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☰
Hartford Marathon Runner Comments
Back to Hartford Marathon Information & Reviews
Course 4.1 
Organization 4.3 
Spectators 3.9
Number of comments: 306 [displaying comments 171 to 181]
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L. W. from Boston MA
(10/13/2008)
"Well organized race" (about: 2008)
1 previous marathon
| 1 Hartford Marathon
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 4 I ran this as my first-ever marathon and finished with a 3:49. At the start of the race, the pace groups were a little hard to find, especially the ones to the front of the pack (I stuck with 3:10, but fell behind) since they only had one-sided signs that were always facing the other direction. Once past the starting line, the pack thinned out nicely. *The course was well marked, with volunteers at every turn that could result in some confusion. *Water/Gatorade stops were plentiful, as were the bands and musicians playing nearly every mile on the course. *Fans were present on most of the course, but not in droves, which made it easy to concentrate on the task at hand. *I would run this race again in a second. | |
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S. D. from Madison, NJ
(10/13/2008)
"Mile markers 19-25 are duds!" (about: 2008)
6-10 previous marathons
| 1 Hartford Marathon
COURSE: 2 ORGANIZATION: 3 FANS: 3 My 10th marathon, and my wife's first. The beginning of the marathon in the fall is beautiful, breath-taking, and a wonderful way to see fall colors. Then you get past mile 18 and the back-and-forth in and out of the city can take away from the mental strength of a first-time runner. At that stage, it is all mental, and the course did not help. | |
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A. B. from Chicago, Illinois USA
(10/13/2008)
"Fabulous experience" (about: 2008)
4-5 previous marathons
| 1 Hartford Marathon
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 This is my sixth marathon. All others have been run in my home town of Chicago. However, after the disaster there in 2007, I decided to try something different. This race was wonderful. The course is beautiful with just the right number of hills. The crowd was very supportive, with lots of music along the way. The post-race food was a cut above. I will take a smaller race, with great views of farmland any day. | |
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Roger Hauge from Excelsior, MN
(10/12/2008)
"A well executed event with one BIG flaw in 2008" (about: 2008)
50+ previous marathons
| 3 Hartford Marathons
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 3 This was my third Hartford and my 136th marathon, including all 50 States... twice. I came back for the third time all the way from MN simply because I loved last year's experience. Everything was there in 2008 except the group pasta party, and that was a very big black hole in the event. I know the organizers understand that runners are very social and LOVE to interact with each other, and the communal pasta party is what brings us all together. I can only assume they "caved" under pressure from local restaurants. As an owner of multiple businesses, I understand that, but guys, your first responsibility is to your own enterprise. On top of that, the "special deal" offered by your restaurants was pathetic! In my case, at least, ten percent off a mediocre $18 plate of pasta is no recognition of what thousands of us brought to Hartford. I really don't mind the price, but there was not a runner in sight! That's not what we are about, organizers! | |
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G. Ricketson from Waterford, CT
(10/12/2008)
"Well marked course and very helpful staff!" (about: 2008)
First Marathon
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 4 This being my first marathon, I was looking forward to the use of the pacers. I started out with the 4:30 pace group. I stopped and waited in line for the port-a-john and lost my group. I looked for the next one, but did not find one. They were all at the start, but not at mile 20 when you need them most. Overall, great race. | |
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S. L. from CT
(10/12/2008)
"great volunteers, good course, awful organization" (about: 2008)
6-10 previous marathons
| 1 Hartford Marathon
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 2 FANS: 5 It's amazing how poorly done the packet pickup and shirt pickup was. I arrived more than 1 hour before race time and made it to the starting line a little late - and that was with running to the car after pickup and running to the starting line. No signs at the pickup area, so you have to ask runners what line is what. Shirt pickup took 40 minutes. It was just a mess down in that area. Quite embarrassing for whoever is in charge of this part. At one point, half-marathoners cut off to the left while marathoners stayed straight, but instead of some "heads up" signs, they have a bunch of volunteers yelling this out to the runners. Another embarrassment to the race. Once you can get past this, the race is quite pleasant, with lots of bands and people cheering you on. The volunteers were the best! Just a fantastic group of volunteers throughout the race course. I wont run this again, however, due to the poor packet and t-shirt pick-up - it's just not worth the aggravation. There are plenty of other marathons with much better organization. | |
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J. J. from Essex, CT
(10/12/2008)
"well organized and memorable experience" (about: 2008)
First Marathon
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 This being my first marathon, I was so impressed with the course, which took you out to the countryside - with all the great spectators and volunteers, and the fact that there were plenty of fluids and gels along the course. It was such a well-organized event, with plenty of food and fun events after the race. Also, I LOVED my medal at the finish - I felt like a champion. | |
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C. L. from Washington, DC
(10/12/2008)
"Nice course, but needs some organization..." (about: 2008)
4-5 previous marathons
| 1 Hartford Marathon
COURSE: 3 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 4 I had a great race. Set a 13-minute PR and somehow got a second wind after mile 20. But, the course is just average; great views of the fall foliage, but there is a long out-and-back section that was a little tedious and not easy for spectators to get to. The only real hills come at a bad spot: miles 22-25. And there are more inclines, getting back to the road from the river path; at that point in the game, they felt enormous. The water stops and the volunteers were top-notch, and there was no waiting for water and no crowds. They were the fastest-moving water stops I have ever experienced. They had gel available at two spots, plus people were riding on bikes, asking if anyone needed gel. The start was a mess. For some reason, the whole street wasn't open for us to line up... half and full start together, but I saw the 4:30 and the 4:45 pacers a few feet from each other, and the 5:00 pacer in front of them! The half-marathon course leaves the full at around mile 4, and we never see them again.... Very nice; it cleared up the course very well. As you cross the finish, they announce your name and home town. Great post-race buffet, and the park was full of people hanging out afterward. Lots of reasonably-priced hotels within a 5-minute walk of the start and finish, along with plenty of good restaurants around the area too. Overall, a great race; I'm super happy with my experience and finish time. | |
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carrie kelly from New Jersey
(10/12/2008)
"Holy Hills" (about: 2008)
1 previous marathon
| 1 Hartford Marathon
COURSE: 3 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 3 OK, so this was my first marathon, but I really trained for it... for the length, that is. I was unaware of the multiple (short) hills that were on the course from mile 20 - 25... and they were killer for me. In fact, about half of the runners I saw were walking up parts of them. Did these hills surprise (and kill) anybody else?? I must say that, all in all, it was a great experience and I finished in 4:04... not too bad for my first try. | |
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Dotty Maddock from Phoenix, AZ
(10/12/2008)
"Nice Race, but Hotels are Pricey" (about: 2008)
11-50 previous marathons
| 1 Hartford Marathon
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 4 This is a nice race, with a good size field and a "big race" feel to it. The fall's changing leaves were beautiful, and temperatures perfect. The medal is absolutely gorgeous and the finish under the arch was classic. The post-race refreshments were surprisingly good (macaroni and cheese, rice/cranberry salad, etc.), but I didn't like that you had to pay to get into the beer tent (of course, I didn't have any money with me!). Be warned that it is a "rolling" course, with some challenging hills in the last few miles (at least they feel challenging at that point!). Also, the beginning had a fair number of half-marathon walkers who felt they should be in the 3:10 pace group (what gives with these people?!). My biggest complaint was that there weren't enough porta-potties on the course... expect one or two here and there and to wait in line if you really need to use one. Finally, I was very disappointed that one of the sponsor hotels (Doubletree) didn't have late checkout. With the race starting at 8:00 a.m., there's no way I could be done and cleaned up by noon. And I didn't see any other provisions for showers. I managed to clean up (in a public bathroom), but for those prices ($150 plus tax and parking), I don't think a 1:00 p.m. checkout would be unreasonable. Or start the race at 7:00 a.m.! Overall, a nice race that to me seemed fairly well organized, with a good crew of volunteers to help it run smoothly. However, I won't be back, due to the pricey hotels and lack of late checkout options. |
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