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☰
Mercedes Marathon Runner Comments
Back to Mercedes Marathon Information & Reviews
Course 4.1 
Organization 4.6 
Spectators 3.9
Number of comments: 267 [displaying comments 11 to 21]
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B. B. from Pittsburgh, Pa
(2/26/2015)
"Hilly fun" (about: 2015)
11-50 previous marathons
| 1 Mercedes Marathon
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 4 A very well organized race on a course that was hillier than I anticipated. The hills were all fair, but the quantity of them had an effect on me. The streets were wide, and to me well maintained with a nice variety of scenery. I liked the double loop. Weather was much better for running than watching a marathon with temps in the low 50's and light rain for a time. It did get a little humid when the rain stopped. Aid stations were very frequent and well stocked with more GU than you could ever need. Aid station volunteers were energetic and supportive. Enough spectators, and they were pleasant. Great traffic control with very nice police officers. Swag was above average with a nice looking short sleeve technical shirt-which I prefer-gloves, beach towel, and great medal. Expo was adaquate, enough vendors to have what you need, but not overwhelming. Free parking within a half-mile from start and finish. Free parking for expo as well. It made for a logistically easy race. Nothing to complain about, much to like. As a 50 Stater, I can wholeheartedly recommend Mercedes for your Alabama marathon. | |
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M. D. from Georgia USA
(2/24/2015)
"A nice mid winter race" (about: 2015)
50+ previous marathons
| 3 Mercedes Marathons
COURSE: 3 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 3 This was my 3rd running of this event. I live 233 miles from Birmingham and that makes it a low cost trip. The course is a nice two loop run through downtown, UAB campus and into some upscale areas. The organization is great with a nice post-race party. Nonthing negative to report. | |
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R. B. from Pittsburgh, PA
(2/24/2015)
"Loved The Double-Loop" (about: 2015)
6-10 previous marathons
| 1 Mercedes Marathon
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 The Mercedes Marathon was a well-organized event. Parking was free for both the expo and the race. This is not something I often see, especially for downtown marathons. The expo was nothing special, but that is ok with me. Logistics were easy on race morning. We parked on the Northeastern side of town for free. Enough restrooms to accommodate runners on race morning. Start line was a little hectic due to fences not having enough openings, but we made our way to our pacer just before the race started. I thought the streets were wide for the amount of runners and it made for plenty of room for running which was nice. Weather was around 50 degrees with heavy clouds and couldnt have been better. The rain for the first hour felt nice and was more like a mist. The course was a double-loop and had its share of hills. I would label this course as challenging (I liked it a lot). The hills did not seem all that bad the first time around, but proved to be very challenging on the second loop. Water stations seemed to arrive every 1.5 miles (or less), so you wont go thirsty running this race. I saw Powerade at every stop and spotted Gu at 5 or 6 stations along the course. Fans were not everywhere along the course, but when you saw them they were enthusiastic. The marathon took us through some very cool places in Birmingham including Uptown and UAB. Finish was solid taking place in a park. Race shirt was fine. Finishers Medal was great. Received a finishers beach towel which I really like. Had food and drink at the finish which was appreciated...nothing fancy, but enough. There is not much, (if anything) I would change about this race. I appreciate a good tough course and that is exactly what to expect from this race. Two thumbs up for the Mercedes Benz Marathon and I highly recommend this race if you are looking to cross Alabama off of your list. | |
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A. A. from La Grange, IL
(2/24/2015)
"A nice experience - very well supported" (about: 2015)
11-50 previous marathons
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 4 I enjoyed this race a lot. I signed up for it as a pretext for visiting my daughter, who's in school at UA. I was pretty low key in my approach, as it's hard to train up north for a late winter marathon. It turned out to be very fun. Yes, there was a lot of up and down, and the double loop was all through city/residential/industrial area, but there was still plenty to look at, and I give the race high marks for water/aid and overall execution. The spectators were very enthusiastic, and it felt good to run without freezing. I also liked the medal - the Mercedes medalion is probably the only one I'll ever own! I definitely recommend it. | |
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D. G. from Georgia
(3/2/2014)
"Probably not again." (about: 2014)
2 previous marathons
| 1 Mercedes Marathon
COURSE: 2 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 4 Unseasonably warm temps made the double loop course tougher than it otherwise would have been. Didn't appreciate having to do the hills twice, and for we Full Marathoners there just weren't nearly enough water stops during the 2nd loop/miles 14-26. Should have been water every mile and there wasn't. Postrace BBQ sounded like a great idea but in reality, the auditorium was packed and nobody wanted to give up a seat for myself and family to sit in, so we didn't stick around. Needs a bigger post race facility/hall. A nice event but could definitely be improved by eliminating double loop and more water stops for starters. | |
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L. L. from Massachusetts
(2/22/2014)
"A nice surprise" (about: 2014)
11-50 previous marathons
| 1 Mercedes Marathon
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 4 Didn't really know what to expect but really had a great time. The pacers I was with where awesome and very supportive even as I slowed down a bit and lost them. The course runs through some kinda blah places, but for the most part it was really nice. The support, both spectators and race volunteers were great! Can't say enough good stuff about them all. All in this was a great race to check along the way to the 50. Nice job folks! | |
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B. H. from Los Angeles,Ca.
(2/19/2014)
"Great Organization. Best Post Race Food!" (about: 2014)
11-50 previous marathons
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 4 I would definitely recommend this race. The race was well organized; the course clearly marked and had the best post race food. In addition to the t-shirt, you received gloves and a finishers cooling towel. The course was hillier than expected but not painfully so. The beginning and end of the course was in the more industrialized areas and had few supporters. The mid-portion was through neighborhoods and for the first half had great crowd support. I am a back of the pack runner so water is always a concern at the end of the race. There was plenty. One suggestion is to always use water from bottles. Some of the water was from hoses and put into plastic lined trash cans (similar to what Rock n Roll does) and thought it tasted a little funny. The post race party was excellent! Tables with centerpieces. Pork or turkey sandwiches, coleslaw and chips from Jim n Nicks Bar-B-Q, beer and Coke. Other races don't come close. This would be a perfect first race for anyone | |
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T. M. from Missoula, MT
(2/17/2014)
"Overall great race" (about: 2014)
11-50 previous marathons
| 1 Mercedes Marathon
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 2 Love the two loop course. Really helps when you fly in the day before and didn't get a chance to see the course. As previous years have mentioned, it would help to have different color cups for different liquids. I ran alone but was still a problem trying to get the right liquid as there was no pattern aid station to aid station. Aid stations were very plentiful. Spectators are sparse and quiet. Great music and food at the end of the race. I even went to the hotel, showered, and returned and there was still plenty of food. Other races should take note, although this might just be that the barbecue place was extremely giving. | |
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S. W. from Madison, WI
(7/21/2013)
"Fast but a bit Boring..." (about: 2012)
6-10 previous marathons
| 1 Mercedes Marathon
COURSE: 3 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 3 I was so happy that this course was so flat, but I definitely did NOT enjoy running it in 2 loops. The scenery didn't impress me enough to do it two times around. It was very chilly and I was happy that they handed out gloves at the expo to wear during the race. Although I wouldn't do this race again, I would recommend it if you want to run a fast race. | |
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Brett Hilkemann from Chicagoland, IL
(3/5/2013)
"Solid Event-Would Run AGAIN!" (about: 2013)
6-10 previous marathons
| 1 Mercedes Marathon
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 4 Great event. Easy to use the race hotel (and shuttle bus) and AVOID the cost of car rental from the airport. The BEST in terms of aid stations and GU on-course I have EVER seen. Aid station volunteers were AWESOME and LOUD. I am a 'flatlander' from the Chicago area and had no problems with the terrain. The variety of elevation was just enough to give a change to different leg muscles. The fact that the final miles are net downhill is tremendous. I actually enjoyed the double-loop format as well. Only two improvements to suggest: At the start there is a HUGE bottleneck on the sidewalk between the auditorium building / gear check area and the starting corral. Simply you NEED to have openings in the fence on that side so that runners can walk into the starting corral. It is LITERALLY grid lock after you check your gearopenings in the fence that STAY open until 5 minutes to race start would have solved all of this. Second, your aid station workers need to be given two different cups-one for Powerade and one for water. As a runner you need to be able to know what you are getting. Often the aid workers are just holding cups and the music is so loud that you can't hear what they are offering. Again, separate cups for each and it is FIXED. Overall, super well done. I will run it again in the future. |
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