us warm before the race. The volunteers and the police were very helpful and encouraging. There are not many runners on the marathon course so there were times when I was alone. However the course was very well marked and there were volunteers spread all throughout the course so I felt safe the entire way and did not worry about going off course. It is a great marathon and definitely worth running.
D. C. from Rockville, MD (3/13/2017) "Well organized, fast course, amazing fan support" (about: 2017) 50+ previous marathons \| 1 One City Marathon COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 Six of us from the Montgomery County Road Runners Club of Maryland ran the One City Marathon on 3/12/2017. Several of us ran PRs. I PR, and got my first BQ time. In the morning, the shuttle bus picked us up at the host hotels and took us to the starting area. After the race, the shuttle took us from the finish area back to the hotels. The point-to-point course is very flat and fast. For an under 400 finisher marathon, there were lots of enthusiastic fan support at the waving stations. People offered us drinks on the course. I want to give special thanks to the guy with the table of Pepsi Cola. I love drinking a cola in the later part of a marathon. The finish area at Victory Park has a beautiful view of the water. All the volunteers were wonderfully supportive. I did not have a chance to try the free beer and food from the food truck. I will run it again next year.
T. L. from USA (3/12/2017) "Potentially a PR Race" (about: 2017) 11-50 previous marathons \| 1 One City Marathon COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 I have run 13 marathons in 10 different places, I feel this race course is quite good, with fairly flat, smooth surface (with only about less than one mile in park trail, kind of hard on feet), small number of turns, a variety of sceneries. Running track was blocked wide so there is plenty space to run on. I can see most people could sail through it fairly fast. The organization is great, a lot of very friendly police officers directing the traffic. Water stations were fully staffed. Also the course is a true showcase of the city of Newport News. I enjoyed learning every part of the city. The course runs through two beautiful natural parks, a variety of residential neighborhoods, the Marine museum and VA War museum, one university, many public schools, the beautiful shoreline along James River, a village-type shopping center, the ship-building dock, ended in downtown Newport News. The race support is outstanding. I feel this race is superior in many ways than the nearby Shamrock in VA Beach, that is about one week later. I am glad I decided to run this one in the last minute. I recommend the race.

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