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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 201 to 211]
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B. D. from Framingham, MA
(10/16/2007)
"Great experience for a first-timer marathoner!" (about: 2007)
1 previous marathon
| 1 Hartford Marathon
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 4 This was my first marathon, and I really enjoyed the overall experience in Hartford. Because I live in the Northeast, I would definitely run this race again. I thought the course was scenic and enjoyable. The challenge of the hills during the last 10K was fun, even though I had almost no gas left in the tank when I crossed the finish line. The next time, I will do some serious hill preparation during my training! The post-race party in Bushnell Park was really cool too. Prior to choosing this marathon, I heard the positive reviews of Hartford's post-race party. Those reviews were correct! The park offers a great downtown setting. The post-race food included an assortment of bagels, bananas, and water. However, there was also a beer tent (from Harpoon Brewery), apple crisp and couscous! Aside from this being my first marathon, the weather really made this a wonderful experience too. You cannot beat running 26.2 miles during a crisp New England autumn day. Finally, I must give a big "A+" to all of the volunteers. They were extremely friendly and helpful. I thought this was a great marathon experience, and I would recommend Hartford to other runners, especially those who are running their first marathon. | |
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M. D. from Memphis Tennessee
(10/15/2007)
"Nice race, tough last 5K" (about: 2007)
4-5 previous marathons
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 4 This was a very good race. Held at a great time in New England and has typically good weather. Weather for 2007 was superb. Pros: 1. Very scenic course 2. Nice, yet small, expo (Hey, saw Bill Rogers!) 3. Nice shirt and medal and all that stuff 4. Hartford is a nice city 5. Super organization. Never seen so much gel on the course. Water, Ultima and Gatorade about every mile. Really liked the support guys in the second half on bikes handing out gels. 6. Every mile was marked 7. Nice post-race feed 8. Nice finish in Bushnell Park Cons: 1. Course was a LOT hillier than expected for the last 5K. That was really tough! I agree with one commenter that running by the river and up all the bridges was a lonely experience during the last 10K. 2. Hartford is very expen$ive. Overall, a very nice race. I would do it again if I lived closer and did not want to experience other races. It is a definite if you live in the Northeast. | |
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C. K. from Key West, Florida
(10/15/2007)
"Wonderful event except they ran out of medals" (about: 2007)
50+ previous marathons
| 1 Hartford Marathon
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 3 The United Technologies Hartford Marathon was a wonderful event. There were water/Ultima stations every mile with plenty of enthusiastic volunteers. The police controlled traffic well and were very friendly. The spectators were also very enthusiastic, even though there were not very many of them. The course was mostly flat with a few small hills in the last six miles. The only negative aspect of the race was that they did not have enough finisher's medals at the finish line. Many of the marathoners - especially the first-timers - who finished were extremely disappointed to not have a medal to show everyone when they returned home. The race director said there were more medals; however, they were locked away and it was not a big deal. Yes, it was a big deal. | |
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R. H. from Excelsior, MN
(10/15/2007)
"Nearly perfect in all respects, except spectators" (about: 2007)
50+ previous marathons
| 2 Hartford Marathons
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 2 The large, downtown park location, with all venues including start/finish within walking distance of dozens of downtown hotels, makes this a real winner. Note that you can ride the Bradley Flyer bus from/to the airport for $1.25 The expo/packet pick up and pasta dinner were all better than average and this marathon had more volunteers on the course, in the right places, than just about any of the 132 I have completed. Improvements needed? Only one or two. The mile marker tape pasted on the street was too easy to miss. Leave the tape but put up balloons or something vertical at each mile. Also, they ran out of finisher's medals around 4:45 or 5:00 hours and said they had additional but could not get at them as they were locked up. However, the word was that they will be mailed, so not to worry... stuff happens! Finally, giving the awards in five-year age groups through 80+ makes this a very enlightened event! | |
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A. W. from Boston
(10/15/2007)
"Great Weather" (about: 2007)
1 previous marathon
COURSE: 3 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 2 You can't ask for better weather than what we got this year. This is a small marathon and they do a good job organizing the race - pace groups, bag check, number pick-up, and course markings were all handled really well. Another major attraction to this marathon is that if you have people watching you it's pretty easy for them to drive around and see you all over the course. On the other hand, the last 6 miles are definitely hilly - there are 5 or 6 good-size climbs and descents. The only problem I have with this is that the organizers went out of their way to advertise that the course had been changed to take out the hills that were present in the previous course. Another downside to this race is that I spent most of the time between miles 16 and 26 without too much crowd support and very few people to run with, but that's to be expected in a smaller marathon. They also could have had more clocks out on the course, but to me this is very minor. | |
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t. d. from Western Mass.
(10/15/2007)
"Nice, New, Flat Course" (about: 2007)
6-10 previous marathons
| 2 Hartford Marathons
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 4 Great changes to previous course. While it was hilly-ish in the last few miles, it was nice to run down by the river. The new hills are speed bumps compared to the old course. | |
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D. R. from Walpole, MA
(10/15/2007)
"A+++ organization but why those finishing climbs?" (about: 2007)
6-10 previous marathons
| 2 Hartford Marathons
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 4 This race is as well organized as any can be. The volunteers may have outnumbered the runners. Water and sports gel were all over the course. Roads were completely closed for most of the course. Health expo was terrible. The race should be moved to Sunday to make packet pickup easier. Both the expo and the pasta dinner would benefit too. The new course was advertised to be a flatter finish, but I found the hills only to be shorter and much more numerous. Nominal rain in the days before the race left the below-grade paths used on the east side of the river partially flooded. These paths need to be raised above grade to avoid the ankle deep water that was there in the 2005 race. | |
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C. E. from new London, CT
(10/15/2007)
"Course change for 2007 - bad idea." (about: 2007)
1 previous marathon
| 1 Hartford Marathon
COURSE: 3 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 3 I ran Hartford in 2006 as my first marathon. I was psyched (see comments from last year) to see a course change for 2007. Much to my dismay, it turned out to be hillier than 2006 - in the last 6 miles! I would prefer the 2006 course. Also, when I arrived at the Civic Center at 6:50 a.m. race day, they were out of marathon shirts. I was bummed out a bit this year. Don't think I will return next year. | |
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r. a. from New Jersey
(10/15/2007)
"Great race, tough finish" (about: 2007)
1 previous marathon
| 1 Hartford Marathon
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 3 This was my first marathon and I loved it. The overall experience was great. The only negatives were a very hilly last 6 miles and sparse crowd support, especially towards the end. But the organization and overall race more than made up for it. I recommend Hartford to anyone looking to run a marathon. | |
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d. m. from PA
(10/15/2007)
"Need more port-a-potties" (about: 2007)
3 previous marathons
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 3 Great race - except for the fact that more bathrooms are needed at the start. I would suggest adding more bathrooms and spreading them out more so you know where the real bathroom line is. I ended up having to bolt to the Civic Center and back - and I'd prefer not to do this before running 26.2. |
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