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☰
City of Oaks Marathon Runner Comments
Back to City of Oaks Marathon Information & Reviews
Course 4.1 
Organization 4.3 
Spectators 3.7
Number of comments: 85 [displaying comments 31 to 41]
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C. L. from United States
(11/11/2010)
"Challenging, fun and scenic course" (about: 2010)
11-50 previous marathons
| 1 City of Oaks Marathon
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 2 Going into the race, I expected a lot of hills. Now that I have finished the race, I got what I expected. This course is very hilly. I have run Boston several times, and I truly believe this course is MUCH tougher but very similar to Boston. The first half of the course goes through downtown Raleigh and surprisingly was quite a bit hillier than I wanted or expected. The second half mainly goes through Umstead State Park (very scenic and nice to run in). I did not think the park or the second half were very hilly compared to the first half. Even though the temperatures where barely in the 40's throughout the race and the course was challenging, I still ended up setting a PR. Other than poor fan support throughout much of the race, I felt that this marathon was put on very nicely. I would recommend it for people who are looking for a challenging "small-town" race. | |
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Elliott Smith from Raleigh, NC
(11/10/2010)
"Challenging course, good people, good day" (about: 2010)
First Marathon
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 4 It was a chilly start. A good number of people out there. The spectators and volunteers were great. Water stations were placed just as described, except inside Umstead Park, which is about 3.5 miles of the course. The Hammer Nutrition sports drink was mixed weak, but the Hammer gels (raspberry) were great. I trained for hills, but my legs were still crying - first marathon blues. After it warmed up a bit, I was able to enjoy the beautiful day, the scenes, and the inspirational people. And yes, finish the race quickly so you can get some free pizza. | |
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O. S. from Papillion Nebraska
(11/9/2010)
"Great race; I set a PR in the half" (about: 2010)
6-10 previous marathons
| 1 City of Oaks Marathon
COURSE: 3 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 2 The little backpack-type bags at the packet pickup were cool. The music at Hillsborough was awesome. "Let's get it started in here..." got me going again. Coming from out of state, the sponsor hotel was great and even extended the race discount an extra day for me. I stuck with the water, since I trained with G2. The police did a good job with traffic control. I saw some incidents when they were pressured. | |
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K. S. from Chapel Hill, NC
(11/8/2010)
"A fantastic first marathon" (about: 2010)
1 previous marathon
| 1 City of Oaks Marathon
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 5 This was my first marathon. Nothing to compare it too, but I had a great time! The volunteers were wonderful. They had water every 2 miles, the bag check at the beginning was effortless and everyone was very nice and helpful. The spectators were great. Thanks to the girl at Mile 22 with the sign saying, "Just Keep Running." I think that mantra got me through to the finish line. The course is not easy. Vertically challenging. I ran the first half at 7:30 minute/mile pace and the 2nd half at 8:30 minute/mile pace, which I think was largely due to the hills. I thought the organization was great. My only complaint was the queue to park pre-race. There are several ways into the campus. Perhaps give directions to several different parking lots to cut down on the traffic. Good food/drinks at the end. Perhaps some music at the end would be fun?! | |
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F. L. from Littleton, NC
(11/8/2010)
"Wonderful Event" (about: 2010)
50+ previous marathons
| 1 City of Oaks Marathon
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 4 Was not expecting to be as impressed as I was! First, I loved the course! Gentle, rolling hills... nothing bad at all. Not a spectacular course, but really there were no ugly sections. Very pretty! Well-marked, good mile markers, etc. Second, everything seemed to just happen easily. No traffic congestion at either the expo or race morning. Nice, convenient parking. Adequate number of porta-johns (you can never have too many!). Aid stations - well supplied with fluids and gels. Excited volunteers everywhere! Prompt results available. Only suggestions would be 1) to drop the HEED sports drink and switch to Gatorade or something that tastes okay; and 2) improve the shirt design (and shrink up logos!). I will do this one again! | |
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M. F. from Rocky Mount, NC
(11/7/2010)
"Well Organized Race with a Beautiful Course" (about: 2010)
11-50 previous marathons
| 1 City of Oaks Marathon
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 4 Great job by Raleigh Running Outfitters and all of those involved with the City of Oaks Marathon. ORGANIZATION: As a runner, I always knew exactly what was going on. Timely announcements were made before the start. Every turn was clearly marked and staffed with great volunteers. Every aid station was well manned and treated the exact same way (water first, Heed second). It was nice not having to ask volunteers what was in the cups. COURSE: Absolutely fantastic. A great mix of urban and scenic. Some challenging climbs, but I would much rather have a pretty course than something flat and boring. The three miles in Umstead were some of my favorites. The half runners missed some of the best parts POST-RACE AND AWARDS: I love the 2010 medal. The acorn design is fantastic (actually a better design than their race logo). The post-race food was so-so. They had hot pizza and some bagels. Coffee and sodas would be nice. Some other salty options at the finish would be good too. GENERAL: Overall a very well organized and challenging race. The volunteers were excellent throughout. The start/finish location sets up perfectly for a marathon. If flat and easy is your only goal, this is not your marathon. If you want a well run race with a gem of a race course, come run the Oaks! | |
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A. S. from Raleigh NC
(6/7/2010)
"Head for the hills... and more hills and more hill" (about: 2009)
2 previous marathons
| 1 City of Oaks Marathon
COURSE: 3 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 5 I knew this race would be very challenging because of the hills. However, this was much harder than the San Francisco Nike Women's Marathon. The weather was in the 50's with pouring rain, gale force winds, and muddy conditions - especially in Umstead. This is, as someone said, a "humbling" marathon. Although I ran a personal best, it was not my favorite. The first half of the race comprises rolling hills (still challenging, but not like the second half), but after mile 13 it is all uphill until the last 2 miles or so. It is fairly scenic in the first third and last third of the race, but there's not much to see in the middle. The best thing about the race were the FANS!!! To come out in that weather (when you weren't running!) to cheer us on was truly inspiring! If you are looking for a challenge or a training ground before a PB on a flat course, this is great. | |
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P. Z. from Raleigh, NC
(6/3/2010)
"Very few man-made complaints" (about: 2009)
1 previous marathon
| 1 City of Oaks Marathon
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 4 I got up early on the Sunday of the race ready to go. Seemingly it wasn't early enough. Traffic heading into the parking area of the marathon start was pretty bad. Make sure you leave really early (or know the backroads from being a life-long resident). Once at the starting line it was misting/raining and I pretty much knew what was in store. The first part of the race is through downtown and is fairly flat. It tempted me to go out too fast (and I did) but I was pretty amped up because this was my first marathon. Heading down to the turn-around for halfers, it remains flat. From there on out you better be ready for some serious hills. The torrential downpour throughout those hills made this a very difficult race. Footing was difficult on the gravel/dirt path on Umstead Park but that was only because of the rain. This was a great race. I'm not the one to ask about the tech shirts, expo, medals, etc. Those sort of things are kinda pointless to me. Food at the end included pizza, fruit, etc. but I was pretty dazed by the end and definitely didn't feel like anything. Support along the roads was surprisingly good. I mean, there was some serious rain coming down and people still were loud and energetic. I was proud to be from Raleigh. That's not to say this was New York or any other huge marathon, but if you want you can go there. This marathon is very well run and I would run it again if I weren't training for another. Give it a shot and hope for better weather! | |
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W. B. from Goldsboro, NC
(2/15/2010)
"Beautiful course, challenging hills" (about: 2009)
4-5 previous marathons
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 4 Beating the torrential rain and gusty winds, along with the hills, made this the most satisfying race I've ever run. I was only using it as a tune up for Myrtle Beach, but liked it so much I'll be back next year. The hills up to mile 20 are challenging, but the steady decline from there to the finish allowed me to finish strong and post a two-minute negative split. Great organization, and world-class volunteers to be out in that weather. Only complaint: the start area is kind of crowded and parking was a bit of a headache due to the limited roads into the parking area. Other than that, I'd highly recommend this race. | |
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C. p. from Minnesota
(11/10/2009)
"Thanks for a fun event!" (about: 2009)
2 previous marathons
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 3 Third time for the half marathon. I enjoyed it a ton - despite the constant rain! Once again, great organization and a really great course. The only negatives (in my opinion): -I'd never heard of nor seen any of the "Hammer" sports drink before and was nervous to try it. I wish they'd have something more mainstream like PowerAde or Gatorade. -Also, this was the third year of not being able to wear my race shirt. I'm 6-foot-5 and every year the shirt barely gets to my waist and the sleeves look like 3/4 cut. I got an XXL and it still doesn't fit. I am definitely not the tallest person running, so there must be others that have this issue every year. I realize the organizers want to use a more local product, but it's so disappointing to have three awesome looking tech shirts that I can't wear! I've traveled down from Minnesota each year to run this and will continue to run it! |
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