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May 9, 2024

Providence Marathon Runner Comments

Back to Providence Marathon Information & Reviews

Course 3.6

Organization 3.4

Spectators 2.9

Number of comments: 169 [displaying comments 51 to 61]

More Comments: [ < 1 .. 4 5 6 7 8 .. 17 > ]

L. G. from Maryland (5/8/2012) "Great experience!" (about: 2012) 11-50 previous marathons \| 1 Providence Marathon COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 4 I was hesitant to run due to prior negative comments but had a great experience! The race as well as the city of Providence made for a nice weekend. Pros: Scenic course with some rolling hills- not flat but not terrible. Well organized. Small but sufficient expo. Enthusiastic spectators and volunteers. Great medal. Tons of food at the end, including pizza, Greek yogurt, bagels, and fruit. Tech shirt. Easy logistics with lots of hotels close to start / finish area and expo. Cons: They can out of cups at 2 aid stations and gatorade towards the end of the race. Overall, the race was a good experience and was worth it in my 50 states quest. I also would like to mention that everyone I met from Providence was very friendly and there were lots of good restaurants. I would return in the future!
T. L. from CT (5/8/2012) "Good Mid-Size Race" (about: 2012) 2 previous marathons \| 1 Providence Marathon COURSE: 3 ORGANIZATION: 3 FANS: 3 Course: Nice course. Part of it is on bike paths which were nice and flat. Although it is billed as being flat, there are some hills. Most are in the first six miles. Only about 4 or 5 miles are in Providence then the rest is outside of town. Course is open to traffic in some parts but there is plenty of police coverage. Two big issues though: the mile markers were in the wrong spots (3 and 25 were way off) and on Mile 25 there is a bridge that you cross to get back to Providence. The race goes along the pedestrian path which is narrow and there were walkers and cyclists also on the path. After the bridge is crossed, the course goes along the ramp to get back down to the street. I heard that in years past you had to climb stairs to get to the bridge so this is an improvement over years past. Organization: This was an easy race to register for. I signed up on race day! The water stations at miles 15 and 18 ran out of cups! However, the volunteers were great and poured water and gatorade into our mouths. Team in Training had the water station at Mile 25 and had motivation signs along the bike path. Plenty of gatorade and GU along the course. I think there were bananas at one station. Post race there was plenty of water and gatorade, pizza, and best of all Beer! Motivation: There was a team of High School kids that competed in the Marathon (Dreamfar). Some were as young as 15 and all finished! Also, there were a lot of 50 staters in this race. Spectators: While there were not too many, the ones that were out there did a great job. Because the race was not closed to traffic, the spectators were able to cheer on their friends and family at different points in the race which was nice. There was no official entertainment on the course. One of the residents whose house we passed blasted music and was outside cheering us on. Apparently he does this every year. This is a good Spring Marathon and very easy to sign up for so I would recommend it as an alternative to Boston. I would like to see the course modified so that we have a travel lane on the bridge. However, for the cost and accessibility this race was great.
M. F. from Lynn, MA (5/8/2012) "mile markers extremely inaccurate" (about: 2012) 3 previous marathons \| 1 Providence Marathon COURSE: 3 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 3 Ran this race in an attempt to qualify for Boston (and DID!) but have to say that the mile markers were extremely inaccurate (by my conservative estimate 10 of the 26 markers were off). Makes it really hard to run a consistent pace when you aren't sure if you're running too fast or too slow. For example one mile would be 8:30, the next would be 5:30, yet my average was a tick over 7 min per mile and I ran very consistent effort-wise pace. For the record I did NOT have a GPS watch but knew I was running a fairly even pace simply by feel. Thankfully I was well enough trained to compensate for the inaccuracies. The overall on-course support was excellent. Aid stations were fairly evenly placed and volunteers were helpful. Parts of the course were absolutely beautiful, other parts more challenging. Due to bike path construction a later portion of the course had to be re-routed into a much hillier section which made miles 20-23 much more challenging (hopefully shouldn't be a problem for future races since this was likely only a diversion for this year's race). Mile 24 running across the interstate-195 bridge was also challenging (very narrow, no room to pass; plus dealing with regular foot traffic was difficult, and then the down-ramp at the end with hairpin turns wasn't very fun after running 24 miles!). Overall it was a well organized event but the course was challenging mentally.
A. R. from Franklin, TN (5/7/2012) "decent mid-size Spring race" (about: 2012) 11-50 previous marathons \| 1 Providence Marathon COURSE: 3 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 4 This was a nice mid-size Spring race. Very well organized, decent expo. Everything went off on time. Lots of aid stations and volunteers with water, gatorade, and tons of GU. The course was a little hillier than expected, but nothing really bad - just a long mile long steady uphill at mile 21. My only real complaint was the mile markers were off all race long. I'd have a 5:50 mile, then an 8:20 mile, then a 7:20 mile. I was probably the only person without a Garmin, but I'd rather have no mile markers than incorrect ones. I never knew if I was going too fast, too slow, etc. I'd rather have not known and could've run by feel, but I couldn't make myself ignore the signs because I was trying to run an exact pace and while I felt like I was running at that pace, seeing markers at 6 min, or at 8:30, made me scond guess my pacing. Other than that one issue, everything was fine. Nothing memorable, but nothing bad.
T. P. from Boston, MA (5/7/2012) "Medium-hilly Marathon with ok support and org" (about: 2012) 3 previous marathons \| 1 Providence Marathon COURSE: 3 ORGANIZATION: 2 FANS: 4 Only applies to 2012: Despite posting in numerous places that the course would be the same this year, closure of the bike path in one section forced organizers to route the course back over the biggest hill in the race to get to the finish. That hill really hurts 21 miles in. The course is generally good, it's pretty flat from 6 to 20 and was well signed/coned for the most part. Mile markers were a complete joke, with some as far as 0.5 miles off. Some water stops had only TINY water cups, forcing you to try to grab two or three to get enough water. Water stops were generally well staffed. I think everyone else here has said this, but man that bridge at the end is rough. Bikers were coming the other way and I had to wait to make a pass. Switchbacks aren't great, but at least they're wide enough to pass slower runners. There was a large (100+?) group of run/walkers in orange shirts who were allowed to start the race early and were often lined up 3-4 wide when you had to pass them (and stole some tangents). I was scared I was going to come up behind them on the final narrow bridge, but luckily that didn't happen. Spectators were a little sparse, but good for a race this size. Lots near the end. This race was OK, but could be great with a little more care and planning. They really have got to find another way over the river at the end - the narrow bridge and switchback could easily set you back a minute or more with the wrong set of circumstances.
E. C. from Somerville, MA (5/7/2012) "Not my favorite" (about: 2012) 4-5 previous marathons \| 1 Providence Marathon COURSE: 3 ORGANIZATION: 2 FANS: 3 I always take it as a bad organizational omen when you have you have to look up your own bib number to pick up your race packet and this race was no exception. Packet pickup went smoothly and even on Saturday afternoon there was no line. Expo was very, very small, with only the bare necessities, which is fine with me. They did have a baggage drop-off at the start, which is always a nice perk. I did not however take advantage of it. I never found the port-a-potties at the start, but that was probably my fault. There were two at the first mile marker, which didn't nearly support the number of runners veering off to use them. Most of us ended up watering the nearby bushes. At the start pace corral signs were not hung high enough to read over the runners. They were so low that I didn't even realize they were there until the race had already started, even though I had been looking for them. Fortunately, the race was so small it didn't really matter. I have no idea what was going on with the mile markers - it's not clear that any of them were even remotely accurate. Many were a quarter mile or more off. There was a dearth of water stops, and the water was dispensed in the tiniest cups possible - that is, if there were cups. I usually took two and was still thirsty. In fact, I spent most of the race thirsty. I hit the 15 mile water stop solidly the middle of the pack and they were already out of cups. I was not having a good race and I dropped to the back of the pack after that, and many of further water stops were also out of cups. I can't imagine what kind of disaster this would have been had the weather actually been hot. If I ran this race again (I can't imagine why I would), I would bring my own water bottle. There did appear to be plenty of Gu and bananas though. There aren't many spectators, although there were a few very clever ones. This is also fine with me. The course is just okay. In some areas it's quite nice, with pretty water views, or over a nice quiet bike path, but it does go through some rather industrial parts of the city. Traffic over most of the course is not closed off. Toward the end you are required to go over a bridge in single file and then take a back-and-forth ramp down to the ground. The medal is the nicest I've ever seen. Unfortunately, medals are useless and I wish they'd spent that time and effort on the t-shirt, which is pretty unattractive. They do get points for offering an XS shirt though, and it is a tech shirt, so that's nice. In short: Pretty medal, mediocre course, questionable organization, and drab tech shirt
Adam Stevens from Boston, MA (5/7/2012) "Decent organization, poor course and markers" (about: 2012) 4-5 previous marathons \| 1 Providence Marathon COURSE: 2 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 2 I ran this course 5/6/12 in efforts for a BQ. This course is not condusive to serious runners. The course consisted of 16 miles or so of road running, and the rest was run along a bike path. At mile 24 it was a single track bike path, with no room to pass with on-coming bike traffic to dodge. If thats not bad enough, you need to zig-zag down a 5 level ramp to get to ground level making 180 degree turns at every corner. The mile markers were not well placed, and the course was long. On average the peopole I interacted with all have .35-.50 miles too long. Would be a good course for a rec runner or for fun, but do yourself a favor and go somewhere else if you want to BQ or run a serious road race!
Myriam Loor from New York (5/6/2012) "not enough aid stations for humid conditions" (about: 2012) 11-50 previous marathons \| 1 Providence Marathon COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 2 FANS: 3 Good course, probably a PR type of course under good conditions which are difficult to have when the race starts at 7:30 when the humidity is at its highest. Well staffed fluid stations with very friend volunteers but very spaced apart (one about 3 miles apart) Aid stations ran out of cups at mile 14 and out of Gatorade by 16. Very humid day to go without water or Gatorade that long, thank God for volunteers who set up water tables. Either the organizers made a mistake in their cup calculation or the humidity took them by surprise. Either way, at some point they should have sent a new supply to replenish the stations.
J. C. from New York, NY (5/6/2012) "Great course, well organized" (about: 2012) 1 previous marathon \| 1 Providence Marathon COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 2 I chose this race as my first marathon because I have family in Providence. After reading other comments on this site, I was hesitant about the hills, lack of water, and disorganization at the finish. I found that the course was had a few hills at the start and end, but nothing too intense. The course was beautiful, with great views of the water and on quiet streets. There were plenty of water stops with Gu as well, the race was very well staffed and started promptly, and while the crowds were very thin for the majority of the race, those that did come out were enthusiastic. A fast course, I would definitely return.
C. S. from Middlefield, CT (5/6/2012) "Fast course, mile markers all over the place" (about: 2012) 50+ previous marathons \| 2 Providence Marathons COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 5 I ran the inaugural race in 2008 and liked it then, and since then they have eliminated some of the boring stretches. It's an average course overall. Fairly flat. A few hills here and there to change up your stride, but nothing killer. The amazing thing was how far off the mile markers were. Sometimes it would be .8 miles between, sometimes 1.2 or 1.3. Unless you run with a GPS you would have no idea how far along you were. The aid stations were well-stocked. Some with Gu, most with water AND Gatorade. Some aid stations you had to serve yourself off the table. They fixed the problem with the medals now being race-specific, and very nicely done by the way. They have NOT fixed the issue with the shirts being non-race -specific, but, small detail. The best improvement was in making the full start 30 minutes before the half. However, if you run under about 3:45 you'll share the last two miles of narrow bike paths and roads with some of the slower half-marathoners. Running 2:48 I had to do a lot of dodging and weaving and the speed differential between me and the halfers was enough to make it a bit hazardous. One other complaint: You all finish in the same chute so there is a lot of congestion for the faster marathon finishers. Tons of food was available at the finish. Bay State Race Services put the results up fast. It's easy to stay in a hotel right at the start-finish. Overall a great mid-sized race if you're from New England but probably not a destination race unless you're a fifty-stater; and then I'd recommend the Gansett Marathon in mid-April for a better course...if you have a qualifying time.

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