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Austin Marathon Runner Comments
Back to Austin Marathon Information & Reviews
Course 4.0 
Organization 4.0 
Spectators 4.1
Number of comments: 421 [displaying comments 101 to 111]
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G. C. from Houston
(2/18/2009)
"Extreme Hills" (about: 2009)
11-50 previous marathons
| 6+ Austin Marathons
COURSE: 3 ORGANIZATION: 3 FANS: 3 This was my 6th Austin Marathon and last Austin Marathon. With or without hill training, this is one tough course. I liked the old course when it was point-to-point. The hills at the end (and throughout the course) were way too tough and discouraging to say the least. I don't mind a tough course, but this is certainly harder than Dallas, Houston, and San Antonio. | |
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S. J. from Austin, TX
(2/17/2009)
"miss the speed - why all the hills?" (about: 2009)
6-10 previous marathons
| 4-5 Austin Marathons
COURSE: 2 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 4 I like all of the efforts to make this marathon more "green. Also, the local Austin crowds get better every year. My biggest issue is with the course changes over the past few years. While it is great (logistically) to have a loop course, the Austin Marathon is no longer the fast course that it used to be. The website may boast about how many Boston qualifiers it sends or whatnot about how great and "scenic" the course is. The fact is that the course is much more challenging than in years past (lots of hills... rollers, long inclines, steep hills for the last 2 miles). I live and train in Austin and will not ever think of making the Austin Marathon my "A" race until the race director cuts some of the hills from the race. Austin is a great place to visit and run for fun, but think twice and train hard on hills before you decide you want to PR here. | |
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H. P. from Victoria, Texas
(2/17/2009)
"Fun race - will do it again" (about: 2009)
6-10 previous marathons
| 1 Austin Marathon
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 4 Fun race close to home. Will run again next year. Course: Hilly but fun Spectators: Great! Ran a PR. Expected some food/gel stuff at some of the later aid stations. I know better than to expect that in any race and should have carried my own. Thanks for putting on a great marathon. | |
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L. G. from Florida
(2/17/2009)
"The spectators were great; the course was hilly" (about: 2009)
First Marathon
COURSE: 3 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 5 The spectators for this marathon were absolutely great!!! A number had cookies and other little snacks for the runners. They all cheered and were incredibly nice. The course was beautiful. However, it was also AMAZINGLY hilly... too hilly. Mile 26 was brutal. I nearly broke down when we turned the corner at 25.50 and saw two more steep climbs. I agree with the other reviews; there were not enough porta-potties along the route. This was really a problem from mile 1-10 before the marathon and half-marathon split. Also, the food at the end was dismal. I have run 5Ks that did a better job with the food. I will always be proud of my finish in Texas, but this is my first and will be my last Austin Marathon. | |
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N. V. from Austin, Texas
(2/17/2009)
"Awesome first experience, but needs work..." (about: 2009)
First Marathon
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 3 FANS: 5 I had an awesome first experience; however, I was not too impressed with the water stations. I was told that in the past, there were water tables on both sides of the course. Also, some stations didn't even have water ready. I saw a couple of runners pouring out their own water from a pitcher. (Talk about wasting time.) Also, there was one street early on in the course that was so narrow, we all had to walk up because there was no room to run. Again, precious seconds wasted. I also found that the finisher area was rather bottle-necked. Organizers should spread out medals, shirts, food, etc. and give more room to the runners coming in for a finish. I crossed the finish line and came to a complete stop - not too good for my leg muscles. Overall, I had a good experience, but it could definitely do with some improvements. The shirts and medals were AWESOME!!!! | |
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Jesse Milne from Wichita, KS
(2/16/2009)
"I had a wonderful experience; thanks, Austin!" (about: 2009)
3 previous marathons
| 1 Austin Marathon
COURSE: 3 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 This marathon was amazingly organized. From the busy and crowded yet efficient expo, to the finish on Congress, race organizers did an exceptional job pulling this off. Port-a-johns were few and far between, but I have yet to see a race that has a sufficient number. The finisher's medal was beautiful and we got two different, quality shirts. The crowds were amazing! The people of Austin went above and beyond to cheer us on. There was basically a solid wall of people from mile 23 to the finish. Many of them had trays of food that they were passing out to the runners. I ran wearing my KU shirt and I didn't get a single rude comment! In fact, a significant amount of people in Longhorns shirts yelled, " Go Kansas" or "Go Jayhawks" as I passed by. These people were first-class. Despite setting a PR, the course was pretty tough. I live and run in the flattest part of Kansas, so I'm admittedly probably a little more intimidated by the hills than most people. I had read a lot of the complaints about the change in course prior to running it, so I did expect it to be rough. There is an absolutely brutal hill around mile 24.5 that forced me to walk for the first time and probably lost me a minute or so on my finish time. The start and finish around the capitol building were great, but a lot of the scenery around the course was pretty uneventful. I would have liked to have spent a few more miles in the downtown/university area as well; a lot of the course was through standard, middle-class neighborhoods. I've heard a lot of people complain about the price, which at first glance seems excessive. However, Austin's insistence on leaving as small of an ecological footprint as possible combined with the lack of a big-name corporate sponsor somewhat justified it in my mind. It is very tricky to balance economic and environmental factors together. Organic foods, recycling, hybrids, and many other things that are beneficial for the environment are often more expensive than their status quo counterparts. We spend the extra money on those items, the Austin Marathon included, because we are responsible citizens of the earth who want to do everything we can to minimize our impact. Bravo, Austin. | |
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Mobi Warren from San Antonio, Texas
(2/16/2009)
"I love this GREEN race (2nd time for me)" (about: 2009)
4-5 previous marathons
| 2 Austin Marathons
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 4 There is simply something special about the "feel" of running in Austin. I like the challenge of the hills, the local musicians, the friendly crowds, and most of all, Austin's commitment to make this race GREEN. Note: I ran the full last year, and the half this year. | |
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S. P. from Dallas, TX
(2/16/2009)
"Expensive and hilly" (about: 2009)
4-5 previous marathons
| 1 Austin Marathon
COURSE: 3 ORGANIZATION: 3 FANS: 4 This was my fourth marathon in 10 months and I have to say the it ranked 3rd (behind Big D). The cost was too high and the race shirt is horrible (I immediately put it in the donate pile). The finisher shirt was fine and the medal was great. The elevation chart on the site was misleading; you truly had no idea the number of hills until you were on the course. I agree with other commenters that there was way too few porta-lets. They said they'd have them at each water stop but I saw them possibly every three. Plus... one pink and one blue? Seriously, the guys can go in the woods while us girls have to be discreet, and I got stuck waiting on spectators to use them. The fans were great and did a great job supporting the runners. Definitely was not impressed with the post-race food either. It was all chips, crackers, cookies, and soup on a 70-degree day. I would have liked to see at least some type of fruit as well. I don't think I'll ever run this once again, even though Austin is a fun destination. White Rock is definitely much better organized and provides more bang for the buck. | |
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L. A. from San Antonio, Tx
(2/16/2009)
"First Half-Marathon" (about: 2009)
First Marathon
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 3 This was my first half-marathon, so I have nothing to compare it to, other than reading about other races in other places. Overall I thought this was a great course. The website was very specific that this was a hilly course, so the whiners out there have nothing to complain about. I thought the hills made it more interesting that the usual flat course that I run on all of the time. My only complaint about the course is Krebs Road - I thought we were too cramped. As far as water stations, there were plenty, and no problems with having to pour my own. The volunteers were AWESOME!!! Only other complaints were that there were not enough port-o-johns at the start or on the course. Several people were running off into the bushes or into stores along the route. Also, crowd support was thinner than I expected, but I didn't mind that too much. I was glad that we were allowed to run with earphones. I thought the t-shirts were great (didn't know I would get 2), and the finisher's medal was huge and heavy. Overall, a great experience, and I will definitely do it again next year. | |
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J. V. from New York
(2/16/2009)
"Great Destination Marathon" (about: 2009)
11-50 previous marathons
| 1 Austin Marathon
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 4 My 34th marathon and one of my favorites: Austin is a fabulous, funky city; they have great music and terrific food. Good shopping, wonderful sight-seeing (go to U of T and see the LBJ Museum, and the stadium... there were even bats at the Congress St. Bridge!), and very friendly people.. Race was well organized from start to finish. Merchandise was varied; the expo was fun, with more varied and kooky stuff than usual. Lots of water and PowerAde on the course, and having Vaseline at every stop was an added plus. The medal is really nice. You also receive a technical finisher's shirt, with a booth farther down to exchange it if it wasn't the right size (I have never seen that before!). The food was varied and tasty - especially that chicken soup. Advice: incorporate hill work into your training or take it slow. There are hills until the very end. I used it as a training run for Boston and still managed to place in my age group. It is also real nice to stay near the finish and roll out of bed for the start; but I would not recommend The Four Seasons. They did nothing extra for runners and it is not as nice as their other properties. The Radisson or Hyatt seem like good bets for less money. All in all, A GREAT JOB BY AUSTIN! |
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