More Marathon

What was I thinking when I signed up for this race? I can only blame myself for not reading the reviews beforehand. It looks like I will only be listing negatives since I honestly cannot find one positive thing about this race: 1) Waaaay too crowded! About 7,500 people crowded in narrow running lanes in Central Park. At least 95% of them were half marathoners. Yes, no one cares to run the full. 2) Most walkers I've seen outside of the March of Dimes Walkathon. 3) Droves and droves of walkers! Constant dodging of walkers who are walking side by side by side, creating human roadblocks. Every water stop (which was self serve) had scores of rude walkers who would just stop in front of the water tables forcing others to wait or go around them for hydration. 4) Mind-numbing and repetitive course. 5) Course marshals were clueless and inattentive as to the route for the full. 6) No energy gels distributed along the course. 7) Spectators? Probably more pigeons looking at us then spectators. 8) Lonely - after the half marathoners left (thankfully), there were more casual joggers out for their morning jog than racers. 9) Mounds of horse poop at the lower end of the park (which I inadvertently stepped on dodging those walkers). They say that the worst pain during a marathon happens after Mile 20; for me the pain was after the race, thinking about the time, money and training wasted. I guess the best thing I can say about this race is that it is over. At least with a root canal I figure it was necessary pain, but with this race I only blame myself for being a masochist. I guess if I want the camarzaderie of more mature women, I might have to try a knitting club... and certainly not this "race." Never, ever again.

I too was excited to come to NYC and run this marathon as NYC is my hometown. I'd read comments about the race after my friend and I signed up to do this marathon but decided to give it the benefit of the doubt. Well, the race proved me wrong. I started with a pace group and got stuck behind the walkers. The pace group went TOO fast. I was running a 4:20 marathon when I should have been running a 4:40. Thankfully, the second group of pacers that took over slowed things down but by then the damage was done and my legs were toast by Mile 23. Thankfully, one of the pacers stayed with me. The finish line was a disappointment. There was not the hoopla that I'd seen for the half-marathoners. I got my medal and a friend found a bagel and apple. All the booths were breaking down. I finished in 4:46. Way under the cutoff. To me, if you're going to put on a race, everyone should get the same treatment, which is why I think the marathon should be eliminated from this race. The other thing is that over 300 started the marathon but only 152 finished. I checked the half-marathon stats and found 20 marathon numbers amongst the finishers. So if marathoners didn't just quit, they opted to just to just do the half, which explains why they ran out of half-marathon medals. I really hope the organizers will read these comments and take it all into consideration when planning next year's event. I think it is great to celebrate women over 40 and to know that so many women did the half-marathon for the first time is awesome. However, if the support is not going to be there for the marathoners, they should just eliminate it from the event. It is very disheartening to have trained for so long to find no one *home* to greet you.

I ran the full in 2006 and had a pretty good experience. I went back in 2008 and wish I had taken the comments on this site more seriously. NYRR should know better than to hold a run for some 8,000 people in Central Park. It doesn't work. At the very least, they need to have a staggered start. I saw four people fall while attempting to dodge the other "runners." I decided to cross the finish line when I was at the half marathon mark because I was so bruised (literally) from the first two laps. I could also see that the small support we had in 2006 was not going to happen in 2008. No interest whatsoever. I'd also like to know why they changed the course to this new and very confusing route. The old course that sent the marathoners across 102nd and to the bottom of the park on the south end for five laps at least allowed us to get out of and then ahead of the half strollers after the first half lap. There was no relief this year for the first two laps. I was absolutely exhausted from playing dodge people for two hours. Never, ever, ever again. I also thought the expo was bad: Two floors crammed full of women who thought they were on a shopping trip. There was no water at the expo and one table for another race. The idea is that this is a race. I'm happy so many people want to give distance running a try, but it should not be at the expense of those of us who train year round to run races. If More and NYRR want to sponsor an event for first-time runners and people who want to distance walk, they should bill the "race" as such. If you are at all serious about running, avoid this race at all costs.