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Omaha Marathon Runner Comments
Back to Omaha Marathon Information & Reviews
Course 3.3 
Organization 3.7 
Spectators 2.9
Number of comments: 183 [displaying comments 31 to 41]
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M. P. from Omaha
(9/29/2013)
"Worst Marathon I have run" (about: 2013)
3 previous marathons
| 1 Omaha Marathon
COURSE: 1 ORGANIZATION: 2 FANS: 2 The original route for this race was changed after folks signed up and became an out and back, which was absolutely horrible. There was no scenery, we did not go through old market or downtown...we went through a neighborhood, a shady park and ran on a levy. It was awful! I will never run this race again and I am a local who had a team of 16 people this year. The only good things were the water stops (every mile) and the end run through the stadium. Compared to last year the expo was an obvious disappointment as was the route. I have never been to a race where they handed me my bib and a t-shirt separately and held the expo in a parking lot. Again, I cannot stress how awful this race was! | |
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T. M. from Wichita, KS
(9/29/2013)
"Not as bad as some people are saying" (about: 2013)
11-50 previous marathons
| 1 Omaha Marathon
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 2 This race was not nearly as terrible as others are saying. Yes the shirts sucked but I have gotten many other race shirts that were worse and uglier. Yes, the bibs were generic but come on people it's a bib for crying out loud. There was no additional swag but to be honest who needs another coupon for an local business that you will never go to, dumb ads, and let's be honest who really needs another discount on a road ID. I really enjoyed having the small expo. It was great not having to walk through a mob of people and booths selling things I don't need just to get my packet. As for the runners complaining about not having any race information, the race was taking an environmental stance and emailed the race info packets to you. Finally, honestly who needs a mylar blanket on an 80 degree day!! All they do is cause more waste and they are not recyclable. A few organizational things are all this race needs to be great: there needs to be more than one port a potty every mile, change the start area so runners don't load from the front, do what you advertise (no full dress marines :( at the finish, said unisex shirts and then they were not resulting in the wrong size). Offer a bag drop to runners. Invest a little more in providing a higher quality shirt. Overall the race was very organized. Volunteers were very helpful. The bands were great and many of them were still playing for us back of the packers. Aid stations were more than every mile fully supplied with water, Gatorade, fruit, and GU (GU every mile, awesome)! Pasta dinner was included free with race fee. The course was flat and fast with lots of shade. Miles and turns were marked clearly (if you missed your turn around than you just weren't paying attention). Awesome one of a kind finishers medal!! I really enjoyed this race and if you are a realistic person than you will enjoy this race too. | |
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B. H. from KY
(9/29/2013)
"Hits Organizers = NOT A HIT" (about: 2013)
11-50 previous marathons
| 1 Omaha Marathon
COURSE: 3 ORGANIZATION: 1 FANS: 3 Unfortunately the Omaha Marathon fit nicely into my 50 state schedules, but what a huge disappointment. This was my 31st marathon and definitely the worst! Pros: 1) The water station volunteers were super! Out there to the very end supporting you with fruit, yummy snacks, Gatorade and water. How awesome! 2) The Jazz band was still playing their hearts out in the last miles. What a pick up! Course entertainment was excellent! 3) Stay at LaQuinta in Carter Lake. Breakfast starts at 4:00, parking is free and rates were cheaper. Quick 1.9 miles drive to start. 4) Omaha is a very nice city to visit with friendly people. Cons: 1) Drop HITS organizer. 2) Poor quality white shirts. Didn't even mention what race you did only Omaha, Nebraska September 21 - 22. Then on the back we are a billboard for all the 'HITS' races. At least you know what races not to do! 3)Handed a non-colored differential bib 4 pins with no swag bag to carry this in. 4)No organization at the start as to where to enter. People were entering in the front of the line and HITS organizers kept yelling to move back or we would start late. 5)The course was confusing. Marathoners are still coming and the half marathoners had turned around, so we were running into each other in Miller Park. I almost got knocked down! You went thru some pretty rough neighborhoods and a very smelly industrial park. Almost made you sick. Plus almost all in the sun. 6)Course was opened with an hour & 45 minutes to go!!! We turned a corner and almost got hit by a SUV in our lane! We had to stop for neighborhood traffic and lights! All adding to your time. 7)Confusing finish. Not anyone directing you into the stadium - lots of people missed this and had to go back! 8)'Fully Dressed Marines will give you medals at the end' - seems like false advertising because there were not any Marines in sight the whole race. 9)No Mylar blankets or food at the end of the race. 10)Medal was glass, but hard to see design since mine is dark brown. Unless this race improves drastically, I would skip it. Sorry Omaha think you need to go back to old race organizer. 'HITS' certainly didn't hit it! | |
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T. Y. from Omaha, Ne
(9/29/2013)
"Don't waste your money" (about: 2013)
11-50 previous marathons
| 6+ Omaha Marathons
COURSE: 1 ORGANIZATION: 1 FANS: 3 I live in Omaha and I am embarrassed by this race. There are so many pretty areas that the race could be ran in and the course is awful. With HITS taking over the race went downhill. I was at expo when it first opened and was in line for 45 minutes. It was a cluster, all to get my bib and shirt which was by far the worst shirt ever. I will not wear it because it is to small and I refuse to advertise for HITS. The start line was confusing. 10K runners should start a little later to avoid the bottle neck in the first few miles dodging walkers. Port-a-potties are needed right by the start as well. The one plus was the aid stations. Well stocked and volunteers were great. Not enough port-a-potties on course, lines at each one so I was glad I didn't need to stop. The finish line was confusing for finishers to find food. I saw five folks medals fall off the lanyard and break. If you are looking for a Nebraska race come for the Wabash Trace marathon a few weeks earlier. I will NEVER run this hometown race again and sadly tell others not to run Omaha either. | |
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C. K. from Illinois
(9/29/2013)
"Needs a LOT of improvement" (about: 2013)
11-50 previous marathons
| 1 Omaha Marathon
COURSE: 3 ORGANIZATION: 2 FANS: 3 Pros: Flat course, through parks and by by a lake and river. Spectators though few, were supportive. Start and finish were in same place and close to hotels. Aid stations well-stocked. Cons: Too many last minute changes and confusion of information. For example, a family member was participating in the mile race on Saturday. The website and pre-race emails gave conflicting times. When we asked at the expo we were told the mile started at 7:00. We showed up at 7:00 to wait an hour. Also, it must have been a hassle for the new organizers to change the website: It said the medals would be handed out by a full dressed marine. Anyone looking forward to that at their finish was disappointed. There was a very recent course change which made for an out and back and maybe it was my fault for not looking closely enough at the map BUT the diversion into the stadium was unexpected and unwelcome when I turned the corner thinking I was in the homestretch only to find out I still had a few more tenths to go. I took one look at the unwearable tee shirt and designated it for the rag bag. Undifferentiated bibs with no mention of Omaha or Marathon. Very bad idea because.... The 10K, Half and Full all started together which made for a very crowded start. I didn't see the 10K turnaround at all and neither did some 10K runners. I saw a few who didn't realize they'd overshot until they were well past it. The half had its share of lost runners as well. If the bibs had been differentiated they could have gotten a clue from other runners. Unexcusable on the directors' part. Post race food and its postioning was THE worst of any marathon I've done. Instead of being at or near the finish it was back across the course and incoming runners OR up a million stairs of the stadium, across then down a million stairs. IF you could figure it out or, more likely, asked somebody as there were no signs directing you. Then, if you made it there the only food was bagels, bananas, and a few cups of water. I found out later there were sandwiches but they were in a box on the other side of the table which you had to dig out for yourself. Again, unexcusable. A veteran runner at the start was skeptical of the HITS organizers as they weren't a local club and speculated they were just there for the money. After completing this marathon I discovered just what he was talking about. I liked Omaha very much but won't return for the marathon until the directors get their act together. | |
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R. H. from MN
(9/26/2013)
"New race management has much to learn" (about: 2013)
50+ previous marathons
| 2 Omaha Marathons
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 2 FANS: 4 Generally good course and event. However, race operations had problems. First, the bibs for Half and Full were not color differentiated. Not necessarily a problem, however, there was very poor signage identifying the Half turn around and when many of us got to that point,several of us in the Full did not see any signage and the male Course Marshal made no effort whatsoever to call or point out directions for the Full and Half runners. The result was that some number (at least one other that I know personally) made the Half turn and ran way too far into the return before discovering the mistake to go back and pick up the rest of the Full course. That's where the lack of bib differentiation came into play as we would have noticed that error very quickly. Needless to say, had the course been well marked with Full and Half directions at the split and the Course Marshal had been doing his job bib colors would have not been that critical. One further point, all runners entered the Starting Corral from the Finish line end making for a hugely congested entry situation,nearly delaying the start. This could easily have been avoided by causing runners to enter from the back of the Starting Corral area. Having completed nearly 200 marathons, I am well aware that 'stuff' can happen so this is written as constructive criticism since these issues can easily be avoided in the future. | |
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M. G. from Marion Il.
(9/26/2013)
"Course was ugly at best." (about: 2013)
11-50 previous marathons
| 1 Omaha Marathon
COURSE: 2 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 3 This was my 37th marathon and the only one I can say I can't recommend to anyone. The aid stations were the only plus side being very well staffed and supplied. The course was run mostly through either impoverished areas of the city or through a decayed industrial area next to the river. Only the start/finish line was in a nice area. No swag bag and only a generic white tec shirt with small black lettering with race name for your entry fee. | |
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T. S. from Chattanooga, TN
(9/24/2013)
"Dump the HITS Organizers!" (about: 2013)
50+ previous marathons
| 1 Omaha Marathon
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 3 The Omaha Marathon was my 110th marathon. I finished 3rd in my age group. For the record, I've finished a marathon in all 50 states and DC, finished Boston four times, and also managed to finish a marathon on each of the seven continents. I 'toot' 'toot' all of that to say this, I really don't care about the medals or the shirts. I've got plenty of both. I do like to keep my Bib# from each marathon. I prefer to get a Bib# with the marathon's name on it. I understand that some small marathon can't afford to spend money on fancy Bibs and if so, then that's OK. My gripe with the Omaha Marathon is concerning the out of state running company that runs the marathon. The HITS Running Festivals out of New York State! The HITS folks gave us shirts that say nothing about a marathon on it anywhere and very fancy bibs that only advertise HITS. The Bib has no mention of Omaha or Marathon on it anywhere. As a matter of fact, the back of the shirt has a calendar of upcoming HITS events. If you wear the shirt, you become an advertising billboard for HITS. Granted, the front of the shirt does say Omaha Nebraska September 21, 22, 2013, but there is absolutely no mention of Marathon, Half Marathon, 10K or anything concerning RUNNING! Omaha, you deserve better! Dump the HITS Organizers! The course was fine, 'old town' was cool, the College World Series Stadium was pretty awesome. Omaha was my second Nebraska marathon. I did Lincoln in 2007. Enjoyed my stay! Thanks Omaha! | |
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M. G. from USA
(9/24/2013)
"Skip this one" (about: 2013)
6-10 previous marathons
| 1 Omaha Marathon
COURSE: 2 ORGANIZATION: 2 FANS: 2 As a marathon maniac on quest for 50 states, this one fit between two others nicely so I decided to run it. It appears things have changed a lot since last year's comments from 2012. I registered at least 2 months prior to this race and still paid over 100 dollars for the entry fee. Less than a month before the race, it was posted that the course had changed to an out and back. I certainly wouldn't have registed had I known that, but such is life. There were a couple of pretty parts along a river and through a park, but the marjority of the race was spent in long stretches behind industrial buildings where a sulfur smell was strong for a mile going and coming, and up a street with mostly abandoned and run down houses with no spectators in most of the areas. The expo was weak. Very small, not many vendors. You were handed a tshirt and a bib and four safety pins without so much as a bag to carry it in. No swag whatsoever for an expensive race, comparitively. The bib was the most generic looking bib I've ever received, including all of my 5k and fun run races. It doesn't even say Omaha Marathon on it. When I registered, the shirts were listed as Unisex and did not say long sleeved, so I ordered a small. The men received tech material long sleeved shirts, and the female marathoners were given a cheap cotton white tshirt that was see-through and my size small fits my friend's 8 year old child. I asked to change to a men's tech shirt and was told no. I asked to change sizes in female shirts since the shirts had changed since I registered and was declined. I spoke to one of the 'HITS' directors about the situation and all he said was 'I hear you', but that was it. When I asked further, he refused to do anything about it, and told me very curtly that I would have to come back the next day. The next day after the marathon, all that was left was a female shirt size extra small. No thanks. The start was really congested. No wave starts and no corrals, and there were a lot of walkers that lined up in the front so for the first couple of miles I had to bob and weave through all of them to get to a comfortable pace, and I was towards the front. While there was enough gatorade and water along the course, there were not enough portapottys. Unacceptable. I had to go to the bathroom at mile 14. There was not one available until almost mile 19 and believe me, I was looking for five whole miles. When I finally got to the one porta potty stationed there, I had to wait in line behind 3 people who probably had my same issue which tacked on a good 8 minutes to my time. Had I not packed immodium, I would have had a major problem. The post race food seemed non existant. No chocolate milk, no major source of carbs other than some bananas and oranges that I was offered with a bottled water. The glass medal is cool, but HITS slapped a cheap, generic looking ribbon around it with a big 'A DISTANCE FOR EVERYONE' quote on it. I do try to find the positives with all races I review, so here they are for this one: the weather was almost perfect, the course is flat and fast, and there was water, gatorade and GU provided. The host hotel we stayed at (omaha hilton) was accomodating and very nice. I won't be back for this race and I won't be back for another HITS race. There are way too many races in this area at this time of year with beautiful courses and incentives for marathoners, that don't seem to be all about the money than to do one of these again. I have no problem with a no frills race, but not at the price we paid. | |
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Darrin Liss from United States
(9/24/2013)
"Omaha half-marathon!" (about: 2013)
6-10 previous marathons
| 1 Omaha Marathon
COURSE: 2 ORGANIZATION: 1 FANS: 4 This is the 7th half marathon I ran so far! All the previous races were in Florida where I live.. The Omaha marathon was by far the most disorganized. I've never had to approach the start line from the wrong way before. It made it stressful for runners to find a position. The half and full marathoners should have been separated by two columns or different starting times. There were in fact 'at least' a few half marathoners who didn't get to finish because they continued on running the full marathon path. I noticed at the half point for the half marathoners was very easy to pass by especially if your running behind people or just focused on running... Other than all of the frustrations it was a beautiful morning to run and the fan support was great! |
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