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Apr 29, 2024

University of Okoboji Marathon Runner Comments

Back to University of Okoboji Marathon Information & Reviews

Course 3.6

Organization 3.1

Spectators 2.8

Number of comments: 74 [displaying comments 11 to 21]

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M. M. from New Freedom, PA (7/27/2012) "At least Iowa is off my list!" (about: 2012) 11-50 previous marathons \| 1 University of Okoboji Marathon COURSE: 2 ORGANIZATION: 2 FANS: 3 I could not agree more with KC's comments. This race was poorly organized, and the worst thing to me was the food at the finish. Bananas? That's it? Sort of a cruel joke after running 26.2 miles. Having a bunch of races at the same time sharing parts of the course is also not good, especially when you have to hear 'on your left,' about 100 times from triathletes on bikes passing you. Mentally that makes for a harder race. Having runners in the last mile or so running straight at you on a sidewalk was also not pleasant! I was fortunate enough to come in fourth overall, and to win my age group and the masters division, but I was dismayed to find that the award I received yesterday in the mail was the exact same finisher's medal I received at the finish! That is just very very lame. I would highly recommend any other marathon in Iowa for 50 staters, but at least for me, Iowa is done!!
K. C. from Chicago (7/23/2012) "Don't expect too much" (about: 2012) 11-50 previous marathons COURSE: 3 ORGANIZATION: 1 FANS: 2 Going into this race, I knew this was a small town, low budget race ran at the hottest time of the year. I didn't expect much and didn't get much. First of all, there should be water/Gatorade available at the start. There was not. Asked two volunteers from AllSports where the bathrooms were and they had no clue. Found one at Arnolds park. Later discovered there were some porta johns over by the tri area. If you have to go, make sure you go at the start, because you won't find any on the course. Course is challenging. I love how people like to boast about some races being flat, knowing that the course is not flat. Don't believe them. I wouldn't call it a 'hilly' race because all the hills were small and were not difficult. The challenging part was sheer number of little hills with so many turns. Some of the course is on roads, bike paths, sidewalks, through parking lots, side of a highway. One really needs to pay attention to the 'current' spray painted arrow signs. I did get lost, but thanks to some guy yelling from his balcony I was going the wrong way, I got back on course. Very lonely the first half, then you pick up the half runners, then 10k and tri. Busy at the end. Most aid stations were staffed by one or two volunteers and were self service. I 'expected' most of this based on prior reviews. What I did not expect was the total absence of course marshals. The last 4 miles were dangerous as we had to dodge vehicles who seemed to be getting frustrated. I'm telling you, somebody is going to get hurt. No excuse for this. Race has been going on for 35 years, so don't expect any changes.
S. S. from US (7/21/2012) "Nice course, but difficult course" (about: 2012) 6-10 previous marathons \| 1 University of Okoboji Marathon COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 4 This is a pretty expensive marathon for a small marathon. I think it is because it is in a 'tourist' town (by Iowa standards) during peak season. Also think that it is geared towards getting people into town. For $65 plus fees, you get a pretty course that goes around the lake, water/PowerAde stops about every two miles, a nice tech shirt, and a decent metal. You do not get water before the race or after, though they had PowerAde and Vitamin Water after. The only food they had after was bananas. You start and end at the (mini) amusement park by the lake, so I think the thought is that you can spend money at the local establishments down there. That is true, and I like that type of food, but I didn't bring money for the run and felt like I should have got more for $70 so I decided to skip and bought food outside of town. The course is very tough due to the potentially high heat in Iowa this time of year and because of the numerous rolling hills. I heard several people saying it was the toughest marathon they had ever run. I definitely put it up there as a tough one! The race was well organized, but I was a bit disappointed by the lack of communication by the race staff (even when I tried to contact them before the race) and the lame website for it. The course gets 4 stars because it is pretty, but very difficult. Organization gets 4 stars because it is organized, but I felt the communication could be better and there were some things, like the lack of water before and after the race, that I thought could be improved. Also, there are no course marshals on the course except at the water stops. There are people driving the course and the way they release races in waves helps. Spectators gets 4 because it is very spectator friendly with numerous good places for spectators to watch, but just not enough of them. I think it is neat how they start the marathon at 6 AM, then have the half marathon start at 8 AM at around the 13 mile mark and the 10K start at around 9 AM at about the 20 mile mark. This was fun because you get fresh people coming onto the course as you go.
R. M. from Iowa (5/6/2012) "wonderful first marathon" (about: 2011) 1 previous marathon \| 1 University of Okoboji Marathon COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 3 FANS: 5 I would recommend this marathon to anyone. Expect classic July Iowa heat, but also a beautiful scenic course and race participants from both the marathon and half that are happy to chat for miles. There is poweraide and water every two miles, and in the last six miles, there is water even more often, thanks to resident support. My advice is to take water or poweraide at every station. The last 6 miles were not well marked. I recall seeing two or three 24 mile markers on the pavement. The refreshments at the end of the race are a bit bare, but the finish at the lake makes up for it. This is a wonderful marathon.
T. J. from Madison, WI (4/22/2012) "Lacks organization" (about: 2011) 11-50 previous marathons \| 1 University of Okoboji Marathon COURSE: 3 ORGANIZATION: 1 FANS: 4 I ended up running off course due to the lack of race marshals. It's not fun to run extra distance when the heat index reached 115 degrees.
S. H. from Minneapolis, MN (7/18/2011) "Need more course marshals" (about: 2011) 50+ previous marathons \| 1 University of Okoboji Marathon COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 3 FANS: 4 There are many good things about this race. But I need to focus on the one negative not enough course marshals. There are plenty of turns on this course and the course has been changed over the years. There is spray paint on the road or paths to indicate where a turn is supposed to happen. However, it wasn't always clear if it was new paint or old paint. The first issue was between Mile 4 & 5. I was in the 2nd pack of runners (there were 4 runners running together and then about a 2 minute gap). We were supposed to turn after this bridge and head back to the start/finish area, but the paint on the ground only had a directional arrow for the original way out. So I went straight and brought everyone else with me (i.e., the other 102 marathoners). We added on an additional 1/16th to 1/12th of a mile due to that lack of marshaling. The second point was at the 1/2. Again I was running alone, about 2 minutes behind the lead four and 6 minutes ahead of the next runner. The 1/2 marathoners were congregating around their start area and I had to run through this group. Instead of taking a turn onto a path, which was being blocked by a truck, people and bikers, I took a turn onto Hwy 86. This also added distance to my race. There were a couple of other points where vertical directional signs would have been helpful, rather than spray painted on the ground (between mile 14 & 15; right after Mile 16 at the waterstop on Hwy 86; between mile 18 & 19). But like I said there are a number of great things about this race. The course by the lake is beautiful. The course itself is pretty flat. I'm not sure about the other comments saying the course is challenging, I didn't find it to be challenging, other than dealing with the heat. There was plenty of water & powerade at the aide stations and there were plenty of aide stations. The locals and volunteers were great and well trained (i.e., holding water/gatorade by the bottom of the cup). If they get more volunteers to marshal the turns, this will be a great race.
M. M. from Papillion, NE (11/18/2010) "If you are crazy enough to run a summer marathon" (about: 2010) 11-50 previous marathons \| 1 University of Okoboji Marathon COURSE: 3 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 2 Pros: Small-town marathon Great landowner support around the lake Very nice people and inexpensive local economy Start line at "some dude's mailbox" Finish by the lake. I ran through the finish line, across the adjacent dock and jumped in the lake! Cons: Iowa is hot and humid in the summer. Expect heat in a July marathon. No finisher's medal for our half marathon brothers/sisters.
M. D. from Utah (8/22/2010) "Fun in the Heartland" (about: 2010) 1 previous marathon \| 1 University of Okoboji Marathon COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 3 FANS: 5 This was only my second marathon - and boy it was a challenge, to say the least! The morning wait consisted of moving faster than the skeeters in order to avoid giving an involutary pint of blood. It was very nice that the organizers passed around bug spray for the runners to use. The remote starting point was not organized in advance of the early morning time and appeared to be scrambled together just in time. In my opinion there weren't enough porta-johns along the route; however the humidity factor didn't allow for one to muster the need to use them. The area along Highway 86 needed to have at least one more aid station due to the constant exposure to the sun and probability of high humity and heat this time of year... maybe an earlier start would alleviate this issue. Water/Gatorade and minimal fruit at the finish??? Are you kidding me? Where was the food tent? I think we all earned a little more than a liquid diet. I can't say enough about the medical staff. Experiencing great dehydration, they cared and watched over me for 30 minutes before "allowing" me to leave - thank you for your compassion and professionalism!! The residents and spectators along the last 5 miles of the race were awesome!!! I truly enjoyed and took the opportunity of every offered sprinkler that was pointed in my direction!!! You guys were AWESOME!
m. r. from small town, IA (7/23/2010) "Not for the thin-skinned" (about: 2010) 11-50 previous marathons \| 1 University of Okoboji Marathon COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 4 A test of endurance, really. What else can you expect at a no-frills, summer marathon in the hottest part of the country?! The expo was fine but more of a shopping excursion than an expo... I'd call it more of a "t-shirt and chip pickup" than an expo. My family and I were vacationing in this cute lake community and I decided to run a marathon while we were there. It was just what I expected... except slightly warmer! I passed the ambulance at mile 20 as they were loading an unconscious runner onboard, and I started to realize that the conditions were become harsher than I had ever run in. (I overheard the paramedics state that eight runners had already been taken to the hospital. Considering that only 118 runners finished, the odds were crazy!) Running on blacktop from miles 8 to 18 was what really heated things up for me. There's not a lot they can do about it, though. The roads along the lake were so shaded that their hills weren't even noticeable. It was nice. All in all, it was a nice marathon. You probably shouldn't expect a PR but it was still fun and do-able. There was water and PowerAde at the finish, but that's it. (I had no appetite anyway!) A jump into West Okoboji Lake afterwards was such a nice reward!! Thank you for a solid event with plenty of medical personnel. I think I would run this again....
Tresa Casaletto from Boston (7/20/2010) "Hot & Challenging, but a Good, Barebones Race" (about: 2010) 11-50 previous marathons \| 1 University of Okoboji Marathon COURSE: 3 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 3 This was my second visit to Okoboji. Last time I did the half but this time I did the full marathon and I liked it. Challenging but still a thumbs up. First, I love going to the Three Sons store. Everyone at the store was friendly. I called the store a few days before the race when I was looking for information and they were both humorous and helpful. I looked forward to shopping there after I picked up my packet and I was not disappointed. They have a great selection of sportswear and a wonderful discount area on the second floor. But enough about the shopping; let's talk about the race. This year was tough. The biggest challenge was the heat. The temperature was 94 degrees at my noontime finish. The course has some rolling hills in the first 3-4 miles, which, since the course wraps around, are also the last 3-4 miles. You hit them when you are fresh and you hit them when you are beat. Since I run in New England, these hills were not overwhelming, but they are there. Many parts of the course are without shade and you need to be prepared for this. This year the water stops were ample and had both Gatorade and water. In addition, volunteers drove around the course towards the end, checking with runners to see if they needed water. There is no gel on the course; if you need it, you need to provide it. Another thing not on the course are porta-potties. There are some at the start and some are at the start of the half. If you are a runner likely to need a rest stop, check out the locations of campgrounds along the course. These will be your best bet for a bathroom. One welcome change to the course from my visit in 2007 is that less of the run is on Highway 86. A new walking path makes up part of the course, so you are away from the traffic. There are still some parts where you have to run on the shoulder of the road, but less than before. The course remains open, so you do have to deal with traffic, but the benefit is that, if you have a support crew, they have easy access to you. My friends drove along via motorcycle and provided me with ice at several points before the finish. This was very helpful. So, if you want a hot, summer marathon, this is a great option. The people are friendly, the city is fun, and you will have a ton of bragging rights afterwards.

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