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☰
Washington DC Marathon Runner Comments
Back to Washington DC Marathon Information & Reviews
Course 4.5 
Organization 3.6 
Spectators 3.9
Number of comments: 84 [displaying comments 21 to 31]
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A Runner from San Francisco, CA
(4/16/2002)
"Incredible debut, well-organized marathon." (General Comments)
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 4 As a first time visitor to Washington, DC, I was most impressed by the spectacular, scenic course. Some of the uphill portions in the second half of the race slowed me a bit, but this was my most enjoyable marathon to date. I've completed 8. Water and Gatorade were plentiful throughout the course and who could complain about Krispy Kremes at the finish? The crowd support was wonderful, and DC cops are the best. This was the first marathon that I ran where some of the police officers encouraged me to keep it going. This one is worth a repeat trip. | |
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A Runner from Indian Rocks Beach, FL
(4/13/2002)
"Excellent Marathon" (about: 2002)
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 4 The weather was great and the course is perfect for first time or experienced marathon runners. The volunteers and spectators covered 'most' of the 26.2 miles. I enjoyed seeing the nations sites during the course of the marathon. My sister and I ran with a pace group and this was a great experience. I would recommend the DC marathon to all! | |
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A Runner from Hamden, CT
(4/11/2002)
"Well done for an inaugural event" (about: 2002)
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 4 Very similar to the Marine Corps marathon, but with more hills. Beautiful course. Fans are great at the end of the course, but 7am Sunday start down Constitution Avenue means many fewer fans on that section than at the Marine Corps. Very well organized except for the bag pick-up at the end. Krispy Kreme's at the finish really hit the spot! | |
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A Runner from California, MD
(4/10/2002)
"A Great Race" (about: 2002)
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 4 This was my first marathon. If it could not be the marine corps marathon, I'm glad I picked this one. I had a great time. The organization was good, people were great and the time of year was perfect. What a way to spring into summer. | |
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A Runner from miami, florida
(4/8/2002)
"New PR and had fun too!!!" (about: 2002)
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 Tough course, especially the hills at end. Great organization. The fans and sights kept me charged allowing me to finish with a new PR. I will definitely run this one again. | |
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A Runner from Hyattsville, MD USA
(4/6/2002)
"Wildly beyond my expectations" (about: 2002)
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 I was skeptical of this race when I signed up. I swallowed hard at the high registration fee. Inaugurals often have growing pains and city marathons can be tedious at the start due to weaving around slower runners. Top it off that an injury prevented me from training. But I live 15 minutes from DC, so I signed on. I found the race scenic, not too difficult - but sufficiently challenging. Running up Constitution Ave & seeing the Capitol, running along Independence Ave & seeing the Jefferson Memorial and the Washington Monument looming ahead - I have a newfound appreciation for the city, its neighborhoods & architecture. Great support, great fans for most of the race (a little sparse early on), and great post race - hey all the Krispy Kremes you could eat! Beautiful finishers medal! Great traffic control by the DC police. Only 3 negatives (besides the fee) come to mind - understaffed water station around mile 21 but I just had to grab it off the table and long lines for bag claim (glad I didn't bring one!) and 6 1/2 hour cutoff for traffic. I felt really bad seeing slower runners on the sidewalk waiting for traffic lights as I was heading to the metro. Ok, took 45 minutes to find my wife, but that was our fault. If you are a runner - this is THE way to see the nation's capitol city. Certainly hope to run it again! | |
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A Runner from Reston, Virginia
(4/5/2002)
"great race" (General Comments)
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 I ran this and totally bonked the last 10k. Nevertheless, I thought it was a great race. This marathon takes you through the parts of the city where people actually live, not just around the monuments. I realized while I was running it that this made it so much better than Marine Corps, which is run primarily in Northern Virginia in very clinical areas. This is a relatively tough course, particularly the last real hill at about 22. Thank god for the doctors/nurses in the medical tent. | |
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A Runner from Barnesville, MD
(4/4/2002)
"Great First Time" (about: 2002)
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 Although I had been a spectator at several other marathons and had been regaled with stories of many others by my friends, this was my first as a racer. I must admit it was a surprisingly positive experience considering my preconceptions and in comparison with the other events. I will definitely be a future participant and will highly recommend it to anyone else, particularly novices. It was an absolutely great first race. Unlike other races where one may be subjected to busing and corralling for hours in some urban wasteland before the start, here you arrive by Metro a short stroll away from Memorial Bridge and the starting line. You can then sit or recline on grassy slopes and watch the sunrise over the magnificent city and the Potomac (just like the Marine Corps (MCM)). For somebody who trained on the steep terrain of Sugarloaf Mountain, the course seemed nice and easy and relatively level--pretty comparable to MCM. As for the ?too steep hill? on 13th St., it was steep but very short--only about 75 yards long. Wasn?t it better to go down rather than up it? For probably over 20 miles of the course the traffic was well separated and distant from the raceway. The police did an excellent job of handling the traffic. Yes, once in a while they would let a car or two slip through big gaps in the runners-so what?! It was done prudently and safely. At my incredibly slow 5 hour pace, I thoroughly enjoyed seeing the memorials, all the statues, the beautiful buildings, and the grand vistas down PA Ave and 13th Street. Want to commend the organizers who took the course through neighborhoods (Petworth, Anacostia & Columbia Heights) most visitors never see. It was also a great way to tie the city together in a joint venture. It was wonderful to revisit SE where my father grew up and to once again cross the Sousa Bridge and the Anacostia-this time by foot. Read one comment about how the course went through ?common? places & didn?t go through the most scenic or desirable areas. Firstly, I already have said it was very scenic, secondly, how deplorably elitist in tone & distinctly ignorant as well, and thirdly, a marathon with its tons of discarded clothing and trash, public urination, etc. is the last thing the fine people of ?desirable? Spring Valley, North Portal, Kalorama, Burleith, etc. are going to allow in their neighborhoods. That said, DC does offer a huge potential for other interesting routes. For instance, the National Arboretum could be added, followed by a run through Trinidad to Brookland up to Missouri Ave, Rock Creek Park and a return via Beach Drive and Connecticut Ave. Probably too challenging-just a thought. Organization was great from registration through pre-race to the finish line. The Expo unlike the rat maze for MCM was enjoyable and one could actually talk to the exhibitors without being swept away by the crowd. Didn?t need to pay $5 to park if you didn?t mind walking a few feet. Seemed like the water stations worked well for the amount of participants. People complained about lack of food-aren?t oranges (which were provided) food? What do you want, steak? All the volunteers were helpful and friendly including the ones at the baggage grab. Yes it was slow but refreshments were brought to us while we waited in line plus it was nice to have time to talk to other runners and share the experiences of what was, for me, an exciting day. However I wish I could say that 2 items were not stolen from my bag-NO, they didn?t fall out-they were packed solidly beneath my clothing. Also might I echo the comments of others about the shirt? How about a long sleeve one next year or maybe even emulating the practice at the Annapolis 10-miler where very nice premiums like wind pants, jackets or race bags are provided? This should be a very high-class event. Please don?t add music or bands. The music at the MCM was painfully loud and extremely annoying. Bands are at some other marathons and that's good and I plan to run the RnR Half Marathon in VA Beach. However, there?s no need for every race to share the same formula. Isn?t there anyone else who thinks they may be a distraction? Diversity makes the world go round. Fans/spectators. Thought the support was really good considering there were only 6000 participants and that the race started relatively early. As it was, the crowds at the end started to push into the raceway. Of course it was not anything like the MCM where I witnessed a runner put out of the race because a thoughtless spectator stepped across the road in front of him. Did enjoy all the doggies who dragged their owners to the race and the little ladies in Petworth ringing bells from their doorways. Have to admit though that I don?t really need people cheering me on-after all I usually train alone-so a lack of huge crowds or cheerleaders is not a downer for me. Certainly didn?t have the energy to ?high-five? everyone. I know that?s not the general opinion, however. Anyway I?ll be back next year, if able. | |
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A Runner from Mt. Gilead, Ohio
(4/4/2002)
"Great Race" (about: 2002)
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 5 This was my 1st marathon and I had a great time. It has a great course with great spectators, everywhere. They had an open area expo that was not crowded. Only negative points I have is the marathon never answered or returned email questions (pre and post race), gear pick-up area was a disaster, family reunion area was not to be found, and the T-shirt was rather low quality. If they fix these problems, which should be easy to do, they will have a world class marathon in 2003. | |
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A Runner from North Reading, MA
(4/2/2002)
"Great start!" (about: 2002)
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 3 My first marathon and I had an absolute blast! Watching the sun rise above the city from across the river set the scene for an awesome run! My nits and comments: My race packet did NOT contain the 'beaded fasteners' for either my chip or the bag tag. I got by without both but there was a stuffing error. Perhaps directions to review the contents at pick-up are in order. My 'bus ticket' was missing as well. When I asked at the information booth, they did give a me a replacement - which, as it turned out, the driver didn't care about anyway. The soy pea soup was an undesirable that did nothing more than add weight to carry home. Cheap T-shirt. Expected nicer for the fee. The vendors at the expo were great - nice selections of running gear! Arriving at the start fairly early (just before 6), there was confusion about which side of the bridge we should be on. Nobody seemed to know for sure. The promised 'maps' were nowhere to be found. I ran with the 3:30 pace team. They did a great job staying just below target pace for the first 20 miles. (I lost 'em on the hill but still finsihed at 3:27.) The massage line was ridiculous. It was moving so slowly that standing there to wait for a massage was out of the question. Either don't promise these or get more bandwidth. Mile markers and clocks were great. Not leading the race - I thought directions were just fine. The only marker I missed was mile 12 - saw the mile marker but not the clock. Refreshment stands on course were great! Friendly folks! The PowerGel stop seemed to have moved from Mile 18 to Mile 19 - just after the ad hoc beer stop. The hill from mile 20 - 22 took its toll on a number of us. There were a lot of people dragging at the top. Crowds on this stretch were particularly sparse. Doing something to encourage folks to cheer in this section would be great. Music at the top of the hill, orange sections or something to give a boost for the hill would be a real perk from the runners' persepective. Finish line was great! Nice crowd, cool bridge, etc. Need more water at the finish - the drink tables were up close to the finish line and you had to kinda fight backwards to get a second cup after passing. The steps between the finish line and the bag claim gotta go. Maybe make a ramp or something but going up and then down those steps hurt after 26.2 miles. The bag-claim tent needed more volunteers - too much backup there. My elderly father was meeting me at the finish line. We'd made specific plans to use the alphabetical signs in the 'reunite' area. Though I eventually found him - we never did find the signs. |
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