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May 11, 2024

New Year's Day Marathon Runner Comments

Back to New Year's Day Marathon Information & Reviews

Course 3.9

Organization 4.7

Spectators 4.0

Number of comments: 24 [displaying comments 11 to 21]

More Comments: [ < 1 2 3 > ]

OSY Waye from London, England (1/2/2013) "The Good and the Bad." (about: 2013) 50+ previous marathons \| 1 New Year's Day Marathon COURSE: 3 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 2 Getting the BAD over first, This guy and his wife came from London England, known for its rain and cold weather, but this was worse. But still we were happy we came for this Event Double, We were warmy greeted and looked after, and taken care off of both days, AND then there was the Medal+Plate, I love my Marathon Medal Display, and of the 126 Medals, this medal and plate, is by far the Best, Well worth the cold and the Pain, which sadly ment I was unabe to do my first Double Marathon, managed on New Year Eve, but only the Half next day. Might come back over to try again, if I get better weather. It was a great way for this Runner to see out 2012, and see in 2013, (give it a go) now lets see, whats next.
Andrew Huston from Portland, OR (1/5/2012) "Unsatisfactory" (about: 2012) 2 previous marathons COURSE: 1 ORGANIZATION: 1 FANS: 2 Full Disclosure: I was entered in this race as a Christmas present and I ran the half marathon, not the full marathon. Though because the course is 4x6.55 mile loops I can definitely comment on the course and the organization of the event. Here are some lowlights: - no 'swag' in the swag bag (which was single use grocery bag to boot) - no beverages for runners after the finish chute - long course (here's what I mapped out: http://www.gmap-pedometer.com/?r=5241775) - inaccurate mile marks (miles 8-9-10 were supposedly 5:45-5:08-6:30 for me) - boring repeitive course which became crowded once laps started to accumulate - better awards (who wants empty champagne flutes?) - I was my own course marshall For the $75 entry fee it would've been nice to have some chocolate milk at the finish at the very least. I didn't want to take water/gatorade from the other runners, so I just did without. There was no real food available for participants either, just bagels, bananas, pretzels, chips, and wheaties. Also, do away with the 5k. Races that distance are a dime a dozen, it's not necessary to clog up a loop course. I had to dodge the slower participants in the 5k when the course looped around on itself. The race also made a big deal out of the 'Challenge Plate' for doing events on 12/31 and 1/1, yet didn't offer a discount for people who signed up for both events. On the brightside, the participants were very encouraging to me as I passed and didn't seem to mind some guy running up behind them yelling, 'STAY RIGHT!'. This is event is certainly not worth wasting time or money on.
M. P. from Wylie, TX (1/5/2012) "A fun event!" (about: 2011) 50+ previous marathons \| 1 New Year's Day Marathon COURSE: 3 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 3 This turned out to be way more fun than I thought. The race director did a great job, especially for an inaugural marathon. There was plenty of water and gatorade and even food, and some bottled water to fill up personal water bottles, provided, I think, by the marathon maniacs. There were four loops, on cement. I was afraid of that, but since I live in Collin County, I'm used to cement so it was ok. The only 2 criticisms I have are: although the course was generally nice, the 2 miles in Celebration Park on each of the 4 loops was torturously boring! Seemed like 4. I heard several people comment that this race seemed really long, and 2 with GPS's actually said it was .5 miles long. I don't know if that's true. If the director could put at least one of those park miles in the neighborhoods, that would reduce the boring part and make for a nice relaxing route. The second criticism is that for the marathon there were no age group awards but for the shorter races there were. That made no sense to me, since marathoners obviously put forth more effort. But the parking was convenient, the race was friendly, the medals were unique and nice, and the shirts were really pretty. I had a blast. The spectators are not so much an issue with a small race, but there were family and friends in the park cheering on the runners. I would definitely do this again.
R. F. from Fort Worth, Texas (1/4/2012) "Super race for Marathon Maniacs!" (about: 2012) 6-10 previous marathons \| 1 New Year's Day Marathon COURSE: 3 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 5 This is a super new event for those looking for a good Marathon Maniacs 4-star race weekend. The very flat course is a 6+ mile loop repeated four times on suburban paved running trails. None of the route is on city streets, so it is very smooth and there is little camber and gentle curves. The parkland is nice, but gets dull after a while. It is handy to be able to park your car right against the race path to drop or collect gear on each loop. The double metal for racing both days was of good quality. Also, we got two nifty tech shirts, all for $100 for entering both races. There was plenty of food, but it could have been distributed better. More of the food needed to be at the far-end loop aid station. The weather was great this year, but runners need to be ready for extreme hot/cold conditions due to the local climate. Putting extra gear in your car just off the course is a good idea.
L. B. from Allen, TX (1/3/2012) "Fantastic Day 2 of 2 day New Years race series" (about: 2012) 6-10 previous marathons \| 1 New Year's Day Marathon COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 4 What a fantastic race series! I ran double half marathons, and it was more than I could have expected. This was the most organized run in which I've ever participated. The people that did participate were very fun. The race director really created an online facebook community with the participants so it was fun to meet people the day of the race. The course was great because it did not cross streets and the trail is smooth, new concrete so no potholes to trip over. Considering it was new years eve, there were a lot of people cheering runners on, and the volunteers were fantastic. You can't go wrong with this race. It really was a fantastic way to end the year! I won 3rd place for my age group on this day, and what a clever, fun 'trophy:' a champagne glass with the race logo! I used it to toast the new year later that evening! So fun. I only give the spectators 4 stars because there were stretches of the course without spectators, but that was also when we were on the pretty part of the trail that was difficult to access unless you were ON the trail which was impossible with us runners. Great race!
Marcie Adame from Garland, TX (1/3/2012) "Loved the non-street course and loops!" (about: 2012) 4-5 previous marathons \| 2 New Year's Day Marathons COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 Second day of this awesome double day challenge. Loved the extra bling of the back-to-back challenge plate. The race director spared no expense on quality bling and shirts. We got a short & long-sleeved shirt. Especially, liked Allen's beautiful trails. The park had easy access for spectators and there was plenty of parking. Keeping the # of participants to under 1000/day made for an extremely well-managed race.
R. M. from Dallas, Tx (1/3/2012) "Very organized, great location, good snacks" (about: 2011) 11-50 previous marathons COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 3 A reasonably priced race for the bling and the shirts we received. Good location except i wish there were more opportunity for spectators b/w mile 3-5. Not a bad course..we had a great time!
V. M. from DFW, Texas (1/2/2012) "Great way to bring in the New Year" (about: 2012) First Marathon COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 It was great for walkers as well as runners!
Tanya Edwards from Dallas,Tx (1/2/2012) "Best race experience EVER." (about: 2012) 3 previous marathons COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 The idea of doing 2 races in 2 days for a novice runner like me is unheard of, yet when my trainer brought it up in September I was intrigued. I eventually signed up for the 5k/half relay option in late November. After completing the DWRM in December I found I had an injury and could not 'RUN' but after talking to the course director was allowed to 'compete' on crutches providing I didnt interfere with those trying to qualify for Boston. This alone was the BEST race experince I have ever had. I found the support from the runners outstanding. The spectators cheered for me like I was on a world record pace and I had nothing but encouragment the entire way. All I can say is I cant wait until next year!!!
S. H. from Plano, Texas (1/2/2012) "Great course, Great organization, & SUPER FUN!!!!!" (about: 2012) 1 previous marathon \| 1 New Year's Day Marathon COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 The course is a relatively flat loop set-up all around Celebration Park and along a wooded trail between neighborhoods. The organizers thought of everything and communicate constantly via Facebook. Volunteers, medals, and post-race perks/food were all fantastic too!

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