Back to Oklahoma City Memorial Marathon Information & Reviews
A Runner from ohio
(5/6/2001)
"a great first time event" (General Comments)
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 4 I agree with all the other comments. It was a memorable experience, both for the occasion and for the organization. It is not an easy course, but the neighbourhoods/scenery/volunteers/organization made up for this and the warmth.Do it!! | |
A Runner from kansas city, missouri, usa
(5/5/2001)
"all around great marathon" (about: 2001)
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 plenty of aid stations, course well-monitored, left nothing to be desired, very well organized and run | |
A Runner from Southern California
(5/4/2001)
"Extraordinary for an inaugural marathon" (General Comments)
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 People were scratching their heads when I told them I was flying to OKC for a weekend to run the marathon. It was worth it. The course was challenging but beautiful, well stocked with water and Ultima. They gave finishers' t-shirts (a big plus since other marathons sell them) and a nice, heavy medal. The best part, by far, was the people cheering along the course, the nicest, most encouraging bunch I've seen. The volunteers were superb as well. Every few yards you would see a banner with a name of one of the bombing victims, a good reminder of why we were there. I highly recommend this marathon. Just be prepared for the heat, especially if you're a 3+ hour runner. | |
A Runner from Texas
(5/3/2001)
"Great Experience!" (about: 2001)
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 Oklahoma City is a wonderful town. Easy to navigate and a nice downtown area with many restaurants within easy walking distance from the downtown hotels. Expo was small but very nice with Rodgers, Higdon, and Henderson attending. Directors put on an informative course preview. Packet pick-up was hassle-free. Race was well-organized. Plenty of johns and volunteers going through the start line with water. Course starts at the very moving OKC Memorial and gives a very good tour of the town. Scenic course though deceivingly hilly, especially first 10 miles. Water stations every 2 miles then every mile after Mile 10. Digital clocks and volunteers at every mile. Great hardware at the finish! Volunteers and the people of OKC were great! It was an honor to run in remembrance of the 168 people who were taken 6 years ago. | |
A Runner from Columbia, MD
(5/2/2001)
"Ditto all of the above." (about: 2001)
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 4 Extraordinarily impressive for a first time event - or a 20th time. Unless you were told that this was the first one, there was nothing that would make you believe that this was the first! My only suggestion is that the fact that a finishing T-Shirt was awarded should have been communicated better at the finish line. I did not realize that I should have received one until I read the above comment. However... I would come back again and know better the next time! Congratulations. The Memorial alone was worth the trip. Thank you OKC. | |
A Runner from New Jersey
(5/1/2001)
"Oklahoma Done Proud !" (about: 2001)
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 4 Congratulations to race director Dot Hensley, her army of volunteers and the citizens of Oklahoma for both putting on an outstanding marathon, marathon relay team races and making visitors to the state feel welcomed and appreciated! Four of us from the same running club in NJ came for the marathon. We were impressed by the organization of the race, the care shown by the volunteers and friendliness extended by the OK runners both at the pasta party and on the course. The course had plenty of variety as well as enough undulations to challenge all your running muscles. The volunteers were energetic, enthusiastic and plentiful. They handled the water stops very well. Digital clocks at each mile marker were clearly visible and I especially liked hearing your projected finish time called out at the mile marks. The bonus 'finishers T shirt' at the end was another classy touch and having the icons there, Higdon, Henderson and Rodgers made the event even more distinctive. One suggestion would be to make it clearer to the runners where their bags would be at the end of the race. We ran into a little confusion about that - possibly have it closer to the finish line. A special thank you to Dot Hensley - We had missed the awards ceremomy but came back later and found out from the results that Pat from our group had won her age group. Dot Hensley readily took the time to rummage through the boxes to find the award, after a very very long and tiring day! Thanks, Dot, for your caring and concern - very impressive. Congratulations and thanks again, Oklahoma, for a well organized, enthusiastic and inspiring memorial marathon. Fred from NJ | |
A Runner from New York
(5/1/2001)
"What a nice run!" (General Comments)
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 4 This was a great run in honor of the 168 men, women and children who were killed in the bombing. All the proceeds are going to the awesome memorial on the former site of the Murrah Building. It was a well planned and organized race. I personally spoke to the Race Director and she was a bit worried that things would not go according to plan. From a participant's point of view it was one of the best races I have done-it went well. I didn't notice any problems. It was well stocked with water and volunteers. I'm sure once the word gets out about this run many more will participate. Many thanks for the City of OKC for hosting this event...I now know what the 'Oklahoma Standard' is......John...from NY | |
A Runner from Lincoln, Nebraska
(4/30/2001)
"Fantastic Beginning for OKC" (about: 2001)
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 The inaugural OKC Memorial Marathon was an incredible experience. Only it's first time, but probably one of the best organized marathons out there. From the expo to the finish, everything was excellent. I was able to converse with my heroes such as Bill Rodgers, Joe Henderson, and Hal Higdon at the expo and watch them speak at the dinner. I then walked a few blocks to the memorial and remembered why I came to run. An incredibly gorgeous, but sober sight. The emotion and motivation to run was insurmountable. The race started promptly and impressed me for the next four hours. Plenty of water and Ultima for hydration. Devoted volunteers and friendly spectators throughout. Maybe work on marking the road and adding more portable toilets along the course for next year, but that's about it. When you finish in front of the large cheering crowd you're draped with the most gorgeous medallion I have ever seen. It makes my others look almost embarrasingly dinky. Don't forget your finishers t-shirt, either. Extraordinary for a first time or veteran marathon. | |
A Runner from Sugar Land, Texas
(4/30/2001)
"This was a very well organized, first class event." (about: 2001)
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 4 This was my first marathon, and it was far more organized than I expected it to be. I have run in 5k events that were not organized as well as this marathon was. From start to finish, the people who worked this event as well as the people who came out to watch the runners could not have been better. The course was very interesting, we got to see a full range of neighborhoods, business districts and a beautiful view of Lake Hefner. The finish line was awesome! The recovery area offered a great variety of food and drink as well as a great place to relax for a while after the race. I did not know that we would receive finisher shirts as well as the medals, but I saw the lines near the YMCA and was surprised that we also got these. Nice touch. Since this was my first marathon, I may not fully understand how the results are calculated. Example, I am shown as the 759th place finisher. My 'chip' time was 4:25:18 and my 'finish' time was 4:27:18. The person shown as the 751st finisher had a 'chip' time of 4:25:30 and a 'finish' time of 4:26:17. I thought the chip time would be used for the final results. Not a big deal to me, I am happy to have been part of a great event for a great cause. | |
A Runner from Arlington, Texas
(4/30/2001)
"Great Organization" (about: 2001)
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 This was my second full marathon and sixth marathon event. It is by far the best organized event I've ever run and none of the others were bad (SF, Dallas, Phoenix Valley). Water & Ultima almost every mile. They tell you at each mile what finish time you will have at the pace you are running. Great spectators and, of course, the Memorial is something everyone should see. The course has a few hills but nothing (besides one ramp) that is severe. The only problems were it got warm at about 3 hours and bikers were inside the runners, not to the side. I had to tell one to get the heck out of my way. They may be comfortable but I wasn't. Overall, a fantastic event. |
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