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☰
Hartford Marathon Runner Comments
Back to Hartford Marathon Information & Reviews
Course 4.1 
Organization 4.3 
Spectators 3.9
Number of comments: 306 [displaying comments 281 to 291]
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A. A. from New York, NY
(10/13/2003)
 "A friendly, first-rate marathon" (about: 2003)
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 5 I would definitely run this marathon again. The course is flat to gently rolling for the first 18 or so miles. The hills come in the final 6-8 miles, but they're not killers by any stretch of the imagination (IF you've conserved your energy). And every climb is followed by an equal and opposite descent. The spectators were warm and enthusiastic. I also had many conversations and exchanged many words of encouragement and support with the other runners. All in all, a very friendly and mellow marathon. My only quibbles: there should have been more signs directing runners to the marathon expo. And the water/sports drink stops - while they were frequent and manned by enthusiastic volunteers - could have been a little better stocked (it WAS a pretty warm day). But all in all, I would highly recommend this marathon. | |
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L. G. from Arlington, VT
(10/12/2003)
 "Hilly finish" (about: 2003)
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 3 I entered this race for 2 reasons: pace groups and a flat course. The last 6 miles were hillier than I expected and really took their toll. I couldn't find the 4:00 pace group leader at the start, and in fact he passed me at the 21st mile. The volunteers were great, but the course maps are impossible to read with a magnifying glass. Lots of water, and a well-marked scenic course. | |
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Kevin Donoghue from New York, NY
(10/12/2003)
"Way to Go Hartford!" (about: 2003)
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 4 The 2003 race had a great weather day and the organizers did an awesome job. The course is mostly flat for the first 20 miles (a few bridge hills), but from mile 20 to 25, look out: Hills. It seemed every time you thought you were done with the hills, another one popped up. This was my 10th marathon, and I thought it was one of the toughest. I have run the NY Marathon, which is said to be very tough (a number of bridge hills), but I think Hartford is equally challenging or tougher, because you get hit with all the hills in the last part of the course, versus spread throughout. But who said marathons are supposed to be easy? Hartford should be proud of their marathon and the course it's run on. I highly recommend this race. | |
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B. L. from Orange Co., NY
(4/18/2003)
"Much hillier than expected...." (about: 2002)
COURSE: 3 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 4 This was my 4th marathon and I DNF'd for the first time. The rain was relentless and cold and I developed back pain. Aside from it just not being my day, the race seemed pretty well organized and the course was fairly scenic, but the gradual upgrade hills seemed to have no end. I was very impressed with the crowd support and volunteers despite miserable conditions. At the park near the finish, it was reminiscent of Woodstock--foot deep mud everywhere. The tent where I checked my bag flooded and all the dry clothes I packed were soaked--partly my own fault for not putting them in plastic. I'm sure the race is great other years... | |
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Denise Bailey from Montpelier, VT
(1/22/2003)
"A First-timer Checks In" (about: 2002)
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 4 I ran my first marathon in Hartford this past fall, and I had a blast! Yes, it rained the whole time; yes there were huge puddles in places, but the organization was fantastic. The volunteers at the water stations were friendly and efficient, and the GU table in the last eight miles was awesome - still well stocked when this 4:05 runner came upon it. The 'rolling hills' at the end? I did feel them, but they were not that bad for this central Vermonter. The food at the finish was plentiful and tasty (lots of vegetarian chili, baked potatoes, bagels, GU, bananas). Thank you, Hartford, for a wonderful time. I am hooked on marathoning. | |
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A Runner from New York, NY
(12/12/2002)
"Nice, but nothing special" (about: 2002)
COURSE: 3 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 2 I'm giving the fans a 2, but I can only speak for 2002, when it was raining all day. While it's nice that the spectators who showed up were there, they were farily quiet. I've done shorter races in NYC in equivalent weather that get more enthusiastic spectators, so this was a little disappointing. The course went through a lot of rural areas, and a small part of the city itself, with a little highway running thrown in. Most of it was unexciting, and I imagine the sparse populations would lead to low spectators even in better weather (just a guess). The organization was great, though. The expo was quick. There was same day sign-up for procrastinators. Lots of water, and tasteless Gu2O (not as good as Gatorade, but this stuff is always so watered down at races that it doesn't really matter). I also liked the paceleaders. They all looked like they were doing a good job, and the 3:30 leader was friendly and never more than a few seconds off per mile during the time I ran with him. | |
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A Runner from New Orleans, LA
(12/11/2002)
"Too Hilly for Flat-landers!" (about: 2002)
COURSE: 2 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 3 I agree about the rain - nothing could be done about it, so we just had to deal. If you aren't used to running on hills, the last six miles are miserable. Don't let them fool you with their 'moderate' or 'rolling' hills course description. This is not a fast course, but it would be very pretty if the sun comes out. | |
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A Runner from Syracuse, New York
(10/22/2002)
 "The best organized race I've ever run." (about: 2002)
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 The only bad part of this race was the weather, which was AWFUL! It rained, including torrential downpours at times, the entire 26.2 miles. This had an obvious impact on the number of fans that turned out, but can you blame them? | |
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A Runner from Durham, NC
(10/16/2002)
"Awesome!!!!" (about: 2002)
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 4 It rained the entire time this year (2002) but the many, many volunteers kept the course so much fun. It's an excellent course - not flat but still fast. 5-star organization all the way. | |
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A Runner from New England
(10/16/2002)
"Well Organized Race" (about: 2002)
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 4 With most races you can say that was a great race but... With the Hartford Marathon I can't think of anything that was done wrong or could be improved upon. The pasta dinner the night before was well done, the start was perfect (19 seconds difference between gun and chip time and I don't start near the front). Even in the rain, there were a lot of die hard spectators who really gave me a boost. |
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