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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 431 to 441]
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p. k. from Florida
(11/10/2004)
"amazing fun!" (about: 2004)
11-50 previous marathons
| 1 New York City Marathon
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 This marathon is worth all the rave reviews! Wonderful in every way. The crowds are great, all details are exceptionally organized. I smiled for 26.2 miles. | |
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c. k. from dallas, texas
(11/10/2004)
"Somewhat of a letdown" (about: 2004)
1 previous marathon
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 3 FANS: 5 Came into this race with very high expectations. I ran Chicago in 2002, and feel it was a better overall experience. New York needs to start its race earlier. It was too warm and the sun too intense by the 10:10 am start. The corral start also needs work. We were in the process of being directed from our corral to the starting line when the gun went off, forcing us to hurry up to get to the starting line. The Verrezano-Narrows Bridge is a tough way to start, but the NYFD boats shooting red, white, and blue water down below was amazing. The crowd support was incredible over the entire course, better and more consistent than Chicago. It was amazing coming off the Queensboro Bridge and hearing/seeing the crowds on 1st aveneue. The aid stations were not well manned for a marathon of this size. Had to wait to get Gatorade at most stations. | |
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C. F. from Barrie, Canada
(11/10/2004)
"NYC the Greatest City In The World!!! " (about: 2004)
6-10 previous marathons
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 The organization for this race was outstanding. The volunteers were cheerful and helpful. The course was a bit tougher than I had anticipated but the fan support was like nothing I have ever experienced. It was like finish line crowds all along the route. There is a reason that NYC is the 'Greatest City in the World' and it is the people! Great race! | |
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Steven Paduch from Lewisville, Texas
(11/10/2004)
"Most awesome marathon experience... period!!" (about: 2004)
2 previous marathons
| 1 New York City Marathon
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 The only bad thing I can say about this marathon is that it has ruined me for any other marathon!! I cannot tell you how wonderful my experience was for this race. The crowd support was out of this world... people were cheering the entire way as loud as they could. The expo was a lot of fun although the security guards were a little rough around the edges. The organization of the race is amazing. Security is tight and I always felt safe and secure. I hope to run this race every year and the experience of watching this race has motivated my wife to train for this race in '05. Hopefully we'll both get in. If you can do it, run this race. It is a life changing experience and well worth the expense. What a race!! | |
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Jeff Wang from Texas, USA
(11/10/2004)
"NYC Marathon... Great experience, hostile running" (about: 2004)
6-10 previous marathons
| 1 New York City Marathon
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 I just finished my first NYC Marathon 2 days ago. It was my fourth marathons this year. What I had to say about NYC Marathon was good and bad. Bad first. First of all, it was too big. Of course, going into the NYC Marathon, I knew that it was supposed to be the biggest marathon I had ever run in my life and probably the biggest I ever will. However, I was not ready for the crowd - 36,000 plus runners gathering at one place was not pretty, and many of them were running their first marathons, which made it even worse. So, for the most part of the marathon, I had to basically dodge the slow runners who took up spaces at the middle of the road and weaved left and right, which really slowed up my time and really made the running hard. Another bad? To have to line up for bus as early as 6 AM and then to have the marathon start at 10 AM. What happened to my precious sleep time? I ended up spending the two hours prior to marathon waiting, walking, and eating, while my donut that I had for breakfast just slowly digested away. Of course, after the race, I didn't have hardly anything to eat - I certainly missed those warm breakfasts at the Houston Marathon. The good? Kudos to the organizers. This was one of the best organized marathon I had ever seen, considering the number of runners and the crowds. It was amazing the number of people coming out to help as well as to cheer. The number of water stations were amazing - more than any marathon I'd ever been to. There were also orange stations, Sponge Bob stations, literally water or Gatorade stations less than every one mile. Then, there was the pre-race breakfast that was good, post-race free subway ride for the runners who were all cramped up and could not walk anymore, as well as the kick-ass post-marathon party at Copacabana Club. The medal was wonderfully big and heavy - just right for someone who had just run 26.2 miles. As for the others, the road condition was OK - lots of potholes as well as a couple of bridges with poor running conditions - not a surprise for a city marathon. The weather was fine, slightly warmer than what I liked, but not bad. The traffic was very well controlled, but not so much the crowd as people were going into the running lane and disrupting the runners - how about some crowd etiquette lessons (as well as beginning runner etiquette lessons so the slower runner and walker would walk on the side rather than the middle of the road)? The expo was pretty good, even thought they did not have any good NYC Marathon merchandise that I liked - sweatshirt or marathon pins. In summary, it was a great experience. It was a fun marathon. I did OK - not the best nor the worst time, just OK. All I could say about the time was that don't expect to run a personal record at NYC unless you were at the beinning of the pack. It was a hostile running environment - too many people means myself and other more experienced runners who had their paces set had to run around the slower beginners who blocked the running lane, and it made it impossible to run downhill fast - something I loved to do and specialized in to make up for those lost time climbing uphill. So, I was both somewhat disappointed at my time but not ashamed, as I knew it was going to be a slower marathon anyway. I just was not ready for the number of the runners there. I realized that there was probably nothing the organizers could do to improve this aspect, but I still would complain anyway. Otherwise, I think it was a wonderful experience. I need not say anymore about how fun NYC was, as I spent all three days there shopping - before, right after, and the day after the marathon. It is a lively city, and its people are international and opened arms to all visitors. My hotel - the Hudson's - was FABULOUS, highly recommended for anyone going there. Despite the hostile running condition, I applaud the New Yorkers for coming up with something so special. New Yorkers, you should be proud to host the best marathon in the world! | |
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M. R. from Washington- USA
(11/9/2004)
"Put your name in for this lottery!" (about: 2004)
2 previous marathons
| 1 New York City Marathon
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 5 If you win the lottery to run this race - you have won the lottery. NYC is gorgeous, the race course is fast (yet open), and the spectators are amazing! 2004 was my first NYC Marathon, and I hope to return. My only beef is the distance from the finish to the reunion area is like 12 more miles. Okay, maybe I exaggerate. When I finish, I like to see my family soon thereafter. | |
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C. W. from Falls Church, Va.
(11/9/2004)
"The Greatest" (about: 2004)
11-50 previous marathons
| 1 New York City Marathon
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 This was my twelfth marathon and it was incredible. The course was great and the crowds were outstanding. I only wish it was cooler. Support was good, the expo crowded but efficient. The volunteers were helpful. The greatest thing was the way the city embraces the race. In most cities a marathon is at best a passing distraction. In New York it's 'marathon Sunday'. They are really into it. People on fire escapes banging pots, bands, bag pipes, fire stations with hoses to cool you down, people handing out paper towels to wipe your face, thousand of little kids high fiving. The city loves this race. I was totally blown away!!! I'd do it again in a heartbeat (especially if it was 20 degrees cooler). | |
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S. T. from New York
(11/9/2004)
"The fans are the best in the world." (about: 2004)
11-50 previous marathons
| 6+ New York City Marathons
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 New York City is the best marathon in the world. The spectators create an amazing amount of electricity whether you run a 2:30 or a 5 hour marathon. Do not expect to run your fastest marathon if you are a middle-of-the-packer. The New York Road Runners organization does an incredible job organizing the race. They even gave out Sponge Bob sponges on mile 17. | |
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Colleen Eren from New York
(11/9/2004)
"It's New York: Need I say more?" (about: 2004)
2 previous marathons
| 1 New York City Marathon
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 The New York Road Runners have this marathon down to a science, so right from the beginning you can eliminate any anxieties about disorganization as you are tying on your Champion Chip and digesting your Powerbar at five in the morning. Getting to the start wasn't a problem: the buses from the library were very easily accessible, plentiful, with many on hand to give directions. The wait is a bit long until 10 in the morning, by which time the sun was out and temperatures began to rise--dangerous as far as the hydration situation was concerned. The pre-marathon breakfast and amenities on Staten Island were commendable, with one problem: low carb yogurt. Umm, could someone inform Dannon that runners just don't 'do' the Atkins thing? In spite of the fact that there were something like 35,000 of us, we were brought to the start line with helicopters and balloons without a hitch. A cannon boom, surge of energy, and you're up the Verrazzano narrows... Okay, I must be one of the ones who admits that this race is slightly overrated. You do have fantastic crowd support and enthusiasm and organized water stops and reliable splits and the New York skyline. But after a while, New York's lack of 'natural' scenery loses something. The finish line is spectacular in Central Park, but you are rushed onward to make room from the seething masses behind you. The volunteers are great, but the post-race food situation is miserly. As far as whether this race is 'fast': Answer: No. This course is no screamer; after a while those bridges become torturous, and the incline up to Central Park interminable. But you have to do it, at least once. It's New York, and quite an experience it is. | |
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D. D. from Connecticut
(11/9/2004)
"NYC Marathon - 2nd to none" (about: 2004)
4-5 previous marathons
| 1 New York City Marathon
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 On 11/7/04 I ran my first ING NYC Marathon. It was my best running experience ever. The organization left nothing to be desired and spectators and volunteers are the best in the world. Having lived in Manhattan for 5 years I knew how vibrant Manhattan was, but was not very familiar with the Bronx, Queens, and Brooklyn. Running through Queens and the Bronx was great, but nothing compared to long stretch through Brooklyn. Brooklyn rocks! Thank you, New York for this fantastic experience. Hope to be there in 2005. |
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