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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 11 to 21]
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j. s. from Frederick, MD
(11/25/2015)
"Neighborhood feel and cold beer!" (about: 2015)
11-50 previous marathons
| 3 Baltimore Marathons
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 Third Baltimore and I always like running through the neighborhoods and the folks with the gummy bears, M & M's, and beer. A real personal and unique feel. The finish at Camden Yards is unique and exciting. Looking forward to my fourth. | |
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L. M. from Virginia, USA
(11/21/2015)
"Outstanding Marathon" (about: 2015)
2 previous marathons
| 1 Baltimore Marathon
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 This was a very well organized event. I enjoyed the run. The spectators were great. It is big city, so not all the scenery was spectacular. A little on the hilly side, and the wind off the harbor was cold, but it was mid October. Overall I had a great experience, and would recommend this marathon to all my friends. | |
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I. M. from Washington DC
(11/17/2015)
"Challenging course, not a great experience" (about: 2015)
First Marathon
COURSE: 1 ORGANIZATION: 3 FANS: 2 (This review is for the half marathon; this is the third half that I've run.) The Baltimore course is pretty challenging. Much of the first half is uphill, with only a few flat miles as you run around Lake Montebello, and then a gradual downhill that was not as enjoyable as I'd hoped (I was struggling at that point from the elevation gains earlier). We passed through some pretty depressing areas that looked like a scene out of The Wire... there were a few blocks with the windows boarded up and signs stating 'Stop the murders'. The energy was strong near the start/finish, but otherwise the spectators were pretty sparse and, in the not-so-great areas, seemed unhappy that we were there. At least the organization was fine and there were plenty of portapotties, but the layout of the expo was terrible. I felt like I was trapped in a maze and had to struggle through the confused crowds to get to the distant corner to get my bib, only to find that my shirt was in another distant corner on the opposite side. All in all, I don't think I'll be running this race again. | |
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Z. T. from New York, NY
(10/28/2015)
"Challenging, fun, and underrated marathon" (about: 2015)
2 previous marathons
| 1 Baltimore Marathon
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 5 First off - GREAT GREAT crowd of spectators from all walks of life. Cowbells, funny signs, folks passing out candy and beverages (even beer!) made it an enjoyable run. Course is as advertised, but don't be intimadated. Obviously no marathon is easy - and there are plenty of rolling hills - but nothing is that steep of a grade and it does make you use different muscles. The hills in the beginning are very gradual, the steeper hills in the second half are challenging and the flat lap around the lake comes just in time. I trained in the rolling hills of Central Park and it worked out well. I ended up finishing a couple of minutes slower than my 'ideal' time, but that could just be from lack of experience, not the course. Pre race communications was excellent. Lots of good information in the runner handbook. Different colored big ballons marked bag drop, etc. The only organization snafu I experienced were a couple of water stands that did not have enough cups filled for passing runners. This was offset by many stops overall with food/beverages - especially at the end of the race - water/gatorade at mile 25 saved the day. | |
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R. B. from Knoxville, TN
(10/26/2015)
"Never Again" (about: 2015)
11-50 previous marathons
| 1 Baltimore Marathon
COURSE: 1 ORGANIZATION: 1 FANS: 3 We chose this marathon because it fit our schedule to get MD. Lets start with the Expo, NO direction. When we walked into the expo there were no volunteers giving directions, we had to ask another runner what to do. You walk into the middle of the expo and you have to go to one end to get your BIB # and then to the other end to get your shirt. I understand the vendor's are there for a reason but why make the runners walk more than they need to. Race Day, the morning of the race we arrived at the start line expecting to find signs/people directing people, but once again we had to search people out for assistance. We were expecting to be able to drop our bag near the start line, not to be, we had to walk 1/2 mile to find the bag drop and then back to the start line. The course, the roads are horrible, holes and ruts everywhere. As you pass the start of the half marathon there is very little room, the course narrows to one lane with portable barriers on the sides which makes it seem smaller, which limits the number of runners abreast. After you join the half marathoners (mile 16) it gets cramped, at one point the course goes out 200M and you are required to do a u-turn while 10-15 abreast (poor layout). Also at one point you run around a cobblestone round-about that has big gaps between the bricks. At the finish, once again there was no direction, we had to ask 10 people before we were directed to the bag pickup which was located outside the runners area, we had to fight our way thru the awaiting crowd to get our bags. Water stops need to be uniform with the placement of the water and sports drink and on both sides of the road throughout. We were under the impression that UA was the main title sponsor, but other than the shirt and running past their HQ, you would have thought Pandora or GEICO was the main title sponsor. The best part of the marathon was definitely the medal. This seems like a local marathon with a lot of repeat local runners. | |
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A. A. from Delaware
(10/21/2015)
"Big-city race with small-town charm" (about: 2015)
6-10 previous marathons
| 1 Baltimore Marathon
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 I can't say enough about this race. CSE does a great job organizing it packet pick-up, the start line and the finish area were all well-run - and the course itself is a blast, with enough elevation changes to keep things interesting and challenging, plenty of aid stations staffed by competent volunteers and all the enthusiastic spectators along the course you could want, even in the less popular areas of the course. And with only 4,000 runners allowed in the marathon, the field is big enough you never feel alone, but you have room to run. The only negative was the merge with the half marathon at mile 16. I was running about a 4:00 finish pace, but I got mixed in with half marathoners doing about a 2:20 pace. I had to do a lot more dodging and weaving of slower runners than I normally have to that far into a marathon. By mile 19, I'd caught up to the half marathoners doing about my same pace, and the last 7.2 miles of the race were just as smooth as the first 16. The finish down Eutaw Street in Camden Yards is my favorite finish ever. Race swag is great big unique medal (Maryland loves its blue crabs) and Under Armour always provides a super nice men's or women's cut shirt for the race premium. I'm not a big fan of big city marathons, but I make an exception for Baltimore. HIGHLY recommended! | |
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B. B. from Pittsburgh, Pa
(10/20/2015)
"Lots to like, a little to dislike" (about: 2015)
11-50 previous marathons
| 2 Baltimore Marathons
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 5 My second time running Baltimore and it is a very good race. The course is excellent with rolling hills and varying scenery. I especially liked the zoo and the area near the Inner Harbor. Excellent and numerous water stations and plenty of food on the course. Enthusiastic crowds and friendly police. My only real complaint was with the half participants who walked 4 abreast in the middle of the course after the merge. I'm not sure what the organizers can do, but a little running etiquette would be nice. Solid medal and my new favorite shirt. Free, close parking for both the race and expo was great. Finish area was very well organized. A race that I have and will continue to recommend. | |
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A. T. from Chicago
(10/17/2015)
"Nice course, nice city, nice people, nice medal" (about: 2015)
11-50 previous marathons
| 1 Baltimore Marathon
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 4 Extremely easy logistically. I stayed at Hyatt Regency in Inner Harbor (one of host hotels); right across street from Inner Harbor; very walkable and safe all around there. Walking distance to hotel via Light Rail (Camden Yards take from BWI) and to Expo and start/finish (at Camden Yards). Course was hilly; I liked it because we went through many different parts of the city; spectators were great everywhere; great aid stations. Great medal and shirt. | |
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D. L. from Australia
(2/5/2015)
"Put this one on your Fall calendar!" (about: 2014)
1 previous marathon
| 1 Baltimore Marathon
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 All of the positive comments about this event are well-earned. Corrigan Sports puts on a wonderful marathon where the attention to detail is amazing. The city really puts its heart into this festival; something that each runner would appreciate. **Pre-race communication: excellent. Emails were quickly responded to even if it was after business hours. Organisers did a sound job of working around a potential clash with an Orioles playoff series. Runners were always kept in the loop. **Expo: I don't put much emphasis on expos. My mission is to collect my packet efficiently and move on. In my case, I went to the expo on Friday at the convention center and was in line before they opened. Bibs were close to the front, and the long sleeved UA tech shirt collection was downstairs less than halfway through the aisles. No problems there at all since the BCC has plenty of space for an event like this. The shirts were nice but ran fairly large. Exchange was right there and really easy. I spoke to a nice guy at the pace group booth for some race day tips and slipped out. **Start line: Pratt Street right next to Orioles Park. Only downside was that the restroom facilities were inadequate given the number of runners. A section of the baseball stadium was open, but lines for guys and gals were memorable. I have faith that the organizers will have this fixed for '15. 7:00 start meant that the first twenty minutes were in the dark. If the city can work out an efficient public transport schedule, the race should work to keep its 7:00 time slot. **Course: Not the easiest, but probably not the hardest. That being said, hill training and creating a race strategy are very important before tackling Baltimore's undulating course. In this city, unless you are running near the Inner Harbour, you are likely either climbing or descending a hill. That's just the local geography and part of our sport. Hold back in the first half because the hills from Mile 15-21 might just bite if you don't. Aid stations were large, plentiful and laid out consistently. No problems here either. **Spectators: enthusiastic and everywhere. They were unbelievably supportive and were out on course in force. The last half mile thru Camden Yards was bedlam and unforgettable. **Post-race: I like what they did here. The recovery drinks and food was a fifty foot walk from the line to avoid congestion. It worked well and allowed runners to spread out. Plenty of bottles of water and Gatorade available at several places. Course photographers were in this area too and happy to further document your great day. Food was in sprawling marquee tents and allowed walk-ups from any direction and unlimited fruit, chips, crackers, bagel halves, etc. The medal is heavy and unique to Baltimore. You will love it. The runners village emptied unto the well-marked family reunion area. Medical care was available in several places and even outside the runners village in case you had a change of mind. An additional neat feature was the changing tent to put peel off your running gear afterwards. **Final thoughts: This is a superb marathon on a challenging course. The organizers go above and beyond to make each runner feel valued. The event (especially the half and relay) has really grown in the past few years and has become quite the spectacle. Great job! | |
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V. J. from Virginia Beach
(10/22/2014)
"First Class Marathon all the way" (about: 2014)
4-5 previous marathons
| 1 Baltimore Marathon
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 From the course to the organization to the city, Baltimore showed up big time. Every aspect of this marathon was electric. Before running this marathon I despised the city of Baltimore but now I am already contemplating whether I should make this my first marathon after I do one in every state. |
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