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☰
Air Force Marathon Runner Comments
Back to Air Force Marathon Information & Reviews
Course 4.3 
Organization 4.5 
Spectators 3.6
Number of comments: 344 [displaying comments 91 to 101]
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r. J. from united states
(9/19/2010)
"Last 4 years, great; this year, terrible!!!" (about: 2010)
6-10 previous marathons
| 4-5 Air Force Marathons
COURSE: 3 ORGANIZATION: 2 FANS: 2 Last four AF marthon were fantastic. This year's marathon was terrible. Marathoners were treated as numbers to reach their goal of 10,000 runners. They really dropped the ball on what made all previous AF Marathon special. I am not the only one that feels this way. Every person I talked with had simular problems. Below are some of benefits they had in the past, but did not have this year: (1) No sponges (2) Fewer bathrooms along the course (gigantic lines at starting bathrooms) (3) After-race treat: stale pretzels (4) Long lines for parking (many people missed starting time, even after being in car line 1.5 hours before the race) (5) Overzealous military police (slowing parking and preventing drop-offs) (6) Poor food at directors' breakfast (got sick) (7) Guest speakers are now a panel instead of sharing their personal story as in the past. Some were only concerned with selling their books and programs. (8) Terrible parking (had to walk two miles to my car after running 26.2 miles. Last year they had shuttles and let non-runner family members drive up closer three hours after the race started. (9) No oranges for half-marathoners (10) Long registration lines. (11) Increased cost of spaghetti dinner (12) Extra service charge for meal tickets I loved the last 4 years of running this marathon, but I think the AF Marathon staff this year were worried more about achieving their record number of runners goal than continueing their excellent marathon legacy. | |
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A. J. from Dayton, Ohio
(9/19/2010)
"A good race, with lots of walking pre-race though." (about: 2010)
2 previous marathons
| 1 Air Force Marathon
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 This truly is a great race! And they do a lot for the runners. However, there's a long walk to the start line, so you want to make sure that you get there with more than enough time before the start of the race. | |
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P. H. from Atlanta, GA
(9/19/2010)
"Great course, poor organization" (about: 2010)
4-5 previous marathons
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 2 FANS: 5 I don't think the city of Fairborn was ready to be flooded with 12,000 runners.... The traffic jams started when we arrived at the Nutter Center to pick up the race packet. It took about 10-15 minutes to get into the parking lot. We traveled a good 8 hours to this race and the last thing we were expecting was sit in traffic and be circled ALL the way around the Coliseum to pick up the race number. The streets around town were clogged with traffic and all of the restaurants were jam packed. On race morning we left the hotel at 5:30 a.m. for the 7:15 a.m. start, thinking this would be plenty of time. HAHA!! We sat in a NON-MOVING line of traffic to enter the air force base for OVER an hour!! The parking lot we finally got into was a giant field and had to walk almost a mile to the start line. The port-o-potties had lines at least 10-deep. I finally made it to the start, a nervous wreck, at 7:13 a.m., missing the flyover and national anthem. The course itself was great: Varying between flat runways, going through the downtown and some back roads around town. Spectators, bands, and cheerleaders made the race very enjoyable. I ran a PR by over 8 minutes! My right leg locked up after finishing the race and the medics rushed over to tend to me. So thankful! The food was so-so. Thought there would be more, considering how expensive this race was!! So, all in all, good race, but probably wouldn't run it again due to the logistical nightmares. | |
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R. W. from Colorado Springs
(9/18/2010)
"The Little Race That Couldn't" (about: 2010)
6-10 previous marathons
| 1 Air Force Marathon
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 2 FANS: 3 This use to be a small marathon, and when the decision to grow was made, obviously little consideration was given to the logistics involved. The parking was bad on a proportion that can't be described. You unfortunately just had to live through the nightmare to understand. I appreciate that budget cuts have depleted police force budgets... but the two cops not directing traffic off-base (at the same street corner) did nothing to speed things up. In effect, you had 10K people (plus spectators) trying to get into the two open gates and the only thing allowing traffic to move were stoplights... good luck with that. My advice, since the field certainly won't be smaller next year and logistics won't be fixed (see 2009 reviews for more complaints like this) is to try to get to the race two or more hours in advance. If you do, you might make it on time. The race organizers kept saying that their biggest complaint was that there weren't a lot of spectators... but I fail to believe that that's the *biggest* complaint of this race. It's just the biggest complaint that they can easily ignore. Overall it's a flat and fast course. I set a PR with water stops every mile (great kudos to the volunteers, who were very energetic and appreciated) and I might do the race again (I'll probably show up ridiculously early though). | |
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D. M. from Canton, MI
(9/18/2010)
"Where did all of the planes go?" (about: 2010)
11-50 previous marathons
| 3 Air Force Marathons
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 2 FANS: 4 This was my 3rd USAF, and I must say, I like the couse, and the spectators are great, but what happend to all of the planes? Three years ago the fly-overs were constant, especially at the finish line. This year we saw the B-52 twice at the start and barely saw a jet while running (and the bi-plane was just annoying). At the finish line I never saw a single plane. (I was there from the 3:20 finishers through the 4:30's.) I have recommended this race to everyone who would listen in the past, but after the lack of planes, it's just another marathon to me. :( Bring back the fighter jets; nothing energizes a start like a jet. | |
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M. A. from Charlotte, NC
(9/18/2010)
"This is a great race - A+" (about: 2010)
4-5 previous marathons
| 1 Air Force Marathon
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 5 Overall grade: A+. How can you go wrong running with our armed forces personnel, B-52 and F-16 flyovers? The volunteers at this event rock! I write very few reviews, but, I just had to give these guys the credit they deserve. That being said, here is a review of individual pieces. Course: A. Relatively flat and a few rolling hills. Nothing to get stressed about on the hills and the inclines provide a way to stretch the legs. Volunteers: A+. Super enthusiastic and very well organized. Crowds: A. Not huge in any given area, but lots of them. There are parts where fans are not appropriate (e.g., around the air field) but these are very few and the Volunteers make up for it. In town, the crowds were full and really embraced the race. Lots of high 5's for the kids who enthusiastically put their hands up along the way. Add to that the bands, the stores feeding the crowds, and people in lawn chairs, and you have a lot of positive energy flowing. Hydration Stations: A++. Virtually every mile and well organized. If you were dehydrated in this race, stop running! :) Seriously, they have water and aid at every station, lots of GU handouts, fruit, good staffing. What else could you ask for?! Finish: A. Drinks, pizza and beer - how can you go wrong?! Add free massages to the package, and you got an A finish. Expo: B. It was a bit odd that the expo is on the way to packet pickup instead of after. You had to walk back around to go through just the expo. But once there, very typical expo. Parking: D. The lines were long and slow-moving, both coming and going. With two interstates connecting to the base, there has to be a better way. (Note this still does not take away from the overall race grade. That shows how great the race is!) Weather: A. Not that a race can control it, but it started in the mid 55s and peaked in the low 70s. Even then, most the running at that point was in the shade. Overall, I would describe this marathon as a can't miss in your list of marathons. These folks work very hard at the marathon and it shows. Every event sold out this year and you can see why. | |
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R. H. from United States
(8/3/2010)
"Great Course!" (about: 2009)
1 previous marathon
| 1 Air Force Marathon
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 This was my first marathon, and I ran it last year. It was a nice, easy course that wasn't too hilly. The spectators were awesome too. I really liked my shirt and the goodies at the end. I am also running it again this year. | |
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j. d. from pittsburgh, pa
(4/21/2010)
"Parking and transportation to the start were BAD" (about: 2009)
1 previous marathon
| 1 Air Force Marathon
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 3 FANS: 4 This was my second marathon. Overall, it was enjoyable. However, I arrived and parked about an hour before race time. The buses transporting people from the parking area were few and far between. No priority was given to runners, which meant that I had to wait behind long lines of spectators. I barely got to the race on time. Thought I better use the bathroom before the race started; but the bathroom facilities were way too few. I started the race a few minutes late because of these delays. It was stress that I didn't need. Also, the expo was unimpressive. The pasta dinner and speakers were great. The USAF Museum was terrific. I had 12 years in the USAF, and it was great to be on a base again. | |
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M. D. from Lexington, KY
(12/11/2009)
"Very Impressive Marathon!" (about: 2009)
1 previous marathon
| 1 Air Force Marathon
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 3 This was my first marathon experience, so I really didn't know what to expect. I was very impressed overall. I got there VERY early (like 6:30) and had no problem parking and milling around before the start. The jet flyover was great. The course had some hills (the largest one being close to the beginning), and it gets quite hot toward the end with some shady and some not-so-shady areas, which was difficult but not impossible. There was water/Gatorade and port-o-potties just about every mile - I was very impressed with this, as well as how every water stop had a "theme" and the volunteers were so great at encouraging you. This helped since there were not too many spectators except when you run through the little town of Fairborn. The people there were all fantastic! I loved that I was given my medal at the end by an Air Force officer. There was plenty of food and drink to help you recover, and several planes and Air Force jets available for you to look at and take your picture next to. I was very impressed with this marathon and would definitely recommend it to my friends! | |
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J. P. from Geneva, IL
(12/11/2009)
"Awesome Marathon" (about: 2009)
1 previous marathon
| 1 Air Force Marathon
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 This was my first marathon. I picked a good one. The organization, the fans, the course... everything for me was good. The medal is huge. As ex-military and now a huge fan of this race, I'll be back. |
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