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☰
Hartford Marathon Runner Comments
Back to Hartford Marathon Information & Reviews
Course 4.1 
Organization 4.3 
Spectators 3.9
Number of comments: 306 [displaying comments 71 to 81]
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D. F. from Westchester, NY
(10/15/2012)
 "Fantastic fall city marathon" (about: 2012)
3 previous marathons
| 1 Hartford Marathon
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 4 In short, this is a fantastic city marathon: big and well organized enough to be exciting, flat enough for a PR, yet pleasantly lacking in any of the logistical and overcrowding issues of a larger race. Everything relating to the marathon is located in a small, easily walkable part of downtown Hartford including the Expo, the pasta dinner (good enough and all you can eat at $20), the start, finish and many major hotels. So there are no logistical issues there. The Expo was smaller than that of a New York or Philly but had everything you could need. One gripe I have, and it's minor, is that unless you are an elite, bib numbers were assigned at random. Again, no huge deal but sometimes it's nice for your performance in prior races to reflect itself in a lower bib number. Whatever. I got over it. The start village was fantastic, located in a large park. Pace groups were easily identified and there were plenty of porta potties. If you had run a sub-3:30 in the past, you had access to a special start corral very close to the line. When the gun went off, everyone started. No waves. Which means that if you started towards the front, and it was honor system based beyond the first small corral, your net time was seconds away from the gun time. This detail is huge, as it added real meaning to the clocks throughout the course and at the finish for both runners and spectators. The course itself was net flat and had a few manageable hills. It did have a lot of turns in the first 9 miles, which for me added .17 to that part of the race, but then hit a long out and back through a suburban country setting where you could run the tangents perfectly since there were no tangents to run. I personally liked the out and back, getting to see the leaders on the way there and the masses on the way back and allowing myself to prepare for what small hills there were. After mile 25 there is a 50 foot hill going over a bridge, followed by a nice downhill and then the inspiring finish through an arch in central downtown. There was tremendous spectator support near the finish and the clock having real meaning since I started right after the run was cool too. My family could see the time and know exactly where I was relative to my goal. After the race, there was food and water and even some kind of free beer, which I somehow forgot to indulge in. The large park was a great place to end the race, allowing fans and tired runners space to move around. Great if you're bringing kids. Finally, the finisher's medal is very cool. The weather in Hartford in mid-October is generally nice, and was wonderfully cold and calm this year. I highly recommend this race, and not just because I nailed my sub-3 hour goal there. Definitely a nice alternative to the bigger city marathons out there. A great place to PR or BQ. | |
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J. D. from Brookline, MA
(10/14/2012)
 "Nice Fall Marathon" (about: 2012)
6-10 previous marathons
| 1 Hartford Marathon
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 3 Overall this was a terrific marathon, and I say that despite the fact that it was my slowest yet. The course was generally flat and really pretty. You run through the city for the first few miles and then along the river and out more in the country side. It looks like they upped the water stations from previous years as we had them every mile. After mile 17 there were volunteers on bikes riding along the runners offering up extra GU in case you missed it at one of the aid stations. There was one minor (and sort of major) thing I did not like about the course that I heard was new this year - we had to go down a set of stairs as part of the course around mile 25.5!!! I'm not sure which genius thought of that but it wasn't cool. The shirt and medal are great too! | |
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b. p. from new york
(10/14/2012)
"flat course" (about: 2012)
4-5 previous marathons
COURSE: 3 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 4 I ran the 1/2. I thought the support was great, course was flat and area great. post race food below average and wish more music on course. | |
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B. B. from somers, ny
(10/14/2012)
"Flat but boring course\good support" (about: 2012)
11-50 previous marathons
| 1 Hartford Marathon
COURSE: 2 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 4 Course: relatively flat with no serious hills despite what the elevation chart shows. But pretty boring w no real memorable views. Surprised that an October marathon in New England couldn't find a more interesting route. But if you want to run a fairly flat course, this is for you. Organization: well organized, plenty of on-course support with tons of police controlling traffic, water and Gatorade stations every 1-2 miles, and even volunteers on bikes handing out Gu in the middle of the street in multiple locations between miles 18-26. The reason I gave 4 stars and not 5 was my friends who only ran the half said that checked bag pickup was horrendous with lines that were ridiculous. Also, the post race food was one of the worst I've seen. Two oatmeal raisin cookies, a cup of apple cobbler (why?), ice cold rice, and a small yogurt in the 'food tent' and a bad half-bagel and cold banana in the finishers bag. One other positive, the people who work for the Hartford Marathon Foundation, and the race volunteers, were fantastic. All very friendly and supportive, true ambassadors for the race and the city of Hartford. Supporters: not a ton of people out there, and some sections were pretty quiet. But the out -and -back portion between 15 and 20 was great. People BBQing on their front lawns, playing music, kids tossing footballs etc. The people who just played music on their own were great. One last note: skip the official pasta dinner and find a better place to eat. | |
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P. K. from Greenwich, CT
(4/23/2012)
 "Hartford is not a destination marathon" (about: 2009)
3 previous marathons
| 1 Hartford Marathon
COURSE: 3 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 2 ING and the Hartford team did a nice job of organizing a perfectly adequate event. While the course was fine, it lacks the pizzazz of other races, and the on-course amenities (music, nutrition) were less than advertised. The crowd was thin but enthusiastic, and the participants were very pleasant. Overall the experience was good, no major complaints, but the event was unexceptional. | |
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C. B. from Atlanta, GA
(12/7/2011)
"Great New England fall marathon!" (about: 2011)
11-50 previous marathons
| 1 Hartford Marathon
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 4 Running through downtown and then out into the country to see some farmland and fall leaves is a great way to spend an October morning! Lots of friendly spectators and fellow-runners. The organization was top-notch. Plenty of good food at the finish. The only thing that I didn't like was that the pace team leaders dropped their signs as the race started making it impossible to locate them later on the course. Great job Hartford, I had a wonderful time! | |
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Christopher Febles from Brooklyn, NY
(11/11/2011)
"To everything, turn, turn, turn..." (about: 2011)
11-50 previous marathons
| 1 Hartford Marathon
COURSE: 3 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 To begin and end with positive: such a lovely course. Both city and country, farm and river...truly enjoyable. Surprising crowds as well. Great competition; lots of runners in the 3:10 pack. Terrific organization; they made 13,000 runners feel very comfortable. TV coverage was awesome too, and I got a free video of myself! Only complaint: when I took a shower later, I realized, 'boy, there were a lot of turns!' I counted 65, actually. Less than running on a track, but a few sharp ones, including a turnaround at Mile 17. The stretch between 14-20 was OK, but before and after there were just too many turns. Oh well...to do otherwise would take away from the course beauty. C'est la vie. Outstanding marathon, great job all around; if you need to add CT to your 50-state list, this is the one. | |
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J. N. from North Jersey
(11/8/2011)
"Great experience, great people, fair course." (about: 2011)
1 previous marathon
| 1 Hartford Marathon
COURSE: 3 ORGANIZATION: 3 FANS: 5 From start to finish... It was my first trip to Hartford, but I had studied the maps and thought I was well prepared. At the outset, there were insufficient porta potties. Then I couldn't find a bottle of water to hydrate before the race, and though it was easy to find the crowd of runners, it wasn't eay to discover which direction the starting line actually was. The start was fun, but new jersey's was more exciting by comparison. The first few miles of the course were great, not crowded at all, and fan support throughout was excellent. The out and back section at mile ten was, despite the fan support, miserable. The promised bikers with gu gels were extremely hard to find. One pair of bikers was parked on the side of the road talking to each other when I noticed them by accident and had to rip a gel out of his hands as he gestured. The second was riding AGAINST the flow of runners. THAT was a challenge, which I failed. Good thing I brought a few of my own gels. Water stations, yes, we're too small, and too far apart for the final 13.1 miles. Most of the cups I happened to get we're a third full, and two ounces of water every two miles doesn't cut it. The fans were great, though, and the rest of the course was varied and interesting, even with the wind. Finally, the finish in the park under the arch, is just perfect. In short, if they could change the out and back in every way, course and amenities-wise, they'd have a superb race. Oh, yes, and the expo was very disappointing compared to philadelphia's and new jersey's. | |
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D. R. from CT - Connecticut
(11/4/2011)
"Good, well organized race" (about: 2011)
2 previous marathons
| 2 Hartford Marathons
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 4 I've run Hartford 3 times (2 full, 1 half, most recently 2011), and while some people on this board knock the race, keep in mind, this is a SMALL marathon (~2000 entrants). For a race of this size, there are TONS of spectators (it's not NY or Boston), and it's amazingly well organized. The course is mostly flat, and the weather is usually perfect (upper 50's and sunny this year). Tons of water/Gatorade and GU on demand (from people on bicycles). Plenty of on course support from race officials. Lots of bands and entertainment along the course. Plenty of parking near the start/finish line. Great shirts and medals. Out of all the longer races I've run (half and up), this is far and away the best. This race will never compete with the big boys (NY, Boston, Chicago, etc), but it also doesn't try to. It's a great race in the fall in New England, run it and enjoy! | |
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Sarah Gross from Harrison, OH
(10/30/2011)
"Very boring course." (about: 2011)
11-50 previous marathons
| 1 Hartford Marathon
COURSE: 1 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 4 I ran the full and there was nothing to take a picture of. My husband ran the half and he said that all he saw was Mark Twain's home. (Since I'm doing the 50-states, I'm documenting in a scrapbook 'this is me' (which the course photographer had tons of me)and 'this is what I saw' which will be blank for my CT entry. The medal was very nice and the shirt was nice. The 'souvenirs' at the expo were fantastic. |
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