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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 221 to 231]
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Dave Lohr from Maryland
(2/2/2006)
"Beautiful Scenic Race, I Set a PR!!!!!" (about: 2006)
3 previous marathons
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 Overall, an excellent marathon. Well organized, great course, great water and food, excellent port-o-potty placement, awesome finisher's medal. My heartfelt thanks to the spectators/fans that gave out ice, oranges, and tomatoes in the Coconut Grove area of the course. These fans were just great. The weather was very warm, but hard to complain about 70-degree weather in January. My last training run was in the 30's. Only negative comment is that the T-shirt was cheap. | |
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Brad Niess from Oakland, CA
(2/2/2006)
"Watch out for those cones!!" (about: 2006)
1 previous marathon
| 1 Miami Marathon
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 3 This was my first marathon, and it was pretty much what I expected. The start of the marathon was quite a mess. There were orange cones in the middle of the course that had been trampled and causing some near disasters. The grates on the bridges were a huge hazard. I believe one of the elites twisted his ankle and had to drop out because of this. Thank you to the police/officials who tried their hardest to keep VERY IMPATIENT Miami residents from running us over. I had two trucks coming up the street that didn't seem to care that there was a marathon in progress. I saw one band. ONE. I finished sub-4.... Suggestion: have multiple bands at each stage. The people running over 4 hours are the ones that are really going to enjoy the music. Great water stops. Very consistent with water first, then Gatorade. That's very helpful! I probably will do it again.... I'm hooked. | |
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S. Z. from Washington, DC
(2/2/2006)
"good, but needs improvement" (about: 2006)
3 previous marathons
| 1 Miami Marathon
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 3 FANS: 1 This race had a number of things going for it, including a good, flat course (only "hills" were a few bridges including one at the 26-mile mark). It was also great to run through South Beach as the sun was coming up. The organization was solid with a well-organized start and finish area. However, there were a few definite areas in need of improvement (and I'm not talking about the temperature, which was WAY too hot but which there's obviously no control over). First, a few mile markers appeared to be misplaced. The most noticeable was mile 10, which had to be incorrect as it ended up taking a good 40 sec. less than 9 and 11 for me and everyone else around me. Crowd support was also poor, with the exception of a small number of "official" cheering areas and some really great neighbors in Coconut Grove who came out to cheer. Not only were spectators sparse, but residents were downright hostile. Traffic was bad, cars were constantly honking and trying (sometimes successfully) to drive onto the course and drivers were literally flipping runners off. Obviously you can't expect Chicago or NYC-caliber crowd support at every race. But there's a difference between simply sparse crowds (which I've experienced while running other similarly new-ish marathons before) and overtly hostile ones. There's nothing less inspiring than being honked at repeatedly by traffic while running 26.2 miles. Clearly Miami isn't any less friendly than other cities, which leads me to believe that race organizers must have done a poor job of promoting the event and informing residents about road closures and what it would mean for traffic. Whatever the cause, it needs to be improved in future years. Finally, ING apparently ran a concurrent "children's race," which seemed like a bad idea to me. At some point shortly after 4:00 hours I was waiting by the chute to cheer on some friends who were behind me. The announcer said in a few minutes they were starting a children's race and that kids would be running a short distance to the finish. Shortly after that a huge number of kids came barrelling down the course toward the finish, competing for space with actual marathoners. In some cases it didn't seem to pose a problem but in others I saw kids darting in front of marathoners and marathoners having to dodge and weave through a crowd of children in the last 0.2 miles. I don't know why on earth anyone would think this was a good idea! | |
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S. F. from Georgia
(2/1/2006)
"Should be Called Miami HALF Marathon and Marathon" (about: 2006)
11-50 previous marathons
| 1 Miami Marathon
COURSE: 3 ORGANIZATION: 3 FANS: 2 A great half marathon course but a bad full marathon. Despite my promise to run marathon only courses I thought I would run the full marathon for fun but remembered why I made that promise afterward. The first half was scenic and very nice to see the sun come up near the beach. And running through South Beach at 6:30 a.m. and seeing the revelers coming home from the clubs (or them seeing the runners was probably more surprising) was exciting. The cheering zone at mile 11 was like riding through the crowds of Tour De France. The fans spilled into the streets and forced us to run single-file - it was amazing. Then the second half started, or better yet, the race fell apart. First running through the deserted warehouse section of town was boring. The bands that were there were playing for themselves and the runners that ran by in 30 sec. No crowds anywhere! Then we ran into the Coconut Grove area and through neighborhood streets so small I thought we were running on a driveway towards someones garage. The second cheering zone at mile 21 was all volunteers; which the volunteers were incredible!!! Very plentiful and enthusiastic but still I wanted spectators. Also there were traffic jams everywhere. Cars honking at every major intersection and not for the runners. Very negative energy and I was running an 8:30 pace so it was going to be a long day for some policemen. I know there were a lot of tourist that didn't know about the race but detours signs were not present. Lastly, I finished well under 4 hours, drank, ate, sat and went to get a massage from one of the "80 tables" 20 minutes later only to see 30 half-marathon medals in line in front of me and a offical saying they are done taking people in line.... My friends and I thought we read somewhere the massage was only for full marathons, which we all did. ING Miami, do the city and duped runners a favor and just make it a half marathon. Or make it a 2-loop course which couldn't be any worse then the second half. | |
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C. G. from Atlanta
(2/1/2006)
"Unbelievable scenery" (about: 2006)
4-5 previous marathons
| 1 Miami Marathon
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 3 This was my first - and likely NOT my last - Miami Marathon. The course was great and the scenery was unbelievable. My only criticism is at the end of the race, several runners, including me, had to run through a group of kids who were completing the kids' marathon. Please separate the finish area to avoid this potential hazard. Miami is Miami and we all had a great time. | |
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J. L. from Florida
(2/1/2006)
"Mark Miami Marathon Jan 28, '07 on your calendar" (about: 2006)
11-50 previous marathons
| 4-5 Miami Marathons
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 A running coach would caution Miami about the huge "strides" they continue to make every year in bettering the marathon. With the addition of title sponsor ING, and the prestige and international recognition that the brand brings, Miami reached 10,000 participants in just their 4th year. The course is flat, fast, and more importantly fun. The course was never crowded, yet you were never running alone. The increase in participants only brought increased crowd support and energy. Miami also incorporated an ING run the last mile for children, and an Avis athletes with disablities program that complimented the competitive elite field. As an avid marathoner, Miami being 1 of 5 in 5 weeks, I know the ingredients for a good marathon, and Miami has the secret recipe. They have the best medal, a Thursday night latin flavor party, a Friday night kickoff party on Ocean Drive, a Saturday night pasta party on the water, course/Miami tours, and shirts by reknown artist Romero Britto. Hope to see you in '07. | |
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R. D. from Chicago, IL
(1/31/2006)
"Great small marathon" (about: 2006)
2 previous marathons
| 1 Miami Marathon
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 2 Miami Marathon was my second marathon, and a bit different (though in a good way) from my previous experience in Chicago. The organization was fantastic: plenty of water/Gatorade stations, the course was well-marked, and packet pick-up was really easy. The course was great, for the most part, and offers a beautiful tour of Miami. Only drawback was the comparative lack of spectators. This was probably due to the 6 a.m. start time, but miles 14-20 had relatively few spectators, particularly compared to Chicago. But, all in all, a great small marathon. | |
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Alberto Sanchez from Venezuela
(1/31/2006)
"A lot of fun.... Will do it again" (about: 2006)
2 previous marathons
| 1 Miami Marathon
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 4 I ran NYC in November and enjoyed it, but Miami was more fun now that ING has taken over. Please more music next year and hydration on both sides of the road. Loved the rice and beans after the race and the festive mood at the end.... Will for sure do it again next year. | |
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J. W. from Washington, DC
(1/31/2006)
"Disappointing for a first-timer" (about: 2006)
1 previous marathon
| 1 Miami Marathon
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 3 FANS: 4 This was my first marathon and it did not leave a good taste in my mouth. First off, all of the literature said there would be water breaks every mile marker; there were not. Secondly, all of the bands/DJ's/cheerleaders... where were they? The marathon was poorly organized; the people of Miami didn't even know there was a marathon going on the weekend I was there. There were very few postings for the event in the city itself or on the news, which led to traffic starting to back up at 7 a.m. We were told that the pace time had to be a 14-minute mile, but my time was well below that and traffic was definitely in my way. I felt as though I was a hindrance to the city, which is not good for morale. However, the weather was nice and so were the people who were cheering us on in the crowd. Although, there were not that many people, I went miles without seeing a spectator. I imagine that all goes back to the poor publicity problem. Though the experience was amazing, it was my running partner and the fans that made it that way, not the marathon itself. I will not run this marathon again. | |
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J. W. from Oakland, CA
(1/31/2006)
"Excellent First Experience" (about: 2006)
First Marathon
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 I trained with the National AIDS Marathon for Miami 2006, and it really was a fantastic first experience. The crowds and support were wonderful throughout, the weather was good with a slight breeze all day to keep things cool, and the course is all but perfectly flat. The first half of the course is very scenic winding through Miami Beach and the art deco architecture. The stretch from about mile 11 to mile 13 is a bit industrial and not that exciting, but the second half then stretches through Coconut Grove and residential neighborhoods where I was amazed at the amount of support from specators. Families were out on their front lawns handing out water, ice and oranges. The crowds were just fantastic from start to finish. While I struggled with my second half, and I didn't hit my target time, this race was an amazing first marathon experience and I'll give it another shot. |
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