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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 441 to 451]
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H. Q. from Chicago
(11/8/2006)
"Good Day for a Good Run" (about: 2006)
4-5 previous marathons
| 1 Marine Corps Marathon
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 I have read some complaints regarding the organization of this race in this site, and I see some again this year. But the little congestion at the finish area cannot displace the great course of this race. It was a great day: clear sky, fair temperature, and a little windy somewhere, but much better than the forecast of strong wind the day before. The course is one of the best I have seen. Nothing can replace the great sites along the national mall. The spectators are great along most parts, except a few miles around a golf course in the middle of an island. One tip for anyone running this race: the hill at the beginning of the race is not bad, but be careful on the downhill part. It is fast and congested. Accidents could happen easily. | |
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R. W. from New Jersey
(11/7/2006)
"Fun, fun, fun" (about: 2006)
1 previous marathon
| 1 Marine Corps Marathon
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 3 FANS: 5 This is the People's Marathon - please don't make it for elite runners (I bet there are PLENTY of those). I am a 50 year-old mom/housewife/accountant from NJ who was able to participate in a marathon because it is for regular "Joes" like me! | |
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S. A. from North Carolina
(11/7/2006)
"Amazing Experience" (about: 2006)
3 previous marathons
| 1 Marine Corps Marathon
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 5 After reading all the comments from previous MCM runners, I was scared to death to participate in the 2006 marathon. However, this was truly a case where you shouldn't believe everything you read. Yes, the expo was busy, but I went at 2:20 p.m. on Saturday and was in and out in less than an hour. The route, spectators and USMC were awesome. Yes, the finish was a bit hectic, but come on people - you have no one to blame but yourselves. This is truly a "people's marathon" and besides adding a bit of polish at the finish, I wouldn't change a thing! See you in 2007! | |
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R. M. from Humble, Texas
(11/6/2006)
"My 1st Marathon - What an Experience!" (about: 2006)
1 previous marathon
| 1 Marine Corps Marathon
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 4 This was my 1st marathon and it was an experience I will never forget. The course we beautiful and there was so much to see. The crowd support in most places was great. The only bad thing I can say about this race was the congestion at the finisher's festival. If you look at where the race finishes it is very difficult to get everything in and run smooth. I am sure the marines that are running this race will get the problem resolved. I would not let the congestion that happened ruin your idea of running this race. It is one that every marathon runner should do. The marines did a GREAT job and I would personally like to thank them all. I would run this one again. | |
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C. K. from Chicago
(11/5/2006)
"Ignore the Bad Hype and Run this Marathon" (about: 2006)
3 previous marathons
| 1 Marine Corps Marathon
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 5 Compared to Chicago, there was lots of room to run. No need to maneuver around other slower runners. The smaller spectator crowd (again, compared to Chicago) made it much easier to find my family. The course is a spectacular 10. WOW! Even though the expo was horribly crowded with long lines (go Friday) and they screwed up the finish line (they promise to fix it next year), I'd do it again in a heartbeat. I also love the concept of a people's marathon with no elite runners. | |
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B. T. from Saint Louis, MO
(11/5/2006)
"Beautiful weather, nice fan support, lousy finish" (about: 2006)
11-50 previous marathons
| 1 Marine Corps Marathon
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 2 FANS: 4 Pros - Nice shirt. Great weather. Friendly fan support. Enjoyed running by all the history, although I think I saw the Washington Monument at least three, if not four, times. Biggest pro was seeing all the volunteer marines. Thank you USMC! Con - Finish-line fiasco. Instead of limiting the number of entrants, find a new finish-line area. | |
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S. L. from San Francisco Bay Area- California
(11/5/2006)
"Great course, nice people, very poorly organized" (about: 2006)
11-50 previous marathons
| 1 Marine Corps Marathon
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 1 FANS: 4 The expo on Friday was great, but the line to get in on Saturday was unreal. The two waves at the start of the race were not well defined or marked for the runners to see. The course was good, the marines at the water stations were great, and the spectators were wonderful. I was very disappointed by the lack of porta-potties en route and the uphill finish. There were long lines at all of the porta-potties which means that there were not nearly enough for the number of participants. Many men used the trees and bushes to make their deposits. The end of the race was mass confusion. The friends who supported me and my sisters were not allowed in the area near the finish. Only marine families were allowed - NO FAIR! We ended up getting our coins on the bridge near the UPS trucks. I'm sure that many participants didn't ever get theirs. They ran out of the Mylar blankets for awhile, but then found some. It was utter chaos. This was the most poorly organized race of the 15 I've run - but the marines and other people were among the nicest. The organizers could learn from other races like Chicago, L.A., San Diego and Cincinnati's Flying Pig. | |
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Andy Dulin from Charlotte, N.C.
(11/5/2006)
"Great race. WORST post-finish area EVER." (about: 2006)
6-10 previous marathons
| 1 Marine Corps Marathon
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 2 FANS: 5 Do not plan to come back unless I hear that the finish is fixed. Very poor finishing area. Very poor. | |
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R. B. from Washington, DC
(11/3/2006)
"Beautiful course and excellent crowd support!" (about: 2006)
1 previous marathon
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 4 There seem to be lots of complaints about the MCM. Did we run the same race?! Because I thought it was GREAT. Yes, the expo is very crowded on Saturday, the day before the race. That's why it's smart to go on Friday. I went on Friday afternoon, and while there were many people there, I walked around easily, shopped the clothing stalls, which were fully stocked, and sampled beer, chili, Clif Shot blocks, and PowerBars. Also, I advise building in an extra half-hour to get to the race start. Metro does get very crowded. It took me longer than I expected to get to the race start. But I still arrived in plenty of time to stretch and get into my corral (7th of 32). The course is very scenic and beautiful. You run along leafy Rock Creek Parkway and Spout Run Parkway, and see the Washington Monument, the Lincoln Memorial, the Smithsonian Museums, the Capitol, among other landmarks, as well as through Georgetown. Crowd support was awesome. Lots of cheering and people handed out orange slices, Jolly Ranchers, pretzels, cookies, and at Mile 23, full bottles of Evian water. These were from spectators. That's not even counting the marines' many water/Gatorade stops and the Gel Shot stop, which came in handy. The marines were very cheerful and helpful. God bless the marines! I remember at Mile 23, when I was getting discouraged, a marine came up to me and said, "Keep positive! You're almost there!" Some people have complained about the crowded nature of the race, but after Mile 4 or so, I was able to run without jostling people. Being in the first wave helped, of course. Yes, post-race organization could have been better. But I still was able to find my husband and friends. Everything can't be perfect, folks. Deal with it. Overall, a great race. I'll be back. | |
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R. N. from Herndon, VA
(11/3/2006)
"This race gets worse and worse" (about: 2006)
11-50 previous marathons
| 2 Marine Corps Marathons
COURSE: 3 ORGANIZATION: 1 FANS: 5 This race was a zoo, from the completely screwed-up armory registration to the disorganized mob scene at the finish. Perhaps they were better when there were only half as many entrants, but what a zoo the finish was. Could hardly move out of the chutes, and there was no signage. The turn on the bridge was so constricted with spectators that you could only go single-file. No course marshals at all. Someone has got to keep non-participants out of the narrow trail that composes the last .2 miles from, 110 up to the finish line. I almost got knocked over by clowns running on this narrow course section. |
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