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☰
Steamtown Marathon Runner Comments
Back to Steamtown Marathon Information & Reviews
Course 4.7 
Organization 4.9 
Spectators 4.7
Number of comments: 625 [displaying comments 291 to 301]
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Debi Burkholder from Allentown, PA
(10/8/2012)
"Such a fun race with the best support!!" (about: 2012)
6-10 previous marathons
| 1 Steamtown Marathon
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 Just had to write my comments because this was easily the most fun marathon I have run. The people were awesome. So many volunteers and everybody was fabulous. There were plenty of water stops, along with many local people helping out, and I don't remember ever feeling a lack of cheering along the course. This is one marathon I'd love to do again! Thanks to all for your support and cheers - they were greatly appreciated. | |
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J. M. from Virginia
(10/8/2012)
"Better than I expected!!!!!" (about: 2012)
4-5 previous marathons
| 1 Steamtown Marathon
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 I can't say enough about how Awesome this race was! A perfect size! I was never on the road alone, yet never had to fight through crowds after the first 1/4 mile. Was freaked-out about the downhills before the race, but they weren't a factor negatively; but positively allowed gravity to save my legs for the last 18 miles! YAY!! Every town had cheering spectators who were also awesome!! Very Friendly My challenges were a few uphill sections that were not on the elevation chart! I was really ready to free-fall for the first 23 miles!! They weren't really that bad, just annoying that they caught me off guard. My other challenge was the trail portion! I had a good rhythm on the black top, but the rocks, gravel, and leaves meant every step was was different from the last. The good thing was when you got back on the road you were in the home-stretch. I would run this again exactly as it is. Will just be more prepared. Definitely had a great time, nothing I didn't like ... except maybe the long drive from VA. | |
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Doug MacGray from Wilmington, Delaware
(10/8/2012)
"Loved running this marathon" (about: 2012)
4-5 previous marathons
| 1 Steamtown Marathon
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 Boy, the downhill does get to you, but this is a very, very well done event. I enjoyed myself. The transportation from Scranton to the start was very well organized. The bag pickup was the best I've ever seen. The high school kids at the start were great. Lots of great (and some odd) spectators were very helpful. Running through the trails was very enjoyable. The hill at the end wasn't nearly as bad as it was made out to be. | |
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S. B. from Brookfield, CT
(10/8/2012)
"Keep running it again and again" (about: 2012)
6-10 previous marathons
| 4-5 Steamtown Marathons
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 4 This is a great smaller marathon from start to finish. To start with the pre race dinner this year was excellent. It had white and brown rice, regular and whole wheat pasta, three kinds of sauce, tofu and quinoa, and I think chinken. There was something for everyone to eat and the food was great. The bus ride to the start is well organized and the high schoolers at Forest City are polite and helpful. There was a multitude of porto potties and the women had no wait! The cannon start can be shocking but you are automatically funneled into small town quiantness. It was a little cooler so there were less spectators but the ones out there were great. The course is challenging with a down hill start and some rolling uphills. You run several miles on well maintained trails starting at mile 15 and I have to say one of my favorite parts is when you run through a park at mile 18 where you can see were your 'competition' is located. If you are training for Boston this is a great marathon because just about mile 24 you start running uphill but that is where spectators are and they motivate you through this challenging section. You get a good down hill until just before mile 26 where you run up one more hill. After that is all downhill. The finish is at the bottom of the hill! The food is after the race is always good. The bagage pick up was close to the finish which was convient especially since it was a cool day ( perfect for a marathon) Scranton is great for the family. There is the train museum and trolley museum which is the other highlight of our trip! | |
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A. B. from Richmond, VA
(10/8/2012)
"1st time steamtowner-9th marathon" (about: 2012)
6-10 previous marathons
| 1 Steamtown Marathon
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 4 This is an amazing course if you want to PR. My best race prior to this race was a 4:02 at Shamrock. I just got 3:20 yesterday and thought best I could do was 3:30. Spectators were great. I like the shirt and the medal. The expo was easy to get in and out of compared to other larger races like Marine Corp. The hills were fine. I did not train at all going down hill and ran all out going down the hills and didn't have any negative impacts of this till after the race. Temperature was perfect and it was so nice not to have wind as a factor. Only issue is I wish the powerade cups had been filled at least 1/2 way. I had to take 3-4 cups as some of them were barely filled. Other then that awesome race start to finish. | |
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M. D. from MD
(10/8/2012)
"Just an excellent race" (about: 2012)
3 previous marathons
| 1 Steamtown Marathon
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 Great organization, couldn't ask for more. The high school student volunteers were so incredibly enthusiastic. Enjoyed the course as it meandered from small town to small town and then into Scranton. Everything you've heard about the friendly spectators is true. An uphill killer finish! Your legs will burn after this one. | |
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K. R. from Baltimore, MD
(10/8/2012)
"A huge surprise!" (about: 2012)
11-50 previous marathons
| 1 Steamtown Marathon
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 I went to Steamtown only because I heard it was a fast course. I had no real interest in the race itself beyond getting a new PR. I can honestly say now, I will go back! The emails leading up to the race were informative and very funny. The race director is extremely entertaining. The course was a pleasant surprise. It was extremely beautiful and the small towns we ran through were charming. There was a huge amount of crowd support, which I had not expected. The volunteers were some of the best I have come across at any race. I loved every second of it and was hugely impressed. I now understand why so many of my running buddies raved about this race. | |
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Tom Cali from State College, PA
(10/8/2012)
"Fantastic marathon!" (about: 2012)
11-50 previous marathons
| 6+ Steamtown Marathons
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 I'm a bit biased because I grew up in the Scranton area, and running Steamtown is a bit of a homecoming for me. The course is just about perfect. It's mostly downhill with a sprinkling of easy uphills to keep you honest. You run through a bunch of small towns with plenty of spectators either grouped in the center of town or sitting out on their porches or front lawns. You'll find marching bands, cheerleaders, and high school cross country teams along the way. In the second half of the race there's a rails-to-trails section that's a welcome break from the roads, and the autumn leaves throughout the course are beautiful. I've run 23 marathons and countless shorter races, and this is the most well organized event in which I've participated. The race directors and volunteers are to be commended. | |
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K. A. from Scranton Pa
(10/8/2012)
"Crowds are Amazing!" (about: 2012)
11-50 previous marathons
| 6+ Steamtown Marathons
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 5 This was my 14th time running Steamtown as I am a local. I like the race for so many reasons and I also see the shortcomings. First the good. organization is great, no issues there. The course is fun but like I said it's in my hometown so I can train on it and I know alot of people on the course. Can't say much about the expo, pasta dinner, or postrace because the sporadic times I have attended all were just average or below. Some things I can say about this year is FINALLY after 16 years they changed the medal, and what an improvement. The Tshirts are below average. Of the 14 times I have done the race I think there were only 2-3 shirts worth wearing. This year's was OK, nothing great. Last years was so poorly fitted, there wasn't one of my 20 friends who did the race who could wear it! The Goodie bags are terrible as well. There is NOTHING in them but a shirt and a visitors guide that could be picked up for free at any tourist spot. Come on guys, for an entry fee of 75.00 can't we do better than that! I have done 30 marathons all over the country and have paid less money for so much more! | |
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T. G. from Philadelphia, PA
(10/8/2012)
"Fun and Fast!" (about: 2012)
4-5 previous marathons
| 1 Steamtown Marathon
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 I almost didn't run this marathon due to lack of training, but I'm so glad that I showed up on race day because I had a blast and I ended up with a new PR! This is a perfect course, lots of turns, hills (down and up, but mostly down), great spectators, and my favorite part was the trails that they had us run through for a few miles. The race organizers were great, everything from packet pickup to morning parking to getting bused to the starting line went seamless. Since this is a smaller race I was sure that I would be running parts of the course by myself, but there were always people around me (running 9-9:30/mile pace). My only complaint is that I couldn't walk very well the day after, but that's my own fault for not training well enough :-). I would recommend this race to anyone. |
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