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Jul 3, 2024

Pittsburgh Marathon Runner Comments

Back to Pittsburgh Marathon Information & Reviews

Course 4.6

Organization 4.5

Spectators 4.6

Number of comments: 226 [displaying comments 101 to 111]

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C. S. from South Jersey (5/17/2011) "Course that gives a complete tour of the city" (about: 2011) 11-50 previous marathons \| 2 Pittsburgh Marathons COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 5 Excellent job with the course itself. Course really tours all of the neighborhoods of Pittsburgh. Course is hilly but the organizers really made it about as flat as they could for Pittsburgh. Logistics to start area and parking were excellent. Prefer the old finish in Point State Park over the Heinz Field parking lot finish: lots of grass and trees instead of concrete. One improvement to be made at finish as finishers were not allowed back into the area where Gatorade was once exiting for the food. That seemed silly and potentially dangerous (if it was a hot day). However, there were a couple of tables with jugs of water and cups outside this area so that made it acceptable. Shuttle from finish back to downtown (about 1.5 miles) was fairly conveniently located on the other side of Heinz field - about 0.5 miles from the finish. Expo itself was one of the best I've seen: pretty much anything you would want relative to running. Parking and getting in and out of the expo on Saturday was also painless. Fan support was very good especially considering below average weather conditions (for fans) with drizzle to light rain for most of the race. Although a native of Pittsburgh, I've trained primarily on the flats of South Jersey the past 7 years. Based on that I feel the hills cost me about 5 minutes off my time (my times range from 3:40 to 4:05 the past 5 years). Recommend the marathon especially when compared to other medium to large marathons that I've run (Marine Corp, Philadelphia, Richmond, New Jersey).
B. H. from US (5/17/2011) "Gotta run Pittsburgh - great surprise" (about: 2011) 11-50 previous marathons \| 1 Pittsburgh Marathon COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 A group of us traveled to Pittsburgh to do both the full and half marathon expecting an industrial old city. Wow, what a pleasant surprise! City is full of wonderful history, culture, architecture and super nice people. Course was great and people very friendly. We stayed at the Springhill Suites by Marriot. The staff there was super accommodating. Perfectly located between start and finish. Lots of water/gat stations, spectators, porta- potty's and bands. Very well organized and probably one of the best races I've been to. Excellent expo and lots to do in city the days before. Must go to Strip district to enjoy all the outdoor markets and savor the local favors. Don't miss this one.
J. S. from Kittanning, PA (5/17/2011) "Fix the Corral System" (about: 2011) 6-10 previous marathons \| 3 Pittsburgh Marathons COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 3 FANS: 5 Positives: Much improved finish area (extreme kudos for that); great course. Negative: Corral system. I was in Corral B, having to run around many fat-bottomed girls who were placed in corral A. It seems that all marathon relay teams' first runners were placed in corral A. Bad idea. I was extremely frustrated for the first mile and a half.
M. N. from Indiana (5/16/2011) "Well organized race - unique course" (about: 2011) 11-50 previous marathons \| 1 Pittsburgh Marathon COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 4 The organization of this race was outstanding from the expo, to the pasta dinner, packet pickup, start line, finish line,... The course was fantastic. It traveled through downtown and surrounding areas. Pittsburgh has some really neat areas. It crossed over the bridges 4 times. I anticipated a very hilly course after reading the reviews so I held back in the first half. After finishing the largest hill going to the University of Pittsburgh area, I thought this is not so bad. (Atlanta, Jackson, and Little Rock had as many hills or more) I took off and had a 3 minute negative splits race and finished with a 'normal' time for me. It was amazing this race was advertised as having 18,000 runners yet I was never constrained and quickly settled into my pace. They had a corral system based on your times and I believe they started a couple of corrals at a time. The weather was predicted as rain, but we only saw some light rain early on, the temperature held steady and even some sunshine at the end. I would definitely do this race again.
M. M. from Richmond, VA (5/16/2011) "First 10 miles needs 're-engineering'" (about: 2011) 6-10 previous marathons \| 2 Pittsburgh Marathons COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 5 (It rained in 2010 as well, but this is Pittsburgh, after all). That wasn't the problem: the start line was, as were the early miles. The start was a mess, with corrals randomly distributed. Then, while the walkers set off at 6am, the rest of the field (full, half, relay) all set off at 7, and the streets aren't wide enough for that kind of stampede - great opportunity to tread on heels. The crowd started to thin at M6-7, and only really cleared at M10, when the halfers peeled off. The Expo is excellent, the atmosphere superb, the crowd support positively uplifting for the entire 26.2 - very interactive, and all having fun. But Dick's needs to work on the front half of the race before it gets too excited about growing this race through 2020.
L. H. from Cherry Hill, NJ (5/16/2011) "Kudos to the organizers and City of Pittsburgh!" (about: 2011) 11-50 previous marathons \| 1 Pittsburgh Marathon COURSE: 3 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 This was my 24th marathon and first Pittsburgh. The course is tough and the rain did not help. With that being said, the race organizers did a great job from start to finish. I was also so impressed by the local musical talent showcased throughout the course, as well as the volunteers. The spectators were wonderful, especially at the end of the race when you are coming across the bridge. Just remember, this race is NOT for sissies!
B. B. from Ann Arbor, MI (5/16/2011) "great organization" (about: 2011) 6-10 previous marathons \| 1 Pittsburgh Marathon COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 4 Great race!! I didn't personally have a great day but the course is great... and challenging. The organization is fantastic. My family had fun despite the near constant rain all weekend. There were a lot of activities associated with the race and we all had a great time. No problems on the course, before or after the race.
D. F. from Pittsburgh, PA (5/16/2011) "Wonderfully organized in a beautiful city." (about: 2011) 11-50 previous marathons \| 3 Pittsburgh Marathons COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 The rain in 2011 definitely helped keep me cool on the hills. Not an easy course by any stretch of the imagination, but the finish is one of the easiest I've ever experienced. The organization this year was also excellent. Lots of very long aid stations with energy gels, food and drink. My wife thought that the new finish was not as friendly to spectators, but for the runners, it was easy and organized. Lots of bands along the course made it fun. Spectator were great, especially considering the rain. I still wish that the race could take advantage of at least one of the spectacular city parks that Pittsburgh has to offer, but the course is still nicely representative of this great city.
m. c. from west virginia (5/16/2011) "great race" (about: 2011) 11-50 previous marathons \| 1 Pittsburgh Marathon COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 They ran out of free posters, but otherwise, a great race - especially after mile 21.
S. L. from USA (5/16/2011) "First Marathon" (about: 2011) First Marathon COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 This was my first marathon and it was a great experience. The fans and volunteers are fantastic. The views of the city are spectacular and you really appreciate Pittsburgh.

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