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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 231 to 241]
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Jim Skibo from Cedar Hill (Dallas), TX
(2/12/2003)
"Outstanding Marathon!" (about: 2003)
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 With Mercedes as a sponsor, you?re going to get the best and this race doesn?t disappoint. The finisher?s medal is a stunner?about a pound of pewter that?s lacquered so it won?t tarnish. The front is the Mercedes Benz logo and the reverse has the race data deeply embossed. The finisher?s medal is so cool, it is incredible; it?s a nice 1 pound chunk of pewter with the Mercedes Benz emblem on the front and the race data deeply embossed on the reverse, and then lacquered so it keeps its shine. I?m materialistic?I like finisher?s medals?and this one is really superb?it?s worth the price of admission as they say. This was my third marathon and this had the best local support I?ve ever seen. Everything about this marathon was planned and coordinated in detail; nothing was left to chance. The course was perfectly marked and had chip timers at key points (5K, 10K, 15K, 30K and the finish line of course) and your respective times for all the points are posted on the marathon site. The local Fox TV station gave full coverage to the entire event and the local paper had several feature articles on Sunday and front page coverage on Monday with complete race results in the sports section. Local fans lined most of the route and many stayed well after the elites (not me!) had long since passed by. I noticed the elites wearing their running tights and gear Friday and Saturday before the race, so I did the same. I don?t know if that?s normal etiquette or not, but it was kind of cool. The, wherever I walked in the city, I got deluged with questions about the marathon, my times, where was I from, etc?.from everyone! What touched me the most were the many questions along the lines of ?You flew to our city just to run this race?? and then the look of pride that came over them when I said ?yes? I had indeed flown to Birmingham for a long weekend and the race. You DO NOT find that level of interest in many marathons. If you wimp-out on hills, this isn?t for you because there is a MOUNTAIN at the 9 mile mark. With a sense of humor, there were six bagpipers playing ?Amazing Grace? just as you came gasping over the crest. Then, just when you think you have the race in the bag, there is a ?slightly? steep 100? climb/hill at about mile 20. It looks like a no-sweat hill until you round the bend and then realize it goes on for ¾ of a mile. I plan to collect the states, but I?m coming back for this marathon next year. | |
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C. M. from Pensacola, Florida
(2/12/2003)
"Hills? Gotta love 'em!" (about: 2003)
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 3 This was my second Mercades Marathon and will continue to put it as a 'must run' on my schedule every year. For a Florida runner, the hills are killers, but I use the biggies to walk and laugh at how out of shape I am. (Thought I would have to crawl on the two switch backs!) Even with the hills only about 4 minutes were added to my average time. A great marathon! | |
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B. T. from Akron, OH
(2/11/2003)
"Big marathon feel in small field on a hard course" (about: 2003)
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 4 A great event on the hardest course I've ever run or seen. The high course rating is for traffic control, volunteers and runner amenities, which were all top notch. Great organization hosts and hospitality overall. A fantastic post-race party capped off the feeling of victory over the hills. Rumor has it, the course is changing next year when the Men's Olympic Trials will be run the day before, so this race will grow quickly. I recommend it highly. | |
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Wade Morris from Birmingham, Alabama
(2/11/2003)
"Prety Good Race" (about: 2003)
COURSE: 3 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 2 I am from Birmingham and train here regularly so the challenge of the course is good. The organization is terrific which continues to show the excellence that the Trak Shak in Birmingham has always showed. I will admit that the spectator support was horrible. The problem here is that there is a huge community of runners here and it seems that they were all running the race. There is no doubt that we need to do something to educate the city on the importance of their presence and support. Hopefully that will be remedied for next year! | |
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Bobby Bou from Canton,Mass
(2/11/2003)
"Put this on your 'Have to run' list" (about: 2003)
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 I can't say enough good things about this race. I ran the full and the Mrs. ran the half. We were updated often with race info months before the race. Great website. Number pick-up smooth. Race started on time. Course had plenty of water,powerade,vasalene. Lots of spectators and volunteers. Very nice folks down there in Birmingham.Nice finish,Beautiful medal (really nice),post race party indoors at finish line. Great great race! Do this one. | |
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Jim Skibo from Cedar Hill (Dallas) Texas, USA
(2/10/2003)
"Outstanding Marathon!" (about: 2003)
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 4 I really enjoyed running the full marathon. The weather cooperated and stayed overcast with temps in the mid- 30 range .tights and layered top weather...perfect running. It was challenging with a mountain at mile 9 and a smaller hill late in the course at mile 20. The mountain has a 700' climb in a mile and a half, so it IS STEEP in places. But they've got a sense of humor about it because there were 5 bag pipers at the summit playing 'Amazing Grace'! The whole marathon was extremely well organized and the whole city put out an effort to make sure the runners were happy. Lot's of people were out on Sunday morning in the cold to wish the runners good luck...even had a few high school cheerleading sections along the way. The local TV station covered most of the entire marathon (4 hours or so) and the local paper had the 'thoners on the front page in the Monday morning edition. The sports section had complete results, too?not just the top ten like most papers do. I wore my finisher?s medal on Sunday and Monday and almost everyone I came into contact with in Birmingham stopped me to talk about the race and did I enjoy their city. Many seemed surprised that someone would fly into Birmingham to run a marathon in their city which I thought was both humble and neat. Even the security guards at the airport check points asked about the medal, my times, and questions about the race. You do not find that too often and it was neat. Logistically, the two principal hotels (Sheraton and the Tutweiler) put runners within a block or two of the start and finish lines. Great post race food, entertainment, and massages....all of it FREE. Did I mention the super finisher?s medal? It's slick slab of die cast pewter metal with the Mercedes Benz emblem on the front and the essential race info deeply and cleanly etched on the reverse. If you like elegant finisher's medals, this is one for the display case (unless of course you own a BMW). It is obvious that a great deal of organization went into this race and I have a suspicion that Mercedes Benz, by lending it's name and logo, has also lent some first class management talent to the event because it shows. This was my first year running this marathon and I'm planning on running it again next year. If you like straight as an arrow and flat, this isn?t for you, but if you like some challenge and lots of spirit with total town involvement, this is a great race to run. | |
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P. S. from Alabama
(2/10/2003)
"Great Marathon" (about: 2003)
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 3 This is a great marathon course. Challenging with hills, but enough flat areas to help you out. GREAT organization and volunteers. Small crowds, but enthusiastic. You need to try this up and coming marathon. | |
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Larry Taunton from Birmingham, Alabama
(2/10/2003)
"This was my first marathon and I loved it!" (about: 2003)
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 4 This was my first marathon and I loved it. Mercedes was a fantastic sponsor. The event was well organized; the fan support was strong throughout most of the course (though a bit sparse on miles 21-25); and the locals were friendly and encouraging. The course is quite challenging, but not unrealistic. Great race medals. I highly recommend the experience! | |
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L. P. from Marietta, GA
(2/10/2003)
"Over all experience was great!" (about: 2003)
COURSE: 3 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 2 Excellent course. Their big hill (as they call it) is really a mountain but plenty of good down hills. I would not let course keep you from running this marathon! Organization and volunteer support over the top. Post party band, food, and massages wonderful. T-shirts and medal worth the pain of the mountain. Fan support small but powerful. Over all a great experience and one worth your effort. I hope Mercedes keeps up the good work! | |
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b. L. from Nashville, TN
(2/10/2003)
"Hurts so good!" (about: 2003)
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 3 I enjoyed running this marathon. It was very challenging and very rewarding. The hill at mile nine was the hardest hill I have ever run in a race. If you like to run the entire 26.2 like I do, this one will be tough. I was able to do it but I was hurtin'! Race support crews were excellent, although fans on the course were sparse. Nice looking T-shirt and medal, as well as a long sleeve coolmax finishers shirt. If you like a challenge this one is for you. Just don't whine about the hill- you know what to expect! |
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