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New York City Marathon Runner Comments
Back to New York City Marathon Information & Reviews
Course 4.7 
Organization 4.3 
Spectators 4.9
Number of comments: 604 [displaying comments 11 to 21]
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Dr. John Fournier from Pittsburgh
(11/5/2017)
"Post 9/11 NYC Marathon" (about: 2017)
4-5 previous marathons
| 1 New York City Marathon
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 Of the 5 marathons I have completed this one ranks #1. The 2001 Marathon brought out the best in NYC as it was 2 months after 9/11 a day that we will never forget. Great Course, Great Support and Great Time. | |
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C. S. from Florida
(2/21/2017)
"My new favorite race." (about: 2016)
11-50 previous marathons
| 1 New York City Marathon
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 I finally got in and wasn't disappointed. I will apply every year until I get in again. Best marathon I've run. How they move 50+ thousand runners to Staten Island was amazing. There was an enormous line at the bus pickup, but it moved so fast I was practically jogging to keep up. The bus ride was OK and there's a bathroom on board. I was worried about the wait on Staten Island as I was alone, but it was a positive experience and I was so relaxed I nearly didn't make it to my corral on time. Make sure you know your corral close time and don't wait til the last minute! They have food and hot drinks. Best thing I brought was a $4 tarp I used to sit on while waiting there. Tougher course than I expected but the crowds push you on. So many runners wear something to signify their country or heritage, I wish I had known this so I could have too. The walk from the finish to the bag check was long and cold so consider the poncho option. The people working the event were super friendly and helpful! Loved New York and loved this marathon. | |
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S. K. from southern Indiana
(1/8/2017)
"It's worth every cent!" (about: 2016)
11-50 previous marathons
| 1 New York City Marathon
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 I have run about 30 marathons, and can say the TCS NYC is one of the best experiences I have had running marathons. The event was organized well, and despite the early wake-up to get bused to Staten Island, only to have to wait nearly 4 hours before my wave group started, I loved every minute of event. Thank you New York for the most wonderful time, and sharing your great city. | |
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Luis Rosell from Iowa
(12/3/2016)
"Amazing experience. Must for marathoners." (about: 2016)
11-50 previous marathons
| 1 New York City Marathon
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 Logistics are amazing. To get 51,000 people to one place and keep everyone safe is great. I had the 10:50 start and I took the 5:25 bus so I had a long wait. I knew it going in so not bothersome. Village had coffee, hot chocolate, bagels, power bars and Dunkin Donuts gave everyone warm hats to wear while waiting. I highly recommend going early and bring a magazine and a blanket or find someone to talk to and time will fly by. Met some great people and talked running. The course is great. A parade the whole way except on bridges. Ponchos at the finish are amazing and definitely a keeper. When done, you have to walk about 1/2 mile and then a few blocks to get out but my Uber took only FIVE minutes to get me and I was in my hotel within 10 minutes. If you want a lot of food and drinks at the end then this is not your race. Expo was the biggest I have ever seen. Makes Boston look small. No lines. As the play Hamilton says, 'in the greatest city in the world.' Thanks NYC.... | |
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Sergio Leonardi from Houston
(11/21/2016)
"Marathoner's dream" (about: 2016)
50+ previous marathons
| 1 New York City Marathon
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 I was lucky to finally be selected to run after about half a dozen attempts with the lottery. Everything was EXCELLENT organization, spectators, security, course, experience. It is difficult to add something that has not been said in other comments, but I will try: - Massive race with 50,000 participants, and everyone either went through a metal detector or was manually scanned. Really thorough process that required incredible planning. - Note that late start. Most other races start at 7:00, so a few hours delay will alter your race day nutrition and bathroom strategies. - Elevation change was more significant than expected, especially the long bridges. - Getting to the start line in Staten Island could take a lot of time. Some people will tell you 90' is adequate from the ferry, it took me a lot more (30' ferry, more than 60' in line to board a bus, and about another 60' on the bus in a traffic jam). As a result I missed my wave and was delayed by 25 minutes. If your ferry time looks incredibly early, go ahead and take it anyway! - No hot food at the finish line, hot cocoa was only available inside the medical tents. Maybe I am spoiled for expecting a better meal as in other races. - The finisher's poncho is great, well worth it to skip the gear check option. - Runners were getting a free subway ride at the station near the finish line. - Spectators lined almost the full 26.2 miles. Great support that makes you feel guilty if you stop :) Running the NYC marathon is truly an incredible experience, even for someone who has participated in other important marathons. | |
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P. H. from Chicago, Illinois, United States
(11/17/2016)
"Glad I did it once" (about: 2016)
11-50 previous marathons
| 1 New York City Marathon
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 2 FANS: 4 I loved the course. It was beautiful, the crowds were great and the music along the course was really good. Getting there 4 hours before the race was OK, I can understand the logistical nightmare this race must be. Opening the corrals 15-20 minutes before the race started was horrible. I stretching and all of a sudden there are hundreds of runners from slower corrals pushing past me. I have no idea why they had the ropes between the corrals at all. | |
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W. W. from Los Angeles
(2/11/2016)
"The Big City Knows How to Organize Big Events" (about: 2015)
11-50 previous marathons
| 1 New York City Marathon
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 I was very lucky to be able to squeeze into the time qualify guarantee entry. In one of the race a year before, my full length marathon was 2 minutes behind NYC qualify time. However, my first half, as recorded by the event was two minutes ahead of the NYC qualified time. With a quote of the address recording my score, I was able to 'squeeze' in. The different color, different wave, and different corral made a huge difference to minimize the starting line crowd problems, which happens to almost all Marathon event, including Boston Marathon starting line. The runners with different color bib going through different routes in the first few miles is a brilliant idea and the best practice to allow 50k runners to safely going through the starting line and not getting too crowded in the first few miles. Kudos to the organizers for they carefully studied the route capacity and for they engineered the runner flow. It is fun to run through all five boroughs of New York, Before that, I have never set my foot on all five boroughs. What an experience it was. The aid stations were well organized. The security was excellent. Seeing the green flag to tell everyone that you are safe to run through our city. I realized that the city mayor's starting the event shout was absolutely true: 'Runners, today, the streets of New York are yours.' The optional bag check is a good idea. It minimized the crowd at the finish line. The only thing I hope it can be better is the connections between the end of NYC marathon and the NYC subway system. I don't complain the $3.00 I have to pay. It is nothing in comparing with the $255 registration fee; my LA<>NY air tickets; and my hotel stay in Manhattan. I feel I need to speak out for those cannot find their way to a subway station because of no sign leading to the stations; for those cannot buy ticket because of fatigue after the 26.2 miles and the nearest station is a no-man service ticket system only; for those don't know how to buy tickets because of the different language they speak/read; for those stared at the ticket machine don;t know what to do because of they have not prepared money, or not prepared the exact change for the tickets. I enjoyed the event. Thanks to all the cheers along the way; thanks to all volunteers' help along the way; thanks to all security guards' efforts along the way; thanks to all fun sign and slogans along the way; thanks to all music and entertaining along the way. And thanks to the well organized event from the start to the almost end, and the details to the every step of the way along the way. At the very end, you guys still missing some cares help the runners back to their hotels, specially for those non New York runners. | |
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R. S. from Brazil
(11/13/2015)
"Bucket list race" (about: 2015)
1 previous marathon
| 1 New York City Marathon
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 An amazing race, where the crowds are the main attraction. Picked up Bib Thursday afternoon. Absolutely no lines. Disagree completely on advice to take the ferry. Had a midtown bus reservation at 7:15. Got to the Public Library at 7:00, was on the bus at 7:05 and at Verrazano Bridge at 7:40. Took a further 10 minutes to get off the bus. But it was a totally stress free experience that took a total of 45 minutes. The wait at the starting line is annoying. Had a 10:40 start, so waited almost three hours. Organization should a least build some tents, so runners are not exposed to the elements. It wasn't cold this time, but in 2014 I hear people suffered. A bit difficult to maintain rhythm and pace at the race sometimes, as there are runners everywhere, both faster and slower. The hills can take their toll on the legs, even if they are not too steep. But they are long. My lungs were ok, but for the first time in my life I experienced cramps, in the last 10 ks of the race. Train some long gradual hills if you're racing NY. | |
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A. M. from Brooklyn, NY
(11/11/2015)
"Huge inconvenience, amazing crowd, epic race." (about: 2015)
2 previous marathons
| 1 New York City Marathon
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 5 It's a gauntlet, and expensive, to get to the start. You're then launched into a cattle-density run through a mostly un-scenic course with the best crowd in the world. Price: $254 entry fee, more expensive than any other non-destination race. Also, runners have to qualify (see the website), or run with a charity with a pretty hefty fundraising goal. Expo: Thurs-Sat before the race, easy to get the bib. The fluff sections with vendors and sponsors were crowded. No proxy pickup. Grab your bib & shirt and leave, get the course info online, and buy your gear elsewhere. There are no deals or silver bullets here. The Start: A trek any way you do it. Understandable, given the scale, and included in the price, but it took almost as long to get to the start as it did for the race. I had a reservation for the 7:30am ferry to get to my 10:10am wave start time, arrived at the station at 7:10am, and missed the start because it took so long [had to take the next wave]. Theres no verification, so people just get on the first ferry available, which fills to capacity. People then run for the next one, which can also fill to capacity before they get on. Post-ferry, theres a 30-minute line to get on the charter buses, which take about 30 mins to get to the start village. Tips: Buy cheap sweats at Goodwill and wear an old pair of socks over your run socks, then discard them into provided charity bins at the start. Sleep on the ferry and bus, then stretch during the 20mins in the start corral. Take the shorter line at the ferry terminal, even though the longer line is for the next ferry. The first ferry will fill to capacity before youd get to it, and you'll be in position to get on the next one. Course: This is not a sight-seeing course. The only NYC landmarks included are the Verizano Bridge, Columbus Circle, and Central Park. The rest of the course is nondescript urban areas broken up by bridges between boroughs. However, the crowds are amazingly huge, loud, and everywhere. You're running through their neighborhood, not the tourist section. Over 80% of the course is lined with crowds with great energy and a block-party atmosphere marching bands, DJs, church choirs, etc. Its a great motivator and distraction. The course is mostly flat, except the rise and fall of the bridges. Water and Gatorade at every mile after the second (save Mile 18, which is just water). One gel station at Mile 19, bananas from 18-25. The streets are wide and generally even asphalt, but there are so many other runners that you'll rarely be without someone in your personal space. Be wary of pile-ups at the fluid stations. The End: Grandstands and big screens over the last 0.2mi. All runners get a medal, mylar sheet, and recovery bag [fluid, protein, pretzels, fruit] immediately upon finishing. Then its about a mile of walking to exit the secure area. Walking is a good idea to help recover, but runners are again in cattle-lot-density crowds held in by chainlink fence, so it's unpleasant. Extras: Great tech shirt. Iconic medal. Smartphone app for everyone to track your pace and location in real time. Fleece-lined poncho if you don't check a bag. Most everybody is a volunteer and is helpful and friendly. Normally reserved NYCers will compliment you on the way home. | |
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M. E. from Copenhagen, Denmark
(11/9/2015)
"Wow, the spectators are amazing" (about: 2015)
4-5 previous marathons
| 1 New York City Marathon
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 5 Love and hated the race. Loved it, because of the course and the spectators, they are fantastic. Every time I ran near the crowds, I got cheered on. Really helped during the race. I hate it, because of the wait in the start, and the looong walk after the finish. |
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