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Marathon Details - Baystate Marathon

North America Marathons > USA > MA > Lowell > Baystate Marathon

Baystate Marathon

Baystate Marathon & Half Marathon, Half Marathon Relay

Lowell, MA USA

October 20, 2024

http://www.baystatemarathon.com

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Contact Information

Name:	Glenn Stewart
Address:	P.O. Box 1314 Lowell, MA 01852
Phone Number:	978-758-7732
Email:	Email the organizers

Runner Reviews (126)

Course 4.3

Organization 4.0

Spectators 3.4

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Number of comments: 126 [displaying comments 1 to 11]

More Comments: [ < 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 .. 13 > ]

B. A. from MA (10/27/2018) "Not a flat course!" (about: 2018) 6-10 previous marathons \| 1 Baystate Marathon COURSE: 2 ORGANIZATION: 2 FANS: 3 This race could be better organized. The half and full start on opposite sides of the road which makes no sense because they then merge. Why not start one earlier? It was very crowded running the first couple miles and I almost ran into a wooden A frame sign in the middle of the road. The signs were for cars entering from side roads which for some reason were not closed to traffic. One sign had been knocked over indicating someone ran into it. Why not close the side roads for an hour so the runners can get by? There were also cones in the middle of the road. Runners were yelling "sign" and "cone" so others wouldn't run into them. The roads were open for traffic for most of the course and there were stretches where the cones were only five feet from the side of the road leaving very little room to run. I specifically picked this race because it's advertised as a flat course. It's not. There are rolling hills for a good chunk of the race. Miles 4-8 and 14-18 are the same rolling hills because you do two loops. I struggled on the hills with the wind and my legs were spent by 18. Beware. Also, I ran tangents throughout the race as any experienced marathoner will do, but my GPS still said 26.45. Just received the results and my gun time and net time are the same despite the fact that I crossed the starting line a minute after the start.
D. R. from Cincinnati, OH (10/23/2017) "Very well organized race in MA" (about: 2017) 50+ previous marathons \| 1 Baystate Marathon COURSE: 2 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 4 So many things were done right - well organized, easy packet pickup, easy parking for marathon, inside space to wait before the race, friendly and helpful volunteers, great city support for race, nice shirt and medal. My only complaint, and reason for my 2 rating of course is that there are a lot of stretches during the race where runners had very little space (sometimes the side of the road only) and we were always going direction of traffic meaning that vehicles zipped past us from behind - if the road has to be shared, I do prefer facing traffic...easier on the nerves. View of the bridge twice for marathoners was fantastic, though.
K. F. from Boston, MA (11/2/2016) "Just Okay" (about: 2016) 2 previous marathons \| 1 Baystate Marathon COURSE: 3 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 3 The race was organized very well. Separate starting lines for the full and half made the starting line easy. The course was fine, nothing great to look at and the roads weren't fully closed which made certain areas bottle neck. Water stations were lively and helpful. They needed more bathrooms on the course (1 per water station). They also advertise the course as totally flat and that's a bit of a stretch as there were inclines in multiple areas. Overall run very well, they say it's a race for runners by runners and that is very easy to see.
K. G. from Hebron, CT (10/20/2016) "Flat and boring" (about: 2016) 11-50 previous marathons \| 1 Baystate Marathon COURSE: 3 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 2 I know that I am in the minority by NOT loving this race. I really wanted to enjoy this, especially after reading so many positive comments about it. I just couldn't! I was bored! So very bored! There are long stretches where all you see are mechanics and fast food restaurants, and cracked sidewalks, and the other long stretches where all you see is road and garbage and car-accident remains...and the last two miles running between Jersey barriers feel endless! Because the roads are open to traffic, they place cones to create a lane for runners, but (at least during the first loop), it is not wide enough and runners were constantly being tripped up by the cones. Many fell, or were otherwise hindered by this. It was unpleasant, to say the least. That being said, there were some good parts. The few spectators who were out were enthusiastic, though sparse. The volunteers at the water stops were outstanding, mostly high school students, and they were truly great! And I felt there were enough water stops. The start was easy, and there was plenty of parking. They want to you pay $5.00 and park in a lot, but don't bother. There is plenty of free street parking. The medal is great - a bridge with a moveable runner on it - very cute! But a cute medal won't make me do this race again. I think I just need more variety in a marathon, more turns, more varied scenery, less monotony. I could see why people love it; you could definitely BQ on a good running day. It just isn't the race for me.
B. B. from Pittsburgh, Pa (10/19/2016) "Good, but not great" (about: 2016) 50+ previous marathons \| 1 Baystate Marathon COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 3 When I saw that Baystate won findmymarathon's best marathon contest my expectations for the race were raised. While I liked the race, I wasn't overly impressed with it. The course is designed for speed, not beauty. It is fast and I did BQ, but if you're not interested in a BQ or PR you might want to look elsewhere for an interesting and scenic course. The organization was quite good and I appreciated the raceday packet pick-up and close parking. Make sure to get there early and bring money to park. The start and finish are steps from each other making logistics easy. I also liked the separate starting lines for the half and the full, allowing us to get into our paces early. The crowds were generally thin, except for the finish area where they were strangely quiet. I liked the finish area and the indoor staging area before the race. Really nice shirt and an elaborate medal. If you have time after, visit Nashua NH for wine at Fulchino's Winery and craft beer at Millyard Brewing. We had a great meal and excellent beer at Martha's Exchange.
J. S. from Rhode Island (10/18/2016) "Very well run event" (about: 2016) 4-5 previous marathons \| 1 Baystate Marathon COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 4 I thought the event was extremely well run, easy to get to, easy to find everything, easy to get out at the end. We stayed in a nearby hotel, used the shuttle to get to the race in the morning, couldn't have been simpler. I had hoped to BQ here but it didn't happen for me, not through any fault of the course (nice and flat as they say) or weather or anything, I just didn't have it. Where there were spectators, they were great - long stretches where do you don't see anyone, but that doesn't really matter to me. My only small comment for improvement would be that the food options at the end of the race could be better, they were pretty limited. Otherwise, everything was great.
K. L. from Needham, MA (10/21/2015) "Great Race to Qualify for Boston" (about: 2015) 11-50 previous marathons COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 3 This was my 37th marathon and 1st Baystate. If you want to qualify for Boston, this is the race for you. Course if flat but has enough rolling hills to mix it up a little and give certain muscle groups a break. Water/Gatorade stops were great with fantastic volunteers. I was worried about the traffic before the start so got there in the recommended 90 minutes before and was able to find plenty of parking super close. They even let you in the Tsongas Center which was great since the start was 30 degrees. All in all one of my top 5 favorite marathons!
J. A. from Shoreview, MN (10/20/2015) "Well run race" (about: 2015) 11-50 previous marathons \| 1 Baystate Marathon COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 4 Well done, Bay State Marathon. You have a nice course, mostly flat with a couple of small hills to keep it interesting. There is a lot of support on the course and the volunteers from the local high schools were great. This was state #34 for me and the Bay State Marathon ranks right up there.
G. C. from Waterford, CT (10/20/2015) "Fast and Fun" (about: 2015) 4-5 previous marathons COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 4 This was only my fourth marathon, so I just wanted a flat fall marathon to PR. I knocked about fifteen minutes off of my last time, so that worked out for me. Pretty happy overall. No issues with the Expo or packet pickup. The t-shirt is very nice. Parking was great, but of course since it's close to Boston you have to pay $5 for a parking garage. Decent food at the foot tent (nice to have warm soup on such a cold race day). Friendly spectators, especially the one young lady at mile 24 who was basically yelling at the top of her lungs. Basically, it was everything I expected. I would recommend it to anyone wanting a fast course.
S. A. from New Jersey (10/19/2015) "Not Flat!" (about: 2015) 11-50 previous marathons \| 1 Baystate Marathon COURSE: 3 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 3 Very nice rolling course. I cannot understand why people call it flat when it is a series of rolling hills. I don't mind rolling hills, but let's call it what it is. The wind made it very difficult. The volunteers were fantastic, and this was a very well organized race.

More Comments: [ < 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 .. 13 > ]



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B. A. from MA (10/27/2018) "Not a flat course!" (about: 2018) 6-10 previous marathons \| 1 Baystate Marathon COURSE: 2 ORGANIZATION: 2 FANS: 3 This race could be better organized. The half and full start on opposite sides of the road which makes no sense because they then merge. Why not start one earlier? It was very crowded running the first couple miles and I almost ran into a wooden A frame sign in the middle of the road. The signs were for cars entering from side roads which for some reason were not closed to traffic. One sign had been knocked over indicating someone ran into it. Why not close the side roads for an hour so the runners can get by? There were also cones in the middle of the road. Runners were yelling "sign" and "cone" so others wouldn't run into them. The roads were open for traffic for most of the course and there were stretches where the cones were only five feet from the side of the road leaving very little room to run. I specifically picked this race because it's advertised as a flat course. It's not. There are rolling hills for a good chunk of the race. Miles 4-8 and 14-18 are the same rolling hills because you do two loops. I struggled on the hills with the wind and my legs were spent by 18. Beware. Also, I ran tangents throughout the race as any experienced marathoner will do, but my GPS still said 26.45. Just received the results and my gun time and net time are the same despite the fact that I crossed the starting line a minute after the start.
D. R. from Cincinnati, OH (10/23/2017) "Very well organized race in MA" (about: 2017) 50+ previous marathons \| 1 Baystate Marathon COURSE: 2 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 4 So many things were done right - well organized, easy packet pickup, easy parking for marathon, inside space to wait before the race, friendly and helpful volunteers, great city support for race, nice shirt and medal. My only complaint, and reason for my 2 rating of course is that there are a lot of stretches during the race where runners had very little space (sometimes the side of the road only) and we were always going direction of traffic meaning that vehicles zipped past us from behind - if the road has to be shared, I do prefer facing traffic...easier on the nerves. View of the bridge twice for marathoners was fantastic, though.
K. F. from Boston, MA (11/2/2016) "Just Okay" (about: 2016) 2 previous marathons \| 1 Baystate Marathon COURSE: 3 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 3 The race was organized very well. Separate starting lines for the full and half made the starting line easy. The course was fine, nothing great to look at and the roads weren't fully closed which made certain areas bottle neck. Water stations were lively and helpful. They needed more bathrooms on the course (1 per water station). They also advertise the course as totally flat and that's a bit of a stretch as there were inclines in multiple areas. Overall run very well, they say it's a race for runners by runners and that is very easy to see.
K. G. from Hebron, CT (10/20/2016) "Flat and boring" (about: 2016) 11-50 previous marathons \| 1 Baystate Marathon COURSE: 3 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 2 I know that I am in the minority by NOT loving this race. I really wanted to enjoy this, especially after reading so many positive comments about it. I just couldn't! I was bored! So very bored! There are long stretches where all you see are mechanics and fast food restaurants, and cracked sidewalks, and the other long stretches where all you see is road and garbage and car-accident remains...and the last two miles running between Jersey barriers feel endless! Because the roads are open to traffic, they place cones to create a lane for runners, but (at least during the first loop), it is not wide enough and runners were constantly being tripped up by the cones. Many fell, or were otherwise hindered by this. It was unpleasant, to say the least. That being said, there were some good parts. The few spectators who were out were enthusiastic, though sparse. The volunteers at the water stops were outstanding, mostly high school students, and they were truly great! And I felt there were enough water stops. The start was easy, and there was plenty of parking. They want to you pay $5.00 and park in a lot, but don't bother. There is plenty of free street parking. The medal is great - a bridge with a moveable runner on it - very cute! But a cute medal won't make me do this race again. I think I just need more variety in a marathon, more turns, more varied scenery, less monotony. I could see why people love it; you could definitely BQ on a good running day. It just isn't the race for me.
B. B. from Pittsburgh, Pa (10/19/2016) "Good, but not great" (about: 2016) 50+ previous marathons \| 1 Baystate Marathon COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 3 When I saw that Baystate won findmymarathon's best marathon contest my expectations for the race were raised. While I liked the race, I wasn't overly impressed with it. The course is designed for speed, not beauty. It is fast and I did BQ, but if you're not interested in a BQ or PR you might want to look elsewhere for an interesting and scenic course. The organization was quite good and I appreciated the raceday packet pick-up and close parking. Make sure to get there early and bring money to park. The start and finish are steps from each other making logistics easy. I also liked the separate starting lines for the half and the full, allowing us to get into our paces early. The crowds were generally thin, except for the finish area where they were strangely quiet. I liked the finish area and the indoor staging area before the race. Really nice shirt and an elaborate medal. If you have time after, visit Nashua NH for wine at Fulchino's Winery and craft beer at Millyard Brewing. We had a great meal and excellent beer at Martha's Exchange.
J. S. from Rhode Island (10/18/2016) "Very well run event" (about: 2016) 4-5 previous marathons \| 1 Baystate Marathon COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 4 I thought the event was extremely well run, easy to get to, easy to find everything, easy to get out at the end. We stayed in a nearby hotel, used the shuttle to get to the race in the morning, couldn't have been simpler. I had hoped to BQ here but it didn't happen for me, not through any fault of the course (nice and flat as they say) or weather or anything, I just didn't have it. Where there were spectators, they were great - long stretches where do you don't see anyone, but that doesn't really matter to me. My only small comment for improvement would be that the food options at the end of the race could be better, they were pretty limited. Otherwise, everything was great.
K. L. from Needham, MA (10/21/2015) "Great Race to Qualify for Boston" (about: 2015) 11-50 previous marathons COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 3 This was my 37th marathon and 1st Baystate. If you want to qualify for Boston, this is the race for you. Course if flat but has enough rolling hills to mix it up a little and give certain muscle groups a break. Water/Gatorade stops were great with fantastic volunteers. I was worried about the traffic before the start so got there in the recommended 90 minutes before and was able to find plenty of parking super close. They even let you in the Tsongas Center which was great since the start was 30 degrees. All in all one of my top 5 favorite marathons!
J. A. from Shoreview, MN (10/20/2015) "Well run race" (about: 2015) 11-50 previous marathons \| 1 Baystate Marathon COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 4 Well done, Bay State Marathon. You have a nice course, mostly flat with a couple of small hills to keep it interesting. There is a lot of support on the course and the volunteers from the local high schools were great. This was state #34 for me and the Bay State Marathon ranks right up there.
G. C. from Waterford, CT (10/20/2015) "Fast and Fun" (about: 2015) 4-5 previous marathons COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 4 This was only my fourth marathon, so I just wanted a flat fall marathon to PR. I knocked about fifteen minutes off of my last time, so that worked out for me. Pretty happy overall. No issues with the Expo or packet pickup. The t-shirt is very nice. Parking was great, but of course since it's close to Boston you have to pay $5 for a parking garage. Decent food at the foot tent (nice to have warm soup on such a cold race day). Friendly spectators, especially the one young lady at mile 24 who was basically yelling at the top of her lungs. Basically, it was everything I expected. I would recommend it to anyone wanting a fast course.
S. A. from New Jersey (10/19/2015) "Not Flat!" (about: 2015) 11-50 previous marathons \| 1 Baystate Marathon COURSE: 3 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 3 Very nice rolling course. I cannot understand why people call it flat when it is a series of rolling hills. I don't mind rolling hills, but let's call it what it is. The wind made it very difficult. The volunteers were fantastic, and this was a very well organized race.

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Marathon Details - Baystate Marathon