Pittsburgh Marathon

29th Marathon, 1st Pittsburgh. 1st thought, challenging. As a Florida resident, it’s tough to simulate these hills while training. The start corrals were well though out and placed but the foot traffic along Penn just prior was claustrophobic. Hilly course that takes you throughout the city and different neighborhoods from one extreme to the other, which is my favorite type of route. I thought mile 12 was the real challenge. Plenty of water stations, but no Gatorade that I saw. Also no gel stations. Your best bet is the oranges and bananas that people provide along the way. I was disappointed in the offerings at the finish line. I got a banana and a cookie to go with my bottle of water. The expo was easy and had everything I needed. I thought the finish area was blah and we end up going to a pub instead. You have to rely on the app for information and it was poorly designed and it was hard to find specific information. For tourists, I liked Penn Avenue in Pittsburgh, but Liberty was just a combination of urine, pot and homeless. I thought it was a good event but not great. I was happy I did it and would recommend it to runners who love a challenging course and not worried about a PR.

Signed up last minute due to Providence getting cancelled. Course support and aid stations are top notch. Race shirt and medal are awesome. Don't count on a PR here - The first half isn't too tough, with one moderate hill and a few bridge crossings. There's a monster of a hill at the halfway point followed by rollers throughout the 2nd half of the race. But hey, it's Pittsburgh, so hills should be expected. Finish line festivities were awesome with tons of food. One big complaint: The course measured significantly long. My Garmin clocked me at exactly 26.5 miles and everyone else I spoke with had about the same.

There was support for us slower runners and race officials were at the finish line congratulating us and handing out medals. Very participant friendly and I will definitely return.