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Jul 4, 2024

Cleveland Marathon Runner Comments

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Course 3.9

Organization 3.9

Spectators 3.3

Number of comments: 299 [displaying comments 121 to 131]

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D. G. from South Lyon, MI (6/13/2008) "Nice Race" (about: 2008) 1 previous marathon \| 1 Cleveland Marathon COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 3 My first marathon. Perfect temperatures. I had a great time for the first 20 miles. Then we turned into a strong wind and I fell off my BQ pace, and the steep uphill in mile 24 turned my legs to stone. It might make sense to reverse the course so that you run into the prevailing west wind away from the lake, during the middle of the race, instead of near the end. My 3-year-old grandson fell in love with the medal. Good kids' race.
E. F. from Syracuse, New York (6/10/2008) "The non-music Rock 'n Roll Marathon" (about: 2008) 11-50 previous marathons \| 1 Cleveland Marathon COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 3 I'm not going to disagree with most of the other good comments posted here. The race and expo was good. The weather can't be controlled. I actually prefer overcast and cool to hot and sunny any day. My main question (gripe) is: It's called the "Rock n Roll Marathon." Where were the live bands? Where were the school bands? There was not even someone in front of their house with a kazoo. I have run several races, including the NY Utica Boilermaker, which is only a 15K run that had all that and more. All that I saw was a speaker every mile or so playing recorded music. I expected more from a city that has the Rock n Roll Hall of Fame in it. Although it rained during the beginning of the marathon (half an hour at most), there was plenty of time for some setup of live music towards the ending miles. Food for thought for next year.
W. B. from Pittsburgh, PA (6/2/2008) "Easy course to achieve BQ" (about: 2008) First Marathon COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 4 This was my 1st marathon and I ran a lot better than I expected; no doubt the cool weather and cloud cover helped. Pros: 1) The course is real easy with a few hills early on, but they aren't steep, so you barely notice them 2) The downhill section along MLK Drive from mile 16-19 was really nice 3) Having clocks almost every mile was a nice touch 4) Seemed to be plenty of people out despite the weather 5) Decent field size to give you plenty of people to run with, but not too large to be a real pain at the start 6) Plenty of well staffed aid stations Cons: 1) Had a hard time finding a break in the fence to line up in the right spot 2) Start was delayed a few minutes 3) The headwind from mile 19-23 wasn't a lot of fun, but you can't control the weather and overall the weather was ideal for running Overall, I would definitely do the race again though a middle of May date means that some years it could end up being a bit warm.
T. G. from Indianapolis, Indiana (6/1/2008) "Tough with wind, but scenic and fast" (about: 2008) 2 previous marathons \| 1 Cleveland Marathon COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 2 Be prepared for: - Quick left turn on a brick side street and then another quick left (during the first 1/4 mile of race). Might be faster strategically (and safer) to run far wide to right on both left turns, because the pace really slows and there is real potential for twisted ankle. - Right before circling Browns Stadium, look at the huge high windmill on your right. It was not moving at all at the start of race. Watch te same windmill when finishing hours later! - Browns Stadium is beautiful, but be mentally ready for steep uphill after circling around the stadium. Near end of marathon you run up just 1/2-2/3 of that same hill, but the steepest part of it. Killer if you're already spent by mile 24-25 like me. - After the Browns Stadium hill (during early part of race), you run up some overpasses too. Not bad if you're prepared mentally. - A few port-a-lets were available from time to time, but men have plenty of opportunities to relieve themselves along the right side of the course during the first 4-5 miles - on trees and near underpasses. There were so many doing it that it didn't seem unnatural. :-) Better than in your pants! - Nice neighborhood for a good mile or two, then a not-so-nice one as we were heading back east. Both had great crowd support, though. - This time of day, any sun should not be in your eyes except when running east. Due to clouds and early rain, we did not have sun until miles 13-15(?), right before turning north. It was in our eyes though. - Don't forget that the half turns left after re-entering downtown. Instead of getting discouraged, I used that to my advantage, running stride-for-stride with a younger girl and then surprised her with a "you look strong" as she turned left and saw me go straight. "You too!" - Industrial part of downtown around miles 13-14? No crowd. Start finding someone to pace/run with. - Once turning north into the park and on MLK Boulevard, the course is awesome - beautiful and downhill, mostly. - While running through the park and along MLK, the road curves back and forth. Draw the lines and run the shortest distance. Only one other runner was doing that, but that's legal when no cones are present. - Be ready for a left turn onto a running path along Lake Erie. Wind gusts of 15-25 mph? The pace really slows. Try to draft with someone, but take turns. - Watch for Brown's Stadium to know when you're getting closer to turning left, but don't forget about that steep hill. - Eventually you head up on a street heading east, before heading west to finish line. Be prepared because that street heading east seems to last forever. - Once heading back west on the final stretch to the finish, be prepared for similar wind to whatever you got dealt along Lake Erie. P.S. If you don't run negative splits, or have reserves, be ready for Lake Erie winds and to the finish. When windy, this course can "beat you!" My time was decent, but I was spent! Race Director - 1) Encourage your sponsored hotels to have bananas, bagels, band aids, whatever, in the lobby on the morning of the race. That's a nice feature when someone's not prepared. Everything else closed downtown on a Sunday morning that early. 2) Please get non-medic bikers off the course! I kept calling them for some Vaseline to find out they were spectators pacing/encouraging some other runners. When I found the real medics, they were helpful and even enjoyed catching back up to me to aid me while I continued the run. 3) Thanks for having legends Bill Rogers and Bart Yasso at the expo. Now my photos from the 80's are autographed!
J. S. from Cleveland, Ohio (5/29/2008) "Take the good with the bad" (about: 2008) First Marathon COURSE: 3 ORGANIZATION: 3 FANS: 3 My big complaint is that they had no schedule of speakers! The speakers they had were awesome but I couldn't find anybody to tell me when Rodgers or Yasso were actually going to speak! The course was flat and the wind did stink at 19-22... the start was congested and could have done without all the turns in the first couple miles to allow folks to spread out before making us go through turns. The water stops were well organized but not consistent... I had really to pay attention to get water or PowerAde. The food at the finish line was good. Ultimately I liked it. I got exactly what I wanted: Good weather, water, PowerAde, and timers throughout the course. One thing that would have been nice that I didn't see was a mile marker for mile 26... but perhaps I just missed it.
M. P. from Cleveland (5/28/2008) "Good course improvements" (about: 2008) 6-10 previous marathons \| 4-5 Cleveland Marathons COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 2 This was my 4th time running the Cleveland Marathon. The minor course adjustments have made the course a little faster than before. There have never been may fans along the course regardless of the weather. The organization was good, except for the delay at the start of the race. The new chips worked fine. The headwind along the lake is tough, and has been an issue 2 out of the past 3 years. The run through MLK from miles 16 through 19 are great. I'll be back again next year.
j. b. from Toledo, Ohio (5/25/2008) "Not a Horrible Race" (about: 2008) 1 previous marathon \| 1 Cleveland Marathon COURSE: 3 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 4 There wasn't anything that was really bad about Cleveland, but with it being my first race, I was expecting so much more. There was hardly any entertainment on the course, and when I needed it the most (miles 19-24), there were very few spectators (though the ones that were out there were great!). I really appreciated the spectators getting involved - there just weren't a whole lot of them. I guess I was expecting there to be a lot of music along the way and other things to distract me, but the only distracting thing was the wind. One word about the wind: YUCK!!! I am going to try again; I was highly disappointed with myself and my time, but will be running in Akron in September. I think Cleveland was a well organized race with great volunteers and energetic spectators (where you could find them), but I think Cleveland needs to amp up the entertainment section if the course is going to be on highways and with a boring atmosphere!
James Bockey from Temperance, MI (5/25/2008) "Awesome marathon!!!!!!!!!!" (about: 2008) 4-5 previous marathons COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 I actually had a bad race, but I loved the course. I grew up around the Cleveland area, so running through downtown brought back some great memories. The crowd support was thin, but due to the rain in the beginning of the race it is understandable. The ones that were out were great. Course is mainly flat with a few hills, for sure a fast course. At the end they give you a great medal and there was plenty of food, drink, etc. for all of the runners. Another plus: the expo was a good size and had a ton of vendors. Bottom line: great marathon that I will be running again in the future.
Ron Steinhilber from El Mirage, AZ (5/23/2008) "Prepare for the wind along the lake" (about: 2008) 11-50 previous marathons \| 1 Cleveland Marathon COURSE: 3 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 2 I signed up early for this race and joined the e-mail list. I suggest you do this if you decide to do this run. It really helped me as race-day neared. They sent me very good course maps and info in the weeks prior to the race, plus a discount certificate for the Rock N' Roll Hall of Fame. My 4-year-old daughter did the kids' run the day before, which was a great experience for her, as it was her first race. That was something nice that I haven't seen at many marathons. The course itself was nothing special. You run some downtown, then out on a highway for a couple of miles, then back downtown to drop off the 1/2 marathoners, back out to the east side of town, and through a nice downhill park area then you hit mile 19 along the lake. From 19 to just before 24 you run along the lake. On this particular day it was into a strong headwind... not fun. Then the last 3 miles wonder through town. Be careful because some of the roads are open on one side while the runners are on the road. There was plenty of food at the finish and more than just bagels, bananas, and water... very nice. A couple of suggestions for those who run the water/PowerAde stops. I am a captain of a water stop for the Phoenix Rock N' Roll Marathon, one of the biggest in the country. Try to have more water and PowerAde poured than you need. At a number of stops I had to wait for liquid to be poured. Also, place trash containers on each side of the road so the garbage can be placed in them by the runners. It will make clean-up for the volunteers so much easier, and runners won't have to run through all the empty cups. The volunteers were great. The expo was nice. I think there would have been more spectators had it not been raining early in the race. Overall, pretty well organized, an average course, and not a bad race if you're looking to do one in Ohio.
Mike Bell from Hamilton, Ontario, CANADA (5/23/2008) "Fun Run, Great Town" (about: 2008) 4-5 previous marathons \| 1 Cleveland Marathon COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 4 My family and I were impressed by both the race and Cleveland. We stayed downtown and thought the city to be clean, safe and attractive. Lots to see and do. Prices were reasonable too, compared with some other cities we have traveled to for marathons. The course itself was good also. Fairly flat and fast, and very scenic. I really can't think of anything to carp about. We had a great weekend. I'd definitely run this marathon again and would enjoy staying in downtown Cleveland. Hey, Cleveland really does rock!

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