Favorite Marathon AND Best for a Newbie (Read 622 times)

Er, this question is as complex as you want it to be. Everyone has different reasons to like/dislike races. Questions for you: 1. Do you want to travel or not? I don't personally recommend long travel for a first one (higher stress), but lots of people do it. 2. Do want to run in a city or in the country? Or some of both? 3. Are spectators important to you? Or do you know? 4. Do you want to run with a whole bunch of other runners? Or not? Or do you know?

I don't know. I was hoping people would say what THEY loved and WHY.

OK, I'll bite. This is what I wanted: Late enough in the fall that I wouldn't have to deal with heat. Local. An overnight stay was OK, but I wanted the drive to be 2 hours or less. Medium size. I especially didn't want to deal with one of those big city races. Course not overly difficult. I chose Steamtown, and it did not disappoint. The only bad thing, which was not under their control, was that it was unusually warm the day of the race.

my first marathon was chicago in 2001. my fifth marathon was NYC and i truly enjoy the "bigness" of the mega marathons. that being said, this past may i ran greenbay which is much smaller and more intimate, if you will. it was a finely organized race and i was pleasantly surprised by how much i enjoyed it. i heard a lot of people complain that there weren't enough spectators out and there were definitely good mile or two long stretches near the end where a runner wouldn't see a single soul out cheering (basically nothing in between aid stations). this didn't bother me but i could see how that would take a toll on a first timer. that being said, my two cents is to look for a marathon that has a good spectating crowd. it really, truly makes a difference.. for both newbies and veterans alike happy running.

Baltimore. Balmore.

This is an awfully good answer. I'd agree with all of it:

Late enough in the fall that I wouldn't have to deal with heat. Local. An overnight stay was OK, but I wanted the drive to be 2 hours or less. Medium size. I especially didn't want to deal with one of those big city races. Course not overly difficult.

Definitely avoid very hot (or humid) or very cold. So late fall or early spring. I'd pick one where the temps stay in the 40s to 60s. A little cold is better than too hot. Definitely local or close to it. Marathons are stressful. The less travel the first time, the better. (And since I've never done one in New England, I got nuthin for you on specifics.) Definitely medium-sized. Big enough for a little crowd support, not big enough to be over-whelming. And for your first one, you really may want to avoid the big city chaos. You'll have a thousand things to think about (well, you'll think you do, anyway) and you'll be stressing about your shoes and your socks and what you're wearing and did you remember everything and oh my God I ran out of Tri-berry Gu and I hate the Vanilla Bean and where did I put my BodyGlide ...!?!? People tend to tweak out. So having to find your way around a big strange city, at the crack of dawn, maybe looking for parking ... not a good idea. Make the whole process as low-stress as possible. For example, if you are in a strange city, if you can arrange a hotel right at or near the starting line (and a late checkout for after the race), your stress will be significantly lowered. If you're really smart, pick a marathon now and reserve that hotel room for a year from now. That leaves a lot to choose from. Most of it'll depend on your personality.

Hey! I resemble that remark!!

1)Houston. 2)Pick the closest marathon with 2 to 10 thousand people. You might consider CIM if you'll travel out that way.

<newbie> I think obsessor means the California Intl Marathon, held each December in Sacramento. Fast course. Some spectators. Great course size. Famous pacers. A very good race. </newbie>

Baltimore: Good marathon and the city to most likely be shot and killed in.

Does that make you run faster?? (I dunno; I've never run that race)