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Steamtown Marathon Runner Comments
Back to Steamtown Marathon Information & Reviews
Course 4.7 
Organization 4.9 
Spectators 4.7
Number of comments: 616 [displaying comments 341 to 351]
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A. D. from Poughkeepsie, NY
(10/14/2011)
"Awesome volunteers and fans!" (about: 2011)
2 previous marathons
| 1 Steamtown Marathon
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 I pretty much agree with everything that the other reviewers of the 2011 Steamtown Marathon had stated. I would like to re-emphasize the great support provided by the volunteers and the local residents before and during the marathon. While I was walking to the buses from my hotel, which was a little more than a mile away, a couple of enthusiastic volunteers actually stopped their car, turned around, picked me up, then drove me to the buses along with another runner whom they had picked up! So many residents from Forest City to Scranton were really into the event - loudly cheering, displaying signs - there were even church bells ringing for several minutes in a couple of small towns as the runners came through. I trained for the hills and ran the race according to the advice provided by the race director and others - 'bank the effort and not the time' on the steep downhills. During the last three miles, I realized that I would have a new PR but would miss my goal time. Despite a little pain, I still enjoyed those uphill miles by giving high-fives to almost every kid with his hand out, running through water sprays that were set up for the runners, and thanking a few of the many Scranton residents who were out there cheering for people they had never met before. Other marathons may have bigger expos and flashier medals. But in my opinion, the marathon volunteers and local residents make the Steamtown Marathon definitely a running event worth coming back to! | |
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Eliot W. Collins from Raritan Borough, NJ
(10/13/2011)
"Highly Recommended - Will Return Again in 2012" (about: 2011)
50+ previous marathons
| 6+ Steamtown Marathons
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 4 Steamtown is the same year after year. Everyone associated with the race (organizers, volunteers and spectators) does an outstanding job of making everything enjoyable for the runners. They are some of the nicest people that I have ever met. I definitely got my money's worth, and I look forward to returning for the tenth time in 2012. | |
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T. H. from Baltimore, MD
(10/12/2011)
"best volunteers ever" (about: 2011)
4-5 previous marathons
| 2 Steamtown Marathons
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 I have NEVER seen an army of volunteers as enthusiastic and helpful as at Steamtown. This is a small city that knows it has a world class event, and it sparkles with pride. I was shocked getting off the bus at the start line in Forest City. I can't imagine too many high schoolers who would want to get up before 6AM on a weekend to hand out water, take out trash, and walk through the parking lot with a sign that says 'follow me'. Of course, I appreciated the volunteers along the course watching traffic and handing out water. Local bands and cheerleaders kept us entertained. The ski rescue team patrolled the course on bikes. Even the local civil war enthusiasts started the race with a cannon. And the fans along the course were amazing. I loved being welcomed to each neighborhood by its residents. I loved the fans quickly looking up my race number in the newspaper, then cheering for me by name. I loved the mass of red-shirt people encouraging us up 'homestretch hill'. This is not the best place to watch runners, but it's where we badly needed it. And most of all, the AWESOME locals who put out a hose or handed out water. It was a scorcher this year, and the residents were vital to my finishing. In the last few miles, I dumped several glasses of water over my head from random people. I could not have finished without this. Steamtown Committee, you put on a flawless race (in less than ideal conditions) this year. And while you have perfected the logistics of this race, it is your amazing community that puts it over the top. My only hope is that it doesn't sell out immediately next year. | |
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Paul Hackley from Leesburg, Virginia
(10/12/2011)
"Fantastic marathon - everything they say is true!" (about: 2011)
4-5 previous marathons
| 1 Steamtown Marathon
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 From the perspective of a 41 year old male with BQ aspirations - I did not get my qualifier but I had a blast and ran a PR of 3:23 in Steamtown. Everything about this race was great - the informative pre-race emails were a hoot and I looked forward to each one. The race was immaculately organized and everything went exactly to plan. The bus ride to the start at Forest City High School in the dark was an opportunity to make a new friend with my seatmate whose daughter had written 'Go Dad!' on his hand. The Forest City high school kids were enthusiastic volunteers and there were port-a-potties a-plenty. Staying warm in the gym until racetime start was a bonus. Then the cannon blast to start the race! Wow! Everyone involuntarily jumped and shouted when it went off. Then it was all downhill. Literally! The first half of the race went by like a breeze on the rural highway and the October scenery and tree colors were fantastic. Then the spectators at the small towns along the course were just hooting and hollering. I can't believe so many people would turn out to cheer us on. The weather felt perfect with the start in the high 40s and the finish in the low 60s, and clear as a bell the whole time. The trail section was beautiful and then running through the neighborhoods at miles 23-25 was so uplifting with all the people cheering and waving and spraying us with hoses! The hills at the end are every bit as tough as they say but so what - the whole thing can't be downhill! A great race - I would do it again in a minute. The best part was the spectators - So much support! Even the clerks at my hotel wished me good luck! I'll be back in 2012 if my wife lets me. What a fun time! | |
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T. H. from Pennsylvania (PA)
(10/11/2011)
"My new favorite marathon!" (about: 2011)
6-10 previous marathons
| 1 Steamtown Marathon
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 This race has the best of both worlds... the personal attention of a small marathon with crowds that rival larger races. You can tell that each of the communities you run through really care about this race. So many neighbors make signs, cheer, hand out water and candy... just because they want to. There are so many things and people to see, I was glad I left my iPod at home. I was worried about the high temps, but there was plenty of water on the course, and they even gave out bottled water at mile 21. Running through sprinklers and hoses was nice, too - thank you to the kind folks who sprayed us down!!! I listened to the advice of the race director and was able to finish strong. It was VERY hard to hold back in the beginning going downhill, but it was well worth it as I was passing people on the hills at MM 23-25. Food at the end is great, roving medics on bikes, friendly volunteers, aid stations galore - I never felt like I was alone on that course. It was truly a wonderful day. I will definitely run Steamtown again and will be sure recommend to others! | |
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Jim Reimann from Minnesota
(10/11/2011)
"Steamtown - 'May The Course Be With You'" (about: 2011)
11-50 previous marathons
| 1 Steamtown Marathon
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 4 I really like the setup for the course, great downhill the first half, trail in the middle, residential streets with a lot of support at the end. If you are trying to qualify for Boston, this course will help, but you need to train for the hills at the end. The Expo was really small - I expected after 15 years it would have expanded to something bigger than this. The medals was small, I've had medals from halfs and 10 milers that I did this year that were bigger. I think Steamtown could use a, (a-hem, any sponsors listening?) a bigger sponsor. We did not get into the Radisson, stayed at the Clariton and it was a dump. They also didn't have any shuttles from our hotel to the Radisson. So I have to give it a lower grade (4) that the hotels aren't working with the organizers to get this together. I don't want this to look like a critical piece but after 27 marathons, I have some last comments for the organizers. Get some 5Ks, Half Marathon, any other race for the support team that goes with the marathoners from out of town. I might be biased, but I would think the whole town should shut down and focus on this race as it has the potential of being the best small town race to qualify for Boston at. So please look at this as constructive criticism. As you can see from my rating above, this race is very close to be a 5 star across the board. | |
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N. A. from Chicago
(10/11/2011)
"Nice race. Watch out of hills." (about: 2011)
6-10 previous marathons
| 1 Steamtown Marathon
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 Nice race! I have never seen so many community members step up with water and hoses for runners. On a warm and sunny day it was great to have all the extra fluids I needed. The course is a challenge. Don't let the elevation drop fool you. Your legs will be sore at the end, and that's when the uphill climbs begin. Overall though, it is a fun race, and the town is really supportive. This is the first year since I began running that I skipped the Chicago Marathon, and I don't regret it at all. | |
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m. k. from NYC
(10/11/2011)
"Steam town Marathon 2011" (about: 2011)
11-50 previous marathons
| 1 Steamtown Marathon
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 The 2011 Steam town Marathon in Scranton, PA is thoroughly worth it. Course: The course is a net downhill, but the majority of the downhill portion is in the first half of the marathon. I actually ran a faster half marathon in this race than in any other half marathon race this year. The second half of the course is mainly flat with small hills. The main hills of the course start at mile 23 and a nice big hill within the last mile of the race as you look at the finish line in the distance tempting you to finish strong, unfortunately my legs will have none of that. I was able to achieve my personnel best even though I was not in my best running shape and needed to walk for a mile due to cramps. Fans: For a small town marathon I have never seen so much crowd support as I saw at Steam town. Starting with the students and cheerleaders at the start. How did the organizers get so many teenagers up at 5am is incredible. Maybe a parenting book is in order to let the world know how to get your teenager up early. The support at the water stations was also top notch, so many volunteers. I have run in larger marathons that did not have as much support as I encountered here. The crowds along the course were exuberant and plentiful. I never expected that from a small town marathon. Kudos to the residents of all the towns on the course, this is what small town America is all about. Organization: This was a top notch organization effort. Parking was easy and free. The buses to the start were well organized and without any lines or wait. The wait at the start was comfortable in the school. I enjoyed the weekly e-mails for the director. They were most helpful and funny. The post race area was smooth. At the food tent I was given a regular plastic bag to hold any food, drinks that I was unable to carry. This was a great and simple idea to help the runners who might be too tired or sweaty to carry as much needed food and the amount of food was plentiful and tasty (the pasta was warm and tasty). The baggage area before and after the race were easy to follow and organized. Swag: For the cost of this race you get more value that you can imagine. A nice light blue long sleeve runners shirt, not much on design. A red drawstring bag is also given and very useful for race day baggage. The expo is more just a pickup with a few vendors selling the normal wears for runners. The only real complaint from the race was the medal. It was small and uninspiring (though the train feature was nice). For a slow runner like me the medal is my main highlight from any race. Something I would wear proudly around town. Maybe something historical about the area (I noticed signs about the Electric city), or a medal in the shape of a train just please nothing to do with The Office. | |
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J. H. from Blakeslee, PA
(10/10/2011)
"I would run it even if it wasn't a fast course" (about: 2011)
11-50 previous marathons
| 2 Steamtown Marathons
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 I ran this in '08 and now in '11. I will run this every year, if possible. It is one of the best organized marathons I have ever participated in. From Jim Cumming's humorous and informative e-mails, to cheerleaders at Forest City High School-awake and cheering at 7:00AM, to all the volunteers, and especially the children from St. Josephs at mile 24, everyone there really cares about the runners. Listen to their advice and go slower than you think you have to in the beginning or you will pay dearly for such recklessness later as the course flattens and adds some hills. The course is a nice run through 'Main Street USA' with a couple miles of well groomed trail added in the second half. It seemed that each of the towns along the way tried to outdo their neighbors, crowd support was fantastic. The race leaves one with many good memories, but seeing those kids at mile 24 left me with the most lasting impression. Many thanks for this whole experience. | |
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b. a. from State College, Pa
(10/10/2011)
"So exciting, So supportive, Beautiful race!!!" (about: 2011)
1 previous marathon
| 1 Steamtown Marathon
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 This was an overwhelming challenge ahead of me. The experience of the Steamtown marathon was one of the best days of my life. I can only say that because of the wonderful, enthusiastic support of spectators and runners alike. A very well organized race! Informative, entertaining e-mails, beautiful country and the most friendly, encouraging people! I loved it ! As a native from Northeast P.A. I can proudly recommend the Steamtown marathon to anyone!! |
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