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Atlantic City Marathon Runner Comments

Back to Atlantic City Marathon Information & Reviews

Course Rating Course 3.5 
 
Oranization Rating Organization 3.4 
 
Spectator Rating Spectators 2.6 
 
 
Number of comments: 126 [displaying comments 51 to 61]
More Comments: [ < 1 .. 4 5 6 7 8 .. 13 > ]

 

c. b. from usa (10/16/2011)
"well organized" (about: 2011)

6-10 previous marathons | 2 Atlantic City Marathons
COURSE: 5  ORGANIZATION: 5  FANS: 3


i took 2 years off from this race cause it has been horrible, glad to see diferent people running it this year, great job, well orginized better metals and its about time they got away from those cotton shirts, nice shirts also this year, the only this is they need gatorade, it was all water. i will continue to do it if they keep up the good job.

 

sutah robins from long branch new jersey (3/22/2011)
"boring once you leave the boardwalk/casino area" (about: 2010)

11-50 previous marathons | 2 Atlantic City Marathons
COURSE: 3  ORGANIZATION: 3  FANS: 3


I love visiting AC more than a few times a year. We stay at Borgata - which I highly recommend - and then cab to the start. I liked the new course this year. I loved running up the one hill over the freeway. It's fun to pass the spectators outside of the casinos. The boardwalk is wide enough there to accommodate spectators as well as runners. Once you leave the boardwalk, it is a long race. Turning off the highway to run though a few neighborhoods felt like a maze from which I would NEVER exit. it is also exasperating to dodge sunday strollers the last few miles, who seemed to have no idea a race was taking place. I would do this marathon again because I love AC and Borgata takes good care of us.

 

C. K. from Ocean City, NJ (11/9/2010)
"This race has come so far!" (about: 2010)

2 previous marathons
COURSE: 4  ORGANIZATION: 4  FANS: 2


I am a local girl (Ocean City) who has shied away from this race because of its bad reputation as disorganized, boring and poorly run. However, I knew there was new management and a lot of people were pretty encouraged by the changes, so I decided to give the half-mary a try. So glad I did!! Excellent race!

PROS
* very well organized
* great shirt (that actually fits - I love when they don't run too big!)
* amazing post-race food (blueberry champagne and chocolate fondue among the deliciousness to be had!)
* enjoyable course along the boards and through AC
* raffle to win $25K
* the chance to stand inside before the race to keep warm - although the day was absolutely beautiful and wasn't needed this year, I could see that being a plus on a blustery/wet year

CONS
Can't really think of too many - the water stations could have been a little better organized, but that is a very minor complaint

Great job, race organizers! You have really turned this race around and I will definitely be doing it in the future!

 

Greg Dufour from Greenville, SC (10/19/2010)
"Great race, PR course for me, fun times!" (about: 2010)

11-50 previous marathons | 1 Atlantic City Marathon
COURSE: 5  ORGANIZATION: 4  FANS: 3


I thought the race was very well organized. Check-in took a little longer than I am used to. Probably stood in line in Bally's for 20 minutes. The other negative was that the start was a bit cramped but that is because the boardwalk was under construction near the start line; this should not be a problem next year. My last complaint was that the last 3 miles of the race were along the boardwalk, which was awesome; what was bad was that there were so many people walking along the boardwalk that you were constantly dodging people - not something you want to do the last 3 miles of a marathon. It would have been nice if they had a few volunteers to keep the path clear. The amenities were perfect, course was beautiful, weather was great, and water stations were well stocked and well manned; they could have used some GU or something, but luckily I brought my own.

 

J. D. from Newark, DE (10/19/2010)
"Boardwalk Run" (about: 2010)

4-5 previous marathons | 1 Atlantic City Marathon
COURSE: 5  ORGANIZATION: 4  FANS: 2


I ran the half marathon this year and was most impressed with the course setting, half of which was on Atlantic City's spacious boardwalk. The non-boardwalk section between miles 1.5 and 8 left the Trump Plaza and Trump Taj Mahal behind to head inland to visit... the Trump Marina. But hey, it just wouldn't be AC without The Donald's name everywhere, and the only spectators at all on this barren section were Trump employees offering some encouragement.

The course is flat, although some will probably count the one freeway overpass as a hill.

The support along the course by the AC police and volunteers was impressive. The police were out in force, and despite the growing traffic jams in this busy resort, I never once was concerned about traffic or my safety.

Some things that need to be improved: Packet pick up was extremely slow. Also, there weren't any vendors at the packet pick up location. I would think that, with 3K runners, it wouldn't be difficult to recruit some vendors, especially since UA and Nike have stores within a half-mile of the pick up. Mile markers need to be placed accurately. The second mile marker was actually at 1.82 miles. (Yeah, I know this happens occasionally even at the "big" races). Lastly, timing mats need to be placed more strategically to ensure that everyone is running the full distances of their 10K, half and marathon courses. Too many distances, too many fluid game-day plans, and too much temptation for some, I'm afraid.

I'll be back for the half, although I probably won't run the full. When I finished at 9:30, the boardwalk was still mostly deserted, but I felt a bit sorry for the marathoners coming through in the following hours having to slice their way through pedestrians over the last mile or two. People were clueless that they ought to show some courtesy to this string of runners, running on fumes at the tail end of their marathon.

 

N. W. from Wildwood, NJ (10/18/2010)
"On course, it rocks!" (about: 2010)

4-5 previous marathons
COURSE: 5  ORGANIZATION: 3  FANS: 4


The pre-race details are not crisp and professional yet. On course, everything runs beautifully, which is what really matters to me!

Great volunteers; great police support! Varied and fun course, and I agree that it can prove to be fast. I really need to make this a target race one year as I think I could easily garner a personal best here.

Thank you for a wonderful day. For next year, figure out what time the dinner is actually going to start, plan for table turn-over at dinner (!), and provide access to a detailed course map with street names to help with family willing to go all over the course to cheer! Thanks! Had fun!!!

 

T. B. from NJ (10/18/2010)
"Pleasant Surprise!" (about: 2010)

11-50 previous marathons
COURSE: 4  ORGANIZATION: 4  FANS: 3


I had very low expectations after reading comments about this race several years ago. I decided to run the half this year as a tuneup race and was very happy with it. Nice, flat course (a lot on the boardwalk); good traffic control; and an excellent start/finish area with easy parking. Amenities were great, with plenty of post-race food and a great band. Yes, there are some bugs to work out like the kids' race (disaster!) and delayed awards presentation, but overall this was an excellent mid-size race and I will be back for the full next year!

 

V. P. from New Jersey (10/18/2010)
"Nice race, great medal, very good dinner" (about: 2010)

11-50 previous marathons
COURSE: 4  ORGANIZATION: 3  FANS: 2


This was a very nice race but it does need to have a few improvements. First, packet pickup was a little disorganized. There needs to be a separation between those who are pre-registered, and those who are not. Also, the information that I received said it was on the 5th floor of the hotel; however, it was on the 6th floor. Not a real big deal, but that should be accurate. Also, all notices said that the dinner was starting at 6:00 when in fact it started at 6:30. The dinner was very good and had something for everyone. They also said that there would be discount coupons to local vendors but there weren't. The course is very flat and easy to follow. The only complaint regarding the race is that the available water for finishers was 20 feet from the finish line. I didn't grab any water because i was worried about being run over. That water needs to be moved out to allow for more room. Overall, it was a good marathon that I would run again.

 

S. P. from Collingswood, NJ (10/18/2010)
"A nice, little marathon" (about: 2010)

4-5 previous marathons | 1 Atlantic City Marathon
COURSE: 4  ORGANIZATION: 4  FANS: 2


The only truly bad thing about this race was waiting in line for a solid hour to pick up my packet at hotel registration the day before (they only had two people working the desk). Otherwise I was very pleased.

The dinner the night before was EXCELLENT! The food was amazing, with live music, and all complementary for half and full marathoners!

They need a better sound system at the starting line. It was hard to hear directions. The course went by some seedier neighborhoods and highway exit ramps at the start, but once it got out to Margate it was beautiful. The water stops were spaced out perfectly and staffed with enthusiastic and helpful volunteers. There was barely any crowd support along the way, even on the boardwalk it seemed most people had no idea a marathon was going on.

The post-race amenities were great. Plenty of water, mango juice, hot dogs, bananas and oranges, bagels, etc. I wasn't crazy about the shirt (size M practically comes down to my knees) but the medal was very nice.

The only thing the race directors can't do anything about is the wind. It was a beautiful sunny day in the 50's, but I spent much of the race running headlong into gusts of wind.

Overall it was a nice change of pace from big-city marathons. If you want a small, flat marathon at the beach, give this one a shot.

 

Eliot W. Collins from Raritan Borough, NJ (11/30/2009)
"Great View of the Ocean - Will Return in 2010" (about: 2009)

50+ previous marathons | 2 Atlantic City Marathons
COURSE: 4  ORGANIZATION: 3  FANS: 2


Atlantic City was my first marathon (1998) and that year I was very disappointed with the race.

In 2009, I returned to Atlantic City for my 100th marathon (plus 36 ultras) to see if anything had changed.

This year I had a wonderful time. I enjoyed running around the pedestrians on the Boardwalk, and the view of the ocean was really something special (much better than other, more aggressively marketed New Jersey marathons). The parking and race day packet pickup in Boardwalk Hall was extremely convenient as well. Traffic control was excellent. They even gave me bib #100. What more could I ask for?

I will recommend the Atlantic City Marathon to other runners, and I look forward to returning for the third time in 2010.

 

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