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☰
Rocket City Marathon Runner Comments
Back to Rocket City Marathon Information & Reviews
Course 4.0 
Organization 4.7 
Spectators 3.5
Number of comments: 285 [displaying comments 171 to 181]
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T. B. from Jacksboro, Tn
(12/10/2007)
"Thanks" (about: 2007)
6-10 previous marathons
| 2 Rocket City Marathons
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 4 Great event. Good course. Wonderful accordian music from an inspirational smiler. Really enjoyed the run. Too much warmer than last year, but last year was too cool. Average it out and next year should be great! Great volunteers and crowd support. | |
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R. T. from Alexandria, VA
(12/10/2007)
"Fantastic Organization!" (about: 2007)
11-50 previous marathons
| 1 Rocket City Marathon
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 4 As everyone else has said, great organization, and you can't help the weather. Everyone I had contact with tried to make this race the best. I had one of my worst days with a recurrent injury, but still "walked" away feeling like a winner. The only reason I didn't give top marks to spectators is that there were lots of empty areas, but the ones who were out there really tried to make up for that. Special mention to the cross-country and track team - wow. And the volleyball team too! Better mention the great people at the hotel - both hotel staff and race volunteers were helping with the food. Loved the ice cream bars! | |
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R. A. from Chicago, IL
(12/10/2007)
"Friendliest race I have ever run" (about: 2007)
11-50 previous marathons
| 1 Rocket City Marathon
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 4 I was blown away by the Southern hospitality. Everyone was so nice and it was probably the most fun I have ever had running a marathon. Spectators were vocal and very encouraging. No iPods allowed, so you are forced to talk with fellow runners and spectators. VERY, VERY fun. Runners did a nice job of encouraging one another. Organization was perfect. Very nice medal, cool hat, and GREAT Nike technical shirt. Weather was perfect. Course is flat. Long lines for food after the race, but overall I HIGHLY recommend this race. The volunteers were all amazing. Y'all gonna love it. | |
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j. t. from colorado
(12/9/2007)
"Well run event" (about: 2007)
6-10 previous marathons
| 1 Rocket City Marathon
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 As described in previous years' comments, this marathon is a great option for the "end of the year" race. It was very well organized, and I was impressed with the level of detail from pre-registration to the personal escort at the finish. The expo was great, with some wonderful deals on shoes, clothing, and everything else! As mentioned, the weather in '07 made for tough going. It was 64 at the start, near max humidity, and likely ideal if you trained for the race in say, Miami, or the Amazon. The slight drizzle made the rain-starved streets really slippery and I took a dive while slowing down at the 3rd aid station. The slight headwind was gone on the turnaround and by the finish it was near 70, just as humid, and I witnessed a lot of carnage the final 10K. Regardless, the course was gently rolling hills to flat as described - nothing daunting or strenuous to scare you the whole way - and incredibly well marked and controlled, with police and race officials. A great option for a PR late in the year, weather permitting.... | |
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S. K. from Jeffersonville, IN
(12/9/2007)
"Great organization and people" (about: 2007)
11-50 previous marathons
| 1 Rocket City Marathon
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 This marathon was a lot of fun. The organizers did a wonderful job of hosting this marathon. They even had porta-pots located about every mile. I think there were more porta-pots than water-stops! The route was good, and the volunteers and police along the route were excellent. Huntsville is a beautiful city, with very friendly people. | |
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g. j. from Tennessee
(12/9/2007)
"Hot for December" (about: 2007)
6-10 previous marathons
| 1 Rocket City Marathon
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 4 This marathon was great. All things that the race directors could control were outstanding. Unfortunately, the weather was crazy: 90% humidity and a rain shower made the running tough. Did not see many negative splits in this race as many underestimated the power of humidity and 60 degrees in December. But like I said, everything the race people could control was GREAT. I will definitely do this one again. | |
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C. H. from Illinois
(12/9/2007)
"A nice, small marathon" (about: 2007)
11-50 previous marathons
| 2 Rocket City Marathons
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 3 This year's weather was a little warm (temps around 60 at the start with high humidity and light winds). Good race with wonderful volunteers from the marathon committee, to the expo volunteers, to the course monitors, to the people handing out water, Gatorade, and gel, to the volunteers at the start and finish, and to the people handing out food at the post-race area. The area for spectators was in pockets throughout the course, but the spectators cheering were wonderful. It was great to see some of the resident's kids handing out water during the last couple of miles. The host hotel was a great location with friendly staff, expo, and carbo dinner. Thanks to everyone for making this race a success. I would recommend this race to others. | |
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S. F. from Birmingham, AL
(12/8/2007)
"The BEST!!!!!!!" (about: 2007)
2 previous marathons
| 1 Rocket City Marathon
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 4 I have completed several half marathons, but this was only my second full marathon. My first full was 6 weeks ago in DC for Marine Corp. I really believe the "mega-marathon" is WAY overrated. Why I LOVE Rocket City (in no order): 1. The race started on time at 8:00 a.m. 2. Name on bib - nice touch. 3. I stayed at the Embassy Suites, which is directly across the street from host hotel (Holiday Inn). In complete contrast to MCM, I was able to stay in my cozy hotel room, eat, stretch and prepare for the race until 7:30, when I walked across the street to the start!!! 4. The course was very well marked. Police did an AWESOME job with traffic. 5. The volunteers were WONDERFUL!!! Lots of boyscout troops working aid stations. 6. It is a flat course that winds through mostly subdivisions (which leads me to my ONLY negative: where were the residents of these nice homes? Huntsville has a wonderful marathon that consistently gets excellent reviews, yet spectators are few and far between. The ones who were out were great)! 7. The finish is nice; a volunteer escorts you to your medal, chip removal, water, and directs you to food line. 8. Soup/pb&j at the finish! Even though I couldn't really eat that much right after finish, nice touch. I really liked this run and would certainly give it TWO THUMBS UP! | |
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Bill S. from Germany
(5/16/2007)
"Fantastic well-organized marathon" (about: 2006)
4-5 previous marathons
| 1 Rocket City Marathon
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 4 This was my first time in Huntsville and my fifth marathon. I was VERY impressed with how well-organized this marathon was and the friendliness of everyone I encountered. The hotel staff at the start/finish line was exceptionally friendly and accomodating to the thousands of runners & spectators who used their lobby & rooms throughout the day. It was an unusually frigid start (about 18 degrees!), yet the entire marathon went without a hitch. I was very impressed with the clothing drop-off (and return!) throughout the race...never seen before and hard to imagine I saw my thrown-away sweats again. Virtually everything about this marathon was first-class, well-organized, friendly, and well-done! Great marathon to run again. | |
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A. M. from New York
(1/20/2007)
"The Best Marathon!!!!!" (about: 2006)
11-50 previous marathons
| 1 Rocket City Marathon
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 What a great marathon!!! I have been lucky to run all the major marathons all over the world, and I would never imagine in my wildest dream that the best organized of them all would be the Rocket City Marathon in Huntsville, Alabama! It is just perfect! The course is flat and very scenic, running mostly through nice residential streets with very enthusiastic fans. I will never forget two little girls at around Mile 17 standing on the road in front of their house, without any adults telling them what to do, and singing Christmas carols for us. I could repeat what the others said here about a great CoolMax t-shirt, a nice hat, a very cute medal, extremely reasonable registration fees, and volunteers meeting every runner at the finish. But the most amazing thing about this marathon is the kindness of its organizers and volunteers. The start and the finish are right in front of the Holiday Inn. On the morning of the race we were "blessed" with the record-breaking cold weather. Happens! And so the actual lineup took place in the lobby of the hotel. No one - not the hotel management, not the organizers - said a word of complaint. We were welcome to stay there, to stretch, to keep warm. In the schedule of events, the organizers promised the post-race snack for the finishers. In Honolulu, for example, it means two lousy cookies. In New York, after walking for 30-40 minutes after the finish to the baggage trucks, it is a banana and an apple. In Huntsville, this "post-race snack" actually turned into a delicious hot meal lunch in the Grand Salon Ballroom of the hotel. And what was the most amazing, runners could sit and eat whatever they wanted as much as they wanted together with their spouses, children, other family members and even friends. Everything was free, and everyone was made to feel very welcome in the best traditions of Southern hospitality. Unfortunately, I didn't attend the "post-race meal and party" (I heard it was terrific as well) because in the evening the town of Huntsville had the Holiday Season celebration where anyone could visit the historic homes and actually chat with their owners, or to pick up fresh cookies, apple cider and hot chocolate (free, of course!) at the local church. It looked like a Hollywood movie set of the Christmas celebration in 1800's America. Lots of lights and candles everywhere, people in holiday dresses singing Christmas songs from the porches of their houses, and lots of smiles and happiness. It was immensely beautiful. Some marathons in this country have already awarded themselves with the nicknames like "The Friendliest," or "The Most Beautiful." I think the Rocket City Marathon has a choice of two nicknames to use - either "The Kindest," or just "The Best." Thank you, Huntsville!!! |
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