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Jun 28, 2024

"Running for the bay!" Marathon Runner Comments

Back to "Running for the bay!" Marathon Information & Reviews

Course 3.3

Organization 2.3

Spectators 1.9

Number of comments: 27 [displaying comments 21 to 27]

More Comments: [ < 1 2 3 > ]

J. R. from Florida (10/25/2010) "Beautiful course... should get better over time" (about: 2010) 1 previous marathon \| 1 "Running for the bay!" Marathon COURSE: 3 ORGANIZATION: 2 FANS: 3 My first marathon. Beautiful run; small field. I think it was a good one to start out with. Needed more volunteers though.
B. B. from St. Augustine Beach, FL (10/25/2010) "Wow. Lots of room for improvement." (about: 2010) 11-50 previous marathons \| 1 "Running for the bay!" Marathon COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 1 FANS: 1 There were some good things about this race. The views were spectacular. It was dazzling to watch the sunrise over the bay. It was a little warm that day (can't control that), but there were strong breezes on the bridges, which made it very tolerable. Excellent medal, one of the nicest I have received. Also, I was able to park within 150 feet of the start 20 minutes before the race! However, in this inaugural event, there was much that went wrong. I should have known, as the race director pleaded for volunteers over the loudspeaker right before the race. Enjoyed the sunrise, but things took a turn for the worse when the 6-mile water stop ran out of water. Limited water stops on the long bridge, and many were abandoned by the time I ran past them. The marathon had an 8-hour time limit, and I came in at 6 hours, so there were undoubtedly many people behind me that didn't get water. Limited Gatorade at the stops (2, I think) and some ran out of cups. No GU, and no blocked off roads. What did we pay $100 for? I am pleading with the race director to learn from the errors in this race and hold it again due to the dazzling views on the course. I can see runners flocking to this vacation spot in future years. If they hold it again, I will be back.
L. Y. from Tallahassee, Fl (10/25/2010) "NOT RECOMMENDED" (about: 2010) 6-10 previous marathons \| 1 "Running for the bay!" Marathon COURSE: 3 ORGANIZATION: 1 FANS: 1 Worst organized race I have ever been to. The course was 100% open to traffic including the 10+ miles run on bridges; traffic was flying by at 60 mph from behind (because we had to run with traffic). Runners were in the emergency lane, leaping over broken beer bottles, roadkill, and pool toys. There were virtually zero aid stations; the sparse two or three only had water, but ran out for the latter half of the race. (And we are in FLORIDA - it was in the mid 70s.) There were no mile markers after mile 4... but I think I saw a sign for mile 20. Race director is very lucky that no one was seriously injured.
L. G. from U.s.a. (10/24/2010) "Awful" (about: 2010) 11-50 previous marathons \| 1 "Running for the bay!" Marathon COURSE: 3 ORGANIZATION: 1 FANS: 3 I have run over 30 marathons, and this was by far the worst! The course was scenic, but there were 20 miles on concrete in the heat, no shade, inadequate aid stations, no sports drinks until mile 12 and very little after that, no medical support on the course or at the finish, and very little food at the finish (chips and warm soda). If it it weren't for people who ran coming back, and some good-hearted residents providing aid, you'd have been left on your own. Thankfully, no one died. I will not be back. I didn't even mention the overpriced entry fee. Unless some drastic changes are made, don't do it!
G. M. from Florida (10/24/2010) "Worst marathon I have ever run - my 31st" (about: 2010) 11-50 previous marathons \| 1 "Running for the bay!" Marathon COURSE: 1 ORGANIZATION: 1 FANS: 1 Flat marathon?... I think not: 18-20 miles were run on bridges/causeways. Two extremely steep bridges and two smaller inclined bridges were on the course, which we had to run over twice... for a grand total of 8 inclines. That's not my idea of flat. Poor organization, serve-yourself-water stations, and no more than 20 (I'm being generous) spectators on the entire course. No Gatorade 'til mile 12, and no energy (pretzels... that's all) til 14. There was an entire half-mile of shade on the course; the rest was in full sun. Very windy day, which made it even harder to run those bridges. Some miles were marked incorrectly, there were no timing clocks, and most mile markers blew away before anyone passed them. The volunteers were fabulous; however, they were not trained on how to man the water stations. Police officers were also not clued into marathon procedures, and no, I repeat NO medical staff anywhere on the course. All in all, a clueless organizer (called running shoes "tennis shoes") with no idea how to organize a marathon. Do not ever run this marathon unless you enjoy running bridges for 26.4 (that's right, couse not measured correctly) miles in total disorganization.
J. F. from Florida (10/24/2010) "It's a Learning Experience..." (about: 2010) 50+ previous marathons \| 1 "Running for the bay!" Marathon COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 1 FANS: 1 I hate to be critical of anyone that puts on a race, let alone a marathon, but this one needs help. Hopefully the race director will be more prepared next year. Okay, here we go: the entry fee was ridiculously high ($100), there were not enough water/aid stations (and many were "unmanned"), there were not enough port-a-potties (10), and there were not enough volunteers and no goody bags or GU. They ran out of water at mile 1. Yes, mile 1. I cramped so badly at mile 21 that I had to sit down and stretch. Some good souls saw what was going on and they ran out and bought water and Gatorade. Thank God! The course is open to the traffic, so run with care. This could be a really great marathon, but the first year was rough - really rough!
J. O. from Tampa, FL (10/24/2010) "Great Potential, But Course is too Dangerous" (about: 2010) 11-50 previous marathons COURSE: 1 ORGANIZATION: 2 FANS: 2 My comments are based on running the half marathon in 2010. This was the inaugural version of the race and some confusion was to be expected. However, there is a fundamental problem with this race. The course is an out-and-back crossing two causeways over the Gulf Inter-coastal Waterway (one for the half marathon). The view is beautiful and the start is right into the sunrise over the gulf. The problem is that there is no traffic control. The race organizers want you to run on a 5-foot-wide breakdown lane while traffic flows next you, both ways, at 50-60 mph. Worse, you are running on the wrong side of the road on the right instead of the left. There are no traffic cones, police presence or other indicators to let the drivers know what is going on. Adding to the danger are the 5K and 10K, which started together with the half and full marathon (another problem), and have a turnaround out on the causeway. This turnaround was marked with a sign (no race volunteers), and to perform the turnaround you have to dart across the two lanes of traffic. No one was directing traffic or manning the turnarounds. There is a lot to say about this marathon: while the organization had its issues they were all manageable. The course has the potential to be one of the most interesting and beautiful courses you could run. But until the safety issues on the course are worked out, I cannot recommend that you run this race.

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