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☰
Air Force Marathon Runner Comments
Back to Air Force Marathon Information & Reviews
Course 4.3 
Organization 4.5 
Spectators 3.6
Number of comments: 344 [displaying comments 81 to 91]
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E. C. from West Virginia
(9/22/2010)
"Great Experience!" (about: 2010)
1 previous marathon
| 1 Air Force Marathon
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 This was a great first marathon for me. It was well organized and a lot of fun. Thanks for the tremendous effort! I was also thrilled to meet Bill Rodgers, Amby Burfoot, and the other guest speakers. | |
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J. C. from NEWPORT KY.
(9/21/2010)
"HOT AND MUGGY" (about: 2010)
50+ previous marathons
| 6+ Air Force Marathons
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 3 As always, another hot and muggy marathon. I think quality was given up for quantity. The expo: you could not get to the vendors without losing your place in line to pick up your packet. Suggestion: move the packet to the gym floor and leave room to get to the vendors . On the course: the usual drums of water and sponges were not out; and the water on the course was hot - not room temperature, but hot. I'm sure some things were missed because of the large crowds. I've finished all of the marathons except the first year, when I did not run it. I know it's a top-notch race and was always well organized. I'll be back. Thanks to all of the volunteers and those men and women who serve our country. | |
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S. M. from Columbus, OH
(9/21/2010)
"Mile 10 was a welcome!!" (about: 2010)
4-5 previous marathons
| 2 Air Force Marathons
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 5 I have to agree with others about the parking and getting on and off of the base. Between packet pickup the day before and the morning of the race, I would say that parking was dreadful. I arrived at the recommended 1 1/2 hours before the start of my race and it still took an hour to park - not to mention at the end I was so tired that trying to walk another 2 miles to the car was crummy. I know you need to cool down, but still. Although there weren't many spectators, those who did come out and at mile 10 were WONDERFUL!!!! It was very cheery. Overall, this was a nice marathon, with plenty of post-race food, and the medal was fantastic. Fly-overs were sweet too. | |
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J. K. from Yorktown, VA
(9/21/2010)
"Very good run, with some minor logistics issues" (about: 2010)
11-50 previous marathons
| 1 Air Force Marathon
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 4 I tend to like smaller marathons because there are no crowds, but from the start, this run didn't have the feel of being overcrowded. It took about 45 seconds from the gun to hit the start line and from there on, you could run your pace and not feel too boxed in. The course is mostly flat and often pretty. The on-base sections (almost the whole course) are covered with only a few spectators from the folks who live on base (great support though) and the off-base section (mile 8-10) is in Fairborn and those guys were awesome. Aid stations came along often. The half and the full combine in the low 20s and it got a little crowded then, but not too bad. The expo could probably be a little better organized. The 5K was run on Friday afternoon at the same place as the expo and it took over an hour to go 2 miles on Col Glenn Hwy (near the Nutter Center). It looked like there were other roads in to the Nutter Center, but they either weren't being used or were blocked off. Parking on base the day of the marathon was a little congested as well, which is why I like smaller marathons. All said, this is one of the best "big" marathons I've run. | |
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M. N. from Indianapolis, Indiana
(9/20/2010)
"Great mid-size marathon; awesome medal!" (about: 2010)
1 previous marathon
| 1 Air Force Marathon
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 5 This was my first marathon. The course was well laid- out with various areas in the last 1/2 that were shaded. The full runs through a nearby town, Fairborn, where you feel like a rockstar! The whole town seemed to line the streets and every kid wanted to give you a high-five. There was not much more support along the way other than the frequent and well-staffed water stations. There were at least 3 offering fruit, numerous ones with gel, and plenty of medical tents as well. The course itself had a strong hill at mile 2, another overpass at around mile 8 and another at mile 21. They were enough to slow your pace, but walking was not required. Other areas of the course had rolling hills, just to make it interesting. The fly-overs at the start by the B-52 and F-16s were awesome as was the paratrooper with the American flag. Notes: 1. The traffic is bad. They have 3 entrances to get cars into the base and parked. There are just very many cars and not enough entrances. Give yourself PLENTY of time (at least 90 mins) to get parked and to the start line (which was close to a mile from our car). 2. Porta potties were at the start line but many people did not see these and used the few that were near the parking lot. Skip these lines and get to the 50 or so ones at the starting line. 3. Medal is huge, heavy and very cool. Even the lanyard was nice, and having an officer give it to you and congratulate you was a nice plus. 4. Volunteers at the water stations were top-notch. At the starting line? Not so much. Make sure to review the starting line map to know where gear check and potties are. 6. Finishing on a runway lined with planes was very cool. 5. The post-race party was nice, with plenty of places to sit. Pizza for the runners was good. Other food was available to purchase for the spectators. I would run this again! | |
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W. S. from Troy Ohio
(9/20/2010)
"Disorganized Parking and Traffic Control" (about: 2010)
6-10 previous marathons
| 2 Air Force Marathons
COURSE: 3 ORGANIZATION: 1 FANS: 3 As advised at the expo, I arrived near the base more than 90 minutes prior to the start but was stuck in traffic for over an hour. There was very little traffic control outside the base, and none that I saw on the base. We parked where we saw others parked, ran toward the general start area, checked bags , and were late for the start by 5 minutes. There were NO VOLUNTEERS that I saw to direct traffic or direct people towards the bag check and start line areas. This was not due to security reasons, as our IDs were never checked. FUBAR and SNAFU are acronyms that apply to Wright-Pat. My experience with parking was bad last year and worse this year. The rest of the race is ok, but there are plenty of other marathons that do a better job. I won't be back. | |
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B Peabody from Roswell, GA
(9/20/2010)
"Hot race with cool touches; limited by locale" (about: 2010)
6-10 previous marathons
| 1 Air Force Marathon
COURSE: 3 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 3 The 2010 running of the USAF Marathon had its largest field ever and was mostly organized with military precision. There were some notable exceptions, and some limitations of this race that go with the venue. Here, then, are the good, the bad, and the ugly. Good: - Ample hydration stations and porta-potties on the course. - The heftiest medal I've ever gotten. - Medals presented by AF top brass. - Nice race swag, including patch and printed towel. - Thoughtful placement of volunteers to keep arriving participants from impaling themselves on airplane parts or other hazards in pre-race darkness. - Printed individual result sticker available immediately after running. - Hot pizza and cold beer available post-race. - Aircraft fly-overs during the race, including (featured) B-52, a pair of fighters, and a restored or reproduction Wright Flyer. - Though the marathon and half-marathons had some course overlap, there was never a point where I felt impeded by half-walkers. Well done. - Surprising amount of music on course. - Last 1/4 mile is between (and under) two rows of vintage aircraft. Bad: - About 24 miles of the race are run in areas closed to civilian spectators. These were either on the base, or on closed, limited-access highways at the perimiter. Civilian spectator viewing is limited to the start/finish area near the Air Force Museum, and the 10th mile that detours into downtown Fairborn. - Conditions this year were unusually humid and sunny - about 75F and 70% at median finish time. Ugly: - Very limited access to a working (secure) Air Force Base means that parking is more of a hassle than it would be almost anywhere else. Allow at least 90 minutes pre-race to sit in traffic, and a similar time to exit. - Bag claim was not segregated by number. Resulting scramble resulted in 4 VERY LONG lines (35+ minutes to get bag) - Charge for post-race massage - $15/15 min. This might be more tolerable except if it weren't for the time required to retrieve money. - No water available at start. - Half of the portable toilets at start/finish area were off-limits at start. - Perhaps having K9 patrol with a German Shepherd lunging at runners in the start area is not the most friendly of gestures. | |
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Michael Smith from Oxford, OH
(9/20/2010)
"Super experience" (about: 2010)
1 previous marathon
| 1 Air Force Marathon
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 This was my first full marathon, and it excelled. After running several half marathon distance races, including some large ones, this was easily the most well organized event I've attended. All the previous year's issues have been resolved. Parking is now walking distance to the start/finish - there is no shuttle bus. The security gate is a non-issue; they bypass it and you drive right to the parking without even slowing down. I got to the interstate exit for the base an hour and a half early, based on prior year warnings, and was parked and ready to leave my car literally two minutes later. Race started with military precision, the fly-bys were impressive, the aid stations were superb, and the pace teams precise. The only negative for me was the hilly section between miles 22 and 25. I live in a hilly area and generally don't mind running them at all. However, this course is particularly difficult because you start with hills from miles 2-5, go nearly pancake flat for the next 17 miles, then get significant hills again just as your legs are really getting tired. So be prepared for that - but don't let it stop you from coming to this outstanding race. And the medal- WOW. It looks like you placed in the Olympics. Thanks a lot, USAF marathon! | |
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M. N. from Evansville, IN
(9/19/2010)
"Enjoyable Marathon - Perfect Weather" (about: 2010)
11-50 previous marathons
| 1 Air Force Marathon
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 3 Perfect weather for this year's race. I really liked the course. It was a good mix of Air Force base, wooded areas, and a section of residential areas. I've run 40+ of these, so I really do not need crowd support. Like the announcer said before the race: how many of you have the course lined with spectators when you do a training long run? Very good organization: an on-time start, finishing area well organized. I saw a lot of comments from prior years about the traffic congestion getting into the base. I arrived at 5:30 a.m. and had no issues. There was a nice set-up for hanging out before the run - TV's with ESPN playing, lot's of porta-johns and water, and gear check was smooth. The coolest part of the marathon was running the first 4 miles with the Bill Rodgers. Bill is very friendly, and from the comments extremely well respected by all runners. The B-52 flyover at the start was awesome. A couple of areas that could be better: 1) separate the half runners from the full. At mile 22 I'm doing a 7:30/mile pace and run into a road congested with 12-14-minute-per-mile walker/runners. That just doesn't work for me. It cost a lot of time and energy. 2) Mile 26 was clearly mismarked long. 3) That was a long, long walk from the parking area to the starting area. Overall, a very good marathon. I ended up with my 3rd best all time. I would do this again, but keep those half marathoners out of the way, please. | |
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M. V. from Westerville, OH
(9/19/2010)
"Fun Marathon - Fix the Parking!" (about: 2010)
6-10 previous marathons
| 1 Air Force Marathon
COURSE: 3 ORGANIZATION: 3 FANS: 4 I love the show of airplanes, support on the course, and the Mile Ten fun in Fairborn. I would love to have more areas with spectators; The morning parking was horrible. My hotel was less than 3 miles from the parking, I was in a car line that didn't move 75 minutes before race time, and due to a shift in traffic ordered by officials, I did not make it to the race by start time. We need better traffic control. |
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