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May 23, 2013
 Marathon Directory

 Marathon Details
Lower Potomac River Marathon
Piney Point, MD USA
March 10, 2013

Contact Information
Name: Liza Recto
Address: Chesapeake Bay Running Club
P.O. Box 635
Solomons, MD 20688
Phone Number: 301-863-8431
Fax Number:
Email:  
Official Race Website: http://www.cbrcmd.org


Race Organizer Comments
26.2 miles of rural and riverfront charm!
Liza Recto (3/4/11)

A small event (200 limit), so we won't skimp on amenities! A scenic, mostly flat course (USATF Cert #MD04016JS) on waterfront roads and a rural highway; post-race hot food and awards ceremony in a well-appointed dining room with a waterfront view. Don't expect crowds lining the roads, but the volunteers will be looking out for you!

Please note changes since 2008: 7:15 a.m. start for the entire field and a 5:45 time limit (course closes at 1:00 pm); and elimination of the relay to allow more marathoners. Also note that DST starts at 2:00 a.m. on race morning. Set your timepieces AHEAD one hour!


Runner Comments
I have run this marathon, and I want to add my comments about it.
Number of comments: 61 [displaying comments 1 to 11]More Comments: [ < 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 > ]
Average Ratings: Course - Organization - Fans -

Exactly as described by RD-Great event (about: 2013)
Course: 4 Organization: 5 Fans: 3
G. R. from North Carolina (4/5/13)
11-50 previous marathons | 1 Lower Potomac River Marathon

The RD describes the race perfectly on the website.
The 2nd half of the race is not scenic but traffic requires this route.
It is small but has everything you need.
-St George Inn opens just for runners and is very nice, close to start and good rate (although no one I spoke to received their wake up call)
-Meal arranged for runners at local spot Saturday night (not expensive, good food and chance to meet others)
-Easy parking for start/finish
-Stay inside until minutes before the start
-SHOWERS after race
-HOT meal after the race
easy access to race director weeks before event, day before and day of
-course is good mix of small rolling hills
-you can PR or BQ on this course


Boring second half (about: 2013)
Course: 2 Organization: 3 Fans: 2
D. E. from San Jose, CA (3/31/13)
11-50 previous marathons | 1 Lower Potomac River Marathon

Because of flooding, one of the turnarounds on the island had to be moved, so the mile markers were off by 0.4 miles from MM6 to MM19. Kind of ironic after the RD had spent about two minutes before the start telling us how the course was certified and that the mile markers were correct, and that we shouldn't trust the GPS watches some people wore.
Well, the GPS was more accurate than the mile markers for most of the race...
The first half of the course was pretty nice, but the second half was very disappointing. No shade and a boring run next to traffic for 14 miles.


Good option for Maryland (about: 2013)
Course: 3 Organization: 4 Fans: 1
J. E. from KC MO (3/13/13)
11-50 previous marathons | 1 Lower Potomac River Marathon

If you like bare bones in a race, you'll enjoy this one. Everyone was very friendly and I really enjoyed the smallness of it. I would recommend doing the first couple of loops twice so the out and back along the busier road wouldn't be so long. Plus, the first part has the best views around. Thanks for the pleasant experience!


Friendly Small Race! (about: 2013)
Course: 4 Organization: 5 Fans: 4
M. H. from New York, NY (3/12/13)
11-50 previous marathons | 1 Lower Potomac River Marathon

Extremely friendly race director emailed me after I signed up - very accessible.
Course is tougher than it looks - beware the camber in the last four miles, and the hills between 14-22. Several out and backs makes for a friendly course - I saw every one of my friends running, several times! Beautiful sunrise at the start over the water.
Spectators sparse but dedicated and friendly, volunteers amazing.
nice staging area so you can stay indoors and use real restrooms pre race, and a gracious post race meal make for a great experience too.
Nice medal - small, but has heft to it. full date too.


Terrific Little Race! (about: 2012)
Course: 4 Organization: 5 Fans: 4
David Weiss from Middleburg Heights, (Cleveland area) Ohio (3/20/12)
11-50 previous marathons | 1 Lower Potomac River Marathon

I needed a Maryland race; and happened to sign up for this one, and boy am I glad I did!
Had never been to this part of Maryland before the weekend of the race...

This race was like a breath of fresh air!!!
Pros-
only 1 1/2 hrs from D.C.; so spent Fri and Sat sightseeing before the race
-email the race director about this one; LOVE when races offer packet pickup the morning of the race...allows an out of towner like me an extra day of sightseeing in Washington DC before the race, and was a big reason for me pickin g this race
-nice, flat course
-a MARATHONER'S marathon.....there's no 10Kers, no 1/2 marathoners...it was all about the 26.2 milers and I liked that!
-fantastic race director who seemed like a dynamo....and she kept in contact before (and after) the race
-plentiful aid stations, offered plenty of goodies, enthusiastic volunteers
-few spectators, but great spectators! (big props to the guy i passed like 3 times who was blasting 'Rocky' music out of his car for the runners)
-beautiful course (esp the first few miles)....I saw one of the most glorious sunrises I've seen in my life running that first several miles....unforgettable!
-a HUGE BONUS! the usual water/snacks available at the finish line, but inside the Seamanship school building....a hot meal!....and showers for the runners!!!! I appreciated this sooooo much knowing I had an 8 hour drive ahead of me after the race!

Cons
Not being able to use headphones (although i understand the safety reasons, and I then enjoyed several terrific conversations along the run with other runners because my ears weren't buried in headphones)....so maybe this wasn't a con afterall....
-the traffic on the road we were running beside got more heavy than i would have expected; sucked a bit of exhaust a couple of times, and the cars were haulin' along pretty fast it seemed...
Not much signage showing where the race was beginning...i drove past the driveway where i needed to park the first time

These complaints were very minor....overall, an excellent experience!


Nice change of pace (about: 2012)
Course: 4 Organization: 5 Fans: 3
L. M. from Cross Junction, VA (3/18/12)
6-10 previous marathons | 1 Lower Potomac River Marathon

This was my first small town race and I loved it. My wife and daughter volunteered at the finish line and I actually helped hand out medals after I finished. Liza provided great details before the event. I would rather do races like this than the big city ones I've done. Most of the course was very pretty, quiet, and relatively flat. Several of the latter miles were on a busier stretch, but still pretty. Expect to save money, enjoy the scenery, earn a fast time, and meet some great people.

Stayed at the Goose Island Inn which was less than a mile from the start, and worked out perfectly. I felt like I was out for one of my long training runs rather than in a race. Only 180 runners but included Michael Wardian. Happy to have done it and would love to find more like this. Highly recommend but don't expect the frills you get doing an ING race, and you'll be pleasantly surprised.


A Run for the Serious Runner (about: 2012)
Course: 5 Organization: 5 Fans: 4
J. R. from Alexandria, VA (3/12/12)
11-50 previous marathons | 1 Lower Potomac River Marathon

Do you remember what you liked most about running a good old fashioned 'runner's race'? A great course, cool running weather (30's-40's), a peaceful countryside... and a field of runners who run marathons for the love of it. LPRM isn't a beginner race judging from the crowd- this was a group of easygoing folks who love a good run and don't want the massive crowds and emotional hoopla. Yet, it's also not a technically challenging course. The first 13 miles or so take you out and around Piney Point's marshy peninsulas- with great sunrise views over the Potomac; the second half takes you inland over some easy long rollers, on an out and back along the side of a rural two-lane road. Plenty of water stops and two gels. The start and finish at the Lundeberg School had just what you want on a chilly spring day: a warm lobby, enough toilets, showers for the end, and a nice little meal afterwards.

I thoroughly enjoyed myself. It wasn't a PR, but still a fast race for me. But it was just such a pleasure to be surrounded by a field of runners who love to run. If you're in it for the bling, for the bands, for the non-stop fans, this one isn't for you. (The only spectators are runners' families- and that's enough for me.)

Lower Potomac is a hidden gem- how much longer I'm not sure. This really should be your Maryland race.


A peaceful marathon. (about: 2012)
Course: 4 Organization: 5 Fans: 5
S. C. from Westchester, NY (3/12/12)
11-50 previous marathons | 1 Lower Potomac River Marathon

'GO'....this is how this race starts!! ....Through a megaphone....No hoopla, no wait,no loud music no corrals...Just go.....A small, wonderful marathon in a beautiful part of Maryland. Race was well organized with friendly volunteers...I finally said at the last aid staion that this was the only marathon you can gain weight running...Gummi Bears, M n M's, bananas, protein bars!!! No end to the generousity....You are alone out there for most of the time and what I LOVED was there were NO EAR devices of any kind allowed..When you talked to someone, they actually heard you! Since the roads are not closed, this is definetly a safety measure. Hot showers and more food waiting for you at the end! Meet Liza...the dynamo race director.


Great little marathon (about: 2011)
Course: 4 Organization: 5 Fans: 2
M. Y. from NE Ohio (5/18/11)
6-10 previous marathons | 1 Lower Potomac River Marathon

The course was very nice for the first half as mentioned before.

Registration - very easy and efficient. as was the start.
T-shirt & the finisher's medal were OK, medal was a little on the small side, but I realize with only 200 runners the budget was limited.
Shower afterwards - the ability to take a shower afterwards is huge to me, that gives any race a huge advantage over any other, especially when you have 8 hour drive to get home.
Post-race meal was nice as well.

Race director's responded to emails very promptly. Also nice see her comments on this site, seems not many RD do that.

This checked off my 10th state - officially a 50 stater now!

I didn't really research other marathons in MD as this fit into my schedule at the last minute, but I would highly recommend it to anyone needing to add MD to their list.


Other than the race... (about: 2011)
Course: 3 Organization: 4 Fans: 2
M. V. from Michigan (3/18/11)
6-10 previous marathons | 1 Lower Potomac River Marathon

This race is good for what I wanted out of it: A flat, easy course with few people; it's in March; it checks Maryland off the list. It amazes me on here when people complain that courses aren't "flat" as advertised. This course is flat, with 120 feet total elevation change; the "hills" are just gentle up and down grades over about a 6-mile stretch. The rest is pancake flat. If you want a completely flat marathon, run 105 laps on a high school track. It's hard to find 26 miles of road that are much flatter than this. These small marathons are what you make of them. See an area of the country you would normally never go to and have fun. The road is not closed but it was not an issue. Wide shoulders and very little traffic. The race director is awesome and she really worked hard to make this a great event.


More Comments: [ < 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 > ]

 

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