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Marine Corps Marathon Runner Comments

Back to Marine Corps Marathon Information & Reviews

Course Rating Course 4.5 
 
Oranization Rating Organization 3.9 
 
Spectator Rating Spectators 4.6 
 
 
Number of comments: 937 [displaying comments 141 to 151]
More Comments: [ < 1 .. 13 14 15 16 17 .. 94 > ]

 

W. C. from upstate NY (11/11/2010)
"Fantastic marathon!" (about: 2010)

3 previous marathons | 1 Marine Corps Marathon
COURSE: 5  ORGANIZATION: 5  FANS: 5


This is a great marathon: nice, flat course; awesome views; amazing patriotic feelings abound; and spectators are loud, energizing and everywhere! The metro is easy to use and navigate, and you get a great t-shirt too! Highly recommended.
 

R. K. from KY (11/10/2010)
"Amazing effort" (about: 2010)

11-50 previous marathons | 4-5 Marine Corps Marathons
COURSE: 4  ORGANIZATION: 5  FANS: 5


The MCM organizers are truly amazing! "The Rally to Restore Sanity and/or Fear" took over the National Mall on the day before the race, the person(s) shooting at the Marine Museum at Quantico and at the Pentagon in the previous several days had raised major security concerns for a Marine affiliated event, and a Presidential road closing required diversion onto the path along the mall for an extended distance. None of these events were predictable. Parts of the path were suboptimal for running. The exit from the finish area was clearly but unavoidably compromised by security concerns this year. The on-course support remained superb, the facilities were where they were needed, the crowd was great (I actually found more support on the Mall than in the last 2 years), and the Halloween runners were fun to watch along the way. I expect next year to be an inspiring and well-supported run.
 

J. M. from Midwest (11/8/2010)
"Good Race and Nothing More" (about: 2010)

2 previous marathons | 1 Marine Corps Marathon
COURSE: 4  ORGANIZATION: 4  FANS: 4


My first MCM and it was a good experience. The course proved scenic and the fellow runners more than friendly.

Staying in the Arlington/Rosslyn area proved the best decision of all. My hotel was five minutes from the finish and about 10 minutes from the start.

The downside... as usual the walkers slow things down. If only they'd practice race etiquette the race would go much better. I hope the MCM does something about the gridlock upon finishing the race. Who's idea was it to funnel 30K runners up hill and through a one-way chute AFTER running 26 miles?
 

S. A. from Wilsonville, OR (11/7/2010)
"Perfect weather, well organized race!" (about: 2010)

11-50 previous marathons
COURSE: 5  ORGANIZATION: 5  FANS: 4


My wife and I enjoyed our time in DC and our 1st MCM. I found this race to be quite emotional as many runners were honoring fallen heroes.

There were some gradual hills on the early part of the course, but not bad. The only challenge was the narrowness of the course in several areas, which made it a challenge to maintain a consistent pace. The only con was the congestion at the end of the race as runners and family members merged exiting the finish area in Roslyn. It literally took me 30 minutes to get to the family meet up area.

We would recommend this race for those that are comfortable with large numbers (21K runners).
 

W. W. from Columbia, MO USA (11/5/2010)
"Awesome, Inspiring Experience" (about: 2010)

4-5 previous marathons | 1 Marine Corps Marathon
COURSE: 5  ORGANIZATION: 5  FANS: 5


While some abhor the massive marathon experience, this race seemed to have an oddly personal touch for me. I would definitely recommend it to others at any performance or age level.
 

Z. V. from Alexandria Virginia (11/5/2010)
"Could have been better" (about: 2010)

6-10 previous marathons | 3 Marine Corps Marathons
COURSE: 5  ORGANIZATION: 5  FANS: 3


This year, most of the spectators were at the finish line and festival. In the past, there were larger crowds at the National Mall. As a matter of fact, there were too many people at the finish line!!! Also, the wave start should be better organized. Baltimore, NYC and Disney have the corral concept down. There was plenty of water and PowerAde along the route. Plus there were lots of port-a-potties too.

I understand the constraints in dealing with DC government in regards to road closures, but there were lots of people bundled together, which made it a bit difficult to get into stride and run. A better wave start really is needed.
 

A. C. from Missouri (11/5/2010)
"Fantastic!" (about: 2010)

4-5 previous marathons | 1 Marine Corps Marathon
COURSE: 5  ORGANIZATION: 5  FANS: 5


I highly recommend this marathon! It was a top-notch race in every way. Even though I did not achieve a PR, the overall experience kept me smiling and I'm so glad I ran this race.
 

Adrian Rodriguez from Santiago, Chile (11/4/2010)
"Beautiful, but hard... and worth the effort!" (about: 2010)

6-10 previous marathons | 1 Marine Corps Marathon
COURSE: 5  ORGANIZATION: 4  FANS: 5


I'd been warned about the hard of the course; "it's not a course for setting a PR," my friends said, and they were right.

The course has a mix of rural and city, and plenty of parks with colorful autumn leaves. Perfect weather conditions, with temps in the 50's. The hardest part doesn't involve the first uphills/downhills of Arlington and Georgetown; the hardest part is "the bridge" faced just getting out from Crystal City (mile 23.5). It's not a bridge. You run 1.5 miles of a highway with strong uphills/downhills that make your lungs and quads burn. I saw lot of buddies puking and dealing with cramps on that section.

The last mile is hard because of the steepest hill at the Iwo Jima Memorial: 250 meters at a 5ยบ grade.

Once you finish, you have to walk a lot to get your bag. Get about 40 bucks to buy your finisher T-shirt. The best way to get out is walking; don't even think of taking a cab; try to cross Key Bridge to Gerorgetown and take a cab there.
 

A. F. from Washington, DC (11/4/2010)
"Perfect for my first race" (about: 2010)

1 previous marathon | 1 Marine Corps Marathon
COURSE: 5  ORGANIZATION: 4  FANS: 3


Cool, clear weather. Flanked by marines at the start and finish lines, and they deliver you water at nearly every mile. Course goes from autumn trees to National Mall to river course. Perfect!
 

Michael Soyka from West Point, NY (11/3/2010)
"Great course; finish area needs improvement" (about: 2010)

4-5 previous marathons | 2 Marine Corps Marathons
COURSE: 5  ORGANIZATION: 3  FANS: 5


The course is beautiful and the tour of the monuments and sites is inspiring. Completing the hills by eight miles in is phenomenal, and with the exception of the bridge at 21 the rest is cruise control.

I understand the desire to end at the Iwo Jima Memorial but as the People's Marathon gets bigger and bigger the problems at the finish increase in a similar manner. The bottlenecks in the finish area have gone from being an unfortunate waste of time to a dangerous gridlock. There were injured and unconscious runners being moved by golf cart to the medical area that were delayed for extended periods by the mass of humanity that was squeezed into the tiny space. The effect of the small space also made the runners with last names further down in the alphabet walk over a mile to meet their supporters after the race. This led to people sprawled out over several square miles away from the eyesight of medical personel and not yet linked up with others who care about them, a dangerous combination. I love the course, and I am a military member, so I appreciate what it took to put on the race (not to mention the feelings behind the finish line location). However, if the space doesn't facilitate the safe and orderly movement of 20,000+ runners and their supporters, than either change the location of the finish or further limit the number of participants.
 

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