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Apr 30, 2024

Hartford Marathon Runner Comments

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Course 4.1

Organization 4.3

Spectators 3.9

Number of comments: 306 [displaying comments 31 to 41]

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M. A. from Niskayuna, NY (10/20/2014) "Enjoyable but wet!" (about: 2014) 6-10 previous marathons \| 1 Hartford Marathon COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 4 A solid urban marathon with a variety of streetscapes to occupy your mind over 26.2 miles. Downtown, followed by bucolic park setting, followed by industrial, and then a long stretch of suburban setting before returning to downtown. Race organizers and volunteers are to be given great props for their strong and energetic efforts despite the rain and rain (and more rain!). As an out of towner arriving for a Saturday morning race, I very much liked the ability to get my bib and race shirt mailed in advance rather than having to go to the Expo. My only critique is that the post-race food needs to be in a more obvious location since it blended into the dozens of other vendors in Bushnell Park, and made it hard to find, particularly being semi-delirious after 4+ hours running. But all in all, a great way to snag Connecticut if you are trying to complete races in multiple states.
R. K. from Canada (10/15/2014) "Rave Reviews" (about: 2014) 11-50 previous marathons \| 1 Hartford Marathon COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 4 Thank you to race director, the wonderful volunteers and sponsors and the City of Hartford for a Wonderful Marathon I came from Canada and it was well worth the drive: * beautiful medal - I think the nicest from the 48 marathons I've done * great post race food, soup and grilled cheese, beer- excellent! * beautiful course and beautiful city, great people braving the elements I highly recommend the Hartford Marathon
s. b. from US (10/14/2014) "Great marathon" (about: 2014) 11-50 previous marathons COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 3 Really enjoyed this marathon. Perfect number of runners - never crowded but you never feel alone. Was great to walk up to a port-a-john before the race and not have to wait. Pretty course. Great shirt and post-race activity.
D. G. from Cranston, RI (10/14/2014) "GREAT, WELL ORGANIZED MARATHON" (about: 2014) 11-50 previous marathons \| 1 Hartford Marathon COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 3 I ran the half marathon several years ago and have been a spectator twice in recent years. This year I ran the full. Without exception this race is first class from start to finish! Beth Shluger and her race staff and volunteers put on a great event. The only thing missing from this year's race was a large number of spectators. This was undoubtedly due to the chilly rainy day. Many more people come out and support this race when the weather cooperates. If you're looking for a beautiful Fall marathon in New England you will not go wrong in Hartford!
A. T. from Chicago (10/12/2014) "LOVED this race!" (about: 2014) 11-50 previous marathons \| 1 Hartford Marathon COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 3 Loved everything about it (even though it rained!) hotel in walking distance (Radisson); great pre- and post-race (lots of vendors, people, etc.); course (only a little city, along the river through a park, out into the 'country' with houses with big yards, streams, trees, pumpkin fields, farms; LOTS of aid stations; plenty of food for slow runners and even gluten-free PBJ sandwiches and hard cider!
J. S. from Connecticut (10/12/2014) "Cheap shirts - Disappointing" (about: 2014) 11-50 previous marathons \| 4-5 Hartford Marathons COURSE: 2 ORGANIZATION: 3 FANS: 2 Put on the race shirt today and was disappointed to find stitching already coming loose. Cheap piece of cloth that probably won't even stand up to a wash.
G. B. from Connecticut (10/12/2014) "Fun beautiful fall run" (about: 2014) 4-5 previous marathons \| 4-5 Hartford Marathons COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 This was the fourth time I've run this marathon and while I've enjoyed the three previous ones, I really appreciated this one. I'm a back of the pack runner, typically right around a 5-hour finish. Yesterday it rained, hard, for most of the race. The volunteers can not be commended enough. They were still enthusiastically handing out water, GU, cheering right the very end, even though they were obviously very cold and very wet. More typically the crowds are excellent, lining the streets along the course and cheering everyone on. On course entertainment is fun and plentiful. The scenery is very pretty in New England at this time of year. Really a great race.
E. C. from East Lyme, Connecticut (3/11/2014) "Great first-time marathon" (about: 2013) 1 previous marathon \| 1 Hartford Marathon COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 5 I ran this as my first marathon in 2013 and generally thought it was a great experience. Spectator support is fantastic the entire way, even in the suburban section, aid stations are plentiful, and it's a good sizebig enough to get the excitement and communal feeling without becoming insane. I enjoyed the course for the most part. The parts along the river are especially nice, and the more suburban/rural stretch is actually very pretty. There were a couple points where they had us running on closed off highways, which was a bit strange, but those stretches didn't last overly long. It's relatively flat (for New England anyway), and overall, I think it's a good first marathon. I had only one gripe about the experience, and that had to do with shirt distribution. You would think that for the $90 registration fee, and given the fact that they ask for your shirt size during registration, they could put a properly sized race shirt in a the race packet for those that register far enough in advance (which I did). I didn't pay the extra $15 to have my packet mailed to me because I live locally. When I went to the expo the day before the race to pick up my packet, shirts were being distributed in a very disorganized manner. It seemed to be first-come, first-served for sizes, so naturally they were out of the women's XS I had requested and I ended up with a men's small. Not a huge deal, but I feel like preregistering should prevent that. Oh well. I guess the moral of the story is, if you're particular about your shirt size, pay the extra $15 to have your race packet mailed to you. Otherwise, very well run overall. I'd highly recommend it.
D. B. from USA (1/16/2014) "awesome race-I loved it!!!!" (about: 2013) 6-10 previous marathons \| 1 Hartford Marathon COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 4 Organized well, great music and support on the course, post race food amazing!
James Lehman from Coppell, TX (11/16/2013) "Fantastic experience" (about: 2013) 11-50 previous marathons \| 1 Hartford Marathon COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 3 First-class race experience. Flew in from Dallas to volunteer at Hartford expo on Friday, run Hartford on Saturday then run on Sunday in Newport, RI. Made for a great weekend in golden New England. Well organized, adequately staffed with excited course volunteers who care. Made friends at the expo working with other friendly volunteers who live in the area. Volunteers in Hartford are on average more caring and professional than other marathon events around the country. The pretty, colorful medal is above average, the technical race shirt okay, the black long-sleeve volunteer shirt outstanding. Other: 1. Airport not far from the city. 2. Good parking arrangements in the garages around Hartford. 3. Good race guide to keep runners in the know. 4. Packet can be mailed to participants who know they will travel in late after the expo.

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