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☰
Manchester City Marathon Runner Comments
Back to Manchester City Marathon Information & Reviews
Course 3.8 
Organization 4.4 
Spectators 3.6
Number of comments: 84 [displaying comments 41 to 51]
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B. S. from Mebane, NC
(11/13/2010)
"A lovely city; a lovely race" (about: 2010)
11-50 previous marathons
| 1 Manchester City Marathon
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 4 I ran the half marathon and I absolutely loved this event. It has it all: a challenging course, great organization, good expo, and some of the friendliest volunteers to date. The website states that the course is hilly, challenging and scenic, which is accurate in every way. The weather was great with cool temperatures, clear skies and lots of sunshine all morning long. Also, this race is very easy from a logistical standpoint, with the expo, start and finish being in the same area downtown - a definite plus for an out-of-towner like myself. I stayed at the Hilton Garden Inn, which is less than a half-mile from everything and provides free shuttle service to the airport and just about any shopping and dining activities you seek. The baggage claim was easy and convenient, and the late registration area was heated so there was a place to stay warm prior to the start. One of the best touches to this race was the fantastic chili served at the finish! Absolutely delicious. The medal is very nice and colorful and the quick posting of finish times is very appreciated. There really is nothing about this race I would change. Hats off to the race director and all of the friendly volunteers. This is one race I'll look forward to repeating in the future. | |
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C. B. from Franklin, MA
(11/12/2010)
"Very Well Organized, Mid-Sized Marathon" (about: 2010)
6-10 previous marathons
| 1 Manchester City Marathon
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 3 This is an honest course and for those training on New England roads. The hills are nothing out of the ordinary. The course is open to traffic in most places, but race organizers had police or volunteers at every possible intersection where cars had to pass through the route. Water stops with plentiful volunteers, clocks and other support were exactly as most would wish for. A varied course, with trails, bridges, downtown and neighborhoods to keep it interesting. | |
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M. S. from NJ
(11/10/2010)
"Dodge the Traffic" (about: 2010)
50+ previous marathons
| 1 Manchester City Marathon
COURSE: 2 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 3 This marathon could be quite good if they re-route the second half. I don't mind the hills but I do mind the traffic and having to run on sidewalk - broken-up ones no less. I would have rather run two loops of the hilly first half than dodge the traffic. Great food at the end and the rest of the organization seemed quite good. Nice, interesting city as well and very convenient host hotel, with expo and start/finish line out front. | |
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J. L. from Connecticut
(11/9/2010)
"The hills are there but they aren't that bad" (about: 2010)
1 previous marathon
| 1 Manchester City Marathon
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 This was only my second marathon. I ran the Hartford in CT a month prior, which is primarily flat and a larger event. I read the reviews of this course and was scared that the hills would kill me in the later miles. I incorporated hills into my training runs in preparation for this and I have to say it wasn't nearly as bad as I would have expected. I came into this hoping to complete it just under 4 hours and was able to get a 3:52 time with a negative split on the second half. I thought this was a very well run event and I had an enjoyable experience doing it. There was some traffic along the course but the police and volunteers did a great job in managing it, giving the runner the right of way every time. I never even had to break a stride. The food and free massage afterward were great, and the spectators along the course were very enthusiastic, making the experience that much better. Although this course may not be one at which to get a PR, it's certainly one I would do again. | |
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A. M. from North Andover, MA
(11/9/2010)
"Hilly, small-feel marathon" (about: 2010)
4-5 previous marathons
| 1 Manchester City Marathon
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 4 First, this is my 5th marathon. When they say it's hilly, they are not lying. The 3rd 10K are a killer, and the back half is very tough in general. There are a ton of water stops and the volunteers could not be nicer. I was surprised at the number of people in the neighborhoods who watched and cheered - always nice. There's a small section that is on trail. A few too many twists and turns for my liking, but that adds to the charm and the challenge! You might not get your best time, but you will earn your time! | |
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M. S. from NC
(11/8/2010)
"Friendly NH Marathon" (about: 2010)
50+ previous marathons
| 1 Manchester City Marathon
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 3 FANS: 4 This marathon advertises hills, and it delivers. Nothing unreasonable by any means if you train for them. This is a good marathon for NH if you're going for 50 states as flying in is inexpensive and convenient. Expo, shirt, and aid stations were all perfect. The course was not really my favorite - the first half that we shared with the half marathoners was prettier, which made the more desolate second half seem a bit anti-climactic. Still, there were enough pretty parts to make it enjoyable. There were more fans than I would have expected, which is a great help in those later miles. Thanks to the course directors and police officers, as there really were some angry motorists we encountered. My biggest nit goes to the start time. While 8:50 did allow for more warmth (as I found it a bit chilly) it seemed SO late to start a marathon. The time change occurred this weekend as well, which made it feel like 9:50 to my body, which felt odd. It also made asking the hotel for late check out tricky. The hotel was VERY accommodating, which I greatly appreciated. That would be the only thing I'd suggest changing going forward. Everything else was very well done and I'd recommend this marathon highly! | |
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N. F. from Manchester, CT
(11/8/2010)
"Great Half, Lousy Full" (about: 2010)
6-10 previous marathons
| 1 Manchester City Marathon
COURSE: 3 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 3 It's a difficult course, but I certainly can't say they didn't warn me. Race amenities were comfortable, people were nice, and the first half was challenging but fun. My chief complaint, though, has to do with the fact that of the several thousand that line up to start, fewer than 500 run the full 26.2. Because of the small numbers, the second half of the race is lonely and with dicey traffic control (it's not like they can shut down roads for 400-something people). The wind was murderous, the course is hilly, and no one I knew set a PR. Even some of the pacers broke down in the late miles! They might consider limiting this event to only a half if they can't draw large enough numbers to justify devoting more resources to the full. | |
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g. d. from brookline ma
(11/29/2009)
"A Great New England Race" (about: 2009)
6-10 previous marathons
| 1 Manchester City Marathon
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 As others have mentioned, the first and second loops are very different. The first half of the course is less hilly than the second half. Looking at the results you will see that very few people did a negative split on this race. I recommend grabbing a few extra minutes on the front so you can relax on the second half's hills. Water stations were exactly where you'd expect them and they were well stocked with water, Gatorade and people. | |
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R. A. from NH
(11/23/2009)
"Two distinct halves" (about: 2009)
6-10 previous marathons
| 1 Manchester City Marathon
COURSE: 3 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 3 Manchester is essentially my "hometown" marathon. The first half is a great - a scenic run, with lots of runners (thanks to the half-marathoners) and excellent crowd support. The second half is a different story, with few full marathoners, sparse spectator support and questionable traffic control. Aid stations and mile markings are very good, and the overall race logistics are well-organized. The finishing area could use some more thought and intentionality, though, since many runners do not realize where to go after they finish. | |
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C. S. from Springfield, Illinois, USA
(11/6/2009)
"Tough course, but we were warned!!!!" (about: 2009)
50+ previous marathons
| 1 Manchester City Marathon
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 Was this a tough course? Yep. However, the website had warned us about it, and it was right. Seems like all of the course problems from past years have been addressed. Not sure there was 1,000 feet of level ground in the whole marathon. The back half is definitely tougher than the front. Expo wasn't anything special, but they had some good free stuff. Water stops were great, and food at the end was good. As for shirts and finishing medals, we runners need to make sure we don't complain about subjective things like the size of medals or the color of the shirts (my wife loved the medal), when the RD has obviously made tremendous strides in addressing previous problems. NOTE: My finishing time was about 20 minutes slower than I had planned, but the RD should get high marks. |
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