Runner Triathlete News [ return ] From Message paul kennedy   1/22/2002 10:29:51 Subject: after race thoughts IP: Logged Message: the race was very well-organized and the new course was wonderful. cutting out the run down san felipe and replacing it with a run through the heights was inspired. on the other hand, the post-race party was not so well organized. i finished in 4 hours and i could tell by the amount of food left that there would be problems for the people finishing over the next hour-and-a-half. my fiancee came in about 45 minutes after i did and had nothing to choose from except muffins and the goodies at the con-agra truck. i just hope that next year whoever is in charge of organizing the food takes into account those slower runners who will need just as much food as the faster ones. Mark Seale   1/22/2002 13:55:59 RE: after race thoughts IP: Logged Message: I have to concur with the above message. I came in around 5 hours, and was met with no water at the designated water table, no one to offer a blanket, or otherwise. I really enjoyed the event overall, the on-course facilities were the best, but finishing and not even getting a direction on where to go left a bitter taste in my mouth. mark   1/22/2002 15:59:53 RE: after race thoughts IP: Logged Message: It's likely the high number of us running the 13.1 had an impact on that. They ran out of finishers medals, I heard after about 1000, which would mean there were close to 2000 more entrants in the 13.1 than originally planned for. If that was truly the case, and they planned food accordingly, then almost 2000 half-marathoners went through the food lines before most of the marathoners finished. If it's any consolation, a whole lot of the half-marathoners who ate your food went home without finisher's medals (I heard they are to be mailed). Speaking for myself, although I tried not to be a pig, I could have survived on less than I ate, and probably should have kept you guys in mind. Sorry. richard   1/22/2002 18:27:24 RE: after race thoughts IP: Logged Message: As a 4:29 finisher, I agree with all the prior messages: course excellent, great volunteers, food situation was miserable. I was fortunate in having stuffed down 5 power gel packets during the marathon and did not feel depleted like in previous years. Maybe handing out coupons to the finishers, or even the entrants, to be given up for food would help the later finishers (1 coupon for half marathoners, 2 for the complete run, or something). But SOMETHING has to be done about it. paul kennedy   1/23/2002 08:03:25 RE: after race thoughts IP: Logged Message: there's no need for the 13.1 milers to apologize for chowing down afterwards -- you guys deserve the food as much as the marathoners. i only hope that the organizers read these comments and plan accordingly next year. Steve   1/24/2002 10:03:33 RE: after race thoughts IP: Logged Message: Agree with others about lack of food for late finishers but this an ongoing problem. There never seems to be enough refreshments left for the back of the pack finishers. I also missed the finishers mug & t-shirt area at GRB, why can't this be moved to runner's only area? Plenty of room & less likly for tired runners to miss. JoAnn   1/24/2002 13:26:10 RE: after race thoughts IP: Logged Message: I ran the marathon last year and wasn't aware that there was so much food at the finish until this year when I ran the half. It is a problem that they run out of food so soon, the issue does need to be addressed. I think that they need to have tickets which would control the amount of food that a person recieves. I was VERY DISAPPOINTED that they ran out of finishers medals, and I wasn't even close to the back of the pack. We'll see if they actually mail us the medals. However the biggest disappointment was to see last years medals and finisher mugs on sale this year. I worked very hard to earn those items and it really cheapened the experience! Hate to complain more but I had to pay $10.00 for my finishers shirt. Guess I should have waited until this year to buy it for $2.00! P 1

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