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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 81 to 91]
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J. H. from tx
(2/15/2010)
"too many hills" (about: 2010)
11-50 previous marathons
| 2 Austin Marathons
COURSE: 3 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 4 What happened, Austin????? Why did you change the course? Way too many hills. I ran this marathon 10 years ago and it was wonderful. At that time, all magazines and books gave reviews that this was one of the fastest marathons. No longer can this be said. There is no way that you can claim that this marathon course is faster than "flat" Houston. Please go back to the old course for your 20th anniversary. | |
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M. U. from Houston, Texas
(2/15/2010)
"Hills, but great organization (spare the pyro!)" (about: 2010)
11-50 previous marathons
| 2 Austin Marathons
COURSE: 3 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 4 I ran the Austin Marathon yesterday and thought it was great! I especially appreciated the pacing group leaders who answered all questions at the pre-race expo and who were fantastic on the course, as well as leading with a remarkably steady and even pace while providing words of encouragement. For a flat-lander like myself, the many hills were tough - but doable (I managed a one-second P.R. versus a recent flat course). My only major complaint about the Austin Marathon was with the pyrotechnic display provided at the beginning of the race. Due to the lack of wind in Austin's pre-dawn downtown, the pyrotechnic display's fumes enveloped the starting area - which thousands of runners then proceeded to run through to start their full or half marathons, with many shouting to organizers, "PYRO IS A BAD IDEA!" All things considered, though, that was only a minor annoyance at an otherwise great marathon, with tough but doable hills, great organization, and good crowd support. | |
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A. Z. from Monterrey, Mexico
(2/15/2010)
"A bit disappointed" (about: 2010)
11-50 previous marathons
| 2 Austin Marathons
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 3 FANS: 5 The 2010 Austin Marathon was my second time around. I was really excited after 2009 because of the fact that it was a small, very well organized race, and the best part was that it was a green marathon - even after they had their main sponsor pull out. Now comes 2010, charging the same amount ($120), except that THEY ONLY SERVED WATER AND THEY DIDN'T SERVE POWERADE UNTIL MILE 10!!!! AFTER THAT THEY SERVED POWERADE IN EVERY OTHER STATION. Can you believe it?!?! Fortunately the weather was perfect. My hometown (Monterrey, Mexico) marathon costs $20 US and we do get Isotonic beverages. I just felt I had to comment that it would have been nice if they would at least inform on the webpage that isotonic beverage supply would be limited to so few stations. | |
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D. G. from New Jersey - Air Force
(3/29/2009)
"First Stateside Marathon - interesting" (about: 2009)
4-5 previous marathons
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 This was my first stateside marathon, and it was a tough run. If you HAVE NOT trained, this would not be a good one to run. The first half of the marathon was okay, but the second half was GREAT! The water stations were lacking the first half, but they made up for it the second half. There was a section that we actually got bottle-necked, which can be frustrating. Hills? Yes there was hills and I don't care what anyone says... having a hill within two miles of the finish line can be rough!!! I didn't train, so it was not one of my better runs, but overall... I loved it!!! Great t-shirts and finisher's medal!!! | |
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M. M. from Valencia, PA
(3/5/2009)
"Fun destination marathon, but could be improved." (about: 2009)
4-5 previous marathons
| 1 Austin Marathon
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 3 FANS: 5 I traveled from western Pennsylvania to run the marathon on my birthday. I picked this marathon for the hills, crowd support and the fact I had never been to Texas. The Austin restaurants that we went to Friday and Sunday evening were great. The pasta dinner the night before was just so-so, but meeting Bart Yasso and Dick Beardsley was fun. Running in the neighborhoods was interesting, but you could lose the tight alleyway at mile 3. The crowds were enthusiastic and all of the volunteers were friendly and helpful! I anticipated seeing more of the University of Texas during the race. I didn't even realize that we had passed it. The race was 20 minutes late getting started. No announcements, no sound system to inform the runners waiting in the middle and back of the pack. My suggestions for the race in the future: Continue to highlight the neighborhoods, but feature the University of Texas campus. Have a sound system for announcements. Keep the hills, but lose the alleyway on mile 3. | |
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S. S. from Wilmington, DE
(3/3/2009)
"Great Fans, Solid Organization, Average Course" (about: 2009)
1 previous marathon
| 1 Austin Marathon
COURSE: 3 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 5 The fans make the experience at Austin. The scores of spectators are extremely supportive and many go out of their way to help you through the race by handing out anything from oranges to gummy bears. One guy even had GU; what an animal. The race is well organized. There are plenty of water stops. The start and finish are well handled. The medals for finishers are excellent. Philly Distance Run is a five in the organization category, and this race was not quite on that level, but well done. The course was disappointing. The first ten miles are fine. Then you get out on the highway around town and the scenery is just plain boring. At the very end of the course there are two ridiculous hills that forced many competitors to walk. I'm all about hills but the two at the end just seemed like overkill when the rest of the course has a lot of hills with pretty intense grades. Overall, the race is well done and going to Austin, which is a great town, makes this race worth it. I do wonder if the race would have been better if AT&T had not backed out at the last minute. A lot of elites bounced on the race once the AT&T left with the purse. | |
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G. S. from Harker Heights Texas
(3/2/2009)
"Hills, Shmills. Great race" (about: 2009)
6-10 previous marathons
| 1 Austin Marathon
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 The second most difficult course of the seven I have run. Hills were a challenge; however, the support and the bands were top-notch. Raves for the pacers. I dropped my PR by 18 minutes. See you in Boston next spring. Great race in a great city. | |
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R. E. from Florida
(2/26/2009)
"Fab Spectator Support" (about: 2009)
3 previous marathons
| 1 Austin Marathon
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 I HIGHLY recommend this race, even though my time was much slower than I wanted. I agree with the comments from other runners. The crowd support was amazing for the ENTIRE course. I've never seen so much support, other than NYC. But here, the spectators were offering food, tissues, and very witty signs. Some of my favorites: "May the Course be With You," "Run like you Stole Something," and "Defense" (hey, it's a college town and this is all he had). This course is challenging, with the hills, hills and more hills, especially at the end. Hopefully they will change that, along with the narrow path around mile 3. There was a nice, flat stretch for miles 17 - 23, which was really welcomed. The volunteers were great (but I always wish they would put water in different colored cups from the energy drinks). I wish there were more port a potties along the course. I didn't even attempt to stop until the half-marathoners turned-off. I got to mile 18 with only 2 in line to wait, so I took that opportunity. The expo was FABULOUS, very organized, huge, and had lots of vendors. The medal is beautiful and substantial. As a marathoner, I did receive a technical finisher's t-shirt. I would definitely run this race again (but since I know about the hills, I do have some hesitation; I'm from Florida where it's very flat). In summary: great city, great organization, great expo, great spectators, great race. Just go for it. | |
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m. r. from Iowa
(2/24/2009)
"Tough course but great city support!" (about: 2009)
6-10 previous marathons
| 1 Austin Marathon
COURSE: 3 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 Personally, I had a "bad day" in Austin. I was sick with the flu and didn't even feel like running. This fact does not take away from the awesome job that the entire city of Austin did on this gorgeous February day! The course was hilly, as others have noted, but I was expecting it and that's half the battle! The tight alley-area at mile 3 was fine and nothing to complain about. The hills toward the end, near U of T campus, were just brutal. The major complaint I had about the course was the finish line: it was turn after turn and you didn't see the very end until the last 50-100 yards. Seeing the finish line usually gives me an extra "push" (as much as you can muster in a 26-mile-long-run), but I didn't get that with such a short "chute." The crowd along there was great, though. Speaking of which, the course support (police and public fans) was amazing!!! There was almost always somebody cheering you along and traffic control was top-notch. At one point, I had to stop and catch my breath due to foot pain and a nice spectator offered me a GU or water out of her own bag! The music was not the best (too sparse), but it was better than nothing. Another thing I liked about this marathon was its size. I think there were about 14,000 runners total (half and full) and that seemed to be just right. You were always running with someone, but not necessarily bumping elbows. Perfect. I enjoyed the concept of a marathon "going green," but I didn't like registering on Active.com where you are charged an additional fee to do so. (Perhaps that fee can be waived, since it's the only choice for registration.) I LOVED the chicken noodle soup at the finish line!! Yummy! Great medal and tech shirt. Thank you to the City of Austin! We loved visiting such a fun (AND WARM!) city for the weekend. | |
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M. W. from Atlanta, GA
(2/23/2009)
"Too many hills!!" (about: 2009)
4-5 previous marathons
COURSE: 2 ORGANIZATION: 3 FANS: 5 I agree with most of the earlier comments. Too many large hills toward the end of the course and the finisher shirt should be a technical shirt like they offer at other races. Austin is a great city and the crowds were amazing. These changes could help make the Austin Marathon a great race. |
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