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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 451 to 461]
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G. L. from Oshino-mura, Japan
(11/3/2006)
"Course: one of the best. Org: one of the worst." (about: 2006)
50+ previous marathons
| 1 Marine Corps Marathon
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 2 FANS: 4 Simply a beautiful course, and one of the best city marathons anywhere. Great spectator support, and hats off to the marines. But what about the mess at the start and - even worse - at the finish area? Simply incredible.... It had all the makings of a major disaster! Judging by previous runner comments (back to 2003), the race director(s) and connected entities have either not learned anything or are just incapable of organizing such an event. Layout, crowd control, baggage handling, food service, signage, transport facilities - it was a nightmare at the finish area, and absolutely nothing good can be said about it. This marathon is highly overrated. Never again! | |
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stephen bardsley from maryland
(11/3/2006)
"EIGHTH TIME, GETTING WAY TO BIG!" (about: 2006)
6-10 previous marathons
| 6+ Marine Corps Marathons
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 3 FANS: 5 This was my eighth time, and the race is just getting too big. The MCM has always been called the "People's Marathon," but there's got to be a limit. I belong to a run club that sent over 60 people to the race; most were first-timers, and the joy of finishing quickly became frustration due to logistics of the finish area. One wave and 20,000 people is my wish. | |
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D. S. from Chapel Hill, NC
(11/3/2006)
"Just like most..." (about: 2006)
2 previous marathons
| 1 Marine Corps Marathon
COURSE: 3 ORGANIZATION: 1 FANS: 5 I was INCREDIBLY disappointed by the incredible disorganization that plagued Marine Corps this year. It took over 40 mintues just to GET INTO the expo - and there weren't even any lines at the packet pick-up stations. Why on EARTH did they only have two people individualy wand every single person who went into the expo? The finish are was equally ridiculous! I, like others, never saw Iwo Jima, couldn't find the post-race store, never got a finisher's photo, and walked a mile to find a decent metro stop. So sad that the poor logistics of this race ruined a run in my favorite city! I ran Chicago, so I've seen logistics done BETTER with MORE runners. Perhaps they'll figure it out before next year! | |
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B. B. from Ann Arbor, MI
(11/2/2006)
"Nice course, but no organization" (about: 2006)
4-5 previous marathons
| 1 Marine Corps Marathon
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 2 FANS: 3 The race itself is quite well run. There are tons of marines out on the course, at aid stations, and lots of water/Powerade, etc. Everything else left quite a bit to be desired. At the expo I waited one and a half hours in line to enter the building, and I only allow myself two hours on my feet at the expo the day before a race and by the time I got in and got my packet, there was no time to see any of the exhibits. Everywhere we went there were lines. The finish area was a zoo, and it was very difficult to link up with family. The metro was saturated and I almost missed the start due to the crowds. All in all, not the best marathon experience. | |
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P. M. from Iowa, United States of America
(11/2/2006)
"Awesome" (about: 2006)
2 previous marathons
| 1 Marine Corps Marathon
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 I never thought another marathon could top my first, but this one was just as good or better than the first. 1. Expo - I arrived approx. 5:00 p.m. Friday. I literally had my shirt, chip, and goody bag in two minutes - no line. The organizers warned us about going between 10-2 Saturday, so I was sure to go during off-peak times. Expo was fantastic and the mock shirt was very, very nice. 2. Would be nice to have the starting line a bit closer to the baggage drop site. Seemed like quite a walk from Pentagon up to the starting line. Minor complaint. 3. The Gold wave (2nd) wave started 1/2 hour late... however, the reason was due to someone in the first (scarlet) wave collapsing, so I appreciate the organizers taking time to take care of that runner before allowing us to begin. 4. Don't expect a PR, especially if you're in the back of the second wave. There are just so many runners and it seemed to be 7-9 miles before I had some space and before I could get a decent pace. But, you're running in Washington, DC, so you might as well take it all in. 5. Spectators. If I could rate them a 10, I would. They were awesome. Thanks to the woman for the "free hug" about mile 14 or so. The crowds were huge and super. It got a bit lonely miles 16-19.5 through East Potomac Park. Unbelievable crowds at mile 20 approaching the bridge. The bridge was a bit quiet and pretty hard to get through. Then, between miles 24-26, it was a bit thin on the freeway by the Pentagon as we approached the finish. Although those miles were hard, the crowds at all the other miles were just fantastic. 6. Finish - awesome. I don't recall seeing the Iwo Jima Memorial, unfortunately. I remember getting my medal and getting into the food tent. Medal is top-notch. 7. Finish festival. There have been a lot of comments about this and the points are all valid (why a finishing festival on a freeway overpass is beyond me), but that will not take away from the actual marathon experience, nor from my rating of the marathon. I'm sure the organizers will take all the comments into consideration and make future years even better. Again, all the points are valid, but just to add another one: the meeting area was described as flags in alphabetical order that would direct families to meet up. Unfortunately, there was no letter "M" flag. I can't remember for sure, but think it went from letter "J" to "O." Fortunately, my family had a plan to meet at the hotel if we didn't meet by 2:00. Again, other than the finisher's festival, this is top-notch. I will return one day (hoping for NYC or Chicago next year) and I hope everyone will be able to experience this one day as well. Running through our nation's capital is something I'll never forget and will always treasure. Thank you to the runners, spectators, and to the marines for the time of my life. | |
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S. E. from Wisconsin
(11/2/2006)
"Gotten TOO Big" (about: 2006)
11-50 previous marathons
| 1 Marine Corps Marathon
COURSE: 2 ORGANIZATION: 1 FANS: 3 Here is a race that has gotten too big and has become chaotic. Long line (over an hour) to get into expo. Late start on race day. Course is too narrow in spots to accommodate all the runners, and spectators were uncontrolled. And, the finish area was a complete disaster. Ten lines down to two for food. UPS trucks were a mile away from finish and worse yet, you had to cross only one bridge to get there which was filled with trucks, vendors, and the meeting area and no one could move. They want you to come down there by the metro, but you could not leave because trains were full for hours. I found a cab after an hour's search. I kept hearing that they changed this and that... and not for the better. Too big. Poor organization. They could learn from Chicago! | |
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R. F. from Denver, CO
(11/2/2006)
"Do you like lines?" (about: 2006)
11-50 previous marathons
| 1 Marine Corps Marathon
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 2 FANS: 4 Apparently no one local that ran the race decided to hit the expo on Friday, as Saturday was awesome, if you like crowds and lines. After the nearly hour-long line to get into the armory, I felt safe, knowing three fine marines were watching everyone that entered - that one side door, from there shoulders down past their knees. Good job. No way anyone was going to get in there with a weapon. Oh, and ladies, don't even think about having something in your purse. A few more marines were checking (what was on top of) every purse and bag. Whew. Safety first. Of course, it looks like you could potentially enter other doors to the armory without this hassle. Perhaps this was just a stall tactic, though, to keep it from being too crowded inside. More lines once you got inside too. I literally thought to myself, "31st running of this, huh?" You wouldn't know it. The race was fine for a mega-marathon. Great crowds (except near the Pentagon - miles 24 through 25.5 had very scarce crowds)! The marine volunteers were awesome. The course was fine, yadda, yadda, yadda. The finish area - a nightmare. Glad I did it, but I wouldn't do it again. | |
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S. M. from Asheville, NC
(11/2/2006)
"Great scenery, very poor logistics" (about: 2006)
50+ previous marathons
| 1 Marine Corps Marathon
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 2 FANS: 4 The marines apparently are more concerned about increasing the number of runners in this race instead of increasing the quality of the race. The start waves need to be greater than two (try 15-20) and further separated so that runners dont stumble over each other during the first ~5 miles and clog up the aid stations.... I lost several minutes to dodging other runners. The finish area at four hours 30 minutes was chaotic. Finding one's friends/family was nearly impossible.... Carry your cell phone if you do this race!! On a positive note, this race is extremely scenic and has many spectators motivating the runners. The marines need to radically improve the logistics of this race before they think about upping the race limit further into the stratosphere. Look at Country Music Marathon for an example of good race management of large crowds. | |
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M. V. from Atlanta, Georgia
(11/2/2006)
"post race feelings" (about: 2006)
1 previous marathon
| 1 Marine Corps Marathon
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 3 FANS: 4 After the race, I thought it was a disaster. It took about 20 minutes to get some water and food. We were all crowded into such a small area and it smelled, which didn't help. Then to get from the water tent to get your bags it took over an hour. I think you shouldn't let specators on the bridge or something because they were pushing through the runners who just wanted to get their stuff. Need a better flow of traffic | |
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Tim Lee from Virginia, USA
(11/2/2006)
"My first marathon - did not know what to expect." (about: 2006)
First Marathon
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 5 The only problen I had: Once you crossed the finish line, making your way to get your photo in front of Iwo Jima was a pain. Besides that, the crowds and runners were great. Good job by all the people and all the marines that gave their free time to help out. |
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