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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 591 to 601]
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A Runner from Rockville, MD
(10/14/2002)
"Great Hometown Feel" (about: 2002)
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 My summary on Steamtown would be ?if you haven?t done it- do it?. The course is great so long as you don?t go out too fast and burn up those quads too early in the race on the downhills. If you do, by the end you won?t be happy to see any hill, regardless of if it's up or down! The last few miles have a few significant hills but the crowds in these spots are large and encouraging. The town puts on a great race and you really get a ?home town? feel from the start to finish including a personal welcome by the HS Principle, several school bands, cheerleaders, and volunteers in all sorts of crazy outfits. Oh- and don?t be surprised when people cheer for you by name, even if you don't wear it on your shirt! The complete list of competitors is listed in the local newspaper the day before the race. Locals quickly look up your bib number in the paper and cheer for you by name. Recommend staying at the Sheraton downtown for convenience, however the Hampton and other hotels do offer a shuttle to/from the finish line (where you take a bus to the start). Packet Pickup was well organized, expo was OK- about the same vendors you see at races like the Annapolis 10 miler but with a few more 'winter' selections. Aid stations were well staffed and well stocked. I especially appreciated the way they gave you advanced warning that the station was coming up and which table had gatorade vs water. Oh yes, and I really liked the fact that they had grape gatorade for the first half of the race before switching to lemon-lime. Several 'un-official' waterstops also lined the course stocked with everything from fresh well water to home made baked goods! Finish line was easy to navigate and baggage check was a breeze. Good selection of salts, sweets, proteins, and carbs at the finish line. My only recommendation to the race organizers would be to add balloons or something high up to their mile markers. I only missed one marker- but without the heads up from fellow runners, I think I would have missed more. | |
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A Runner from Yardley, PA
(10/11/2002)
"One of the best" (General Comments)
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 I was pleasantly surprised when I followed the rolling hills in 2001. The local crowd support was wonderful, as I would return for that reason alone. I like the EXPO, which was held on top of the mountain, under a stadium! We experienced some light snow, which added to the fall charm. Definitely a spot to return! | |
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A Runner from Syracuse, NY
(8/24/2002)
"A fun, fast, fabulous marathon!" (about: 2001)
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 The Steamtown Marathon is very well organized and has a wealth of enthusiastic volunteers. The course is generally very fast, with one steep hill and one graduated hill towards the end. The aid stations were well stocked with water and gatorade and had plenty of volunteers to make sure you got what you needed. Each little town along the way tries to outdo the next in enthusiasm and innovative ways to assist runners. In one town I was offered homemade baked goods as a snack, other towns play music or have entire school bands playing. The finish line was really well run, with drinks and snacks available. A short walk from the finish was locker rooms and an area that provided free massages. This was my fifth marathon, and it was the best by far. | |
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A Runner from California
(8/13/2002)
"I love the fans" (about: 2001)
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 This race is small town American hospitality combined with breath-taking scenery. The first mile was a little rough with some steep downhills, but overall a fast course. The fans are the warmest and most supportive fans you could ask for. Watching the marathon was a family affair. Kudos to Steamtown! | |
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A Runner from Baltimore, MD
(1/26/2002)
"A nice marathon, but let's not get carried away..." (General Comments)
COURSE: 3 ORGANIZATION: 3 FANS: 5 I ran this race in 2001, qualified for Boston, and agree with many of the positive comments posted here. The race was generally well-organized, the scenery was as beautiful as advertised, and there were a lot of spectators for such a small-town race. However, there were some drawbacks. The downhills at the start are very steep and tough on your legs. Also, one of the mile markers was misplaced (I don't remember which one, but I think it was 7 or 8). This fooled me into speeding up for a few miles and I paid for it later in the race. Finally, the uphills at the end are no joke and the weather can be quite unpleasent (we had a strong cold headwind for much of the race in 2001). All in all, a nice marathon if you're running for fun. But if you're trying to qualify for Boston, don't book those plane tickets just yet. | |
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A Runner from Northeast USA
(12/3/2001)
"Steamtown makes Marathoning fun." (about: 2001)
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 Everything is first class. The volunteers, fans and organizers make this an experience you will not forget. Their enthusiasm is contageous and for me the miles flew by. Every need of the runners (all runners) is handled with great execution. This is the 4th consecutive year I have run Steamtown and the race just keeps getting better. Course changes in my opinion were very positive with less hills and less asphalt. The fastness of this course almost seems to give an unfair advantage. Cool. P.S. Hard to describe the energy by the Carbondale faithful. Keep it up. | |
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A Runner from Washington, DC
(11/19/2001)
"a find" (General Comments)
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 What a wonderful race. I was registered for a different marathon scheduled for the same day, but changed my mind and elected to stay closer to home this fall. I'm glad I changed my plans. Steamtown has the rare combination of speed, scenery, and crowd support. Every marathoner should do this race. It's quite a find. Kudos to the organizers and locals who make this what I think is one of the finest marathons in the country. I hope you can keep it small. | |
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A Runner from Madison, New Jersey
(11/9/2001)
"An Amazing First Time" (about: 2001)
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 Steamtown was my first marathon and definitely won't be my last. The enthusiasm among all the runners and the spectators was unbelievable. For great scenery, organization and a hometown feel this marathon is a must! Thank you to all the spectators that looked up my number to find my name to cheer me on! | |
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A Runner from Maryland
(10/14/2001)
"Great race!!!" (about: 2001)
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 4 Great organization is the hallmark of this successful, small marathon. I can't emphasize enough how important it is to run the first 8 miles (most of which are downhill) prudently. Training on down hills is mandatory to do well in this race. If you are prepared, however, the course is fast and even the last three miles of hills is fine. The volunteers were the best and there was plenty of drink and food on the course. The spectators were all along the route, although sparse in a number of segments. Great spirit. My favorite was the man at the last turn congratulating all runners, 'You are a marathoner. Now run the last 2/10s'. Thank you whoever you are. | |
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A Runner from Southern Tier, NY
(10/10/2001)
"Fun course ... scenic ... small town USA." (about: 2001)
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 4 I enjoyed this marathon, the overall elevation decline is nice. There are some hills near the end that keep you honest. Pockets of enthusiastic spectators ... CARBONDALE!!! It's a scenic course and the trails were nice. The road under construction was painful. Friendly volunteers ... well organized!! |
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