ING Georgia Marathon and Half Marathon
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Type: Running
Centennial Olympic Park in the heart of downtown Atlanta
Atlanta, GAUnited States
The staging area for the Start and Finish is in Centennial Olympic Park in the heart of downtown Atlanta. The Start corrals are on Marietta Street adjacent to Centennial Olympic Park. Participants run downtown through Georgia State University, by the Boisfeuillet Jones Atlanta Civic Center, over the Jackson Street bridge with a spectacular skyline view, and into the Martin Luther King Jr Historic District by the house where Dr. King was born. The course continues through the Old Fourth Ward and Inman Park neighborhoods, through eclectic Little 5 Points, on Freedom Parkway by The Carter Center, and through the Poncey-Highland neighborhood where the Half Marathon splits from the Marathon course. Marathon participants continue through the Candler Park neighborhood, on historic Ponce de Leon, under the MARTA tracks onto College Avenue, through the Agnes Scott College campus, by quaint Decatur Square, on the Emory University campus, through the Druid Hills neighborhood past the house featured in the movie Driving Miss Daisy, by the historic Callanwolde Fine Arts Center, and rejoins the Half Marathoners on Highland Avenue. Participants pass through the Virginia-Highland neighborhood, run over the Park Dr bridge into Piedmont Park and exit on 10th Street, run through the Midtown neighborhood on 10th St and Juniper St, cross I-75/I-85 on the 5th St bridge, run through the Georgia Tech campus, and return to downtown via Marietta St to the Finish line where the party begins at Centennial Olympic Park!
http://www.inggeorgiamarathon.com/Home_4.htm
1 comment(s).
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Member
25 days
jmurthatri posted 3 weeks ago.
I ran this course last year as a marathoner. The first 3+ miles are pretty packed, you just have to be paitent (and then you can think negative split). Plan on using the porta-johns prior to the race, because if you need to use them the first few miles, it is going to kill your race time. Men, use the local parks and back alleys at your own peril (homeless and police officers). Also with so many runners in the first few miles packed together, you really need to watch out on the road for drain covers, potholes, medians, etc. I saw a girl between mile two and three trip and face plant because she was not paying attention and tripped into the landscaped median that randomly formed in the road. Race support is great usually sponsored by a different group at each mile (so there are always goodies, my favorite were gummy bears at mile marker #15). Lots of people on the road cheering you on.
The road gets really quiet just after mile 7 because the half marathoners turn left and the marathoners go straight ahead. More elevation in the middle third of the course than anywhere else. Hopefully for the marathoners they either don't do the kids mile at the end this year, or they corral them into their own lane because last year they let them run wild (just as I am finishing my final mile of the race). I have heard word and received emails from ING that they will do a better job of making sure only runners are on the road the last few miles of the course.
Overall a well designed and well run race. Really enjoyed it last year, and I am participating in the 2010 event with many of my friends this year for the half marathon. Hope to see some of you out there
Andy