May 2, 2024
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New Mexico Marathon Runner Comments
Back to New Mexico Marathon Information & Reviews
Course 3.9 
Organization 3.7 
Spectators 2.2
Number of comments: 96 [displaying comments 31 to 41]
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K. H. from Baltimore, MD
(9/9/2007)
 "A good marathon experience" (about: 2007)
11-50 previous marathons
| 1 New Mexico Marathon
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 Run this marathon as a refreshing departure from the New York and Disney type of marathons. So, with that said, runners should not expect the same treatment that that they would get at the bigger races. If a buffet of food after a race is important to you, then pack a lunch. If huge crowds are important, then bring your family and friends. If purchasing the newest running fashion at an expo is what you expect, then buy your gear before you arrive. What you can expect is a well-managed race where you can speak directly to race directors that pay attention to every runner. The course starts out in the dark at 5:30 a.m., which you can only appreciate once the sun rises as well as the temperatures. The course is mostly on open roads that are adequately marshaled by encouraging officers. Running down the hill overlooking the valley past mile 8 with the rising sun at your back created long shadows in front of you to dance with for several miles. The aid stations had plenty of water and Gatorade with spirited volunteers. The trail part of the route was a nice diversion from the open road, but the local Armstrong wannabes were not impressed and seemed bothered to have to share the trail with a sanctioned footrace. Old Town was a great place to finish the race and the park offered a shady place to sit under a tree to listen to the awards ceremony. The Best Western Hotel offers a free shuttle to and from the airport, which is a great service and eliminates the need for a rental car (since the packet pick up, marathon shuttle bus and finish line are all within two blocks). The pasta feed at the hotel was more than I will pay for pasta, so I went elsewhere and there are plenty of other local restaurants close by at a fraction of the cost for pasta. The atmosphere is informal, competitive yet friendly, and a hard race to walk away from without a good memory and a couple of new marathon friends. I chose to run the New Mexico Marathon to check off the state from my list, but I would recommend the marathon for anyone who can fit this one into his or her schedule. | |
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A. S. from Midland, Texas
(9/9/2007)
 "Thank you." (about: 2007)
1 previous marathon
| 1 New Mexico Marathon
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 5 This was my first marathon. The elevation and starting on the incline killed me. The race supporters were great. I really enjoyed the run down tramway, but for me the bike path was brutal. I was on schedule through 14 miles and fell off badly the rest of the way. I thought it was well organized and everyone was great and happily the race provided a smooth introduction to trying a marathon. The race hotel seemed like a long walk from the finish line, but since I didn't walk it I wouldn't know. The pasta meal at the hotel was expensive, in my opinion. I mistakenly thought it was some kind of a special deal for the marathoners. Anyway, I enjoyed the trip and the run and while I was disappointed to not make my race goal (time-wise), I'm proud to have this race be my first. Thank you for the support. | |
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Kyle Gabrielson from Derby, ks
(9/9/2007)
 "I'm the 11-year-old who ran it" (about: 2007)
2 previous marathons
| 1 New Mexico Marathon
COURSE: 3 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 2 The course split at some points and there were no signs telling you where to go. | |
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T. F. from Middle America
(9/7/2007)
 "Great people who try hard to get it right" (about: 2007)
11-50 previous marathons
| 1 New Mexico Marathon
COURSE: 3 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 2 Great people who try hard to get it right. Beautiful scenery and a potentially fast course. Being a back-of-the-packer caused me some grief. The mile markers were gone from 20 through 23 and it played havoc with my mind not knowing if I would make the six-hour cut-off or not. Some painted numbers on the ground would've been great. There was neither ice nor Gu offered and the food was pretty much gone by the time we got in. There might have been some spectators for the faster runners but we saw very few. I think an early start would've been great. I do hope to come back and give it another try. | |
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Jeff Haight from Avon, IN
(9/7/2007)
"Hope I can come back next year" (about: 2007)
6-10 previous marathons
| 1 New Mexico Marathon
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 3 I've only run seven other marathons and this was by far my favorite. The initial uphill section was such a gentle incline that I could hardly tell I was going up and running in the dark seemed to make those first few miles pass very quickly. The downhill section was awesome. I got a pretty good gravity assist and the view of the valley was excellent. I don't know how anyone could have missed seeing all the hot air balloons. There must have been a couple dozen of them. I didn't much care for the four miles on the bike path mostly because there was no shade and I didn't see the mile markers for miles 19, 20, and 21. Bigger cups at aid stations would have been nice, but the volunteers all seemed to be very helpful and friendly. The few fans that came out were very supportive. There was a bit of a wait at packet pickup, but that just gave me time to chat with other runners in line. The pasta buffet at the Best Western was a little pricey at $19. That price included the gratuity. I don't understand why they did that since it was a completely self-serve buffet. | |
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D. S. from FLORIDA
(9/6/2007)
"AID STATIONS NEED IMPROVEMENT." (about: 2007)
50+ previous marathons
| 2 New Mexico Marathons
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 3 FANS: 2 The number of aid stations was more than adequate at about every 2 miles. They use Gatorade, which most runners are familiar with, and the mixture seemed right. It wasn't over diluted like at some race. Every aid station had tiny cups. It was a warm day and running in New Mexico on Labor Day weekend is usually going to be warm. Even if you drink two of those kiddie cups at each station you are not going to stay adequately hydrated and I felt dehydrated later in the race. They need to use bigger cups so runners can stay adequately hydrated. The aid station could also be better spaced the last few miles. There was an aid station at mile 23, then two aid stations after mile 25. I would get rid of that aid station at 25.5 and put another at mile 24 instead. The website could have a more detailed course map. I ran this course back in 2001 and I don't remember the trail section being so long back them. I believe the course was different when I ran it previously, with less of it on the trail, which is the least interesting part of the course. When I ran the course back in 2001, it was held a week later in September when the weather was cooler, and I remember seeing lots of hot air balloons. I didn't see a single hot air balloon at this year's race. I did not have to deal with a long line at packet pickup. I got there around 2 p.m. and packet pickup was fast and efficient. One of the things that I liked about registration was that if you registered late, it cost less than early registration because you do not get a shirt included in your fee - and I have more than enough T-shirts. If you want to buy one, you can, but I ended up buying a race hat for $10 so I got a hat and probably still paid less then the people who registered early. I did not go to the pasta buffet and usually do not go to them unless they are included in the entry fee. When I did the race back in 2001, the pasta party was included in the entry fee. Like most races, these pasta parties are overpriced. Albuquerque has a Cici's buffet where you can load up on all-you-can-eat salas, pasta, pizza and desert for $4.99. There are plenty of other buffet alternatives in town from Casino buffet to a Mexican buffet. Food at the finish line was nonexistent when I finished the marathon at 4:06. No Gatorade, oranges almost gone, and a few cut-up bananas - but they had plenty of bite-size cookies. This marathon has big potential but they think small with their kiddie cups at the aid stations and bite-size cookies at the finish line. | |
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M. W. from USA
(9/6/2007)
"Disregard any negative comments" (about: 2007)
11-50 previous marathons
| 1 New Mexico Marathon
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 4 1. My flight was a disaster and the race organizers saw to it that my packet was waiting for me at my hotel. I got my chip within 15 minutes of getting off the bus. Thanks, Ron and Pam. 2. The race director returned every phone call and everyone associated with the race made sure you had a good time. The 5:30 start was smart. Having the hills only at the beginning was also smart. 3. There is no way to make getting 26.2 miles across New Mexico fun unless you are in an air-conditioned vehicle eating steak and drinking beer. This marathon is a second to that. 4. As unrealistic as it is to have drinks every mile at a small marathon, for those of us from the Northeast, your heat was EXTREME. What you had was adequate, but more would just be better, albeit probably not possible with a marathon of this size. This was marathon 23 and there was NOTHING wrong with it. Thanks! | |
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C. W. from Washington
(9/5/2007)
 "Great Course; Lousy Organization" (about: 2007)
6-10 previous marathons
| 1 New Mexico Marathon
COURSE: 3 ORGANIZATION: 1 FANS: 1 One hour 15 min. for package pickup. After you pick-up your packet with no frills; you stand in another line to get your chip. On the bright side, at least you know your chip will work. The people of Albuquerque are great and friendly; however, there is absolutely no knowledge in town that a marathon is scheduled, so they don't know to come out and cheer you on. Site advertises 2 host hotels, and bus pick up at both. However buses only came to one hotel. Promoted pasta dinner but it was not included in the price of registration. In fact it was $20 each, which was twice the going rate of dinner anywhere else in town. No salty snacks or fruit at any of the aid stations, although the host site said there would be. They ran out of oranges before all the runners came in. Worst of all, I came in well within the cut off of 6 hours but the major intersection where the course crossed 2 on/off ramps to the highway there was NO traffic control. I had to stop and wait for a traffic light to change at each corner and hope traffic saw me. Course volunteers were unaware of how to handle the water. I had to fight through a group of volunteers chatting so I could get to the water at one or two tables, and then was later handed water by a person who had his fingers inside the cup. You never see the aid stations ahead of time - no one cheers you on. Although there are a couple of places where boom boxes are playing, you can only hear them for about 20 yards. Gatorade and water were available at all sites. As for the course, it was great; the site map shows a steep incline for 8 miles, but it is actually a gradual incline - no problem (just another error in their site) - and also a gradual decline, which was nothing to worry about. All of this is covered in the cool shade of the mountain but then you run into the flat half and the sun is out and it gets hot. There is no shade of any kind for most of the last half. All of the streets are well marked, but when you veer off to the trails, there were no less than 4 opportunities to get lost due to them not not being marked in any way. Keep your eye on the runners in front so you know where to go. | |
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C. L. from Coral Springs, Florida
(9/5/2007)
 "Great vacation destination" (about: 2007)
6-10 previous marathons
| 1 New Mexico Marathon
COURSE: 3 ORGANIZATION: 3 FANS: 1 I only ran the half. New Mexico is a fun place to visit and you can make a mini vacation out of the marathon weekend. As far as the race itself, it took about an hour to get our packages, even though I was there when the doors opened (late). The bags had to be assembled as we waited. Then, I had to stand in another long line to get the chip. This part of the race was not organized very well. As far as the half-marathon course, it was very fast, but not very interesting. It starts out with about two miles going downhill. You run through a park from about mile 6 (of the half). There are few mile markers in the park so that makes it hard to pace yourself. There were no spectators to cheer you on, but plenty of people biking very fast along the same path. The park doesn't have many trees, given that NM is basically a desert, and the course gets a little monotonous after a while. Water stations had plenty of water and Gatorade and very friendly volunteers. More toilets are always appreciated. I didn't see a clock at the finish line. Post-race food was basic: bagels, bananas, oranges, some pastries and more water. Nothing to write home about. The awards and medals have typical Southwestern designs... very cool. As far as the pasta dinner at the Best Western, bring plenty of money because the buffet costs $19 per person. I'm not sure if taxes were included. It consisted of a salad, two pasta dishes and something that looked like chicken. There are other options for pasta nearby, such as an Olive Garden restaurant. The Best Western is within walking distance to the start/finish. Very convenient. Transportation to the start was well-organized. This race is an option if you need to cross New Mexico off your list. The half is done in honor of a police officer who fell in the line of duty and proceeds go to a charitable foundation, so you'll be running for a good cause. | |
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Mike Segura from Chandler, Arizona
(9/4/2007)
 "Excellent Experience!" (about: 2007)
6-10 previous marathons
| 1 New Mexico Marathon
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 3 Having the opportunity to run a marathon in my old neighborhood was indeed a nice change. First, the race pack pickup was easy and fast, there were folks there to answer any questions I had regarding the race, the course, the buses, etc. Regarding the race: The weather was spectacular - 64 degrees at the start of the race to 68 degrees at the finish. The race starts at 5:30 a.m. and for the first 45 minutes or so, you're running in darkness with the aid of street lighting on Tramway Road. The shoulder and far right (southbound) lane are marked with orange cones and I felt drivers were respectful of the runners. Police department did a great job of traffic management at intersections through out the entire course. From the logistical perspective, I thought the bus transportation was great and timely; aid station volunteers were always friendly, with everyone going out of their way to get you water and/or Gatorade. The route was well marked, so no confusion. Port-o potties at the starting area.... Well, it seems that there are never enough at any race! I usually run Rock and Roll Elite races, and there, too, there are never enough! Thanks for a great experience. Love the beautiful shirt, and the handmade finisher's medallion, which I'll be proudly showing off at work to my running friends! One recommendation to runners: If 2 miles between aid stations is a bit too long, bring a hand-held water bottle that you can refill at aid stations. Once that sun comes up, it warms up fast! Thanks!! |
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