Matt Ranalletta's Staging Area

Although this course is technically “net downhill,” the net is only about 300 feet — my Strava recorded that I ascended about 1900 feet, so it’s not as easy as I thought it’d be. I even trained on hills in San Francisco and thought this was a pretty difficult course, especially compared to flat races like Berlin or Chicago. Kind of surprised how many people end up getting personal bests here!

But it’s an extremely organized race (lots of aid stations and porta potties) and I loved running on the wide open roads! Probably the most well planned race outside of my two favorites of NYC and Chicago.

Definitely a race that has been on my bucket list for a while. The start area is quite organized, and I really liked the aid stations, but unfortunately it was extremely crowded the entire course, even more so than Berlin. There are also quite a few turns on the course that I think would be improved if it were straightened out. The swag was also not amazing — we just got an ugly orange shirt. Maybe Covid is to blame, but I definitely had higher expectations for a world marathon major that many people call their favorite. Some bright sides: Crossing Tower Bridge was simply amazing, and the finish line near Buckingham Palace is incredible.

This was my second time running it, and it was even more enjoyable this time around. The hills on the bridges seem difficult for people, but if you do training runs on hills and fuel yourself properly during the race, you’ll be fine.

I think the three different Start Villages are still a bit of a mess organizationally, but I do love that you get free coffee and bagels. And the port-a-potty lines in each village are not that bad compared to other races.

For those choosing between gear check and post-race poncho (I’ve done both), definitely do the poncho if you can swing it. You exit the finish chute faster, and the poncho is super warm and nice! I’ll definitely be keeping it for future races.

For transportation, I recommend choosing the Midtown bus option instead of the ferry + bus option. Both take a super long time (2+ hours), but it’s nicer to have a one-seat ride instead of having to transfer.

Loved the city scenery on the course, although I do I wish it was on all new roads the entire time instead of an out-and-back after the 10k mark.

Start line is very messy and it was hard to even get a spot in the corral, so maybe some additional waves would be better.