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☰
Miami Marathon Runner Comments
Back to Miami Marathon Information & Reviews
Course 4.5 
Organization 4.2 
Spectators 3.5
Number of comments: 312 [displaying comments 101 to 111]
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M. W. from NYC
(1/27/2009)
"Gorgeous, flat and fast" (about: 2009)
3 previous marathons
| 1 Miami Marathon
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 3 I am coming off of running NYC in November, and while this race in no way comes close to the crowd support that NYC boasts, a lot of the people I talked to after the race had no idea that a race was even held in Miami that day. I felt that there was way more support for the half-marathoners than for the full marathoners, but they did compose 2/3 of the field. Still, you, as the runner, are ultimately the one who has to dig deep and get yourself through - not the crowds. With that said, I loved this course and will run it again. This is a great race to pair with a vacation and utter relaxation. | |
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Bill Walton from Fairfield, CT
(1/27/2009)
"Well done, Miami" (about: 2009)
11-50 previous marathons
| 1 Miami Marathon
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 3 This is a really nice marathon. The route features the greatest hits of the Miami/Beach sites. The organization is buttoned up. And the medal is some serious bling! They seem to understand what makes a good experience for runners. They do that stuff well and don't bother with the rest. Some big-city marathons are overdone, or just poorly done. Miami splits the difference. I would travel here again for this event. A few low (but not too low) points. The pasta dinner at the Hard Rock was very weak. Small room, dull pasta and no pre-event excitement. Second, Miami really has not embraced this event yet. Very small crowds in pockets and no media attention (except on the traffic reports). The expo was sleepy. Felt like runners showed up to grab their numbers and get out. Few people at the booths or lectures. Hey, none of those are the reason to run a marathon. They have a great route; it's well organized and features a nifty medal at the end. Now that is a good weekend. | |
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L. K. from Miami, FL
(1/26/2009)
"Great race, but could be better!" (about: 2009)
11-50 previous marathons
| 6+ Miami Marathons
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 I've run this race every year so far and it has improved every year. The organization is great, the course has improved over the past 2 years and the race has grown tremendously. I would like to suggest for next year that the half-marathoners start 15 minutes after the full. After a couple of bad years, I trained for this race and was going to use it for a Boston qualifier. However, I had to start at the back with half-marathoners in front of me. It was extremely crowded for the first 13 miles. With 15,000-plus runners now on narrow streets, a staggered start would be a big plus! | |
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C. M. from West Palm Beach, Florida
(1/26/2009)
"What goody bag! Water stations lack organization." (about: 2009)
11-50 previous marathons
| 6+ Miami Marathons
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 3 FANS: 3 I found it interesting that there was actually someone who stated that the goody bag was great. I got an empty, plastic goody bag with a ugly, cheap painter's hat inside and nothing else but a bunch of paperwork for other events and advertisements. I wonder what was in their goody bag. The event has a great course, improved over last year for the half. The water stations were not properly manned from mile 3-6. No water was ready for the slower runners; I saw people actually grabbing a jug and pouring their own water. Everyone looked confused and exhausted. I think they needed more help or someone to be organized. In contrast, the Boy Scout troops were organized and the roses water station was the best. The food at the end was sorry - some stale bagels and bananas. What happened to the oranges or other goodies from the years past? Guess it is the economy. The expo was a sorry sight also. Not many corporate sponsors this year, I guess. The course was well marked for the half. Oh, the worst thing I must mention: They ran out of medals for the half marathoners... incredible. | |
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n. c. from Tampa, Fl
(1/26/2009)
"Great Race!" (about: 2009)
4-5 previous marathons
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 4 This was my fourth marathon. The course is beautiful! It was a great run. The bridges aren't too big, so they didn't hurt my time. I will definitely do this race next year. | |
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K. C. from Miami, Florida
(1/26/2009)
"Oversold Race - No Medals for Finishers of Half" (about: 2009)
11-50 previous marathons
| 4-5 Miami Marathons
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 2 FANS: 4 I was truly disappointed. This is the fifth (5th) time that I have run the ING in Miami. At the finish line I was informed that they had run out of medals for the half. Unbelievable. How does that happen? There were actually fewer finishers than the projected 15,000, yet they did not have enough medals. Also I found that the water stations from Mile 3 through 9 were inadequate. I ended up having to pour water myself or skipping the water station because the water was not ready. The groups were overwhelmed and disorganized. Also I feel that there should be water at least starting at Mile 2. The hat this year was a very sad piece of garbage. I immediately threw it away. What happened to the nice mesh hats? The marathon costs enough, and buying in bulk would make a nice hat affordable. Last year, they gave me a 2007 hat for a 2008 race. The shirt was also just ugly, cheap, and ill-fitting. The positives included a nice course. I loved the Publix mile; it was much nicer than what we had last year (looping around the golf course, etc.). A shorter loop through downtown was nice. The police need to understand not to stop a huge group of runners right before the finish. I got stopped while they let about a minute of traffic through. At that time my legs cramped up. Not good. The music was good. The fire boat was a sight to see. The area around the Omni was full or energy. The food at the finish line was minimal - just bananas and bagels and warm water. But the worst was the no medal situation. They said they would take our numbers and mail us one. Not acceptable. I heard later that they were then giving out full marathon medals to finishers of the half. They were totally disorganized at the finish and I just walked away with no medal. Sad, sad. Lots of disappointed finishers. | |
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M. L. from West Palm Beach, FL
(1/26/2009)
"Great Half-Marathon!" (about: 2009)
4-5 previous marathons
| 1 Miami Marathon
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 I live about an hour away and this is my 3rd half marathon. In comparison to the marathons in the area this one was AMAZING! The sights were great, running by the cruise ships in the early morning was a neat experience and running through the famous South Beach was also pretty cool. I thought there were plenty of supporters and the volunteers were plentiful. The goody bag was good. The hat was a nice bonus! I can't wait to run it again next year! | |
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J. K. from New Port Richey, FL
(1/25/2009)
"Great race but... out of shirts again!!!!!" (about: 2009)
4-5 previous marathons
| 3 Miami Marathons
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 3 FANS: 2 I have run the Miami Half for the past three years. I love the race, the weather and the time of year. In '08, they ran out of medium race shirts at the expo. I chalked this up as a good thing that the race was getting big and they didn't expect such a large crowd... so imagine my surprise when I arrived at the expo this year and they were out of medium and large race shirts! I had signed up as one of the first 200 runners (a year in advance), and this lack of preparation is frustrating and, quite frankly, unacceptable. The organizers should order extra shirts and give the leftovers to charity if they have to! How can you make this mistake two years in a row?????? The expo also closes at 6 p.m. on Saturday (most booths are packing up at 5 p.m.). I saw so many runners walking in at this time that it seems like they should stay open a little longer and be better prepared. I will be back for my 4th next year because it is so beautiful. On the plus side, there are lots of water and Gatorade stops and the scenery is perfect for the half marathon. The late January date makes it perfect, since I like to run a full marathon in the fall and another in the spring. You'll love the race... just get to the expo early! | |
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D. P. from Denver, CO
(9/7/2008)
"The course was worth it" (about: 2008)
2 previous marathons
| 1 Miami Marathon
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 3 If you consider any marathon, it should be this one. I did the half-marathon in '08 and simply fell in love with the course. The weather couldn't have cooperated any better. I could always go for more fan support throughout the course, but I understand that not many people get up so early to cheer on runners. Will be returning for another one. | |
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c. k. from Milwaukee
(5/27/2008)
"my disappointments" (about: 2008)
4-5 previous marathons
| 1 Miami Marathon
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 3 FANS: 2 Four disappointments: 1. In our 2008 goody bag, we were given a 2007 hat.... Who wants to wear a hat from a race they didn't run??? 2. I went online immediately (and for weeks afterwards) and there was no finisher merchandise... no hats, shirts, etc. 3. This was my 6th marathon and some cop misdirected me and cut off about 1.5 miles from my marathon. 4. For those of us in the 6- to 6.5-hour range (not uncommon in larger marathons), the last 13 miles were awfully quiet and lonely.... At least in New York there are lots of crowds and bands to keep you going. |
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