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May 20, 2024

New Jersey Marathon Runner Comments

Back to New Jersey Marathon Information & Reviews

Course 4.3

Organization 4.5

Spectators 3.9

Number of comments: 464 [displaying comments 71 to 81]

More Comments: [ < 1 .. 6 7 8 9 10 .. 47 > ]

C. M. from Yardley, PA (5/2/2011) "WHY did I wear a CHIP for a GUN offical time?" (about: 2011) 6-10 previous marathons \| 1 New Jersey Marathon COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 2 FANS: 2 What a great day! What beautiful weather! What great volunteers! What a beautiful course! What a nice expo! What a nice line-up of vendors at the start/finish line! WHAT A MESS AT THE RUNNER LINE UP!! I personally do not like running a 'gun scored' old school race, especially with 3,000 marathoners. I don't want to be faced with 'how long is it going to take me to get to the start line and how many minutes will be lost to my overall time getting there?' Thank God for chip timing, huh? Riddle me this... WHY, WHY, WHY did I wear a CHIP on my bib... if the GUN time is posted as the official TIME?? WHY? The runner line up was like 3,000 cattle, with no corrals or appropriate pacing placement. So disappointing that I will probably never run this marathon again. Yes, it makes or breaks it for me. Sorry, NJ Marathon. I thought we'd be life long friends, but not so much.
Adam Stivala from miami, fl (10/24/2010) "Too many changes in 2010! Why, Art, why?" (about: 2010) 11-50 previous marathons \| 4-5 New Jersey Marathons COURSE: 3 ORGANIZATION: 2 FANS: 4 2010 was my 4th NJ marathon and 15th marathon total. I was very disappointed with the 2010 race for these reasons: 1. Shirts were horrible this year. The logo change was unnecessary and shirts were huge and a gross grey color! Also, they were short-sleeve and in the past had been awesome, great-colored long-sleeves! 2. Start time was inappropriate. I understand coordinating with road closings is hard, but the temp wouldn't have been as hot had the race start stayed the same as previous years. 3. Finish line services were horrible. No hats at finish, no food or water left. My mom picked up used ice on the grass and washed it off so I could eat it because I was dying (thanks, mom!). 4. Race ended early. I understand the safety concerns, but hey, we all signed the liability waiver, right? Let people finish and give them a medal. NJ used to be my favorite race but after last year it seems more of a chore.
B. S. from Jersey Shore (5/21/2010) "Brutal First Marathon" (about: 2010) 1 previous marathon \| 1 New Jersey Marathon COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 3 FANS: 5 Incredibly difficult conditions for a first-timer: 90+ degrees, especially on streets of downtown Long Branch around high noon. My finish time was over one and a half hours slower than my slow marathon distance training run in 70-degree weather. Not pretty. :-) Good * Finishing * Springsteen songs at the start * Boardwalk drummer that lasted 5+ hours * Four miles of breeze along the ocean * Plentiful Gatorade/water * Flat and fast course - shade through Oceanport * Good pacers (though 4:30 pacers started fast...) * Good Samaritan at the Monmouth Park turn (at about mile 19) handing out his own bottles of water. Bless you. * Quick volunteer/aid reaction to downed runners * Thanks to the locals for hosing me down during the race - around a half-dozen head shots were required to cool me down, and organizers did not have enough hose down stations given the heat * 7 a.m. parking at Seven Presidents' Park versus waiting for the bus Bad * Half marathon-centric. Dodging VERY slow runners for the first two or three miles, which was a big energy drain (in retrospect, I should have just slowed down in heat). Corrals would have helped. * Lukewarm water at many stations (in 90-degree weather) * There were 10+ miles of the course with no shade, no breeze, and smoking asphalt through Long Branch * Aid stations ran out of oranges/fruit after 4 hours; seemed like at least one of the downtown water stations between 20-24 miles shut down (maybe I was hallucinating?) * No food at the end for marathoners (you CAN'T be serious - at least the water/Gatorade was cold...) * Worthless goody bag (what goodies?) * Good quality tech shirt, but cheesy design (marathon and half marathon shirts were same) About 2,300 marathoners signed up. About 1,300 finished. Says it all. Starting one hour earlier would have helped. Pray for cold rain next year.
Eliot W. Collins from Raritan Borough, NJ (5/12/2010) "Hot and Humid - Will Return Again in 2011" (about: 2010) 50+ previous marathons \| 6+ New Jersey Marathons COURSE: 3 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 3 I was the 6-hour pacer for this race. I walked as much of the race as I could, only taking running breaks as needed. The multiple starts and long delay in getting to the starting line got me confused about my time, so I finished five minutes too early. In 2009 the race was cold and wet. This year it was hot and humid. Even a flat course can be challenging when the weather does not cooperate. Runners here must be prepared for anything. The best part of the race was running on the boardwalk along the shore. Too bad that more of the race is not like this. I arrived early and found parking near the start without any problem. When I finished, there were no refreshments left. In previous years, there has always been something available. I look forward to returning to the New Jersey Marathon for the 11th time in 2011, and I will continue to recommend this race to others.
D. B. from Stamford, CT (5/9/2010) "Flat, fast course" (about: 2010) 11-50 previous marathons \| 1 New Jersey Marathon COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 3 It was hot (90+) and humid, but this course is flat and fast, conditions permitting. Tons of aid (roughly every 1.5 miles), and we needed it. I'd come back.
S. U. from NJ (5/7/2010) "Thank you, spectators and volunteers" (about: 2010) 4-5 previous marathons \| 1 New Jersey Marathon COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 5 Ran the half marathon. The heat was brutal. Fluid stations were efficient and well stocked, at least for me in the half marathon. Spectators were wonderful with enthusiastic vocal support, and many thanks to all those who used their hoses and sprinklers to help us with the heat. The many volunteers were friendly and efficient. I was not happy with the lack of food after the finish. I was given a plastic bag with one banana, one small muesli bar and juice (environmental rant: unnecessary use of thousands of plastic bags). Also found some yogurts. Totally insufficient after a long run. There were places to BUY food, but I was not expecting to have to carry money. I had food in my car, but then I had a long wait in a long line in the heat for the shuttle buses back to the main parking area. By now I was very hungry and dehydrated, like many others in the long line. So, this seemed a well organized event, with nice course and great crowds, until the unfortunate feeling of abandonment after the finish. Sort of like: thank you for coming; now here's a banana and you can go now....
R. M. from Union NJ (5/7/2010) "Thank God for the Great Volunteers and Spectators!" (about: 2010) 11-50 previous marathons \| 3 New Jersey Marathons COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 4 Although I was nervous leading up to this race due to the heat, nothing could have prepared any of us for the 90-degree temps, humidity and glaring sun with no shade for 26.2 miles. I have a PR of 3:14 at NYC and I finished 1 hour 2 minutes off of that time. I guess I'm just not a heat person. The heat was so intense that I was planning to quit as soon as I got to the midway point. I'm sure many people did. I knew it was a little dangerous. The second half was brutal, but a few things got me through it. Only about a quarter of all of the runners did the full marathon, so we had all of the volunteers and crowd support to a smaller group of people. I don't think I would have survived without the kids pouring cups of water over my head, people on their lawns hosing us down, people giving me handfuls of ice to rub on my head and neck, and, of course, the folks giving cups of ice water. I thanked them all over and over again. Also, I made a few friends on the course and we helped each other through the ordeal. The course is getting a little boring, but I'm a Jersey guy and a marathon runner. How can I not run the NJ Marathon? Plus, this year was much smoother than last year. I showed up at 7 a.m., parked in the lot next to the beach, hung out at a beautiful hotel on the beach, met my friends at 8 a.m., then started the race at 9 a.m. Considering that the weather can't get worse than the past 2 years and we should be due for great weather, I'll be back.
l. k. from lansdale, pa (5/7/2010) "Would give it another try" (about: 2010) First Marathon COURSE: 3 ORGANIZATION: 3 FANS: 5 Mother Nature certainly gave us a curveball with all of that sun, heat and humidity. While i have to admit that there were plenty of water stations for the average run, it was all of the wonderful residents with their extra cups of water, ice chips and, best of all, the hoses and sprinklers that really made the day much more bearable and often brought a smile to my face. Overall, fair organization. No real direction to the food post-race, nor was there any left by the end of the marathon except for bananas - and only small cups of water were offered post. This seemed to be the race to run for the half marathoner, but the full marathoner was rather left out and almost forgotten unless you were one of the first to finish.
A. N. from New England (5/6/2010) "Fast and flat; but volunteers are the best part" (about: 2010) 2 previous marathons \| 1 New Jersey Marathon COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 Caveat: I qualified for Boston at this race, so I am definitely biased. The heat was dreadful, but of course no one could control that. Given the 90-degree high, the neighbors came out with hoses and sprinklers, volunteers handed out sponges soaked in ice water, and even during the second loop of the marathon there were loads of enthusiastic spectators. Perhaps I lucked out, but I thought the organization was superb: I arrived at 7 a.m. and parked 3 blocks from the start, got a free massage afterward, and at every fuel stop was able to pour a cup or two of water on my head. My biggest suggestion would be: please move the start time back to 7:30 a.m. The NJ weather at this time of year is too fickle to start so late. But overall, a terrific race with loads of support. A great BQ course. Thanks, NJM!
K. z. from NJ (5/6/2010) "Mentally challenging in the heat" (about: 2010) 1 previous marathon \| 1 New Jersey Marathon COURSE: 3 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 4 I ran this one this year and was trying to BQ but did not, due to the heat. The spectators were great as well as the fluid stations; but because it is mainly a half-marathon, most of the crowds leave after the half. Also, at the end of of the marathon there were only small cups of water/Gatorade and absolutely no food! I came close to losing whatever was in my stomach due to heat exhaustion. I would come back but only for the half.

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