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Jul 1, 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 71 to 81]

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Benjamin Stewart from United States (5/8/2012) "Can you say hills???" (about: 2012) First Marathon COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 This was my very first marathon and although i didn't know what to expect I was not surprised by anything other than the hilly course. I also ran into paralyzing cramps in my thighs at mile 15. By 20 I had to see a medic to be rubbed out. Would this dis-qualify me from finishing the race? I got up after 5 minutes and continued the race. Although walking the remainder of the course i still can't find my name as a finisher, with an official time. Why??
m. b. from NY (5/7/2012) "Better than most!" (about: 2012) 4-5 previous marathons \| 1 Pittsburgh Marathon COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 5 Can't control the weather. The rolling hills in the back half caught up to me after the 200ft climb half way. Still set a new low for me. Only negative, they were only giving out the medals on the left side of the chute so I had to walk upstream to go get my medal, refreshments were on the right - I was more concerned trying to get hydrated and get sodium back in me. Great fan support and volunteers! Will recommend this race!
S. R. from Pittsburgh. USA (5/7/2012) "Please, get us some cold water or ice" (about: 2012) 3 previous marathons \| 3 Pittsburgh Marathons COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 3 FANS: 5 While this is a very well organized and challenging marathon (a lot of little killer hills), they could have thought about the weather (70 up to 80 in the sun) and the runners not having refreshing water or gatorate at the fluid stations. How difficult is it to put the water and gatorade bottles into big iced containers? I drank hot water and had to pass on gatorade because he tasted more like urine than a refreshing drink. Just ice-cubes in zip log bags would have been nice. I got some from spectators and it was so refreshing (put them in my shirt and in my mouth). For the rest though, it is always well organized and they seem to make progress every year. So yes I will run this race again and try to break 3:30 again next year. It is a fun time but please get cold water.
C. C. from Alpharetta, GA (5/7/2012) "A top notch marathon" (about: 2012) 50+ previous marathons \| 1 Pittsburgh Marathon COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 4 As a former resident of the Pittsburgh area (McKeesport) I relished a chance to come back and run this race. I had run this race many times before it sadly passed from the scene. Welcome back in a big way. Pretty much the same course as it had been for years. The city was showcased with a few hills but overall not too tough a course. I had a good start position but there were alot of half and relay runners until the split of the races. Water and fluid stops were superb and plentiful and there were SEVERAL GU stops. The finish was nice and though I had to leave the festival at the Point looked fun. From the expo until the finish Pittsburgh was a great experince. I tend to prefer smaller races but this one was done right. Do yourself a favor and run this race.
J. M. from St. Paul, MN (5/7/2012) "Great Event!" (about: 2012) 11-50 previous marathons \| 1 Pittsburgh Marathon COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 I am very pleased I ran this marathon. The expo was well run. The course was a good honest and interesting marathon course. The volunteers were great and much appreciated. The fluid stops, first aid stations, start line and finish line areas were well run. The people who worked on this event clearly knew what they were doing.
B. B. from Lynchburg, Virginia (5/7/2012) "Good, scenic, well-organized spring Marathon" (about: 2012) 11-50 previous marathons \| 1 Pittsburgh Marathon COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 3 The course is urban scenic (the 'hook' is running the bridges across the three rivers) and it's not a difficult course except for the climb up Forbes Ave at mile 13, but you get the benefit of the downhill back to the downtown at mile 23. It got a little hotter on May 6 than optimal - the risk of a spring Marathon. Crowds were thin in some places, better in others. There's lots of food and drink at the finish. The only real negative is that all the races - 5K, Half, and Relay start with the Marathon, and it's difficult to dodge slow traffic to get into Marathon pace in the narrow downtown streets.
J. R. from Morgantown, WV (5/7/2012) "Not well organized" (about: 2012) 3 previous marathons \| 1 Pittsburgh Marathon COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 1 FANS: 5 I did the half marathon in Pittsburgh yesterday. I really wanted to like it because it is a close race. It isn't the most organized event. The course is good and the spectators really get into it. That doesn't make up for a poorly organized race. Just a few things I observed. They didn't order enough shirts and some people didn't get theirs even though the race has been full for months. They ran out of cups at some of the fluid stations and were pouring water into people's hands. They also ran out of some of the medals. Lastly, there was poor crowd control at the finishing area. More minor issues...the expo wasn't laid out very well. Also, they changed from Nike to Asics for the shirts and it is the cheapest one I have ever received. All said, I wouldn't recommend this race.
D. R. from Cincinnati, OH (5/7/2012) "Well Done, Pittsburgh!" (about: 2012) 11-50 previous marathons \| 1 Pittsburgh Marathon COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 5 I ran this race, as Pittsburgh is my home town. It was fun seeing all the neighborhoods. I do recommend this race to others. Pros: 1. Nice shirt. 2. Nice medal. 3. Easy, organized packet pickup. 4. Many nice hotels available to stay the night before. I stayed at the William Penn and strongly recommend (they provided 3:00 p.m. late check out, pasta dinner, race breakfast, and all staff were extremely helpful and pleasant!) 5. Nice course with many bands and awesome neighborhood support (Homewood was my favorite, but they were all wonderful!) 6. Well stocked aid stations with friendly volunteers. 7. Many medical areas (great to have vasoline available). 8. It was a HOT, sunny day and during the second half of the full marathon, many had garden hoses out to cool off the runners...awesome!). 9. Great medical area and staff at finish...my knees are happier today due to early icing! 10. Potatoe chips at miles 24 and 25...welcome relief...I needed salt! 11. Aid station frequency increased second half of full marathon course...awesome! Cons (without these, organization would have been a '5'...would have rated '4.5' even with these two items): 1. Need more portapoties at start (I waited 45 minutes...which is unusually long). 2. Due to the heat (people were taking cups of water and pouring on head due to heat), aid station at mile 10 ran out of cups. Recommend adding another aid station at mile 9. Normally not needed, but due to hot day, would have been nice. Overall, a great event!
D. B. from Atlanta, GA (5/6/2012) "Pittsburgh Marathon Full - Highly Recommended" (about: 2012) 2 previous marathons COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 4 Course - One of the best. Very scenic, not too hilly (2 main hills are not too bad), well marked. Lots of hydration stations. Spectators - Great! Many along much of the course. Very enthusiastic. Organization - Good. Good communications before the race. Lots of signage. Nice post-race vendor/meeting area. Large expo. Goodies - Big, heavy metal. Decent post-race food, though no bottles of Gatorade or the like (strange as this is almost the case at any race I've entered). I highly recommend this race!
J. S. from Kittanning, PA (5/6/2012) "All problems from previous years fixed" (about: 2012) 6-10 previous marathons \| 3 Pittsburgh Marathons COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 I ran the half in 2011 and complained about the corral system. I ran it again today in 2012 and want to say that they fixed it to perfection. Great course, super finish (even though it had to be changed from 2011), super spectators, loved the challenge of running 5 different bridges, loved the Irish band in the West End Village, and honestly can't say anything negative about the experience. Thank you race organizers and volunteers.

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