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Marine Corps Marathon Runner Comments
Back to Marine Corps Marathon Information & Reviews
Course 4.5 
Organization 3.9 
Spectators 4.6
Number of comments: 937 [displaying comments 231 to 241]
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N. K. from Northern Virginia
(11/26/2008)
"Ran it and got hooked!" (about: 2008)
2 previous marathons
| 2 Marine Corps Marathons
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 4 Ran the MCM in '07 as my first marathon ever. Fell in love. Ran it again this year ('08) and was reminded why I fell the first time. Top-notch run. The course this year is better than last year's due to the switch over at Haines Pointe. Even with all of the other fall marathons that occur around this time, I will continue to run this one for as long as I continue to run marathons. The support is fantastic (hello, cute Marines!), the expo is wonderful (I met Bart Yasso, who is an amazing person), and the finish is breathtaking. The only bad thing about this marathon is having to walk a quarter of a mile from the finish to get your medal. That quarter-mile feels like eternity. | |
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A. L. from Nutley, NJ
(11/24/2008)
"Expected better." (about: 2008)
2 previous marathons
| 1 Marine Corps Marathon
COURSE: 3 ORGANIZATION: 3 FANS: 3 This was my third marathon, and having heard good things about this marathon from friends, I expected this race to be a lot more organized and enjoyable. I ran the Walt Disney World Marathon and the NYC Marathon and, by far, NYC is the BEST. There is no marathon in the world that could compare to the organization and support as NYC. That being said, Marine Corps organization was mediocre, if not disappointing. The course itself was fine, although there were parts that were completely desolate. They should have provided buses for runners to get back to their hotels from the finish rather than having them wait 2 hours to get into the Metro. The last thing a runner wants to do is wait in line after having run for 4 hours or walk an extra 2 miles to get to the next Metro station. The Marines were not as friendly or supportive as people say there are. They also ran out of water at several stations towards the end, which is completely unacceptable. I expected a tech t-shirt, rather than a cotton shirt, for the amount of money I paid to run the race. All in all, I would not run this race again. | |
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B. H. from Denver, CO
(11/22/2008)
"What spectator support????" (about: 2008)
2 previous marathons
| 1 Marine Corps Marathon
COURSE: 3 ORGANIZATION: 3 FANS: 1 As one of the slower finishers, I was VERY disappointed with the race support. Seems like MCM is catering to the faster runners. I had heard so many great things about this race and I was disheartened to see volunteers closing down water stations and bands packing up their equipment as my friend and I ran by. What a shame!! The race isn't over until the last runner crosses the finish line. The slower people at the back are the ones who need the support, and it was such a de-motivator to see everyone packing up as we walked by. If MCM would like to keep the "best race for 1st-timers" title that they claim, I suggest they make some changes. | |
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J. E. from Delaware
(11/22/2008)
"Fantastic first-time marathon!" (about: 2008)
First Marathon
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 This was my first marathon. Aside from my physical pain, the Marine Corp marathon was phenomenal. From the organization to the course, I couldn't have asked for a better experience. I've been to DC several times, but never got to experience the city like I did running the course. The Marines were wonderful; they were so polite and helpful and they were great at cheering you on. At the end of the race, a marine actually puts the medal around your neck, which I found quite humbling. Overall, I had a great experience and highly recommend this race to everyone. To a previous poster about the race coin: I wasn't able to get one either, but emailed the race director and I received one in the mail within days of my email! Top-notch all the way! | |
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D. F. from RALEIGH
(11/14/2008)
"WHAT HILLS!?!? This course is FLAAAAT!" (about: 2008)
1 previous marathon
| 1 Marine Corps Marathon
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 I truly enjoyed EVERYTHING. My first significant memory was looking to my left 100 yards after the start and seeing a small portion of the Arlington National Cemetery. I got choked up thinking about and appreciating my/our freedom, and confronting what the cost for that has been. After the cemetery, a wonderful set of rolling hills came up. After mile 10, the hills were GONE. I trained hearing about "the hills" on this course being so challenging. I found the constant flat final 16 miles to be the biggest challenge because my stride never changed even a little bit. By mile 16 I was cramping in my quads AND hams (but no where else). I've never had that happen in all the dehydrating, North Carolina, humid, 110-heat-index training I have done for years. I had to run-walk the rest. If you are at all a hill runner, train for this one with about 18 miles of FLATS. The course was so congested that it really was hard to maintain any kind of consistent pace. The scenery, organization, attention to detail and expo were well beyond what I am used to. The Marines have this down cold (and this must seem like a vacation of a task for all of them). They're phenomenal! My walk from the Pentagon Metro Station to the bag drop-off and then to the start line is a grand total of about 2 miles. This was more than I had prepared for. I would suggest that anyone running this one do a 2-mile walk before starting their longest training runs. I highly recommend this race knowing that these were the only challenges. I've seen much worse situations (with exception of the crowding and FLAT course) in every other race in which I have been. I'm glad I did it! | |
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C. D. from Virginia
(11/12/2008)
"Orange Peel Casualty" (about: 2008)
2 previous marathons
| 1 Marine Corps Marathon
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 3 This was a huge event and the Marines are to be commended for everything they do to make it happen! Oorah! It was totally memorable and awe-inspiring, except: The oranges and their peels.... Who thought this up? My severely sprained ankle cost me a 3:45 finish (I kept that pace until 22), the Richmond Marathon and and a bunch of PT time.... Ouch! Thanks, guy who threw the peel in the middle of the road. Please save the oranges until the end, where I would have killed for an orange due to the lack of food there! Semper Fi. | |
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C. R. from Hamilton, Ontario, Canada
(11/11/2008)
"Even Better Than Expected" (about: 2008)
6-10 previous marathons
| 1 Marine Corps Marathon
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 You would expect a marathon organized by the Marines to be utterly flawless, and MCM blew away even my highest expectations. The City of Washington is very beautiful, with friendly people and lots of nice restaurants. There's so much stuff to do and see you could spend a week easily - the Smithsonian rocks! The race expo was great and very well organized, and the shirts (long-sleeve) are great. The actual marathon route was pretty tough, thanks to two large hills at the beginning that suck away your strength. You start going uphill pretty much at the start line, and crest the first big hill three miles later. After a very quick downhill, you climb hill number two - four miles of it - before again plummeting back to sea level. By the halfway point, my legs were shredded. But even so, the route was so beautiful that I enjoyed every step of it. You run down the Potomac River along a golf course, which is flat and beautiful, before you run down the National Mall, which is simply incredible. Spectator support is pretty good, especially along the Mall and in Crystal City. The finish at the Iwo Jima Memorial was on top of a hill (only the Marines could come up with that one) but still utterly perfect. All along the route, men and women from the Marines, Navy, Army and Air Force cheer for you. It's quite humbling, really. The only thing I think they could improve is having better signage marking the beginning of the 10K race from the marathon start area - 10K runners who saw marathoners off would have benefited from clearer signage directing them to their start line. The medal is simply a piece of art. We stayed in Arlington, and walked to the hotel after the race. That was great, and I recommend finding a hotel in Rosslyn or the Courthouse District if you can. If you fly in to DC, fly to Reagan Airport and you can get to your hotel, or the expo, by Metro right from the airport. Way cheaper (and faster!) than a cab. MCM is a fantastic marathon, and the Marines are the best. I would certainly run it again. Ooorah!! | |
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A. F. from Mentor, OH
(11/9/2008)
"Better than we dreamed!" (about: 2008)
1 previous marathon
| 1 Marine Corps Marathon
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 This was our first marathon and we can't imagine anything being more perfect. All others might pale in comparison. The course was great (we had great weather) with all of the major challenges out of the way early except the finish. All aid stations were well stocked and even the crowd offered helpful supplies. The crowds were so fantastic that the miles just seemed to fly by. The Metro made for easy travel, but we walked back to Arlington to avoid the huge line near the festival. Our friends had some trouble seeing us on the course because of the number of runners and the text messages seemed to be running late. We advise you have your fans hold very distinct signs or let you know exactly where they plan on standing. The marines were fantastic and we give many thanks to all involved. We were honored to be a part of such a great race. | |
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A. G. from Dallas, TX
(11/8/2008)
"Perfect Marathon! Great job by the Marines." (about: 2008)
6-10 previous marathons
| 1 Marine Corps Marathon
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 4 This was my first time in Washington DC. Great city! Getting around town on the metro was very easy. Getting to the starting line and back to the hotel was not as bad as I thought it was going to be. After the marathon, the traffic at the Roslyn metro station looked like weekday rush hour, but I didn't have any problems getting back to the hotel. This was an outstanding marathon! There was some rain the day before and after the marathon, but race-day weather was perfect. Beautiful course from start to finish. There were tons of cheering spectators through out the course. The marines did an outstanding job at the expo, the water stations, and the finish. Thank you, marines. My only complaint is that they ran out of the finisher's coins. I highly recommend this marathon. | |
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P. H. from Las Vegas, Nevada
(11/6/2008)
"Fantastic Marathon!" (about: 2008)
2 previous marathons
| 1 Marine Corps Marathon
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 This marathon was just perfect - organization, crowd support, course, weather. It was so wonderful! I just can't say enough how great this race is. Yes, family hook up is a walk away, but you're supposed to walk after a marathon anyway, right?! I loved it! |
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