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May 10, 2024

Memphis Marathon Runner Comments

Back to Memphis Marathon Information & Reviews

Course 4.2

Organization 4.7

Spectators 4.2

Number of comments: 382 [displaying comments 21 to 31]

More Comments: [ < 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 .. 39 > ]

G. L. from Cincinnati, Ohio USA (12/3/2012) "Great experience." (about: 2012) 6-10 previous marathons \| 1 Memphis Marathon COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 4 Plenty of aid stations and 3 with gu. course was well marked and clocks at every mile. A lot of food in the finishers area including pizza and beer! course had some rolling hills to keep it interesting, but none were challenging. There were 2 u-turns in the course that took away some momentum, but those areas had tons of spectators and sort of necessary for the great finish on the warning track. I recommend the race for both fast runners and recreational.
Jim Daigneau from North York, ON, Canada (3/11/2012) "Great Race! You should run this one..." (about: 2011) 11-50 previous marathons \| 1 Memphis Marathon COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 4 Ran this St. Judes Marathon in December 2011. Great city and a fun marathon to run. Well organized, you get to see many hi-lights of Memphis and very motivational running thru St. Judes early on. Very positive vibe to this race start to finish. PS Check out the Ducks at the Peabody Hotel and have a Jack Daniels post-race. Pretty cool!
D. M. from Missouri (12/13/2011) "great race, will be back" (about: 2011) 2 previous marathons \| 1 Memphis Marathon COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 This was my first time running in Memphis and it was great. I raised money as a St Jude Hero and received lots of pre-race communication. The expo was pretty typical, did not experience any problems. The pasta party was a tear jerker hearing about kids with cancer. Race morning: great, you could stay warm in the indoor part of the stadium, plenty of bathrooms. Wave start went well, was crowded the first couple miles but not as bad as other places. Hills were all a matter of perspective, I didn't think it was anything. I thought the crowd support was good. In the last 6 miles people were very supportive, calling out your number and cheering you on. Aid stations were great and just after every mile marker from 3-25. It was fantastic to have them so predictable. Finishing in the stadium was awesome, getting to take a shower was great too. Food as mentioned was good, loved the soup. My only complaint was the pacers, 4:10. They were all over the place on times. We would approach a mile marker and they would call out the goal time, we could be 10 sec ahead one mile, 40 the next, back to 15 the next, all over the place irrespective of hills. Overall a great experience and I will be back
C. P. from Tulsa, OK (12/11/2011) "Good Marathon-Glad I Ran It" (about: 2011) 6-10 previous marathons \| 1 Memphis Marathon COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 4 Great organization. Nice course. Good aid stations. Good spectators. Not much critical to say. It would have been nice to have run through St. Jude at the end of the marathon, could have used that inspiration in the late miles. There was a decent amount of running right next to busy traffic, so exhaust was a little bit of an issue, but what can ya do? It's 26 miles! Overall, recommended.
S. S. from Memphis, TN (12/6/2011) "First time doing the full marathon" (about: 2011) 3 previous marathons \| 1 Memphis Marathon COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 It's a really good marathon. It's run well, expo is average to above average, shirts and medals are usually good (or at least they've been good the last two years, my total experience with the event). Crowds are good in most places along the route. The course itself is relatively flat and the weather (again the last two years) has been very cooperative - a little chilly at the start but overall a nice day. Finishing in Autozone Park (the St. Louis Cardinals AAA affiliate team) is a pretty cool way to finish the race. Add in St. Jude as the cause and it's one I recommend.
J. B. from Minnesota, USA (12/6/2011) "Decent marathon, but focus is on the 1/2'ers" (about: 2011) 11-50 previous marathons \| 1 Memphis Marathon COURSE: 3 ORGANIZATION: 3 FANS: 4 Pros: Water stops- every mile! The Gatorade was also not very potent, which was nice. GU's handed out on the course 4 times Fan support- many spectators played loud music and were dancing and cheering very enthusiastically. Great finish line in the AutoZone stadium Weather- Perfect! The temperature at the starting line was 46 degrees. The finish was around 65 degrees. The sun was shining and there was only a small breeze. 6. Post- race food- SO much food for the runners: Pizza, Soup, Chili, Beer, Gatorade,and more 7. Plenty of beer at the finish (unlike Go! St. Louis) 8. Nice technical finisher's shirts Cons: The focus was on the 1/2 marathon- the fans definitely thinned after the 1/2 The marathon actually repeated part of the course Volunteers at the expo- I hate to complain about the volunteers, since they are volunteering...but we asked some questions at the Information Booth, and the volunteers really didn't have a clue. For example, we asked the Information Booth about the gear check. The volunteer said that the gear check was not secured, and that you had to make your own tags. However, once we got home, we realized that indeed that was a bag tag included, and the gear check was completely secured. We also asked about GU's on the course, and were told that there were none- but there were 4-5 GU stations! Course marshalls were not policing all the intersections, and my spectator told me that she witnessed a car accident, as well as several near-accidents with runners and drivers! Eeeks... The last mile of the race was not near the crowds, and it was on a freeway underpass. This was a bit of a downer, even though the actual finish line was great. Please see the following link for a full review: www.therightfits.com
L. G. from Pineville, LA (12/5/2011) "Always a great race" (about: 2011) 6-10 previous marathons \| 2 Memphis Marathons COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 4 This is one of my favorite races. Not only is it for a good cause, but it is not too big and very well organized. Running through the St. Jude campus is amazing. There are a few moderate hills on the course, but nothing major. The only thing I saw that was lacking was there was no fruit along the course; only water/gatorade and gu gels at certain stations. Lots of spectators in key areas, but many areas were without crowd support. I would still recommend this marathon to anyone who has never run it.
L. K. from Tennessee, USA (12/5/2011) "Great cause, great race!" (about: 2011) First Marathon COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 3 This is a perfectly-sized race with great organization and support. Water stops and porta-potties every mile with great spectators for the first half. The second half has the water, gel, and potties, but almost no spectators. I am really glad I was running with some friends, because it got a little boring. The roads are kinda bumpy, and there were several places where they were down-right rough. I actually turned my ankle at one water stop. Any shortcomings don't change the fact that this is a great race. I have done the half here three other times, and this was my first full. I couldn't have picked a better race to do!
B. C. from Shreveport, LA (12/5/2011) "Challenging course/Great organization" (about: 2011) 6-10 previous marathons \| 1 Memphis Marathon COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 3 I saw comments on this course being flat when I first checked into running this race. It is NOT flat. It is by no means extremely hilly but other than the stretch by the Mississippi River, the course always seemed to be inclining either up or down. For folks that care about that stuff, be warned. Race organization was great. Crowds were light to nonexistent after the halfers split off. Water stations were every mile. A couple of stretches of road had a VERY noticeable camber if you didn't run the middle of the road. Location of the start/finish relative to downtown lodging was wonderful! No shuttles!!! All in all, a nice event for a good cause.
J. P. from Madison, MS, USA (12/5/2011) "Can't wait to run this half marathon again!" (about: 2011) 6-10 previous marathons \| 1 Memphis Marathon COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 Ran the Half as a St. Jude Hero. well-organized; St. Jude and volunteers did everything for runners except the actual mileage; wonderful pasta dinner the night before the race; great support from City of Memphis; great course; fabulous cheering crowds; wearing the Hero shirt made me a rock star for the weekend! great perks for Heroes! nice expo; nice weather; nice medal; set a PR by 10 minutes. amazing experience running through the St. Jude campus to cheers and thanks of crowd!!! definitely want to run it again!

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