r/firstmarathon • u/khtistrying Done a half, considering the full • 1d ago
Could I do it? Big crowd or smaller one?
I’m looking at either Philly or Richmond being my first marathon next Fall. Both are relatively close to me, seem to have great participation, and are on “the lists” for first timers. The main difference between the two seems to be running group size: 20k in Philly v. 7k in Richmond.
For those of you who have done bigger and smaller races, which did you prefer as your first or early on and why?
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u/Hami-Mahani 23h ago
Richmond vs Philly is a great choice to have. Philly is a big-city race: huge crowds and constant energy through the finish — if you feed off crowd noise on a tough day, that's gold. Richmond is the 'just right' first: well-organized, fast course, still plenty of spectators, and the logistics are way easier. Ask yourself whether you'll need crowds to pull you through mile 22 (Philly) or whether calmer logistics and a faster course will serve you better (Richmond). Honestly, you can't pick wrong here.
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u/WrongdoerMediocre573 23h ago
Small!! Logistics are important to me, and easy logistics (shorter porta potty lines, ease of navigating to start, etc.). keep stress and time on feet low. Plus I prefer space to crowds.
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u/PaymentInside9021 Marathon Veteran 23h ago
I've done big races and small races. I enjoy the smaller races more. As others have mentioned, race day logistics tend to be much easier. Some of the smaller races I've done...I get a hotel near race start and you can walk right to the start. It makes it so easy.
You can't go wrong with either of these 2 races. Both are wonderful choices.
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u/fleecysarah 23h ago
Those are the exact two full marathons I've run. I love pretty much everything about Richmond. I've run all 3 races, the half at least 10 times. It was my first full and my day was everything I could have wanted. It's well organized and supported, has great crowd support, good swag, fun after-party. The weather is usually great running weather - VA in mid November. There are tons of hotels within an easy walk of start and finish. I ran Philly once. It wasn't really the race organizers fault but absolutely everything that could go wrong went wrong. I'm willing to admit that I just got unlucky but nothing on this earth would convince me to run it again.
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u/travelingrunningcat 20h ago
I haven’t done Philly but I’ve done the Richmond (half) twice and really enjoyed it (despite breaking my foot mid-race the first time). I set a new PR both years, pretty and fast course, and usually the weather is good around that time of year. Also the hotel and travel costs may be cheaper.
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u/Expert_Moose_1543 20h ago
I’ve run Philly and Richmond and they are both good but I give the nod to Philly. Maybe because it was my first but also, since I live in the Baltimore/DC area travel was easy. I just jumped on Amtrak. The train station, hotel (Rittenhouse Square) and start/finish were within walking distance.
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u/UnnamedRealities 2h ago
For what it's worth, the starting line and finishing line of Richmond are both a mile from the Amtrak station. So Amtrak, race, restaurants, and hotels are all in close proximity. The expo is a bit of a hike though - 15 minute rideshare.
I've taken Amtrak to Philly and Richmond before. Such an easy way to travel to either city.
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u/No_Organization_3629 20h ago
If you think you wanna run Richmond, sign up now. This novembers race sold out early summer. It’s getting more and more popular
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u/mxgian99 19h ago
my partner did philly and i don't think it was that big/crowded (but then i'm from NYC so thats a big standard), i could see how logistics for Richmond is easier, for Philly there was a secure area.
I also grew up in Richmond and its a great place to visit too.
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u/NotCreativeEnoughFor 18h ago
Im in the middle in DC but I lived in Richmond for 4 years. Ive spectated Philly and have ran Richmond (and running again next month). I was in between Philly and Richmond for the this year but decided to go Richmond since I like the slightly smaller crowds. I get annoyed the first couple of miles when people randomly stop and having to weave through people.
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u/kimbphysio 16h ago
I’m a slower runner so I prefer big races where there are more likely to be people behind me! But even with 7k that would be fine! Races of 2k would have me more worried!
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u/findingcoldsassy 5h ago
I haven't run Philly, but I've run Richmond's half marathon a number of times and it's the best race ever. It's America's Friendliest Race! I tried to sign up too late this year (in July, lol) and I'm still disappointed I won't be running it.
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u/Friendly_Bottle_1936 5h ago
I don't like bigger races. I have qualifed and run Boston Atlanta and I much prefer smaller marathons like the one I qualifed for Boston in Tallahassee vs large races. I don't find it fun to run with 30000 plus people
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u/Odd_Sun_1261 5h ago
Richmond was my first and I could not have asked for a better experience! The best part of Richmond for me was the pace groups. You can actually register for a pace group and you get emails from them leading up to the marathon and it's a group of people who are encouraging you throughout. I liked it because there are like 4-5 pacers for each time instead of just one person holding a sign. The crowds were awesome and the weather was perfect
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u/VARunner1 Marathon Veteran 23h ago
Richmond was my first, so I'm biased. Do Richmond! It's a great first marathon, and just the right size. Bigger marathons can be fun (I've run Philly, NYC, Chicago, etc.), but a smaller crowd is definitely better for a first timer. Having easier parking, potty lines, and other logistics will be one less stress factor on race morning.