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☰
Baltimore Marathon Runner Comments
Back to Baltimore Marathon Information & Reviews
Course 3.9 
Organization 4.0 
Spectators 4.1
Number of comments: 443 [displaying comments 151 to 161]
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T. S. from Audubon, PA
(10/13/2008)
"Fantastic Experience" (about: 2008)
3 previous marathons
| 1 Baltimore Marathon
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 5 This was a fantastic marathon experience! I knocked two minutes off my personal record. Hill training is highly recommended with numerous long, gradual uphill sections, especially in miles 17-21. Staying in a downtown hotel made for an easy walk to and from the race. Also, the inner harbor was delightful for recovery walking and eating the rest of the weekend. I actually loved having the half marathoners join in around mile 14 or 15. Even though it crowded the course, I felt it added energy and excitement. My lone negative comment: lots of unnecessary and dangerous orange cones! I saw two people crash into them. There must have dozens more. | |
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R. P. from Atlanta, GA
(10/13/2008)
"A pretty good race" (about: 2008)
11-50 previous marathons
| 1 Baltimore Marathon
COURSE: 3 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 4 All in all, this is a pretty good race. It's well organized and all of the basics were covered. However, the course gets an average score due to the number of industrial and somewhat run-down parts of town it runs through. There are nicer hilly courses and nicer urban courses around. Pros: 1). The race shirt is one of the nicest I've received. 2). Overall, the course and race were well managed. 3). There were many genuinely enthusiastic spectators. The large half-marathon and its later start time add more spectators to the second half of the full marathon course when spectator encouragement really helps. 4). Baltimore is a great venue for a weekend trip. There are plenty of activities for friends and family around the inner harbor (near the start and finish). Cons: 1). The expo needs to be changed from the stadium. The venue requires runners to wait for an elevator or walk up a long ramp or lots of steps to reach the club level. The packet pick-up process is annoying. It requires multiple stops scattered throughout the expo. 2). The first couple of water stops after the merge with the half marathon were inadequate. They needed to be larger, better staffed and on both sides of the road. They were swamped on race day and required runners to stop and wait for cups to be filled. 3). It would be nice to have mile markers a little more visible and on both sides of the road. 4). There is no easy way hold everything you get at the finish line. Small sacks for the finish line food would be helpful and would probably reduce congestion in the finish area. 5). As advertised, there really isn't a pre-race dinner to speak of, just discount food vouchers. If you're traveling alone from out of town, expect to eat alone. I tend to really enjoy the pasta dinners at marathons and sharing stories with other runners. I missed it with this race. | |
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G. G. from Drexel Hill, PA
(10/13/2008)
"Great one!" (about: 2008)
3 previous marathons
| 1 Baltimore Marathon
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 The disorganized packet pick-up had me worried for no reason. They did a great job with this one. Tons of water, great spectators and a nice course. They inject a relay and half-marathon into the race, which keeps the field busy. It's a little confusing as a lot of people around you at the end have really fresh legs, but it kept mine turning. | |
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G. L. from Fairfax VA
(10/12/2008)
"Had so much fun" (about: 2008)
4-5 previous marathons
| 1 Baltimore Marathon
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 5 I'm 4.5 months-pregnant, so I downgraded to the half-marathon, but since we met up with the marathoners at the halfway point, I got a good idea for both. The course was quite hilly for an East Coast marathon, but there was pretty great crowd support - spectators were handing out gummy bears, candy corn, pretzels, cookies, and even beer in addition to the official race food (which was excellent - PowerBar shot blocks, PowerBars, Gatorade, and water). There were NOT enough port-o-potties at the beginning (pregnant ladies pee a lot). The finish was great, with a nice assortment of food. I was really impressed with the City of Baltimore - everyone was so friendly, and the hotel staff as one of the nicest I've seen. The race shirt - UnderArmour - ROCKED! | |
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C. C. from St.Cloud Florida
(12/11/2007)
"My First Marathon" (about: 2007)
1 previous marathon
| 1 Baltimore Marathon
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 5 This was my first try at a marathon. Let me first say that it was a great experience. Being from Florida, where hills are basically non-existent, reared its ugly head on me in Baltimore. I can honestly say that I was not properly prepared for the hills on this course. I put in a solid 18-week training plan with one year of base mileage. So I had done the proper amount of mileage and long runs for this event. I had previously run four 20-mile long runs to prepare for the distance. The only thing lacking was hill work, which was a BIG mistake on my part. If you plan to do this one, you better get some hill training in. That being said, it was a great experience. The City of Baltimore really impressed me with the event. Fan support was great, the hotel that we stayed at was supportive and the shirt was nice. I thought the medal was really cool. The expo was a little crowded, but that was to be expected. Thank you to all of the volunteers and the police officers. Great job. Although I was hoping for a sub-3:30 finish (3:46 actual), and I am happy to have completed my first marathon in Baltimore. | |
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R. H. from NC
(11/26/2007)
"Great views and alsome fan support make this great" (about: 2007)
11-50 previous marathons
| 1 Baltimore Marathon
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 5 The views of the city and harbor are great for the course. The fans that came out were supportive and giving. The police were very professional. It has some hills but a nice downhill finish. Love all the free parking and facilities at the stadium. | |
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L. B. from New York, NY
(11/17/2007)
"Great! But more water please." (about: 2007)
2 previous marathons
| 1 Baltimore Marathon
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 4 A GREAT race! This was my second marathon, NYC being my first. I also loved the bathroom set up, using the Ft. McHenry bathroom at mile 10 and the Ravens Stadium bathrooms at the start. The fans were sweet - everyone had gummy bears! One criticism - Gatorade was plentiful, but the water cups half full. At mile 20, my hands were bloated from too much Gatorade and not enough water. I had to stop and take three cups of half-filled water - and the volunteers were confused when I took multiple cups. That one criticism aside: a great race, a local race; totally recommended. | |
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L. B. from baltimore
(11/8/2007)
"Pleasantly Surprised!" (about: 2007)
3 previous marathons
| 1 Baltimore Marathon
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 4 My previous two marathons were Chicago and New York, so I was not expecting much from Baltimore; but I thought I should give my hometown marathon a chance. It was AWESOME! The water views were beautiful: inner harbor, Fort McHenry, Fells point, Canton, and Lake Montebello. There were not as many fans as NY and Chicago, but the fans that were there were very supportive. Also, the people in the race were very friendly. There was a ton of food along the course. Besides water and Gatorade and the obligatory power gel, there were bananas, Utz chips, power bars, and gummy bears. Some residents even had their own tables and were handing out there own food. Charles Village: YOU were awesome! The hills were not too bad, but the Howard street bridge at the end was tough. Another amazing aspect of Baltimore was the bathroom situation. I did not use ONE port-a-port. The Ravens stadium and Oriole park bathrooms were open at the start and finish. At mile 10?, there was a 'real' bathroom open in Ft. McHenry. The Geico race team was terrific. A huge thank you to my team of Ron, Elissa, Josh and Marty who helped me PR at 4:44. The weather was beautiful and the people were great. I would do this marathon again! | |
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Lia Bella from NJ
(11/2/2007)
"AWESOME first-marathon experience!!!" (about: 2007)
1 previous marathon
| 1 Baltimore Marathon
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 This was my first marathon! I couldn't have picked a better one. The weather was absolutely perfect! It being my first, so I don't have much to compare it to, but I thought everything was very well organized. There was a lot going on with the different races going of, but from my perspective it went very smoothly. Water/Gatorade stations were placed almost every 2 miles, which was AWESOME! The two power gel stops were great as well (the vanilla gel was awesome, by the way). There were fans almost everywhere (especially nearing the end!) and in spots that there weren't many fans, it was usually through a park or some place scenic anyway! I really didn't think it was as terribly hilly as everyone said it was. I ran almost perfectly even splits, so the hills in the second ½ are definitely do-able; just make sure to train for them, I guess. The only thing I would change would be the number of bathrooms at the start lines. That very last potty stop is crucial!!! Otherwise, I'm pumped for Boston!!! And looking forward to coming back next year!! | |
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K. O. from Erie, PA
(10/26/2007)
"Great experience!" (about: 2007)
1 previous marathon
| 1 Baltimore Marathon
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 4 This was my first marathon and it was a great experience. The spectators, police, and volunteers were great. The course is challenging - that hill at mile 19 or so made me really slow down! However, the other hills aren't too bad and I especially enjoyed the run through Ft. McHenry. The expo was pretty good as well. The only con I had was the post race food could have had included bagels/pizza. Otherwise a great time. I'm really glad I participated! |
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