May 2, 2024
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Manitoba Marathon Runner Comments
Back to Manitoba Marathon Information & Reviews
Course 4.3 
Organization 4.0 
Spectators 3.9
Number of comments: 81 [displaying comments 31 to 41]
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S. T. from Winnipeg, Manitoba
(9/15/2007)
 "Flat, fun, friendly!" (about: 2007)
6-10 previous marathons
| 4-5 Manitoba Marathons
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 I can't understand the negative comments. This is nice event, smoothly organized with no problems that I've ever seen, tons of people, nice flat course.... I've never been on a stretch of road where there were no spectators, and it sure seems to me that the community is there in full force. Of course I'm biased because Winnipeg is my home town, But honestly. Nice course, lots of people, plenty of aid stations, food at the end, no organizational nightmares.... What else could you ask for? I will run this every year. | |
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Bill Diehl-Jones from Winnipeg
(8/2/2007)
 "Good - but could be a GREAT - event" (about: 2007)
11-50 previous marathons
| 6+ Manitoba Marathons
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 2 Okay, I did NOT run the MB Marathon this year, but I have run it several times, previously as either the 3:30 or 3:20 pace bunny. This year I was the "beer bunny" at mile 21 - 22. For the edification of M.B. from Gimli: I had over 120 takers. The responses I got were terrific - even had two people run BACKWARDS for beer shots after they got to River Road. It was a fun thing to do; I got lots of grateful smiles (even laughs), and handing out beer helped ease the sting of being out of the race this year due to injury. On a serious note, I do agree that we need to invest more in the full marathon. The Fargo Marathon has, in a very short time, morphed into an excellent marathon, and has surpassed MB in terms of numbers and spectators. I fear more Manitoba runners doing the full marathon will choose Fargo over Manitoba, owing to better to better medals, better support for participants, etc. Additionally, if the Investor's Full Marathon takes off next year, as is rumored, it will make the numbers for the the MB Marathon decline even further. That would be a shame. It is Manitoba's premiere sports event, at least in terms of overall numbers, but as a full marathon, improvements need to be made. Much, much more could/should be done to promote the marathon. Light standard posters, more media hype, better all-round promotion could also make the full marathon component far better with respect to number of spectators and full participants. My hat is off to the many volunteers: you do great work, and know that the complaints above are not leveled at you. They are matters for the marathon board and its leadership to consider. Cheers. | |
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Geoff Martin from Winnipeg
(7/4/2007)
 "Got to be changes" (about: 2007)
11-50 previous marathons
| 6+ Manitoba Marathons
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 1 FANS: 2 I agree with KV from Winnipeg regarding the marathon. The whole thing is being diluted into a series of nothing events. Pasta party, great. Heavens, we actually had bottled water on the course. Medal for the full and half stank. Must have got them from Cheap Medals.com. I only did the half but loved the volunteers at all the water stops. As usual, the spectators were very sparse. We need music on the course. Also, the food was a fiasco at the end. Don't need to wait for a long time to get not much. I was embarrassed at just how bad the medals were for the finishers in the full. Next year is, if I am correct, the 30th running of the event. In the early days we had race directors who cared about the race and brought in runners from out the country to give it a bit of class. If this race is to go anywhere, the committee should go to Fargo and see how to put on an event. Even see the WPS Half. Much more fun. Also, I feel this marathon is destined to be the same old Mickey Mouse affair that it is until we get a change of leadership, i.e. a runner heading it up. I have participated in this event since '83 and it is going nowhere except down. This race is an embarrassment to Winnipeg and Manitoba. Fewer than 900 full marathoners year in and year out just does not cut it. Please take some of the money you get from the runners and go to the States to see how to put one on. Only the Vegas Marathon is as bad. | |
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K. V. from Winnipeg, Canada
(6/29/2007)
 "Nice family event, but mediocre athletic event" (about: 2007)
4-5 previous marathons
| 2 Manitoba Marathons
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 3 FANS: 5 The Manitoba Marathon is sacrificing quality for quantity. It has a lot of participation in a variety of categories, but no longer draws any elite runners. The course is flat and attractive for the most part. Crowd and volunteer support is quite good. A few quibbles: they now herd the runners past the food pickup area behind the university stadium; if you want to sit in the stands to watch the other finishers (or just sit on something other than grass after the race) or get a dry t-shirt from your drop-off bag, they won't let you back into the food area, where there is no place to sit; and with all of the participants running every distance imaginable, the course gets quite congested. Overall, I would say it is still a good event, but not as good as it was or should be. I ran both the Manitoba 1/2 Marathon and the Winnipeg Police Services (WPS) 1/2 Marathon a month earlier, and the WPS was by far the superior event. Nicer setting, better food, medal and t-shirt, and less of a mob scene. The Manitoba Marathon is definitely worth doing, but is no longer a serious competition or "destination" event. The organizers should stop diluting the marathon with relays and family fun races - there are lots of those events around already. | |
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L. B. from Swan River, MB
(6/26/2007)
 "Kudos to organizers!" (about: 2007)
11-50 previous marathons
| 6+ Manitoba Marathons
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 5 I have now completed 10 MB Half Marathons and really take my hat off to all of the volunteers, spectators, organizers. You have no idea how much it helps to see a smiling face on the sidelines! Keep up the good work! One small hitch - I would like to see your food tables spread out a little more to help cut down the long waiting lines. | |
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B. A. from Winnipeg, Manitoba
(6/20/2007)
"Good race" (about: 2007)
First Marathon
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 3 This was my first marathon and really don't have much to compare it to. The course is a wonderful course, although past experience in the 1/2 marathon and relay has shown me that the last 8 or 9 kilometers can be a problem if the weather is not cool and cloudy, as there is no shade. The volunteers were great, and having the separate finishing area for marathon runners on the field is a nice touch. Registration was no problem online. Volunteer support was great along the course. I was pleased to see that volunteers waited for the last runners to encourage them in and to give them their medals, even though the course had shutdown before the last runners came in. It's unfortunate that there aren't more spectators. I ran the relay in the Fargo Marathon in May and there was huge community support everywhere along the course. I spoke with a run organizer there and was told they send leaflets to everyone living along the route encouraging them to support the runners. Perhaps Manitoba could do something like this. I would do the run again. Thanks for making my first full marathon a memorable one. | |
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J. K. from Toronto, Canada
(6/20/2007)
"Great early summer race" (about: 2007)
11-50 previous marathons
| 1 Manitoba Marathon
COURSE: 3 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 I ran this race for the first time in 2007 and was very impressed. It is remarkably well supported by the community - the fact that many thousands of high school students participate in the relay seems to bring out the parents, grandparents, friends and neighbors. The course was clearly marked and expertly marshaled. And 25 of the 26 aid stations were well staffed by enthusiastic and helpful volunteers. The course is flat - really flat. In fact, it's really, really flat. The organizers say that there are 3 places with an elevation rise of about 10 feet. I will take their word for it but I only noticed one place (at about 7 miles) where I think there might have been that much of an elevation change. Much of the course is run on tree-lined residential streets but the first couple of miles and the last few (in and out of the university) are run on busy through roads with only the curb lane closed to traffic. There is virtually no crown to the roads so even running in the curb lane was not off-camber. The running track at the finish line is world-class and it is a real treat to run the last 200 meters on it. | |
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T. S. from Minnesota, USA
(6/19/2007)
"Flat, fast, friendly, but in need of spectators" (about: 2007)
6-10 previous marathons
| 1 Manitoba Marathon
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 2 Ran this for the first time (my 9th overall). Was well run, well supported at stops, friendly, and overall a good run. My only wish was for more folks watching. The threat of rain might have scared a few folks off... but I wish there were more people along the way. Other than that, it was an enjoyable marathon I would do again. | |
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M. B. from Gimli, Canada
(6/18/2007)
"Beautiful course, great volunteers" (about: 2007)
1 previous marathon
| 1 Manitoba Marathon
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 4 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. | |
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j. d. from alberta
(12/30/2006)
"Great local race, but in need of tweaking" (about: 2006)
6-10 previous marathons
| 2 Manitoba Marathons
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 3 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? |
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