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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 81 to 91]
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A. S. from United States
(10/24/2011)
 "Good, well organized marathon" (about: 2011)
11-50 previous marathons
| 1 Hartford Marathon
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 4 This was a well organized race. Pros Plenty of water stops and porta potties. Easy to get to marathon from hotel. Generally flat and easy course. Good support along the way. Several offers of GU, candy, oranges, bananas. Cons A couple of people got off course because a race guide was missing. | |
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J. T. from Raleigh, NC
(10/20/2011)
 "Well run and enjoyable event." (about: 2011)
11-50 previous marathons
| 1 Hartford Marathon
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 3 The ING Harford Marathon is a well run, enjoyable event. Great spectators, great volunteers, great shirt, free parking close to the start/finish, the list goes on. As a Saturday event, Hartford is ideal for an attempt at a double when combined with Newport or some other Sunday event. It's evident that the organizers really understand marathons and marathoners. Things that stood out to me compared to other events - GOOD 1. excellent course support. not only were there plentiful aid stations, there was lots of bike support and the cyclists carried gels, etc to hand out to runners that needed them 2. volunteers were well taken care of - they had at least one golf cart with coffee and donuts that drove up and down the course just to support the course marshals. Also all volunteers got a really nice jersey (not the $3 t-shirt most events give their volunteers) 3. they kept the mats down long after the official course close. With a 6 hour course cutoff, the last runner finished at 7:40. While I don't necessarily like folks staying out that long after the official close, it was good to see them not abandon runners or force them to quit. 4. plenty of live music on the course. and the bagpipes are always fun - they had at least three separate pipers. NITPICKS 1. Expo was a little small / disappointing. It was also not set up well for the vendors (i.e. have the shirt pickup at the far end to get everyone to walk through) so those who paid but ended up on the back row had very little traffic. 2. What was up with those (official) motorcycles? Did they really have to drive all the way up through all the packed runners massed at the start line? Only to wait just past the start for us all to run by them? And did they really have to park on the narrowest part of the course (the middle of the greenway) instead of off to the side? 3. not a lot of spectators. With us running through neighborhoods I was surprised that more folks weren't out to cheer us on. | |
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H. L. from Connecticut
(10/19/2011)
"I would run it again." (about: 2011)
6-10 previous marathons
| 1 Hartford Marathon
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 3 I really did enjoy the race (even though I did not PR). I did not mind the long out and back too much. (See others comments for that.) Lots of volunteers, but not a ton of crowd support. A big enough group of runners that the small crowds did not bother me. Where the crowds were they were very good and vocal plus there was lots of music on the course. The expo was a disappointment, but I do not pick races for the expo. Overall I really enjoyed Hartford!! | |
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J. K. from Ohio
(10/19/2011)
"Hartford Community embraces this Marathon" (about: 2011)
11-50 previous marathons
COURSE: 3 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 The Community really embraces welcomes runners. Stayed at Hampton on Pitkin St. Very clean and short walk to Marathon. Pre dinner at Salute accross from pkt pickup. EXCELLENT FOOD Run was flat and fast. Great Job Hartford!! | |
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J. A. from Lancaster, PA
(10/19/2011)
"Spectacular organization for a large marathon" (about: 2011)
11-50 previous marathons
| 1 Hartford Marathon
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 3 This was my 16th marathon I have run small and large races. The organization of this race was great. Easy to get to and find parking we arrived at 6:40 and were able to easily get to the free lot. It was also incredibly easy to leave no lines of traffic like some marathons I have run. The course was nice with enough variety of terrain and scenery to keep things interesting. The spectators were few but were enthusiastic and creative with their signs. This would be a good choice for a Conn. marathon. | |
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B. B. from Pittsburgh, Pa
(10/19/2011)
 "Some good things, some room for improvement" (about: 2011)
11-50 previous marathons
| 1 Hartford Marathon
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 3 Overall, I enjoyed the race. I liked how the split between the half and full occured early. I liked the first 9 and last one mile of the race. I really enjoyed the finish under the arch. The shirt and medal are both excellent. The spectators at the finish were very supportive and Hartford is a nice town. Somethings that could be improved upon include the course from mile 10 through 24- I like out and backs, but that was too long. The water stations were too small, I had to turn back a few times or go without water. I thought that the expo could have been a little better. Overall, a good experience and a good way of checking Conn. off of your list. | |
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S. L. from Vermont
(10/18/2011)
"Really nice, just needs a course change" (about: 2011)
6-10 previous marathons
| 1 Hartford Marathon
COURSE: 3 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 3 This is the first marathon I've run with so many aid stations and music. Also, there were a huge number of massage therapists at the finish and nice finishers' food. That was great as was running through the beautiful downtown Hartford and along the river. My only real complaint was an out-and-back of about 10 miles that was really flat and boring. I would have liked to see more of the historical parts of Hartford. Another nice thing is they stay until people finish even past the 6 hour road closure limit. | |
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Matthew Parry from Baltimore, MD
(10/18/2011)
 "Disappointing" (about: 2011)
6-10 previous marathons
| 1 Hartford Marathon
COURSE: 2 ORGANIZATION: 3 FANS: 1 This was my first time running the Hartford marathon and it will also be my last. After an uninspiring race start (no gun, not much commotion, little excitement), I was further disappointed by the course, including going through a park on a sidewalk and a lot of uneven pavement. Even more disappointing was the local turnout; we ran through residential areas of East Hartford with zero spectators at times. One area up near mile 15-16 did have a good amount of community spirit, but that was the exception. The best parts of this race were the police support (superb) and the number of easily-identifiable volunteers. A strong headwind from mile 17 was not the organizer's fault, of course, but it made for a long return to the finish line. The post-race food-beverage area was a bit of a mad house and I gave my beer ticket away when I saw the crush of people waiting for a free draft. The Expo was pretty dismal - after getting my bib I walked through it once and left without buying a thing. | |
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F. L. from NJ
(10/17/2011)
"Top Notch - They thought of everything!" (about: 2011)
50+ previous marathons
| 2 Hartford Marathons
COURSE: 3 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 4 Let's start out with the fact that I didn't like this course. It seems like they change it all the time. I ran the race in 2007 and really thought the course was perfect. So why they messed with it is beyond me. That aside....The organizing committee and, in fact, all those even remotely involved thought of absolutely everything to make this a safe and enjoyable event. All the expected and some unexpected perks were delivered. Amazing shirt, perfect expo, all the right stuff and spacing of aid stations. Nice music (I'm not a fan of music every mile, but they did it right). At the end we got 'another water bottle', but this was fun to get - it was ING signature orange but it actually says 'finisher' on it. How cool is that. Above all I found that the ING Hartford Marathon treated the 50 state club members who were finishing the states at this race like they were rock stars! Makes me wish I finished here. They organized pre-race interviews, a post race group photo and each finished received an absolutely beautiful plaque. Our hotel (we stayed at the conveniently located Homewood Suites, less than a two block walk to and from the start/finish) gave us souvenir key cards and special 'do not disturb' signs for the room doors. I ran about a 5:10 marathon and there was a terrible fire in a truck repair building so we were 'diverted' about 20 feet into a small parking lot so that the emergency vehicles could handle the situation. In spite of the black billowing smoke, they did everything to make it work without any significant diversion. I said TOP NOTCH, didn't I??????? Okay just one small downer - the finish area food is a step down from the 'gourmet' feast they provided in the past. Still what they had was excellent. | |
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P. B. from New Jersey
(10/17/2011)
 "Good first or second marathon or Boston Qualifier" (about: 2011)
1 previous marathon
| 1 Hartford Marathon
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 Fast course, as described in previous posts. There was almost too much to like about this race: well organized; effective volunteers; seamless electronic timing; the front yard spectators on the out-and-back portion; getting to see the elites coming back; the mile barkers and the bands, including the lady playing the acoustic blues and some great rockin' electric bands; the GU bikers; the steady and entertaining 3:55 pacer -could not have been better; great medal; really like the shirt; the post-race soup really hit the spot; good massage with a short wait; my family really enjoyed the facebook and texted time posts. So, next year, no headwinds and a few more porta-potties at the start, OK?' |
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