Marathon Details - Gettysburg Battlefield Marathon

North America Marathons > USA > PA > Gettysburg > Gettysburg Battlefield Marathon

Gettysburg Battlefield Marathon & Half Marathon

Gettysburg, PA USA

~~November 4, 2018~~ - CANCELLED

http://www.ywcagettysburg.org/special-events/gettysburg-battlefield-marathon

Results:

2017 | 2016
Top 3 Finishers by Year

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Reviews

Course 3.0

Organization 1.0

Spectators 1.4

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Number of comments: 5

C. C. from Pittsburgh, PA (11/16/2017) "You Have to Mark a Marathon Course." (about: 2017) 11-50 previous marathons \| 1 Gettysburg Battlefield Marathon COURSE: 1 ORGANIZATION: 1 FANS: 1 I really hate giving this marathon a bad review because its a beautiful course & the organizers were very nice people. It's also a low-stress marathon because there's no crowds to deal with, hotels near the start/finish are easy to book, etc. However, they did not mark the course (or the chalk they said they put down washed away). The only reason I was able to run the course correctly was because of a kind volunteer bicyclist who rode with me for the entire race. Without him, I would surely have made a wrong turn at one of the numerous forks & intersections. I also had an incident where I stood for over 30 seconds trying to cross Rt. 30 because the race volunteer could not figure out how to change the traffic lights. Finally, I had a legitimate concern that one or more of the top ten finishers cut the course short, but was still listed as an official finisher in the results. I know it was very easy to get lost, but you either ran the course as it was USATF certified or you didn't. The race director did not respond to my e-mail about being able to verify that the top finishers ran the course as required. They should not get to be a Boston Qualifier in the future if they cannot ensure that everyone runs the course correctly.
T. B. from Lebanon, PA (11/13/2017) "Totally Unorganized Race!" (about: 2017) 50+ previous marathons \| 1 Gettysburg Battlefield Marathon COURSE: 1 ORGANIZATION: 1 FANS: 1 This was my 60th marathon and by far the worst race that I have been a part of in my running life. Where should I begin. The shirt I received was the wrong size, the course was poorly marked and no race staff to give directions. I got lost three times and almost hit by a car twice because the roads were not closed and barely marked with cones. The National Park Rangers on the course did not want to talk to you or even acknowledge your existence. The medal was average at best and the finish line food was a box of bagels, a box of bananas and a few cartons of chocolate milk. This was their second year running this marathon and in my opinion should be their last. DON'T RUN THIS MARATHON, spend your $145 somewhere else that actually cares. If I could give them '0' stars I would in all categories.
J. W. from Baltimore, Maryland (11/11/2017) "Disappointing Organization" (about: 2017) 50+ previous marathons \| 2 Gettysburg Battlefield Marathons COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 1 FANS: 1 Runners should never have to worry about where to go during a race which was the case well over a dozen times throughout this marathon course, but especially toward the end when it was needed the most. Also, there were no cones, very few race officials, and not enough police presence which made the busy downtown portion very dangerous. I ended up running 28 miles due to so many stops and turnarounds and back tracking. There were about ten runners in my vicinity in the same boat. We were forced to stop several times to seek help from passersby but to no avail. One runner finally pulled out her iphone to get GPS to the finish. Very frustrating! I emailed the race director about my finishing time and he never got back to me. Very disappointing.
K. E. from PA (11/10/2017) "Scenic but poorly organized" (about: 2017) 1 previous marathon \| 1 Gettysburg Battlefield Marathon COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 1 FANS: 1 The course was beautiful, but it was the most poorly organized race I have ever attended. This was my first marathon and it was the most unsatisfying race of my running career. Poor signage caused me to take a wrong turn. Many intersections had zero volunteers/signs to direct you. I wasted a tremendous amount of time looking up the course map on my phone in order to see where I was to turn next. The black electric tape arrows on the road and the one index card laying on the ground that said 'Gettysburg Marathon' were less than inadequate. When I encountered volunteers and asked for directions they were completely uninformed about the course. Running through town toward the end of the race was treacherous because of uneven sidewalks and uninformed tourists who stood in the way. Crossing the finish line was the most unceremonious finish of my life. Refueling stations and finish line snacks were sparse. The t-shirt and medal are pretty cool.
Rob Leder from Stamford, CT (11/6/2017) "No course markings" (about: 2017) 11-50 previous marathons \| 1 Gettysburg Battlefield Marathon COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 1 FANS: 3 I gave the organization one star because in my opinion there are three rock-bottom criteria that any marathon must provide - 1. an accurately measured distance, 2. identifying who finished when, and 3. some kind of directional indicators on the course to inform runners where to go - and this race completely failed to provide #3. It was raining, and the race director discovered on the morning of the event that his spray chalk didn't work in the rain, so he tried to put a volunteer at each turn or intersection. Either he didn't have enough volunteers, some of them abandoned their posts, or a combination of the two. A lot of runners ended up making wrong turns, including myself, and as a result went off course at mile 25 and lost about 10 minutes, most of it spent wandering around a busy shopping district asking pedestrians if they had any idea where I should go. For their part, the organization was extremely apologetic, completely owned up to the error, and promised that next year signs would be used to mark the course. All of which is great, and you may have a great experience here, but still, they deserve 1 star for 2017. As for the race itself, I liked it. It's very hilly and very scenic, and though it's paired with a half-marathon, it's NOT a double-loop course, which is refreshing. It's not very crowded. There are adequate water stops, and also an adequate number of porta-potties, but you may want to consider carrying some food or drink with you. Personally I run best when I take in a good 300-400 calories/hr. throughout a longer run, but only a few aid stations had GU, and these were in the 2nd half. Not a complaint, though, since the aid station locations and content were all provided ahead of time, while the fact that I'd either need to memorize the course or guess correctly at several turns was not. Let's see, what else. Parking is fine. There is a tech shirt & finisher's medal. There's a pre-race pasta dinner, which I didn't make it to. There may be some sort of food & refreshments after, but I didn't see it from the finish area, and just wanted to head home.

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C. C. from Pittsburgh, PA (11/16/2017) "You Have to Mark a Marathon Course." (about: 2017) 11-50 previous marathons \| 1 Gettysburg Battlefield Marathon COURSE: 1 ORGANIZATION: 1 FANS: 1 I really hate giving this marathon a bad review because its a beautiful course & the organizers were very nice people. It's also a low-stress marathon because there's no crowds to deal with, hotels near the start/finish are easy to book, etc. However, they did not mark the course (or the chalk they said they put down washed away). The only reason I was able to run the course correctly was because of a kind volunteer bicyclist who rode with me for the entire race. Without him, I would surely have made a wrong turn at one of the numerous forks & intersections. I also had an incident where I stood for over 30 seconds trying to cross Rt. 30 because the race volunteer could not figure out how to change the traffic lights. Finally, I had a legitimate concern that one or more of the top ten finishers cut the course short, but was still listed as an official finisher in the results. I know it was very easy to get lost, but you either ran the course as it was USATF certified or you didn't. The race director did not respond to my e-mail about being able to verify that the top finishers ran the course as required. They should not get to be a Boston Qualifier in the future if they cannot ensure that everyone runs the course correctly.
T. B. from Lebanon, PA (11/13/2017) "Totally Unorganized Race!" (about: 2017) 50+ previous marathons \| 1 Gettysburg Battlefield Marathon COURSE: 1 ORGANIZATION: 1 FANS: 1 This was my 60th marathon and by far the worst race that I have been a part of in my running life. Where should I begin. The shirt I received was the wrong size, the course was poorly marked and no race staff to give directions. I got lost three times and almost hit by a car twice because the roads were not closed and barely marked with cones. The National Park Rangers on the course did not want to talk to you or even acknowledge your existence. The medal was average at best and the finish line food was a box of bagels, a box of bananas and a few cartons of chocolate milk. This was their second year running this marathon and in my opinion should be their last. DON'T RUN THIS MARATHON, spend your $145 somewhere else that actually cares. If I could give them '0' stars I would in all categories.
J. W. from Baltimore, Maryland (11/11/2017) "Disappointing Organization" (about: 2017) 50+ previous marathons \| 2 Gettysburg Battlefield Marathons COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 1 FANS: 1 Runners should never have to worry about where to go during a race which was the case well over a dozen times throughout this marathon course, but especially toward the end when it was needed the most. Also, there were no cones, very few race officials, and not enough police presence which made the busy downtown portion very dangerous. I ended up running 28 miles due to so many stops and turnarounds and back tracking. There were about ten runners in my vicinity in the same boat. We were forced to stop several times to seek help from passersby but to no avail. One runner finally pulled out her iphone to get GPS to the finish. Very frustrating! I emailed the race director about my finishing time and he never got back to me. Very disappointing.
K. E. from PA (11/10/2017) "Scenic but poorly organized" (about: 2017) 1 previous marathon \| 1 Gettysburg Battlefield Marathon COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 1 FANS: 1 The course was beautiful, but it was the most poorly organized race I have ever attended. This was my first marathon and it was the most unsatisfying race of my running career. Poor signage caused me to take a wrong turn. Many intersections had zero volunteers/signs to direct you. I wasted a tremendous amount of time looking up the course map on my phone in order to see where I was to turn next. The black electric tape arrows on the road and the one index card laying on the ground that said 'Gettysburg Marathon' were less than inadequate. When I encountered volunteers and asked for directions they were completely uninformed about the course. Running through town toward the end of the race was treacherous because of uneven sidewalks and uninformed tourists who stood in the way. Crossing the finish line was the most unceremonious finish of my life. Refueling stations and finish line snacks were sparse. The t-shirt and medal are pretty cool.
Rob Leder from Stamford, CT (11/6/2017) "No course markings" (about: 2017) 11-50 previous marathons \| 1 Gettysburg Battlefield Marathon COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 1 FANS: 3 I gave the organization one star because in my opinion there are three rock-bottom criteria that any marathon must provide - 1. an accurately measured distance, 2. identifying who finished when, and 3. some kind of directional indicators on the course to inform runners where to go - and this race completely failed to provide #3. It was raining, and the race director discovered on the morning of the event that his spray chalk didn't work in the rain, so he tried to put a volunteer at each turn or intersection. Either he didn't have enough volunteers, some of them abandoned their posts, or a combination of the two. A lot of runners ended up making wrong turns, including myself, and as a result went off course at mile 25 and lost about 10 minutes, most of it spent wandering around a busy shopping district asking pedestrians if they had any idea where I should go. For their part, the organization was extremely apologetic, completely owned up to the error, and promised that next year signs would be used to mark the course. All of which is great, and you may have a great experience here, but still, they deserve 1 star for 2017. As for the race itself, I liked it. It's very hilly and very scenic, and though it's paired with a half-marathon, it's NOT a double-loop course, which is refreshing. It's not very crowded. There are adequate water stops, and also an adequate number of porta-potties, but you may want to consider carrying some food or drink with you. Personally I run best when I take in a good 300-400 calories/hr. throughout a longer run, but only a few aid stations had GU, and these were in the 2nd half. Not a complaint, though, since the aid station locations and content were all provided ahead of time, while the fact that I'd either need to memorize the course or guess correctly at several turns was not. Let's see, what else. Parking is fine. There is a tech shirt & finisher's medal. There's a pre-race pasta dinner, which I didn't make it to. There may be some sort of food & refreshments after, but I didn't see it from the finish area, and just wanted to head home.

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Marathon Details - Gettysburg Battlefield Marathon