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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 221 to 231]
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M. R. from Orlando, Florida
(1/14/2008)
"I CANNOT WAIT TO GET BACK TO NYC!!!!" (about: 2007)
6-10 previous marathons
| 1 New York City Marathon
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 I cannot wait to get back to New York to run this marathon. The City of New York can put on an event. When you can run the five boroughs with people from all over the world, how can you ask for anything more? Plenty of water, food, coffee and port-a-pots at the start. Pros: It is amazing the number of volunteers and the logistics of pulling this off in the busiest city in the world. The people of NYC - with over 1 million people screaming and cheering just for me I felt like Ryan Hall running the streets of New York. The dignity and class with which the organizers handled the unfortunate passing of Ryan Shay the day before. Having a church service at the staging site - THANK YOU for doing this for the runners. Getting to the start on the Staten Island Ferry and passing the Statue of Liberty. Who cannot be moved when crossing the Verrazano Bridge? The course is tough - but I ran a PR. I love the classy medal with runners. The expo is a runner's fantasy land. Cons: The bag check in at the blue zone was chaos and picking up bags after the run required a LONG WALK. My advice to anyone is to get a hotel near the finish line early, fly in on Friday and stay through Monday. Use Saturday to rest the legs. Know full well that getting to the start is going to take some time and just enjoy the trip. Once you are at Ft. Wadsworth, just sit and wait; bring something to read. | |
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J. W. from Ft. Lauderdale
(1/9/2008)
"Amazing experience!" (about: 2007)
2 previous marathons
| 1 New York City Marathon
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 5 The best part of the race was the crowds. I just can't imagine getting that anywhere but NYC. I don't remember a neighborhood where there weren't people calling out names, cheering and singing. Put your name on the FRONT of your shirt and you will feel famous. My running partner did that and all I kept hearing was his name. I just had a baby in January (yeah I know so did Paula R.), so no PR here, but had a smile on my face the whole time. The only complaint I had was the bag drop off in the orange area at the beginning and having to walk past 210 UPS trucks after running the marathon to pick up my stuff and freezing my butt off in the meantime. I had to fly home right after and finding a cab was impossible. Other than that, the race was absolutely amazing. I would recommend it to anyone. If you're looking for a PR, run a smaller, flatter race. If you're looking for an amazing experience, run NYC. | |
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Maureen K. from Port St. Lucie, FL
(1/7/2008)
"NYC was one of the best experiences of my life!" (about: 2007)
1 previous marathon
| 1 New York City Marathon
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 NYC 2007 was my first marathon... EVER. I figured... if I'm only going to run one, it might as well be NYC. I applied through the lottery and got in on my first try. Lucky! I trained for six months using the Galloway method. I was definitely running NYC just to finish and to take in everything around me. I did just that, too. I didn't have to deal with the bus and ferry and waking up at 3 a.m. because I had friends on Staten Island who drove me to the start at 8 a.m. The spectators are the best in the world and for the number of people in this race, the organization is impeccable. I had no problem seeing family and friends at Miles 19 and 23. Central Park was a boost. I didn't care that I crossed the finish line in 6:23:14. Running the NYC Marathon will be one of the most amazing experiences of my life! Do it at least once. | |
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Yildiz Katkin from London, England
(1/5/2008)
"What an amazing marathon!!!" (about: 2007)
1 previous marathon
| 1 New York City Marathon
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 5 I cannot have enough praise for my experience of the NY marathon. I'm so pleased my first marathon was a positive experience and I only hope future marathons hold up to my experience here. It all starts from the expo, which was well organized, with lots to see... and buy! NY had a positive buzz before, during and after the marathon. The international friendship run the day before was a nice way to have my mum and sister also actively participate in the day. As the NYPD played NY, NY, the atmosphere was amazing! The only slight downside would have to be putting the baggage in at the start. Unfortunately this was badly organized. Apart from this, EVERYTHING was fab! I didn't run the marathon at a great speed, and yes there were a number of challenges with several VERY steep inclines. However, I think this added to the reward of knowing you have completed a difficult marathon. Running through all 5 boroughs was truly great to see the sights - and what better start could there be to start then the amazing Verrazano Bridge! You capture the beauty of NY and see the amazing locals giving you the most amazing energy of support the whole way round. I also couldn't believe the number of live bands playing! Yes, this is a tough marathon and you MUST put in the training if you want to complete and enjoy it. Don't be put off by the challenge of the hills. See them as part of the challenge and wear that medal with pride when you cross the finish line. | |
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A. U. from Alameda, CA
(12/26/2007)
"A Deceptively Challenging Marathon" (about: 2007)
2 previous marathons
| 1 New York City Marathon
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 5 First of all, the New York Marathon is the Mecca of all marathon running. That doesn't mean that it is my favorite marathon, but I feel that all true marathoners have to experience NY at least once. Given that nearly 40,000 people run this race, the organization is reasonable. That doesn't mean I like the organization, but volunteers deserve a lot of credit. You must have a lot of endurance to run a successful New York Marathon. The challenge is to stay within yourself when the elements and distractions are numerous. Keep in mind that you will probably want to wake up at 4 a.m. and be on a bus to Staten Island by 5-6 a.m. Use 6 a.m. - 9 a.m. to sleep. Bring garbage bags and disposable blankets. 'Twill be cold. The easiest part of the race is definitely Brooklyn and the first part of Manhattan up to the Bronx. The most difficult is probably leaving The Bronx and seeing yourself at around 142th Street when you damn well know that Columbus Circle is at around 59th Street. It's hard not to count each block one by one. The good news is that the blocks are swift. Focus on making it to 139th, 129th, 119th, 109th, etc., etc. What's more painful is that after the finish line, you will find yourself somewhere around West 79th Street (big note: book your hotel around West 79th Street, especially if your last name ends with the letters P through Z). The most demoralizing part of the race is the entrance into Central Park. It is the most painful looking incline I have ever seen! Laugh at me, but the innocent incline into Central Park at around 110th Street or so looks like Mt. Everest. It is the most surreal looking beast I have ever seen in any marathon run. It's painful because Central Park is supposed to a celebration point, the lush greens of such a peaceful park, but in all honesty, it looks a bit like hell. Miles 22-25 are the most painful assortment of inclines and declines imaginable. Not only that but it seems as if you weave in and out of Central Park to the point of dizziness. A couple of warnings: use the restroom at the last possible moment before running. Beware that when the starting gun goes off, you may not be near the starting line for as long as an hour. I didn't cross the starting line until 40+ minutes into the race. Be very cautious about the cheering New Yorkers. They are full of love and it's nice, but 26 miles of cheering will give you a very bad headache. Look to the ground and only look up at loving New York when you desperately need some cheering. Conserve your energies at all costs. At the end of the marathon, be prepared for a demoralizing traffic jam of runners that will place you on the verge of emotional breakdown. After the finish line, you will walk forever at a very slow pace carrying a bag of Gatorade and a bagel. That "little goody bag" weighs a ton after having run a marathon and because you will have been over hydrated, there's nothing of use in the bag. "A plain bagel after a marathon? baah!!! I thought that damn thing was a danish. DAMMIT! DAMN you NY Roadrunners!! #%$#^$!!!" Needless to say, you will step over about 100 tossed bagels by disgruntled marathoners. Also, during the marathon, avoid using all water stops. There are too many water stops. At first, the optimism of these loving, caring volunteers seems like a gift from God, but after mile 19 or so, these water stop volunteers seem like creatures from a black comedy, a poisoning of smiley volunteers so glad they could quench your thirst; it made me sarcastically thirst for starvation. It freaked out my mind for some silly reason. Fortunately, I had enough of a sense of humor to realize I was on the verge of madness by then. Do not worry about dehydration; if anything worry about dying from over-hydration. One other very painful distraction is the pacer runners. If you have a 4-hour marathon pace but didn't cross the starting line until 40 minutes later, chances are that by mile 12 or so, you will find yourself passing "pacer runners." They have huge signs on their backs that indicate the time they expect to finish the marathon by. Do not be alarmed by them if they zoom past you from time to time. You have to remember that they started before you. If you get inspired by music, there is an overdose of music throughout the run. Any genre imaginable: gospel, blues, jazz, reggae, punk, grunge, rock, salsa.... I mean, it's a horror show. I ran the 2007 NY Marathon having suffered from food poisoning only 4 days before the race. Needless to say, the course kicked my behind. I will run New York again as I spent the majority of NY 2007 looking for porto-potties after the 1/2-marathon mark. The most important lesson in being strategic during the run: avoid setting yourself goals to reaching key landmarks, such as entering a new borough or park. They are traps. At every borough you exit, you will find yourself at a distracting incline. There's of course the Verrazano Narrows Bridge from Staten Island to Brooklyn (that will feel like the easiest 2 miles of your life); then, there's an incline into Queens followed by the 59th Street Bridge. The final distraction is the horrid imbalance of runners around you at any given time. If you start late, you will be fending off slower runners, which really makes accurate pacing impossible. You just have to be extremely patient. After mile 18 or so, you will have lost your patience and then it is a matter of marathon survival. The memories will be endless. You have to remember that the whole world is running that marathon with you. That's the most special aspect of the NYC Marathon. | |
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James Anderson from Manhattan, New York
(12/11/2007)
"Generally okay." (about: 2007)
4-5 previous marathons
| 2 New York City Marathons
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 3 FANS: 5 I enjoyed this marathon tremendously, but it doesn't compare to Chicago. Chicago is just such a wonderful city, with a beautifully scenic skyline, and such magnificent camaraderie. The spectators in Chicago are extremely energetic and ambitious to encourage all athletes to continue their major journey on the course. In addition, I've never seen such beautiful people. That was a BIG plus! :) New York, strong race; Chicago, strongly recommend! | |
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N. T. from New York City
(12/5/2007)
"For Rich & Famous" (about: 2007)
11-50 previous marathons
| 6+ New York City Marathons
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 3 FANS: 3 I decided not to comment after the race, but.... My family came before the 59th Street Bridge. I took the yellow and red balloons from my daughters and carried them all the way through finish line to expect a nice picture. It's funny because I wasn't the one in the pictures. Save my money. The finish line is a killing zone and we all were trapped. I have been driving 3 to 5 hours after marathons, so don't tell me that to keep walking is good for circulation when I just need a break. | |
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M. W. from USA
(11/30/2007)
"Fantastic Crowds, Inept Organization" (about: 2007)
11-50 previous marathons
| 3 New York City Marathons
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 1 FANS: 5 Let's start with the organizers charging $20 for a 2+ mile bus ride from Staten Island Ferry to the bridge. I won't mention the increased registration fee and the increased $9 lottery fee! This all smacks of tremendous greed. Since I had already purchased a bus pass from Midtown and was told to avoid that and take the ferry instead, why do the organizers need to rip us off by charging $20 for something that the city bus does for $2 and which was actually made free last year by the organizers? O.K. once inside Staten Island, I was hunkered down for 3+ hours. This year, the porta-potties were more abundant and this was probably the only thing the organizers did better this year. About 1 hour and 15 minutes before the race, I decide to check in my bag. Much to my surprise, the baggage check was in an enclosed area with just a 15-foot or so wide entrance with no exit! Imagine thousands of people trying to squeeze into a small space at the same time! Are the organizers masochists? There was so much pushing and shoving and I was in real fear of either a riot breaking out or someone getting trampled. I am not exaggerating when I describe the baggage check experience as horrible, frightening, dangerous and downright scary! I finally managed to escape baggage check by squeezing through a 1-foot wide space between the fence and the front of the UPS trucks. I did this for about another 20 minutes. In all, it took over an hour to get in and out of baggage check. After the baggage check fiasco, I make my way to the corral. As usual, there is absolutely no enforcement of the corrals and half the runners have higher bib numbers. The race itself was a blast because it's NYC and the tremendous crowds. Looking at the finishing statistics, there were at least 1000 more finishers crammed into the 2007 race. With Chicago increasing their cap another 5000 runners in 2007, it seems like NYCM is more worried about being known as the largest marathon than for delivering quality organization and experience. I felt the difference this year as there was just less and less running room and more and more elbows. The finish line was again a massive cattle call. Instead of hearing "Congratulations!," you hear shouts of "Keep Moving!" After running 26.2 miles, the finish line experience is non-existent, almost somber. It's just a lot of shuffling a foot per minute through the crowds while watching that the person behind you doesn't puke on you (yes, someone puked on the back of my shoes). It was so jam-packed that it took 35 minutes from the finish just to exit the park and retrieve my bag! Why don't the organizers make it easier to retrieve the bags by either placing the trucks closer to the finish line or place them on both sides of the street? To sum it up, it's a must-do at least once. It's a great experience and a great spectators race but seems like a lot more organization, care and work needs to be focused on the runners. | |
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L. K. from Orlando, FL
(11/30/2007)
"Great, But Don't Expect a PR" (about: 2007)
3 previous marathons
| 1 New York City Marathon
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 5 I ran the NY Marathon in 2007 as my third marathon. It was a fantastic race that I would recommend to anyone. I would not run this race anticipating a PR, but rather a fun experience. It is a hard course when you factor in the bridges, but then again I'm used to flat terrain. It was crowded - very crowded - but all worth it in the end. I recommend wearing a shirt with your name on it - the fans will go crazy yelling your name and it's so inspirational to know all these people are here just to support the runners. Go for it! | |
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G. S. from London, England
(11/27/2007)
"Enjoyed it but disappointed with organizers" (about: 2007)
1 previous marathon
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 4 The NYC is a really good event. Great atmosphere. I was slow, with a clock time of 8 hours and 40 minutes, but I completed the race after having waited to get over the start line for about 30-40 minutes. Returned my chip; however, the NYRR refuse to give me an official time or recognition as an official finisher. However, if I was registered as disabled, they would recognize me as an official finisher. Of course I am really disappointed. |
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