Latest reviews by Jakob Irwin

(2018)
"Great marathon after boston"
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This race has its ups and downs...literally. But definitely more pros than cons. The biggest negative about this course was the amount of rolling hills! This was a bit of a surprise to me as I was given the impression it was a PR level course and it definitely is not. The hills mixed in with the cobbled stone you have to run in toward the end of the race, does make it a difficult course. With that said, scenery can go a long way and this course does not disappoint!

From the college campus to the shore line running, this course is beautiful. I was also surprised as to how many spectators were out on the course. I never truly felt alone.

The expo is definitely in need of a major upgrade as my master bedroom is bigger than the room this expo was in. Granted I had just ran the Boston marathon three weeks prior which has one of the greatest expos in the country, but still...this expo needed a major upgrade.

The swag is very nice and the medals, though small, were beautiful.

I do highly recommend this race so long as you don’t go in with incredibly high hopes. But it is a good bang for your buck marathon and the city is always worth a visit:-)

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(2018)
"Harsh conditions/iconic race"
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This is one of the most iconic races in America and for good reason. But a lot of your succes is weather permitting. While I was shooting for a 3:05...I ended up nearly walking the last 8 miles due to hypothermia conditions and 30 mile an hour headwind.

With that said, the race itself was still amazing! The expo is the best you can go to in the country without question and the number of supporters on the course despite the weather was truly inspiring!

I think the only flaw was the pre race situation where the tent village was essentially nothing but mud. It made the waiting conditions that much harder. All in all though, I look forward to running this race again!

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(2018)
"Cold but heartwarming"
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Wow! That’s the first reaction as I can honestly say this is the most well organized half marathon I have ever competed in. What discourages runners from this amazing race is the weather. You are running a half marathon in the middle of November in Syracuse, NY...which if you didn’t know, gets the most annual snow fall out of any city in America!!! Fact:-0

But if you can look past the often bitter cold, you will take part in a course that’s runs through downtown Syracuse, has rolling hills, tons of athletes, a fantastic post race expo, the best medals out of any half you will ever run, and staff at every turn it seems like!

Injured, in the snow, on a not so easy course...I ended up running a half marathon PR!

And as mentioned, the post race expo is the best! Live band, large screens that display your time, a finish line replica indoors to take your picture under, tons of free food like pizza, fruits, pancakes, sausage, cookies, chocolate milk, sodas, water, and of course free beer!

I also like that they have an elite runner status that you can qualify for. The top 100 expected runners get a special bib, hotel discounts, and some royalty treatment. I was only 45 spots away from this so I have a goal to work for for next year:-)

My only advice is to make the post race expo last longer. While it’s great for us more competitive runners that get to go in and enjoy it much earlier...by the time some of the first timers, or casual runners finished they were already closing up the expo. They ran out of food, the band was leaving, the vendors were closing up...I saw many sad runners including one of my friends that was highly dissapointed she didn’t get to participate in the post race expo like everyone else, despite spending the most time on the course!

All in all though, fantastic event!

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(2016)
"Flat and fast"
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This race is as advertised! Flat and fast!!! Not much for scenery here and definitely not much for crowd support, but this isn’t a marathon where you should go in expecting these things. This is the course you run as a last minute gasp to qualify for Boston or to simply get a PR in a marathon.

The weather can be unpredictable as any race in the north east can say. But all in all it’s a good course that will give you a fast time.

The expo is pretty decent too. However, the post race events are scarce and quite boring. Don’t expect the world when it comes to this because you won’t get it.

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(2009)
"Fun run in the sun"
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This was a course that was pretty basic in nature. An out and back which I actually like as you then get to see many runners.

The dry heat can be brutal for some but I actually prefer this and tend to run better in it. Plenty of water stations were throughout the course.

I truly hope to make it back out to this run again some day soon:-)

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