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Jul 4, 2024

Buffalo Marathon Runner Comments

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Course 4.1

Organization 3.8

Spectators 3.3

Number of comments: 315 [displaying comments 221 to 231]

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N. K. from Export, PA (5/13/2005) "First marathon... I want to run another" (about: 2004) 1 previous marathon \| 1 Buffalo Marathon COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 2 Being that this was my first marathon, I had no idea what to expect. Buffalo was a nice place to start and I can't wait to run another. The pasta dinner and post-race party left a little to be desired, but I thought the course was relatively flat and scenic. The cons were few spectators, and water stops seemed sparse towards the end.
M. D. from Rhode Island (4/25/2005) "pasta dinner, mile markers" (about: 2004) 1 previous marathon \| 1 Buffalo Marathon COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 3 My wife and I got the last salads, and there were many people behind us. Bread also ran out. Please have enough food for the dinner this year, you should have a good idea on how many people are attending. It is a very important meal for many of us. Have a professional set the mile markers. I run a very steady pace but I felt I was up and down. It is not that difficult to have someone set them accurately. On the plus side it is a nice, flat, and scenic course.
M. A. from Liverpool, New York (10/6/2004) "Very good first marathon" (about: 2004) 1 previous marathon \| 1 Buffalo Marathon COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 3 This was my first ever marathon. I'm did this marathon as part of my 18th birthday, and wow, this was my best birthday so far! I loved every minute of the race! My goal was 3hrs 30 mins; I shattered that my 27 minutes! The weather was awesome, 65 at start! The volunteers seemed very helpful! There were many water stops. Volunteers were great at directing me on which way to go! Course was really flat, couldn't be better! The only negative was at one point we got caught up with the half marathon and behind some slower runners, but no biggie! At the finish, a volunteer immediatly came over to assist me. Had bad leg cramps, a doctor was there to help! Great race probably will be back in the near future!
L. W. from Washington, DC (8/17/2004) "26.5 miles of disorganization" (about: 2004) 1 previous marathon \| 1 Buffalo Marathon COURSE: 2 ORGANIZATION: 2 FANS: 3 The course was 0.3 miles too long according to my GPS system (and my husband's) - even in the first five miles. A third of a mile wreaks havoc on your pace when you're shooting to complete the race before being asked to move to the sidewalk. The volunteers I came across not only weren't helpful, but I actually had two of them complain to me about how long they'd been out on the course!! I would recommend that if you're going to provide medals through the 6 hour mark, there should also be support through that time. Another disappointment was that the chips did not register at the start such that the chip time was not used. The after-party was supposed to go until 4 pm but when we arrived at 3:20, it was all packed up with only a few pitchers of beer (no food, no water) in an empty convention center. I loved doing the marathon as a personal achievement but was disappointed by this race and the organization. In the future I'm going to stick to bigger races with better lasting support.
k. r. from usa (7/24/2004) "This one could be good if only..." (about: 2004) 11-50 previous marathons \| 1 Buffalo Marathon COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 2 FANS: 2 Positives - course was nice except for perhaps a little too much in the cemetery. The long straight coming back was helpful but going around the traffic circle a half mile from the finish sucked. Need to consider tweaking the route. Negatives - oh, where do I begin??? Let's see... 1) Hotel - never stay in the 'theatre district'. I was awakened both nights I was there at 2 am to the sounds of the techno dance bars. What do they do, open the doors for the last hour they're open just to see who can make the most noise? It's awfully hard to run a quality marathon when you've gotten a total of 6 hours sleep in two nights. 2) The pre-race dinner was the worst. Come on, how do you run out of BREAD for God's sake? Plus no salad? I saw plenty of beer but I'd rather have had something a little more conducive to running a good race. 3) MARK THE DAMN COURSE - God love the volunteers but if they don't tell you which way to go, they're useless. the majority of the ones at this year's race were clueless. This course has too many turns. I lost count of the # of times I'd come to an intersection, shrug my shoulders, and ask 'Which way?' - twice I actually went off course. I spent way too much energy worrying about WHERE I was running rather than HOW I was running. I was so pissed off at 20 miles I thought about chucking it all and quitting. 4)Finish line has got to have more than just water. This was by far the worst finish line experience I've ever encoutered. Oh, and just what was that crap in the cup? I took one bite and thought I was going to hurl. This COULD be a good marathon; however until the race organizers get their stuff together and make some major improvements, there's no way in hell I'll be back.
L. P. from Manlius, NY (6/28/2004) "I would run this one again. " (about: 2004) 2 previous marathons \| 1 Buffalo Marathon COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 3 I enjoyed this marathon. It was my second, I wondered about the accuracy of the mile markers in the first half, I seemed to be running a bit fast for me. I did finish in my projected time, however. The volunteers and traffic control were very good. Not an easy feat when many drivers do NOT want to wait for anything and there were a lot of cross streets. There was plenty of water throughout and the course itself was ever-changing, which I like. The post-race party was difficult to find and not my kind of fare. I am a yogurt, banana, bagel, WATER (or coffee and cinnamon buns!) kind of gal. I enjoy a small race and so am used to small crowd participation.
S. G. from Rome, NY (6/17/2004) "Great race, needs some fine tuning" (about: 2004) 2 previous marathons COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 2 FANS: 2 This was my 3rd marathon (besides Flying Pig, Marathon in the Parks) and overall, it is almost equal to the others. This was a return for me to the place I went to college, so I'd visited most of the areas of the run - which was great! Running through Forest Lawn Cemetary on Memorial Day weekend was touching and strangely uplifting. The mile markers were haphazard at best (might want to measure them EXACTLY next year) only water at the finish, and the crowd was tiny (apathy reigns). Weather was beautiful and I didn't PR, (ran the Pig 4 weeks earlier 28 mins faster), but for 35 bucks a great course and a free pasta dinner! Other runners were friendly and overall I loved the run (I coasted the last half, joked, socialized, and avoided the impending wall). I'll run it again it. It was a fast course, but hard to judge your pace with messed up markers!!!!
C. Y. from Davie, Florida (6/14/2004) "Overall - Disappointment" (about: 2004) 6-10 previous marathons \| 1 Buffalo Marathon COURSE: 3 ORGANIZATION: 1 FANS: 1 I do not know where to start? Actually, I do not know where I'm going! I've run Chicago, New York last year, Miami this year, and thought I'd give a small marathon a chance - big mistake. If not for the Falls and the Casino, I would have gone to the Sunburst Marathon in Indiana the following week where five (5) of my friends all PR'ed. Maybe I wasn't fast enough (I wasn't) but I did get to the half before the cut-off time of 2:30, at least I think I did. Mile markers were so off that some miles I would pick up 2 minutes, and the next mile I would lose 3, and it was like that the whole run. Eventually by about mile 18 (I think), my watch supposedly showed me that I was about 13 minutes ahead of my sub-5:00 pace (yippee), but then the worst thing that could ever happen, happened. I stopped to water a bush, lost the runners in front of me, and was suddenly lost. For what seemed like hours running, stopping, backtracking, and turning around in circles, I found mile marker 21 and waited for a friendly face to show me the way (left or right). I finally hooked up with 2 runners who were smart enough to bring the course map along, but that got us lost also at certain intersections. Anyway, after that ordeal I finally found and trudged my way across the finish line into the waiting arms of my wife (just kidding) - but she did finish 45 minutes ahead of me and PR'ed - received my medal and then proceeded to get lost trying to find the convention center and the post-race party. 'It just wasn't my day.' High Points: I brought enough GU, Motrin, and a water bottle. The run through the cemetery and lakeshore were nice, two shirts was a bonus, and the trip almost cost nothing except for what I lost at the casino. Someone recommended not to stay in the city because nothing was open. Well I stayed in the burb's (Cheetowaga), and everywhere was closed for the long weekend also. Low Points: Mile markers, no start mat, disorganization, my poor finish time, still looking for the post-race party. Thanks to: The police officers (they did a great job), the volunteers and spectators who stuck around, the little girl with the rabbit in her arms which told me to turn right rather than left, the lady in the SUV that offered a couple of us water and Gatorade and directions on 3 separate occasions before we lost her too, and the opportunity to run in a race that will bring back memories to share with others for just $35.
Kim Willer from Buffalo (6/9/2004) "Terrible race for slower runners" (about: 2004) 6-10 previous marathons \| 1 Buffalo Marathon COURSE: 3 ORGANIZATION: 1 FANS: 1 After finishing the race, I returned to my car to find lost racers wandering the course with no support. I stopped at a gas station and bought supplies for runners and drove around asking anyone I saw if I could help. I gave out over 20 Gatorades and waters, several pain killers and many Gu's. MAKE THIS AN OUT-AND-BACK COURSE. Have your volunteers able to switch from street sides so they can cover more ground. If you have a 6-hour cut off time, keep volunteers there to help. Post the course so runners aren't lost. Tell slower runners to bring their own support via a bike person, etc. I would never encourage any one to run this race.
j. s. from Oak Forest. IL (6/7/2004) "Good, however could improve" (about: 2004) 11-50 previous marathons \| 1 Buffalo Marathon COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 2 FANS: 3 I will start off with the positives. With today's ever price expanding fees, this event is a great value for your dollar. They also have a kid?s race for the little ones. The race shirt, poster and medal were great. The course is relatively flat & fast, however there is a gradual incline leaving downtown which you can feel later on. Also about the 10K mark you cross over the finish line and run underneath the banner. Change that portion of the course; it is unfair to do that to the runners. Course control was great by police and volunteers never had to worry about traffic. Negatives: The pre-race meal ran out of salad and bread. Have plenty of food to fuel your runners. Massages were disorganized - I was 2nd in line and waited for 20 without being seen. Only H20 at the finish area. Have some bananas, bagels, oranges, etc. Yes, I know this was all offered inside the convention center and done rather well, however there needs to be some at the finish. Crowd support from the neighborhoods and city was totally lacking. Get the city more involved. Overall B-, however this race has great potential. Directors should look at other area races and how to improve i.e. Hartford, Philadelphia.

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