Philadelphia Marathon comments?

[Lucia]

Has anyone out there ran the Philadelphia Marathon? I'm considering running it to attempt my BQ, but I have some concerns, namely:
1. The full marathon and half marathon start at the same time - not sure if the 1/2 marathoners have their own corrals or what, but I doubt it... so I'm worried that the start will be slow and I'll waste energy passing people around...
2. The early start (7 a.m.) at the end of November in Philadelphia... not sure what the weather is like but I'm worried it'll be a bit too cold (I am typically one of those girls who runs on shorts and a t-shirt when everyone else is wearing tights and long-sleeve shirts, so it's not such a big concern, and I can always wear worn-out clothes to the start line and get rid of them before the start...)

I appreciate your comments!

Lucia

[Sasha Pachev]

Ted Leblow (http://armyrunner.fastrunningblog.com) has run it. He might be away from his e-mail for the next month or so. From what we discussed, it sounds like the problem was quite the opposite - it was too warm.

I have run Richmond. It is not the fastest course in the world, but not a time goal killer.

Beware of the race courses advertised as flat/fast. Almost everybody says they are fast unless a lot of people already know better (e.g New York). But I am yet to see a Berlin/Dubai fast course anywhere in the US that is not aided. Some come close (Chicago), but not quite. Make sure to study the elevation profile in detail.

Since BQ is allowed to achieve on an aided course, the best BQ marathon in the country in my opinion is St. George. I have not seen another marathon that produces faster times. Yet, as aided as St. George is (2500 feet of elevation drop), it still is only 2-3 minutes faster than Berlin/Dubai for a 2:30 marathoner. Most courses in the US are about 2-4 minutes slower than Berlin/Dubai.

Having said the above, I think if you are able to run without injuries by November you should be fit enough to qualify on any course.

[Scott Zincone]

Another "flat marathon" is the OBX Marathon on the Outer Banks of North Carolina.  I am going to make this my 1st marathon this Fall.  But I am not sure if it is a fast course or not.  The description shows a section as "hard packed dirt" and another as "off road conditions."  And of course, whenever you run near the ocean you always have to be concerned about wind strength and direction.  This will be the 3rd year they have held this race.
 
http://obxmarathon.com/site3.aspx

[Maria Imas]

I ran Philadelphia Marathon in 1999. It was my second marathon. At that time it was a great marathon for BQ - not too crowded, nice, (mostly) flat course, out and back. The weather was low 40s at the start, around 50 at the finish. I liked it, especially after humongous crowds of NYC! I did not BQ, but that wasn't my goal then - I was not ready. I ran 3:48 which was a 12 min. PR at the time, so I was very happy.

Now, however, it is a different story. The first year concurrent start with the Half was introduced (was it last year or two years ago?) it was a mess - poor organization, too crowded, problems on the course, problems with baggage retrieval, etc. A lot of people from my NJ club ran it, and afterwards wrote to race director with comlpaints and suggestions. Hopefully, there were some measures taken. The course is still nice, but the concern about crowds and losing time at the start is a legitimate one. My advice would be to go to marathonguide.com and read reviews from last year's race. See what people say and if there were any problems. Then you will be prepared. If you train well, you should be able to dip under 3:40 net time.

[Lucia]

Sasha, thank you for your comments. I'm considering Richmond as well. I don't like to travel too far for races, for different reasons (time change worries, last minute problems, flight cancelations, money, etc.) I'll ask Ted for his comments.

Scott, the OBX sounds great, but I've been reading about it and it may not be ideal for my first BQ attempt... Thanks for the suggestion though and best of luck this fall!

Maria, I appreciate your comments - I've been reading the marathonguide.com reviews and it sounds like my concerns are legitimate. Thank you!

Well, hopefully I'll be able to get a Marine Corps bib transferred and be ready to run then, and if not, maybe I'll do Richmond. Thank you all for your help!