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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 681 to 691]
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K. W. from Jacksonville, FL
(11/4/2004)
"Love the way the Marines do it!" (about: 2004)
1 previous marathon
| 1 Marine Corps Marathon
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 I've never seen any race that was more organized. The spectators were great - so many people came out to support us! And the course was just beautiful. Finishing at the Iwo Jima Monument was so neat. Mile markers were clearly marked with Marines calling out times at each one. My only complaint was leaving the race - traffic jam leaving the food/water tent and a traffic jam at the Metro station. I plan on running more marathons, but this experience will be hard to beat. I ran with my husband - this was his first marathon - we beat our goal and shaved 30 minutes off my previous time. Also, DC is just such a great place to spend the weekend. We had lots of fun! | |
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p. l. from indiana
(11/4/2004)
"no porta-potty when needed !!!!!" (about: 2004)
11-50 previous marathons
| 1 Marine Corps Marathon
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 3 FANS: 4 Marines were great and organization was great, but pit stops were too few and far between. | |
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J. H. from Atlanta, GA
(11/4/2004)
"Great First Time" (about: 2004)
1 previous marathon
| 1 Marine Corps Marathon
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 This was my first marathon and I could not have asked for a better course or better support. The red mile markers were easy to see. The water areas were well stocked and easy to get through. My only issue is that along the Potomac there were not a lot of spectators. Oh well, the scenery was nice. I hope to run this one again next year. | |
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Julien Pierru from Blacksburg, VA
(11/4/2004)
"AWESOME" (about: 2004)
1 previous marathon
| 1 Marine Corps Marathon
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 This was my first marathon and I'm hooked, the weather was kind of hot for the season, my knees hurt pretty bad, but I enjoyed every bit of the race. The scenery was fantastic (even though I was in pain, it was tough to focus on that), the Marines were just awesome, and the DC cheering crowd is terrific. Anyway, it is a good first-timer marathon since everything pushes you to finish. I will try to do this one every year. | |
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K. T. from New York
(11/4/2004)
"Bananas on the race course?" (about: 2004)
2 previous marathons
| 1 Marine Corps Marathon
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 5 This was my third marathon, only the 2nd one I finished. The weather was hot !! 75 degrees, but the course is beautiful! The golf course part - Haines Point - which is supposed to be the worst, was actually beautiful... seeing the sailboats, etc. Seeing all the monuments is inspiring. So many great spectators, but enough open space that you can find your specific spectators if you know where to look. The water stations were every two miles which I thought was too far apart, but I carried my own so that wasn't a problem. Marines were so organized and I loved when they clapped, cheered and slapped hands with the runners. Only 3 problems: 1. The expo was a disaster, took an hour to get in because they only had 2 metal detectors going! 2. The cookies were gone by the time I got to them :( but thanks to the lady & kids on the golf course who had candy!! 3. They gave out bananas on the race course so there were slippery banana peels all over the road at Rock Creek Park! The race was great, and I would definitely recommend it to anyone, but watch out for those banana peels! | |
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M. H. from Charlottesville, VA
(11/4/2004)
"Great marathon, hot, but keep DVD rider off the co" (about: 2004)
6-10 previous marathons
| 4-5 Marine Corps Marathons
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 This was my 4th Marine Corp, and overall it was a great marathon, and one of my favorites. The organization and crowds are always topnotch. The change in course this year provided a bit of a challenge beginning with an immediate uphill climb. PLEASE KEEP THE HONDA GOLDWING FILMING THE DVDS OFF THE COURSE. THEY WERE A HUGE DISTRACTION AND THREW SEVERAL RUNNERS OUT OF THE WAY WHEN THEY WERE TRYING TO GET A RHYTHM. RUDE AND OBNOXIOUS. I WILL NEVER BUY THEIR DVD BECAUSE OF THIS! Also, please no ice in the Powerade. Even though it was a hot day, this was a wonderful race. Well done and thank you, Marines! | |
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Christopher Lehner from Indian Head Maryland
(11/3/2004)
"It was more fun than I thought it would be! " (about: 2004)
3 previous marathons
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 I had more fun doing this marathon than I did my first two in Honolulu, HI. Why? Because the crowds of people that packed the streets of DC to cheer for the runners. Some of those people showed more enthusiasm than the runners. The race was held on Halloween Day this year, so I dressed as a pirate. Hundreds of people along the 26.2 mile route motivated me by yelling: 'GO pirate' or 'Good job, pirate.' It's not often that an average person receives the cheers of so many people. It's a thrill that only comes with running a marathon. The MCM gave me the biggest thrill and the most motivation of any race I've ever run! I would like to thank all the military, other volunteers and race organizers that made it possible. Great job! | |
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M. D. from Memphis, Tennessee
(11/3/2004)
"Great course, poor logistics " (about: 2004)
2 previous marathons
| 1 Marine Corps Marathon
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 2 FANS: 5 This was my second marathon. I ran Richmond last year. I would have to say I was disappointed with MCM. The course was great and the fan support was great. The Marines were superb! They said to get to the race 2 hours early for security reasons. There were few security issues. The real reason they want you there 2 hours ahead of time is because they don't have a bag drop at the start; it is at the finish about a half-mile away. So you have to walk to the finish to drop your bag. Worse yet, the only path to the finish area is about as wide as a golf cart path! So you have 18,000 people trying to work back and forth through an area as wide as a golf cart pass that was bounded by a fence on one side and a brick wall for Arlington Cemetery on the other. That's where the two hours were needed. There was NO water at the start. NONE. I have never seen that at any large race. The meet up areas for the runners and spectators was at the finish area, accessible only by the golf cart path but the access to the Metro was accessible only through the cart path too. So at the finish you had 18,000 runners (and spectators) trying to go down the cart path to get to Metro and then you had spectators coming up the cart path to meet runners. Took about 45 minutes to get down the stinking cart path. I guess you could have hopped the brick wall and traipsed over the graves in Arlington Cemetery but that did not seem appropriate. Metro did not have enough trains running that day so it took forever to get to and back from the race. So overall the logistics of getting in and out of the race was horrible. All that was for 18,000 runners and they said they will open it up to 30,000 runners next year. Good luck. I won't consider MCM again, even though the course was so great. I'll look for something different next fall. If you like smaller races, Richmond was GREAT last year. | |
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M. R. from Evanston, IL
(11/3/2004)
"A fantastic experience!!" (about: 2004)
2 previous marathons
| 1 Marine Corps Marathon
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 4 What an inspiring setting for a marathon. The views and the monuments are terrific, the fans are very supportive (although light at times) and the organization by the Marines is 1st class. I would encourage any runner to set their sites on one of the best marathons in the country. | |
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M. F. from Boston, MA
(11/3/2004)
"A great experience on a very hot day" (about: 2004)
4-5 previous marathons
| 1 Marine Corps Marathon
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 4 This was my first Marine Corps Marathon. I had registered for it many months ago, only to injure my foot a few weeks ago. I decided to run it anyway, staying in the back. I was very slow - 6 1/2 hrs, yet the water stops were perfect - they had sufficient water and Powerade (with ice in it!!) through and including the last stop on the course. The finish line experience was fantastic. A tip o' the hat to our Marines and all of the race organizers. I'll be back! |
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