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Palm Beaches Marathon Festival Runner Comments
Back to Palm Beaches Marathon Festival Information & Reviews
Course 3.7 
Organization 3.6 
Spectators 3.1
Number of comments: 106 [displaying comments 51 to 61]
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Bruce Sanders from Atlanta
(12/7/2009)
 "Enjoyable experience" (about: 2009)
3 previous marathons
COURSE: 3 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 3 This was my third marathon. I really enjoyed it, and the weather was surprisingly perfect. Only course complaint would be the long 8-mile stretch on one boring road from 12-20. I kind of wish they could get on A1A somehow. The half marathon was a bit of an issue because the slow people didn't really move over. Outside of that, it was a great race and I would do it again for sure. | |
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M. F. from USA
(12/7/2009)
 "FANTASTIC" (about: 2009)
11-50 previous marathons
| 3 Palm Beaches Marathon Festivals
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 4 I loved the new course for the half marathon. Well organized. The Wacky Water Stations were energized, inspiring, very motivational, and lots of fun to run through. The only thing I think should be done differently is leaving a separate lane for wheelchair participants. I felt bad when they were trying to get through on their return back and could not get through the race participants due to marathoners being in their own zone or having iPods, etc., in their ears. I feel they deserve to have their own lane without any marathoner interruption. | |
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S. B. from Nassau, Bahamas
(2/17/2009)
"Good marathon, well organized" (about: 2008)
4-5 previous marathons
| 1 Palm Beaches Marathon Festival
COURSE: 3 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 This was my fourth and second best marathon. The only reason I would not call it the best is due to the course, which had you passing the finish line twice before finishing. This was mental torture! We passed the line at miles 13 and 20? There were more than ample water stations however and I really appreciated the volunteer who gave me ice at mile 24 when the sun started to get hot. (I finished in 4:50.) Overall, a well organized race and I would recommend that you run it at least once. | |
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A. M. from NY
(1/4/2009)
"What a pleasant surprise!" (about: 2008)
50+ previous marathons
| 1 Palm Beaches Marathon Festival
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 4 After running most of the major marathons all over the world, what a pleasant surprise in Palm Beach! For a marathon that is considered small, they have an unexpectedly good expo, a beautiful course, exceptionally good organization, great volunteers, and enthusiastic spectators. It easily became one of my favorites in the US. For anyone dreaming to escape the cold and snow of winter, I would very highly recommend this marathon. | |
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J. P. from Caribbean
(12/22/2008)
 "Well organized small marathon" (about: 2008)
6-10 previous marathons
| 1 Palm Beaches Marathon Festival
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 3 The marathon was well organized. Getting to the expo was easy, the race hotel was close to the start and finish, and parking was a breeze (and free!). The course itself is mostly nice (running along the water was beautiful). Miles 14-17 aren't very scenic and there are not many spectators, but it's only 3 miles. I didn't mind running half of the first loop a second time for the marathon because of the scenery and the fun water stops in that section. I also didn't mind going by the start/finish line again, as that is where many of the spectators were concentrated and it was nice to get a cheering boost. The course is as flat as it gets. There weren't many spectators overall, but the volunteers were enthusiastic and plentiful and the water stops were lively. I would do this marathon again and would recommend it to people who don't need big marathons or big crowds. | |
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D. P. from Atlanta, GA
(12/13/2008)
"excellent, small race; lonely second half" (about: 2008)
11-50 previous marathons
| 1 Palm Beaches Marathon Festival
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 3 Really enjoyed this race. The crowds of runners were not too much, even though we ran with the half marathoners for their whole race. The second half was a bit lonely for other runners, but water stops were frequent and energetic. I didn't mind it personally, but if you need lots of other runners around you, this is not the race for you (there were just over 500 marathon finishers). City was easy and pleasant, and I loved the warmth in December. Well organized too. Weather was a bit cooler than average, but it can be warm. No complaints here! | |
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Tony Ames from Massachusetts
(12/12/2008)
"Well organized race" (about: 2008)
11-50 previous marathons
| 1 Palm Beaches Marathon Festival
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 4 This is a well organized and scenic race that I would recommend. Do not believe the negative comments posted. The course is flat and fast and set up for a PR. This may not be the best race for you if you are looking for a big-marathon experience (Boston, NY, Chicago etc). The expo is very manageable and getting to race is easy with parking available. West Palm Beach and City Place make for a great marathon weekend. I would recommend this race to anyone who is looking to run a fast time at a great, small race. | |
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K. P. from CT
(12/8/2008)
"very flat course - poor pace teams" (about: 2008)
6-10 previous marathons
COURSE: 3 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 3 My third time running the half marathon in West Palm. The weather in West Palm this time of year is very dependable. It was better than usual this year, with a 6 a.m. temp of 60F and dry. This race has lots of parking, within blocks of the start. You can pull in at 5:20 a.m. and get to the start in plenty of time for the 6 a.m. start. The ratio of half-marathoners/relay to marathoners is probably 4:1. This would discourage me from running the full marathon. The half and full are separated at the start, and for the first half-mile. Not a single hill on the course. Of note, the course does not go into Palm Beach. All in all, a nice course to run, and the organization seems to get better every year. A little expensive - I think $71 for the half-marathon. It does include a nice tech tee by Asics. Were I running the marathon in a pace group of 4:00 or 3:50, I would have been very upset. The 3:50 pace team was 4-6 minutes ahead of pace at the 6-mile mark, and the 4:00 pace team finished the half in 1:53:30. They pretty much left their pace groups in the dust. At one point, the two pace leaders were within a 2 blocks of each other. | |
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J. J. from Chicago
(12/8/2008)
"Good race and well organized" (about: 2008)
11-50 previous marathons
| 2 Palm Beaches Marathon Festivals
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 3 Ran the marathon this year and it was great. The course is very good and the organization was perfect. Easy expo, easy to park, good starting area, nice finish area with food even for the few marathoners! The marathon is run with a half-marathon option. The marathon had only 500 people, while the half had 2,400. If you need other runners or cheering crowds, keep to the half-marathon. If you can motivate yourself without others, the full marathon was fun. In addition to the above comments, the organizers managed to order perfect weather this year! Hope they can do it again next year. | |
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D. H. from PA
(12/7/2008)
"Fun time!" (about: 2008)
11-50 previous marathons
| 1 Palm Beaches Marathon Festival
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 2 Good expo for this size race. Plentiful porta-johns at the start and throughout the race. 2008 was cooler than prior 2 years, from what I understand; the temps were not ideal for fast times, but not bad. Water stations were adequate in number, well staffed, and most had a fun theme thing going. Pace teams are a plus for this size marathon, but were inconsistent - at the 8-mile mark, the 3:50 and the 4:00 pacers were 45 seconds apart, when they should have been 3 minutes apart. Nice post-race atmosphere. And a word of thanks to the Harriers for the beer! I would run this race again. |
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