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Philadelphia Marathon Runner Comments
Back to Philadelphia Marathon Information & Reviews
Course 4.3 
Organization 3.6 
Spectators 3.8
Number of comments: 749 [displaying comments 621 to 631]
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J. S. from Philadelphia, PA
(11/22/2004)
 "Marathon of Great Potential" (about: 2004)
3 previous marathons
| 1 Philadelphia Marathon
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 3 FANS: 4 This is my hometown, which made it special for me. The raw stuff is here for this to be a spectacular event. I think it will get there eventually. The great: The course is amazing. Good scenery, mostly flat, paved with just enough hills to switch muscle groups for a bit. Just the right number of people running with you. The weather, a tricky call in this part of the country, has the best chance of being ideal on this weekend. This was certainly so for the past few years. Also, it is really nice to follow a marathon with a holiday/short work week. The mediocre: Spectator support is thin, but enthusiastic where you find it. Personally, I like it quiet, but I know a majority of marathoners feel the opposite. The city badly needs to publicize this event better. The 'regular (sane?) people' in the city aren't aware of it at all unless they flip on the TV early on that Sunday morning. I also liked the out-and-back on miles 14-end because I got to cheer for the winners as they were finishing. Usually, I am NOWHERE near the front runners in a race. The ugly: The porta-john situation at the start is just plain sorry. The reason I think is that there is no place to hide - no alternative to the P.J. So unlike the Broad St. Run where 20% of men can just find an unfortunate wall or tree, everyone's in line at the marathon. They also ran out of cups at the water stop at mile 13, meaning no water stop there for people on a 4:20+ pace. Yes, there are water fountains near the boathouses, but they are not really visible from the route. A lot of people hit their wall early because of this. Really inexcusable. Overall, I recommend this for the weather, the number of runners and the course. Also, a post-race cheesesteak is always a good idea. | |
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M. H. from Vestal, NY
(11/22/2004)
 "Great Course/Good Experience/Post-Race?" (about: 2004)
6-10 previous marathons
| 2 Philadelphia Marathons
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 4 The course is flat and fast. You get both the urban streets and more open spaces (nice mix & variety). The expo held at the start was an improvement from 2003. The race is growing in popularity... you need more porta-johns PLEASE. The post-race organization could be improved. The distribution of food was poor... long waits. As an out-of-town participant, I skipped it in order to get back to my hotel. Philadelphia is a great city ... overall great experience | |
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A. H. from Pennsylvania
(11/22/2004)
 "This marathon isn't friendly to slow runners." (about: 2004)
1 previous marathon
| 1 Philadelphia Marathon
COURSE: 3 ORGANIZATION: 2 FANS: 3 This was my first time running this marathon. It is not friendly to those of us at the end of the pack. It was very disheartening to see the officials cleaning up the orange cones and taking down the mile markers when some of us had not even reached those points yet. Also the group I was running with could not go through a gate up near the park and had to turn around later on. This added some additional miles. Everyone was very frustrated about this. Then when we ended the race, only a few people were left to cheer us. I will probably never run this one again. | |
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M. D. from Philly
(11/22/2004)
"Give This Race Its Due Respect" (about: 2004)
11-50 previous marathons
| 2 Philadelphia Marathons
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 4 Its about time this race gets the respect it deserves. Who can be bothered with lotteries, $100.00 registrations, or 40,000 entrants? This race is great. Everything you want in a big city marathon for half the price; you can park a block from the start, etc. | |
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F. C. from United States
(11/22/2004)
"First Marathon in 18 Years" (about: 2004)
4-5 previous marathons
| 1 Philadelphia Marathon
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 This was my first marathon in 18 years. My last one was the New Jersey Waterfront in 1986. I thought the course was great, and the support from and fans was also great. I even got cheers for wearing my NY Giants hat. I would recommend this marathon to everyone. | |
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Richard Ervais from New York City
(11/22/2004)
"Good marathon but dump the soldier at the finish" (about: 2004)
11-50 previous marathons
| 2 Philadelphia Marathons
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 3 This is a good small marathon with a fast course. This was the second time I ran it. I brought a group of people from New York, San Francisco and Los Angeles, many first-time marathoners, and they all loved it, most running considerably faster than they expected. One comment though. Past the finish line, there was a guy dressed in an Army Reserve outfit who was pushing people and screaming at people in a threatening manner to clear the area. Now this wasn't right at the finish line, but many feet past and even on the sidelines. The last thing we need at the end of a marathon is to be pushed, especially when some of these runners were close to fainting. We are all happy and celebrating or concerned about fellow runners and this guy is being an ass. I watched him for a moment or two and then went up to him and told him to cool it but he started screaming in my face and my friends and I thought he was going to punch me, not that I could have put up much of a fight after running 26.2. Hopefully this marathon will exclude him next year and put smiling happy courteous people (and not in military outfits) at the end to move people along. And if someone has to stop for a moment or two out of sheer exhaustion, or sit down for a moment to keep from fainting, hopefully the finish line people will be more understanding. | |
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D. L. from Sewell, NJ
(11/22/2004)
"Great first marathon" (about: 2004)
1 previous marathon
| 1 Philadelphia Marathon
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 4 This wa my first marathon, so I don't have much to compare it with. However, the race was well laid out & scenic except the last 4 or 5 miles. Having to run up & down the same road was boring. The water stations, etc. were well planned & staffed. Spectators were awesome & very supportive. Organization (website, shuttles for runners) could have been better, especially for a big city marathon. But still a great marathon filled with great emotion from runners of all types. This marathon has all the potential of being a major marathon if the city provides the focus. | |
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j. m. from Richmond, Virginia
(11/22/2004)
"It was a great experience..." (about: 2004)
6-10 previous marathons
| 1 Philadelphia Marathon
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 This was a great and scenic course that took you through the various areas of the city... it seemed like there were people cheering and encouraging along the entire run. It was a little hilly but not too bad. The best part of the marathon, and most unexpected, was that they served hot chicken broth after the race... it was a welcome and enjoyable change from the usual bagels and fruit, which they also had. Nothing like a warm cup of drink after a long hard run... | |
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R. S. from Chelmsford,MA
(10/19/2004)
"Awesome" (about: 2001)
4-5 previous marathons
| 1 Philadelphia Marathon
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 4 I loved this course. Whatever I lost on that hill at nine I got back on the downhills the next couple of miles. The volunteers were very friendly. I enjoy the out and back because I got to see the lead runners and found myself cheering for them. I stayed in a hotel so parking wasn't a problem. I appreciated the clocks at every mile since I ran a zero-minute mile six on my watch. There were plenty of water stops on the course. I ran a 3:25 and qualified for Boston in 2003. Thanks again Phili!!!! | |
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B. C. from Pennington, New Jersey
(10/2/2004)
 "Course/org. good, end-of-race v. poor" (about: 2002)
6-10 previous marathons
| 3 Philadelphia Marathons
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 3 FANS: 3 Having read the hyperbole of the initial comments, I thought I'd add some balance. It is a good course and in general quite well organized (including the expo), but the after course catering has been consistently the worst of any marathon I've participated in. |
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