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Jul 2, 2024

Green Bay Marathon Runner Comments

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Course 4.3

Organization 4.4

Spectators 4.0

Number of comments: 235 [displaying comments 101 to 111]

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Rob Klein from Aurora, CO (5/19/2008) "A Sensational Marathon Event" (about: 2008) 11-50 previous marathons \| 1 Green Bay Marathon COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 This marathon event was centered around Lambeau Field in Green Bay, so many thanks to the Green Bay Packer organization for the use of their facilities. The stadium has an huge atrium attached to the east side, and the expo was held there, and it was a decent expo. The pasta dinner was held under the west/northwest side bleachers, and a portion of the bleachers were open, where we could eat and enjoy the awe of this stadium. There was an abundance of pasta, salad, bread sticks, cookies, and root beer, coffee, and milk. This was perhaps the best that I have seen in 22 marathons. The parking at Lambeau was free, and the atrium and bathroom facilities were available before race time. The marathon started in the middle of Lombardi Ave., and headed into the residential area northeast of the stadium, then headed west of U.S. 40 and then back toward the Fox River. Here, the 1/2 marathoners turned toward their finish line, and the marathoners went south along the river to De Pere - a nice and friendly town to the south. In De Pere we crossed the Fox River (about mile 16) and turned into a stiff headwind for 5.5 or 6 miles along the river on the ped/bike path. At mile marker 21 we crossed back over the river, for a few more miles or residential neighborhoods, before returning to Lambeau. Inside the last mile, we entered the tunnel leading onto the field, looped around the turf, and then into the east side parking lot for the finish line and post-race festivities. The headwind took its toll on me, but that was in God's hand. The course (which was mostly flat) and the organization were top-notch (both got 5's), and the spectators for a medium-size event (8,000 full and 1/2 marathon runners) in a town of 100,000 people was outstanding - spectators/fans get a 5 too. And as always, the volunteers are much appreciated for their service - many who were youngsters working with the adults, and law enforcement personnel were excellent in guiding runners through intersections and controlling traffic. A personal note: Between mile 10 and 11 there was a street corner just filled with folks - fans - and they were wildly enthusiastic. Maybe 50 to 100 total people (I just wasn't thinking about how many there might have been). These folks were just wildly cheering us on and doing high 5's. It started with two very young girls, and it went on for maybe 25 people in a row! I felt like these were my personal friends, cheering me on, and I can not use words to describe the emotional lift these people gave us - and me in particular. Nobody that I knew, and nobody I will likely ever see again. But they certainly left their mark on me. Wow! There was another bunch of enthusiastic fans at mile marker 21 as we crossed the bridge. Not as many, but they too were an inspiration to me. This was a very worthwhile marathon event and I highly recommend it. If you have issues with the Packers as a football franchise, you should set the issues aside and go run this marathon! I don't think you will be disappointed.
Meghna Mohan from Wausau, WI (5/19/2008) "My First and I loved it" (about: 2008) First Marathon COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 4 This was my first time running in any event! I ran and successfully finished the half marathon. I don't have any runs/events to compare the Cellcom Marathon with, but I was extremely pleased with the way it was organized. People were very helpful and things moved smoothly from start to finish. Thank you for giving me the best experience on my very first run!
S. C. from Lombard, IL (5/19/2008) "Loved this Marathon!" (about: 2008) 3 previous marathons \| 1 Green Bay Marathon COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 4 Good weather! Course was nice and flat. The spectators that were out on the course were great! Mile 20 - "The Wall" - was AWESOME!!!! All the extra goodies (oranges, candy, cookies) were such a good surprise. Great Volunteers! Would do this again!!!!
S. D. from Westchester New York (5/19/2008) "Quite a Surprise" (about: 2008) 50+ previous marathons \| 1 Green Bay Marathon COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 4 As I continue around the USA one marathon at a time, I try to give my honest comments on each marathon I have run with a little about the location for flavor. I have run small races, large races, and in this case, a mid-sized race. While the half and the 5K are the big draws among the 8,000-plus runners, they do not know what they have missed. The course starts off slowly, going back a forth around residential areas. Those who ran only the half saw this part of the course. After the split, those who ran the whole marathon crossed over to the other side of the Fox River and got to run the bike path for about 5 miles along the river. This was a great part of the course and people should do the full marathon if only for this part of the course. The course was nice, but not 5 stars. What was 5 stars was the incredibly good organization. The course was well marked, police where at all the right locations, aid stations were plentiful and well stocked and manned, plus it was a treat to have three GU stations with a large supply of GU available. The spectators were out in force. For a small city the locals really get behind and support the race by volunteering or cheering the runners. Green Bay, you did a great job. As for the city itself, the locals seemed to be almost uniformly pleasant and more then willing to help out. I challenge anyone to find a nicer group of people as a whole. You made Green Bay a very nice place to visit. The city is nice and does have some things to see. I was only disappointed by how few people I saw out and about on Saturday before and Sunday after the race. There are plenty of hotels near the stadium and the Cambria Suites where I stayed was very nice. Brett Favre's Steak House was surprisingly good. The expo was a treat with more then enouph vendors. The pasta party was the only race-sponsored event that I found lacking, and if I went again, I would skip it. If you want to get in Wisconsin there are a number of really good races, but do not discount Green Bay. It deserves to be given equal billing with Fox City and Mad City.
Beer Delivery Guy from Waukesha, WI (5/19/2008) "Nice, flat, friendly" (about: 2008) 6-10 previous marathons \| 1 Green Bay Marathon COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 4 VERY good course to attain a PR. Extremely flat and well organized. Only major problem was the train at mile 20-21. Hard to plan around (I assume), but very frustrating to wait for a train at that point. The beer at the finish line was great - brewed by a local brewery, not cheap mass-produced stuff. Lap around Lambeau was priceless. Overall, a true Wisconsin experience - beer, brats and friendliness!
N. R. from wisconsin (5/19/2008) "A must-do marathon" (about: 2008) 1 previous marathon COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 4 This is a well-organized and run race. Being able to run inside Lambeau Field before finishing is quite a thrill. The course is flat and has plenty of supplies - water, Gatorade, Gu, oranges, bananas, and towels handed out along the way. Timing mats let those following your run know how you are doing. This year the temperature was perfect, but the wind did pick up a little. I ran the half last year and came back to do the full this year. Thanks for a great time.
A. T. from Chicago, IL (5/19/2008) "Green Bay 2008 - Thanks Sean and Team" (about: 2008) 4-5 previous marathons COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 3 This was my 6th marathon (4th different city) and overall I thought it was a good experience. Sean Ryan has done a good job with his operations staff of organizing the marathon very well. Great course overview presentation on the Saturday by Sean and the packet pick up and small expo seem well organized. The event T-shirt could be improved upon - a running top maybe? I know there is a cost to produce but I wonder if most runners just end up throwing away the basic t-shirts that some races give out? I know I do, but I do keep and wear the tops, such as the excellent Nike pro-tech running shirt given out for the Chicago Ready to Run 20-miler. On race day, thanks to the organizers for putting on shuttle buses from area hotels - very much appreciated and a great start for chatting with fellow runners. Be sure to try to get to the front at the start of the race; unfortunately I didn't, and I found myself tripping over people who were walking the half marathon course from the gun start (I also think a number of people still do not understand how to line up for races according to time goals!!!). The course itself was mostly flat and this weekend saw great temps and mostly sunny weather. The wind wasn't too much of a factor in the neighborhoods, but was more apparent on the exposed areas of the Fox River Trail. Aid stations were excellently organized (thanks so much to the volunteers), and as someone who seems to need an exceptional level of fluids, I appreciated the frequency of aid stations on the marathon course. The wall party at mile 20 was also appreciated as a boost. I must say I was somewhat disappointed that there were not more local people out supporting the runners, especially since the race did meander through different neighborhoods. The people who did venture out of their houses were very supportive, and so, thanks to them for making the effort to cheer on the runners. Last year when I ran Fargo I was very impressed at how many local people were out of their houses cheering on the runners. The finish around the inside track of Lambeau field was great to do as well. Finisher's medal was good and I like the way the top local male and female athletes are incorporated in the medal design. To L.S below: I just passed over the tracks before that train arrived and I was wondering what they would do with the runners - not good with personal goals at stake. Definitely for 2009 that should be taken into consideration if possible for a course re-direction.
T. C. from Milwaukee, WI (5/19/2008) "Flat, fast, and great organization" (about: 2008) 11-50 previous marathons \| 1 Green Bay Marathon COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 4 Overall, this is a great event. This year, the weather happened to be nice and cool and I PR'd. I live in Milwaukee and this was my first visit to Green Bay. Lambeau was an exceptional venue to have the expo, pasta dinner, start and finish and post-race party. I loved the lap around the football field. The volunteers were awesome. Aid stations were superb and I loved the gel supply at the 7, 13, and 20 mile marks. The race director also did a great job doing the pre-race presentation, explaining the logistics in detail. Just two concerns: 1. The train delay mentioned in the previous post. 2. Apparently the pasta dinner ran out of meat sauce and some beverages. My wife paid $15 and thought it shouldn't have run out of anything. I will do this race again.
J. R. from Iowa (5/19/2008) "Flat and Fast! Great Boston Qualifier!" (about: 2008) 4-5 previous marathons \| 1 Green Bay Marathon COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 4 I got a huge PR, so I obviously LOVE this marathon - flat and fast, just like advertised. There was some major confusion at the start with the pacers. Due to the start line congestion, the 4:00 pacer started ahead of the 3:30 pacer! It all got sorted out by mile 3, but it was a very confusing first few miles. I ran with the 3:30 pace group and we had a blast. I would recommend running with a pace group, so you won't notice if/when the spectators are sparse. I do wish the water stops were longer. Many of them were so congested that it wasn't possible to get to the Gatorade or water without cutting off other runners or coming to a complete stop. Fortunately, there are so many water stops (every 1.5 miles) that you didn't have to go far to get to the next one. Also, I wish spectators could fill the 1st row or two all around Lambeau instead of just one section. I expected Lambeau to be awesome, with music and lots of people cheering. It wasn't. Still, probably the best part of the marathon course, but not what I was expecting. Overall, the race was well organized and I would highly recommend it for a PR or BQ.
M. P. from Milwaukee, WI (5/19/2008) "Great race with a few improvements needed" (about: 2008) 2 previous marathons \| 1 Green Bay Marathon COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 5 A great race. It is a flat, black-top course. Water and Gatorade stops are present about every 1.5 miles and port-a-potties about every 2 or 3 miles. Gu was available about every 7 miles. There were a lot of spectators at the early stages of the race, but the route along the river made it difficult for them to get to the course to support the runners during those miles, but everyone who showed up to support the runners was really nice and friendly. Here is my idea on how to improve the race and they just pertain to the start: They had the 5k, marathon, and half marathon start from the same gates at the same time; 8000 runners trying to cram down the same street was not good, so why not start the marathoners at 7am, the 1/2 marathoners at 7:15am, and the 5k at 7:30am?

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