Oct 18, 2024
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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 581 to 591]
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Bob Ring from Harrisonburg, VA
(10/15/2002)
"This one is difficult to improve upon" (about: 2002)
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 3 The race this year (2002) saw all the critical elements come together for a near-perfect combination of fast course and ideal weather. There must have been a lot of PRs on this day. The temps were in the 50s, cloudy, and no wind. The course is fast, no kidding. There were lots of water stops. Large crowds were out at several points along the course. There was plenty of food at the finish. I can't think of one thing to criticize. I will definitely be back next year, looking to improve my time. Maybe even go for an age-graded PR of my own. The course director and all of the workers on this event deserve huge kudos for a great production. | |
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A Runner from Callicoon, NY
(10/15/2002)
"overall one of the best of 14 marathons I've run" (about: 2002)
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 Very friendly and very well organized. First 1/2 is very fast. Beware of the last mile of small 'mountains'. Make sure to get an area map though if you don't know Scranton and course towns. Friends had difficulty finding their way to viewing spots along route. Highly recommended event! | |
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Paul Sikorski from Spencerport, NY
(10/14/2002)
"Great race but respect the hills!" (about: 2002)
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 4 The race organizers did a fine job putting on this event, and we enjoyed our experience. The point to point course was beautiful (for the most part) and the spectators were very energetic. 13 water/gatorade stations were advertised but there were many unofficial stations offering everything from water bottles, fruit, baked goods, band aids, cold spray, vasoline, and sweets. The stretch of the course that cut through the trails was a nice change of pace. The roaring spectators made it feel like you were in a cross country race. The size of the field (roughly 1600) was ideal - not too crowded, but there was always people around. Beware of the hills at the end. The elevation chart doesn't do it justice. Train on hills and be conservative at the beginning. Of my three marathons, this one beat my legs up the most. (Downhill isn't always a good thing.) I highly recommend this race. | |
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A Runner from Delaware
(10/14/2002)
"The Hills have taught me a lesson." (about: 1993)
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 4 I've now completed this for the second time. After a disappointing finish in 1997, I thought my reduced mileage after a June injury was the main reason I fell apart in the latter stages of that race. This year I started out more conservatively, holding down the speed on the initial downhill miles and keeping my leglift low so as to minimize the pounding. It was to no avail and I started to slow by 16. The downhills at the end were painful. This was not a case of hitting the wall(I took plenty of gel during the run), but simply becoming so sore I could not stride out anymore. Although I'll continue to do Boston if I can qualify, I won't be running any other downhill marathons. | |
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A Runner from Rockville, MD
(10/14/2002)
"Great Hometown Feel" (about: 2002)
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 My summary on Steamtown would be ?if you haven?t done it- do it?. The course is great so long as you don?t go out too fast and burn up those quads too early in the race on the downhills. If you do, by the end you won?t be happy to see any hill, regardless of if it's up or down! The last few miles have a few significant hills but the crowds in these spots are large and encouraging. The town puts on a great race and you really get a ?home town? feel from the start to finish including a personal welcome by the HS Principle, several school bands, cheerleaders, and volunteers in all sorts of crazy outfits. Oh- and don?t be surprised when people cheer for you by name, even if you don't wear it on your shirt! The complete list of competitors is listed in the local newspaper the day before the race. Locals quickly look up your bib number in the paper and cheer for you by name. Recommend staying at the Sheraton downtown for convenience, however the Hampton and other hotels do offer a shuttle to/from the finish line (where you take a bus to the start). Packet Pickup was well organized, expo was OK- about the same vendors you see at races like the Annapolis 10 miler but with a few more 'winter' selections. Aid stations were well staffed and well stocked. I especially appreciated the way they gave you advanced warning that the station was coming up and which table had gatorade vs water. Oh yes, and I really liked the fact that they had grape gatorade for the first half of the race before switching to lemon-lime. Several 'un-official' waterstops also lined the course stocked with everything from fresh well water to home made baked goods! Finish line was easy to navigate and baggage check was a breeze. Good selection of salts, sweets, proteins, and carbs at the finish line. My only recommendation to the race organizers would be to add balloons or something high up to their mile markers. I only missed one marker- but without the heads up from fellow runners, I think I would have missed more. | |
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A Runner from Yardley, PA
(10/11/2002)
"One of the best" (General Comments)
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 I was pleasantly surprised when I followed the rolling hills in 2001. The local crowd support was wonderful, as I would return for that reason alone. I like the EXPO, which was held on top of the mountain, under a stadium! We experienced some light snow, which added to the fall charm. Definitely a spot to return! | |
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A Runner from Syracuse, NY
(8/24/2002)
"A fun, fast, fabulous marathon!" (about: 2001)
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 The Steamtown Marathon is very well organized and has a wealth of enthusiastic volunteers. The course is generally very fast, with one steep hill and one graduated hill towards the end. The aid stations were well stocked with water and gatorade and had plenty of volunteers to make sure you got what you needed. Each little town along the way tries to outdo the next in enthusiasm and innovative ways to assist runners. In one town I was offered homemade baked goods as a snack, other towns play music or have entire school bands playing. The finish line was really well run, with drinks and snacks available. A short walk from the finish was locker rooms and an area that provided free massages. This was my fifth marathon, and it was the best by far. | |
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A Runner from California
(8/13/2002)
"I love the fans" (about: 2001)
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 This race is small town American hospitality combined with breath-taking scenery. The first mile was a little rough with some steep downhills, but overall a fast course. The fans are the warmest and most supportive fans you could ask for. Watching the marathon was a family affair. Kudos to Steamtown! | |
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A Runner from Baltimore, MD
(1/26/2002)
"A nice marathon, but let's not get carried away..." (General Comments)
COURSE: 3 ORGANIZATION: 3 FANS: 5 I ran this race in 2001, qualified for Boston, and agree with many of the positive comments posted here. The race was generally well-organized, the scenery was as beautiful as advertised, and there were a lot of spectators for such a small-town race. However, there were some drawbacks. The downhills at the start are very steep and tough on your legs. Also, one of the mile markers was misplaced (I don't remember which one, but I think it was 7 or 8). This fooled me into speeding up for a few miles and I paid for it later in the race. Finally, the uphills at the end are no joke and the weather can be quite unpleasent (we had a strong cold headwind for much of the race in 2001). All in all, a nice marathon if you're running for fun. But if you're trying to qualify for Boston, don't book those plane tickets just yet. | |
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A Runner from Northeast USA
(12/3/2001)
"Steamtown makes Marathoning fun." (about: 2001)
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 Everything is first class. The volunteers, fans and organizers make this an experience you will not forget. Their enthusiasm is contageous and for me the miles flew by. Every need of the runners (all runners) is handled with great execution. This is the 4th consecutive year I have run Steamtown and the race just keeps getting better. Course changes in my opinion were very positive with less hills and less asphalt. The fastness of this course almost seems to give an unfair advantage. Cool. P.S. Hard to describe the energy by the Carbondale faithful. Keep it up. |
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