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☰
Memphis Marathon Runner Comments
Back to Memphis Marathon Information & Reviews
Course 4.2 
Organization 4.7 
Spectators 4.2
Number of comments: 382 [displaying comments 1 to 11]
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M. C. from USA
(1/9/2023)
"My Favorite Marathon!!!!" (about: 2022)
50+ previous marathons
| 2 Memphis Marathons
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 The organization and course support and mission is awesome. Second time running this race and would highly recommend anyone seeking a great marathon course to give it a try. Emotional AF when passing by the hospital and seeing the kids. Not a dry eye around. The pickle shots on the course were fun and I admit to even taking a few random shots from the friendly community block parties! | |
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Buck Carroll from Houston, TX
(12/3/2022)
"Half Runner" (about: 2022)
11-50 previous marathons
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 I ran the half marathon. Was very impressed with the organization, expo, race day set up, great track a little emotional, running through St. Jude's. Was great to support such an important organization. The fan support was incredible for the whole route. | |
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J. A. from MN
(12/13/2018)
"Didn't love it" (about: 2018)
50+ previous marathons
| 1 Memphis Marathon
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 2 FANS: 5 This is first and foremost a fundraiser for St. Judes and it comes off like it. The race is really more of an afterthought. St. Judes is an awesome organization and if you want to raise money for them, you should do this race. If not, find another one. The course is fine with a lots of water stops and spectators. It has some hills but I wouldn't call it hilly. The race was delayed by an hour due to weather that ended up not being that bad, but I don't fault the RD for keeping people safe. Lastly, there were 24,000 half marathoners and 3,000 marathoners so you can imagine who the race is really designed for. | |
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Sanjay Mohanta from Ontario
(12/4/2018)
"127th full marathon! Tough, hilly course!" (about: 2018)
50+ previous marathons
| 1 Memphis Marathon
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 This was my first time running the race. The course had changed from last year and it was quite hilly. The race was delayed an hour due to rain by an hour. First time I saw that. The rain would have helped keep me cool! Muggy weather. Great crowds throughout the course and lots of water stations, etc., informal aid stations included alcohol, etc. Very friendly people in Memphis and I got to be on tv the first night there giving my opinion on police brutality. Great bbq restaurants on Union Street and of course a pleasant tour of Graceland as well. Worth doing this race just for the friendliness of the residents and Lyft drivers. Looks like a lot of people want to see Trump v. Springer in 2020! | |
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T. E. from New Hampshire
(12/6/2017)
"Great race overall" (about: 2017)
11-50 previous marathons
| 1 Memphis Marathon
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 This was overall a great race. The fan support was really incredible throughout the race with a lot of cheering, music, and many handing out food and drink. The section through the hospital was especially empowering. I thought overall the organization was well done. The expo and packet pick up were well planned, especially considering the number of people attending. The aid stations were well spaced, well manned, and covered the water, Nuun, and gel needs. The finish area was really well done with the finish in the stadium where there was plenty of space to recover before going through the line for food. The pizza, donuts, and soup were all really good and certainly a big positive in my book. Overall, I thought the course was good. It had a few rolling hills, but overall was good. Traffic control throughout the race was really well done and had to involve a staggering number of Memphis' finest. There were two things I would change to make it better. First, the corral system at the start could improve. It was a confusing mess that included no delineation in the corrals, runners clearly in the wrong spots, and non-runners in the way. I know some races almost seem militant in controlling who gets in specific corrals, but that can make a better start for the runners. I would also re-consider the last 3-4 miles of the race. Looping back and forth through an ugly industrial area for the sake of getting miles really pulled down the overall great course. Maybe a bigger loop through a different neighborhood or around a park would be a better option. Overall a great race though that I would recommend. | |
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A. B. from Wi
(12/4/2017)
"Great cause, great crowd, mediocre course" (about: 2017)
4-5 previous marathons
| 1 Memphis Marathon
COURSE: 2 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 5 This is a funny marathon. Not for everyone, but if you are looking for a race with a good cause and a huge fun party atmosphere, you can have a great time here. The crowd really gets into the race. Lots of people along the course from beginning to end. Spectators are giving away all sorts of food and drink, live music plays here and there throughout the course, Many, many people thank all the runners by name and call them heroes. I was called a hero more times during the marathon than during the rest of my life combined. Which felt good. The race organization is basically OK. Registration was smooth. A few weird glitches: first, there was no schedule of expo speakers anywhere except for a sign in the middle of the expo-it was easy to come and go without realizing there were any expo speakers at all. Second, they switched the race hydration option only a few weeks before the race-it was only nuun and water on the course where powerade had been also promised in the literature. Third, a lot of the on-course hydration was badly done: cups filled with barely enough fluid to wet my lips; other cups filled to the brim sloshing liquid onto my shirt. But the volunteers were all very friendly. The bad part of the race experience is the course itself. It's boring and bleak for great stretches-you are running through blighted urban wastelands with crumbly roads, and you are right alongside traffic for long periods. There are lots and lots of turns, especially at the end where you have to run a whole pointless 3- or 4- mile loop under and over a traffic cloverleaf and the surrounding neighborhoods. All in all, a worthwhile experience. Not one I am likely to repeat, but it is not hard to see why people like this race. | |
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A. V. from Wisconsin
(12/3/2017)
"Couldn't be better" (about: 2017)
11-50 previous marathons
| 1 Memphis Marathon
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 You will be warmly greeted by Memphis. The race weather was great, the spectators were the best I've seen, and plenty of aid stations, porta potties, etc. The finish line food is abundant and good. One word to the wise - you corral yourselves according to the time you think you will run, as opposed to some races that assign you. Add that to a crowded race, esp first 11 miles until the half splits. The result is trying to navigate around people who should've been in slower corrals. I don't mean conservative starters, I mean walkers and people in jeans. | |
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B. W. from Michigan
(12/10/2016)
"Excellent mid sized urban marathon" (about: 2016)
11-50 previous marathons
| 1 Memphis Marathon
COURSE: 3 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 This marathon is a big fundraiser for St Jude's Children's Research Hospital. It includes a 5k, 10k, all marathon, and full marathon. Many of the runners in all events run as St Jude's heroes which includes different levels of fundraising commitments that get you extra amenities. The course is a mix of urban streets and residential areas highlighting some of the sites in Memphis, but with only a very limited stretch along the Mississippi River. The course is generally rolling with only a few hills of note. The start is near AutoZone Park and is done in waves 3 minutes apart. There are water stops about every 1 mile to 1 1/2 miles along the course. This year they had water and Nuun at each top and some Gu at later stops. You run with a fair number of people until the half splits off at 11 miles and then things get a lot less crowded. You run past the finish with about 3 miles to go and do a weird loop before coming back to the finish. The finish is in the outfield of AutoZone Park. You have to climb up some metal steps to get into the stands and then up several concrete steps to get to the food and drink. Food was limited and somewhat picked over by the time I got there at 4 1/2 hours. There is beer (2 free) if you partake. You then must walk around the entire outfield area to get back to the gear check area. The course supposedly has a 6 hour time limit, but there were times in the results that were up to 7 hours. Overall very well organized, but I was not a big fan of the urban course with too many turns. | |
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E. F. from Los Altos Hills, CA
(12/6/2016)
"Unforgettable Experience" (about: 2016)
11-50 previous marathons
| 1 Memphis Marathon
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 Everything about this race was first rate. It felt great knowing that the event garners lots of funds for St. Jude Hospital. (It was especially touching running past the hospital and witnessing such strong support for the runners from patients and workers. Talk about putting pain in perspective!) The expo was fun and varied. Memphis offers no shortage of great dining. I especially enjoyed McEwen's and Flight. The Double Tree on Union was very well-located, though I would have chosen the fantastic Peabody if it hadn't sold out. The course was well laid out with a few inclines, but nothing too difficult. Support and volunteers were terrific. The only things I would change are the late start (8:30 AM) and the finish area food layout. I found pizza and Power Ade, but I have a feeling I missed some other offerings in the big loop around the stadium. (There are also stairs to walk up, but I didn't mind.) I usually stay away from the larger races, but the incredible spirit and thoughtful organization of the Memphis Marathon made me so glad I chose to run. | |
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G. H. from AL - Alabama
(12/5/2016)
"Wow! What a race!" (about: 2016)
6-10 previous marathons
| 1 Memphis Marathon
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 5 I ran this race with a group of friends who were running for a young boy in our community who is battling cancer. This was such an unbelievable marathon and experience, I would recommend it to anyone and would love to come back to run it again. The course was great, the organization was fantastic, nice shirt, and beautiful medal. Not to mention running through the St. Jude Hospital campus with all of those people out cheering you on sent chills down my body. Spectators throughout a vast majority of the course just kept saying, 'thank you for running for St. Jude.' It was truly a humbling experience. If there is one downfall it would be that I would have loved to have had some Memphis BBQ at the finish instead of Domino's, but that's just me being picky. Again, this was a great event and worth the trip. |
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