This was my first marathon and I was so impressed by its organization. The thousands of volunteers were friendly, energetic and supportive. The course layout through beautiful residential neighbourhoods and spectacular parks helped ease some of the later stage pain. Hopefully the guy offering beer shots around mile 23 had some takers, but I needed to focus on staying vertical. Finishing at the University of Manitoba stadium is a perfect way for friends and family to watch the final moments of all the months of training. This event is highly recommended.

I agree with R.S. from Wpg. regarding the comparison to the Duluth race. Back in the early '80s, MM brought in elite racers like Wataro Sakamoto, Dennis Rinde, Frank Richardson, etc. (all sub 2:20 guys), and together with locals such as Sheldon Reynolds, Greg Gemmel, Bob Walker et al., created a very competitive race within a citizen's race. (Even as little as 15 years ago they had Peter Maher, 3-time Olympian). BUT it is strictly a family affair/citizen's race now. Surely they could muster up some money to get in a dozen fast men and women?

Overall, still a very nice race but a unique touch in 1980 was when they published the names and bib numbers ahead of time as an insert in the newspaper and then fans/family members could follow the racers in their program. I always thought the fan support was lame until I moved to Alberta, and now I often see ZERO fans on a course in Calgary (population 1 million) with 8,000 competitors. Makes me pine for home... it's obvious the organizers have decided to cater to the relay/half-marathon/super run and consequently ignored the marathoners a bit - a far cry from the heady days of 1980 when 5,300 would race the full. Touting the record numbers every year is a bit odd when the total number of 26.2-milers cannot crack 1,000. Why not call it the Manitoba Half Marathon?

I've ran it three times - 2003, 04 & 06. The course is pretty flat (two slight rises) and if the weather holds, it is pretty decent. In 06 it was wet & windy which made it tough in the last stretch.

The only downside is that the full marathon seems to get second rate service compared to the half; but from the organizer's perspective, I guess numbers (and in turn dollars) talk, as there are way more halfers than full runners.

This was my first marathon, so I have nothing to compare it to, but I thought the organizers did a great job. The course is beautiful and since not a lot of people run the full marathon, you don't feel overcrowded.

There were plenty of water stations along the route - and as for the lack of gels, I think most runners have a specific preference; no one wants to try something new on race day anyway!!

I'd strongly recommend more bathrooms at the start. I lined up for at least 1/2 an hour and was pressed to get to the start on time! Maybe have separate bathrooms for full-marathoners, after all we've worked the hardest!!

I would recommend this marathon to anyone. I found it well organized and lots of fun!

The previous writer had some really interesting comments about how to improve the marathon portion of the event. Yes, its true they did not have any gel packs. But every distance runner knows about preparing oneself for long runs. And I also found it kind of gross that the sponges were constantly being recycled in a bucket of water. There was lots of rain as well, but considering that we are running 26.2 miles, I found the weather was cooling and comfortable (I had just run a marathon in 28 degrees C sun, so a little bit of rain and cloud-cover was immensely welcome).

All of the things the previous commentator complained about are minor to me in comparison to the great things about this event. Yes, it does have potential to be a much grander marathon, but let's not forget about the friendly Manitoba aspect of this race. I have run in much, much larger events (40,000 participants for one marathon alone), and while the organization is great, there just isn't anything comparable to that sense of small-town, local community feeling you get from Winnipeggers. I also love the fact that they start the wheelchair race with St. Elmo's Fire and then the marathon with Chariots of Fire. You just don't get that same sort of local feeling you get in bigger races. There definitely are advantages to running world-class marathons, but there're tons of great things to be noted for running small events like the Manitoba Marathon. You get extra long special attention at the massage table. They hand out Safeway popsicles! How cool is that?

The Manitoba Marathon is a bit of a misnomer. The organizers say that they are the 3rd largest marathon event in Canada with 12,715 runners but the reality was that most of those were participating in a 2.6 mile fun run, a 10K walk, a half marathon and a relay. There were only 765 finishers in the marathon. Most of the marathon runners are from Winnipeg and surrounding towns. The organizers seem still firmly entrenched in the 1980's. Despite rain and wind, which made hyperthermia more likely than heat exhaustion, the organizers still had volunteers on the course with trays of ice cubes and thousands of sponges (the rain wasn't enough to keep us wet?) - but no Gels/Gu's and no time clocks. The course is PR-fast with only 3 very minor inclines due to road/bridge overpasses. The marathon finishes in the University of Manitoba PanAm Games Stadium with a beautiful track for the last 250 yards. Marathoners have their own recovery area on the infield, which is nice. The age groups for 40 and 50 year-olds are wrong, or at least different from normal  i.e. 40-45; 46-49; 50-55; 56-59.

The bottom line is that the organizers mainly focus on the whole family set of events to the detriment of the marathon. Winnipeg, with its rich sports history, deserves a true marathon run in late September after a summer of training for the local runners and something which will attract lots of out of town runners to what would be a fast course wherever they lay it out in this prairie city. But please - no 3-legged or sack races. Just a well organized marathon. If Duluth (less than 1/6th the size of Winnipeg) can have a world-class marathon with 7,000 marathon runners that is a great boost to that city's economy and reputation, why can't Winnipeg? Just don't expect it from the current organizers. And yes - I set a PR.

I was in distress, and the medical personnel were on the radio to get me some help very quickly. I was seen by a docter and given an IV. I was taken back to the hospital area in a van loaded with medical stuff and concerned people. Thanks.

This is the 10th time in the last 14 years, that I participated in this event (either half or full). First off, when I got my race packet, the Manitoba Marathon botched my age. Second, they have volunteers who don't know the race time - and when one was asked, he didn't know. He didn't know the time the half started, when the wheelchair event started, nothing!! Needless to say, I was not impressed. Now the start, well I couldn't hear anything from one of the sponsors (Q-94 FM). I was starting to think that this station might have more power to generate, but I guess not. That's what happens when you have a diet rock station co-sponsoring this event. Lastly, at the start, no "runners take your mark," - nothing again, just a gun going off and a bunch of surprised runners startled by the start.

I have some questions: 1. Why are the fees so expensive? 2. Why on earth are the volunteers flown in?? This to me makes no sense whatsoever.

I would highly recommend this race to anyone who likes a beautiful, dynamic race course, with unsurpassed spectators. Love the finish into the stadium. Definitely coming back next year!

I would like to see a course change, as there are much prettier places to run besides down Bishop Grandin and St. Vital Road, why not Assiniboine Park or the Forks!