Thank you for a great day - everyone was very nice and the volunteers were wonderful. I will also mention that the traffic control was great. Without all of the support, the runners can't do it. Providence, Pawtucket, Cranston and East Providence - you should be very proud!

I ran the full and finished a little faster than I thought - that is always good. There were more hills than I would like (but who wouldn't say that?).

Also--I just found this blog in the last few days and I love it! We have lots of great races here in southeastern CT, too, but it is great to keep up with our neighbors.

A very well run race (no pun intended), especially considering it was the first year of it!! I applaud the everyone involved in the logistics who helped make things go as smooth as possible!

I plan on being back next year as there's definitely room for me to improve!!

thanks for a great event!

I ran the half marathon yesterday, and the race itself was a major disappointment. The race could not control the weather, but other aspects were poorly planned. I was rudely kicked out of a building at Johnson & Wales, and sent outside in the rain where there were only 15 portable toilets for far too many runners. Some of the waterstops did not have any water, which is inexcusable given that it wasn't that hot, and there could not been that many more runners than anticipated. The course itself provided a good way to see the city, but did it have to include two strip clubs? In short, there are many half marathons within driving distance, and I won't be back. It's a shame that a city such as Providence which has come so far does not have a first class running event.

I am so excited finishing my first marathon. I couldn't believe when the rain started at the beginning yet stopped and never came back, the race was truly blessed.
I think the best things about the race were the 100's of volunteers that were on the route along the way, phenomenal job with support, traffic control, medical assistance and water/gatorade stops. Thank you, Thank you!!
The route definitely challenging at certain spots, (Can we all say HILL at the end of the bike path and also around mile 20 WOW)but it definitely had some dessert downhills with some of the uphills and overall I found it interesting and helpful for the psyche.
The thing I would change is the start for the 3 races. The race definitely lost its climatic ending with the 5K and 1/2 finishing far ahead of the marathoners. It would have been nicer to have a bigger crowd at the end for all to celebrate together. I think more would have stayed around if there was not such a time lag between all 3 finshes.
Great first marathon for Providence and for me!

Overall the race was fun, for a rainy day there were a ton of spectators. The volunteers were great, too.

Three big downsides: Traffic was out of control on North Main and the folks in cars were not happy. There wasn't enough police to keep the cars from darting in front of runners.

The second is that most of the water stations were out of water by the time the slower folks got to them. To run out of water is unacceptable in my book. The method of handing out the small bottles was a poor choice as most were half full on the ground.

Finally too many runners in headphones. It's dangerous when on a busy street like North Main, but more so, you miss out on the great spectators who are there to cheer you on.

I never had to slow down once for car traffic along the half marathon course. I liked the race packet booklet with directions and maps as well as the shirt and the medal with the state house on the back. Food and drinks at the end of the half race was good and plentyful. The half and full marathon split at the 8.2 mile mark was very clear. Never thought I would see a marathon through my home town Riverside, very cool.
Hope it is an annual event!

The event organizers were outstanding. Running in the rain can be a blessing for runners...working in the rain with a smile on ones face takes heart. Thank you Cox and Thank You Eident

I really enjoyed the race, and thought it went really well. There are definitely some areas where there can be improvements, but I really had very little to complain about.

You can read my entire race report at: http://news.runtowin.com/2008/05/06/cox-marathon.html

At nearly 6000 words, I figured that I probably shouldn't cut and paste the entire thing into here.

It's great to have a half marathon in your backyard. I wanted to run the marathon, but an injury screwed up my training routine. Great volunteers - thanks so much for donating your valuable time. I didn't have the water stop issues, but I was in the first 10% of the half. I'd definitely come back, but here's a few observations:

Water Stops - Plastic cups are terrible. You can't crimp and carry, and you lose a lot between the movement and the drinking. Paper cups are much better and probably cheaper.

Mile Markers - Mile 10 was short and mile 11 was long.

Elevation - Pre-race information had a max elevation of about 150 feet, and my garmin had 426 feet. Kind of a big difference. There was a major elevation climb during mile 6 and also 9 that matched the pre-race information, but the elevations were way off.

Start Line Etiquette - Consider putting up pace markers. People who are running 9:30s/10s per mile should not be right at the start line. If you put poles up that have 6 min/mi, 7 min/mi, etc signs on them every 25 or 50 feet, this lets people know where they should be at the start line. The Boston Half in October does this and it works well. Harborside Blvd is uphill and way too congested with people who should not have been in the front 20% to begin with.

Given that I ran a half marathon in Buffalo last year, I dig the local nature of the race, and I'm sure it will be even better next year.

The rain was not a problem, it was light and quick in the beginning of the run. Newsflash - whether it's raining or not on a run, you are getting wet. Think about it.

It was my first 5K and I thought it was organized very well, considering it ws the inaugural year, and the downpour that ensued. The course was well laid out (even though the map they handed out before the race differed from the actual course near the end of the 5K), but my only real complaint was the lack of mile markers along the route. I know it's only 3.1 miles, but for novice runners (like myself), it would have helped to know how far along we were and how far we still ahd to go, which may have made for better times overall. otherwise, a great day and I look forward to next year's.

The race was fun and the volunteers were great. However, I think the Johnson and Wales sponsors ruined the overall experience. I don't understand why the runners were treated so poorly by these "sponsors". To put it nicely, the INCREDIBLY RUDE security guards kicked everyone out of the building about 45 minutes before the race started. I don't understand why we were kicked out of the building to stand around in the cold and rainy weather. It is really unfortunate, because other than that, I'd say it was a great race.

Great race! RI people are awesome! I flew up from FL to run - well and to see some friends and family. My family got to see me at 4 different spots along the route. This is the first really small marathon I've done and it was great. I thought I would be running alone at my pace but there were really nice runners all around. I knew people would complain about the buildings. It's really not the fault of the directors. It was nice that we could use the buildings for a bit and use real bathrooms. We were only kicked out less than a half hour before the race. That gives you some time to warm up. The hills were pretty intense for a FL girl, but isn't a marathon supposed to be challenging? Yes - I agree that hill at mile 20 was INSANE!!! Awesome job guys!!!! I hope more people run it next year and keep this going.

I ran the half and really enjoyed the race. So many spectators on the course - it was great! The volunteers were excellent! Coming into the finish area was so exhilerating - so much crowd support. One spectator said they wished there had been an announcer at the finish area so that you knew who was coming in and could cheer them on. Overall experience was excellent! Great effort for such a huge event!

I ran the Half Marathon and found everything to be fantastic. Being my first half marathon I really didn't know what to expect. Sure they ran out of water on Pitman Street but hey that happens. There was plenty at the next stop. I thought the volunteers were fabulous, traffic control by all the local police departments outstanding, mile markers clear, though after mile 10 or 11 it was hard to know where I was.
I do think environmentally, paper cups would be better. Also don't hand off the entire bottle of water/gatorade. So wasteful. I was handed an 8 oz bottle of water only to be thrown away on Blackstone Blvd due to no cap was attached.
I do think that next year maybe the 5K could be done at a later time. My husband ran the 5K then really didn't have much to do until I finished.

I thought the band was great after the race however, honestly, we didn't hang around long due to I really had to get out of my wet clothes ASAP.

I will most certainly be back next year when it will bigger and better than ever.

Sincere thanks for an unforgettable experience.

Great race. Very well organized. I enjoyed every single mile; from 1 to 26. I broke my personal record. A lot of supporters around the entire race. Thanks to the organization for a great time and for the people of Providence for their support.