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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 241 to 251]
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William Tichenor from Dallas, TX
(2/21/2006)
"Freeze-Scale! Brrrrrr." (about: 2006)
6-10 previous marathons
| 1 Austin Marathon
COURSE: 3 ORGANIZATION: 3 FANS: 4 Unbearably cold weather to stand in! Decent to run in, however. The start was delayed a half hour, and it was a balmy 32 at the finish! I still did a PR! There was some sort of screw-up with the chip timing, and some of the times were dramatically incorrect. The volunteers were quite helpful and it is a beautiful city. | |
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demetrio bolanos from Mexico Monterrey
(2/21/2006)
"small things can ruin a great marathon" (about: 2006)
11-50 previous marathons
| 4-5 Austin Marathons
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 3 FANS: 5 I have run this marathon four times in the last 5 year. It's great. The new course was perfect and more appealing. The problem was logistical: parking was a nightmare; there were big problem with chip times; and though I ran the full marathon, some friends ran the half, and they didn't like the finish far away from the finish line and downtown. Still one of the best courses on which to set a PR. | |
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F. E. from Dallas, TX
(2/21/2006)
"Freezing rain made for a memorable run in 2006" (about: 2006)
2 previous marathons
| 1 Austin Marathon
COURSE: 3 ORGANIZATION: 2 FANS: 4 A temperature of 29 degreess, with a 5 mph wind and a freezing mist made for a chilly start. But with a tailwind and a downhill course, conditions were perfect for fast times. The course started in the suburbs, went through UT, around the state capitol and ended downtown. It was not overly scenic but was mostly downhill. Aid stations were numerous, although the ice cold water/PowerAde were hard to take, given the 29-degree weather. They had more than a dozen bands at various spots along the course. The spectators were sparse, except for at the finish line. But given the weather, I thought the spectators and bands were brave to be out. Orgnaization was not as good as the Dallas Marathon, which I've run a couple times, with lots of congestion around the parking lot at the start which had only two single-lane entrances to move 10,000 people through. As a result of the parking and freezing rain, the start time was delayed a 1/2-hour. The race start line was also congested and narrow for expected large crowds. Plenty of porta-lets at the start and throughout the course. The finish-line activities were all outdoors, which proved to be a little chilly this year. It would probably be fine any other year. The expo was good, and there were no lines for packet pick-up on Saturday afternoon. | |
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K. C. from Texas
(2/21/2006)
"WORST MARATHON EVER" (about: 2006)
6-10 previous marathons
| 2 Austin Marathons
COURSE: 2 ORGANIZATION: 1 FANS: 2 Second time to run this race and had the same complaint as in 2004. Took me 1 1/2 to get to the start and I stayed at a hotel five miles from the start. Started the race 30 minutes after gun. Two years ago, I took the shuttle at 5:30 and exited the bus as the gun was fired. This year the ChampionChip company "miswired" the antennae and HALF of the runners' start times were not captured. They have no way of retreiving the info, so my time is incorrect by 30 minutes. Very poor planning. Would not recommend it to others because it is a waste of money and time. Sorry to those out-of-towners, because Austin is a nice city. WORST ORGANIZED MARATHON. | |
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F. F. from California
(2/21/2006)
"Most boring marathon" (about: 2006)
6-10 previous marathons
| 1 Austin Marathon
COURSE: 2 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 1 Let me start with the positive. The organization was great. Despite horrific weather conditions (freezing light rain) they managed to pull it off with very few glitches by delaying the start 30 mins. The sand on the road was a mixed blessing, but kudos for getting it there. My only real complaint is that too many details you had to find out about in the forums, so beef up the FAQ in the future. Now, the course is much hyped, mostly for being fast. It can be fast but it is not easy, especially the second half. And so boring. I have to say I had no fun at all during this race. What spectators??? Granted, in temperatures above freezing there would probably be more, but it's not like the whole city is buzzing for this event. The cab drivers, restaurant waiters, store clerks, etc. all seemed to be taken by complete surprise that there was a marathon in town and media coverage is scant. And with hardly any of the course going through residential areas I doubt you will ever get big crowds for this. All in all, this is the only marathon I've run that I will definitely not run again. I'm just plain missing a reason to come back. Yawn! Next! | |
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w. r. from Shreveport, LA
(2/21/2006)
"Great race; just get to start plenty early" (about: 2006)
1 previous marathon
| 1 Austin Marathon
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 3 FANS: 5 This was my 2nd marathon, and even though the weather conditions were less than ideal, I had a great time. Really have to give kudos to the volunteers, spectators and musicians for supporting the race in uncomfortably cold conditions. I thought the new course layout was fantastic; would like to run this race again in better weather. The main drawbacks were the traffic situation at the race start (horrible), and the lack of preparation for weather conditions at the finish area. The race information directed people not taking the shuttles to park at the start, but the entrance to the Freescale site was incredibly congested. It looked like the police were trying to direct 2,000 cars plus 40-50 buses into the parking lot through just one entrance - horrible traffic jam. At the finish, if the food tents had been even partially enclosed that would have really helped keep the finishers a little warmer. As it was, we grabbed our shirts and medals, got our photo, and hauled butt out of there. Too damn cold and no shelter from the wind anywhere. Overall I'd say this would be a great race in normal weather, especially if you're looking to rack up a fast time to qualify for Boston. | |
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T. W. from Cleveland, Tennessee
(2/21/2006)
"Very nice race!!" (about: 2006)
6-10 previous marathons
| 1 Austin Marathon
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 5 First let me thank the race organizers for postponing the start time by 30 minutes. Traffic was amazingly heavy. Being a native Midwesterner, the cold weather did not bother me. I preferred it to the 83-degree temps in Austin three days before the race. I have to admit I was a little disappointed when I received my goodie bag at the expo. It seemed pretty lean, though I appreciated the Mizuno running gloves! After finishing the race I was very appreciative of Mizuno's sponsorship. We received a Mizuno hat (I love the red color), a Mizuno high-tech running shirt and a very nice medal! Thank you Mizuno!! Overall a very nice haul. The organization was great and the fans were enthusiastic! I was amazed at how many Texans were standing in the cold damp weather cheering us on. Pretty nice course, with the second half more scenic than the first. You run past the UT football stadium, the state capitol and through downtown Austin. It's a fast course too, as I PR'd by six minutes. Thanks Austin for a memorable weekend! | |
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R. E. from Flower Mound, Texas
(2/21/2006)
"Great Race! Great Spectators!" (about: 2006)
11-50 previous marathons
| 4-5 Austin Marathons
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 5 The new course was terrific. Given the cold temps I could not believe how many volunteers and spectators were out - amazing! The only issue that seems to need attention for next year is the start line traffic/parking. There appears to be only one way into the Freescale campus, so the traffic was very backed up. The problem with the starting chip times could have happened anywhere - unfortunate but hopefully something that can be corrected. Overall a great experience - thanks! | |
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j. w. from Boston, ma.
(2/21/2006)
"COLD but fun" (about: 2006)
11-50 previous marathons
| 1 Austin Marathon
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 3 It was cold! There were still some icy spots on the first 10K of the race and it never did warm up much past the low 30's. For runners (if properly clothed), cold weather beats hot weather anytime. I did my PR at this race because of the cool temperature. There were plenty of volunteers and more spectators than I expected due to the freezing temperature. It must have been freezing for them standing there the whole time. The course was great, mostly downhill the whole way, except the end where little hills seems like big hills. Organization was great. The bus ride to the start line was smooth except the 15-minute wait at the end by the parking lot. The finisher's shirt was great, and the food (yummy warm chili) was outstanding. The cloth bag pick-up was the most organized I have ever seen (but there were complaints about pick-up at the half marathon). One thing I never understand is why they rank runners by clock time rather than chip time. (They provide you with the chip time rank but the default is clock time.) Overall this was a great experience, especially for outsiders because Austin is just a wonderful city to visit. | |
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T. L. from Massachusetts
(2/21/2006)
"More Planning Needed" (about: 2006)
1 previous marathon
| 1 Austin Marathon
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 2 FANS: 5 The volunteers and spectators deserve 5 stars for their spirit and dedication. I enjoyed the route of this race, but the planning was unremarkable. How is it possible to lose chip times for over 1,000 runners (and as of now give no explanation or apology), and for them to allow a 2-hour line-up into the parking area? All the literature said there would be ample parking at the start (lots of spots) but there was a 2-hour wait to get into the lot. Weather was a factor, but it was forecasted to be worse (freezing rain during the race) than it was. Also, accommodations should have been made for the runners to be in a warm place after the race, but the half ended at a mall that was closed. Although I did not experience it, I have heard that food ran out and stations were packed up before the end. This is not acceptable. |
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