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May 16, 2024

Mount Desert Island marathon Runner Comments

Back to Mount Desert Island marathon Information & Reviews

Course 4.8

Organization 4.8

Spectators 4.1

Number of comments: 155 [displaying comments 121 to 131]

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K. B. from NY, NY (10/19/2006) "similar to the B.A.A. I think" (about: 2006) 6-10 previous marathons COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 I've run the Boston Marathon and now most of the Mt. Desert Island Marathon (I strained my foot a few days before the race and ran 20 miles hard and then the last six easy and didn't cross the finish line). I think the B.A.A and the M.D.I. courses are remarkably similar in difficulty. The hills in Boston are in different places than on this course but the net difficulty seems about the same. This is the best organized small-town marathon I've attended. It is a real runner's race. I felt in safe hands with the volunteers and organizers and it might be the most beautiful place I've ever run.
P. T. from MN (10/19/2006) "Awesome location; tough, scenic course." (about: 2006) 11-50 previous marathons \| 1 Mount Desert Island marathon COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 3 My wife and I flew out from MN for this marathon on Sat. and stayed in downtown Bar Harbor at a B&B. Sunday morning we dressed and walked about a 100 yards to the starting line. The weather was perfect, 39 degrees, sunny and 10 mph wind at the start (and 50's at the finish). The course was hilly from beginning to end. But, without a doubt, the most spectacular of any we've done. The Bar Harbor/Acadia National Park area in Oct. is stunning. We spent some time Monday/Tuesday hiking, sightseeing, etc. On Wed., with our souls soothed, we returned to MN.
L. B. from Rhode Island, U.S.A. (10/17/2006) "Well worth the drive and effort" (about: 2006) 3 previous marathons COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 4 For a small-town marathon, this race gives its all. Local charm, beautiful scenery (the best I've seen), great organization, and amazing crowd support, even though it's thin at times. I've never felt more welcome in New England than at this race. You will appreciate a well-marked, thought-out course, a terrific finish with food, massages, and showers, and the greatest challenge a race can give you. I would do it again but next time I would most definitely train every long run on hills... there's no avoiding them!
P. C. from Newton, MA (10/16/2006) "Fantastic, challenging course" (about: 2006) 11-50 previous marathons \| 1 Mount Desert Island marathon COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 4 Very challenging course but the superb organization and sublime scenery more than made up for the occasionally daunting climbs. The course desciption and tips on the website were excellent and I credit them substantially for my pretty good result. Very glad I drove the course the day before to really soak up the splendor.
R. M. from Old Town Maine (10/16/2006) "MDI Marathon Exceeds Expectations" (about: 2006) 11-50 previous marathons \| 1 Mount Desert Island marathon COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 3 The Mount Desert Island Marathon course is awesome. I normally do not take much interest in the scenery in a marathon but running this course you have no choice. The numerous mountains, ocean views, lake views, quaint villages and foliage seen during this race were as good as it gets. I was concerned vehicle traffic may be an issue because most of the roads were open. The flat shoulders on these roads were much better than any that I train on and all tight areas were coned off to keep marathoners segregated from vehicle traffic. The majority of the vehicle traffic was filled with cars cheering marathoners along. This is the first marathon I have done with walkers getting a one-hour early start and I liked this format. I enjoyed cheering for and receiving cheers from the early starters. The spectators lining the course were not like many of the big-time marathons, but I swear I could hear screaming fans from a mile away at several points. This reminded me of others memorable moments such as getting close to Wellesley College at Boston and entering Manhattan at NYC's 1st Avenue. Yes, this course is tough, and now I feel tough for having conquered it. Thank you very much to the race organizers and the volunteers for a job well done. Put this marathon on your calendar for next fall.
J. K. from Massachusetts (10/15/2006) "Awesome" (about: 2006) 1 previous marathon COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 5 This is an amazing marathon. Small-town charm with excellent course, mile markers, water/Gu, spectators, views, timing services, massages, t-shirts, and most of all hills. The hills were a brutal assault on the mind. However, if you train you can conquer this marathon easily. I didn't start to lock up until 23-24 and by that time I had enough in the bank to qualify for Boston. Just a great race in a great location. Now it's time to hike to the top of Cadillac Mnt.
D. P. from Milwaukee, WI (11/21/2005) "Check off your marathon for Maine with this one" (about: 2005) 11-50 previous marathons \| 1 Mount Desert Island marathon COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 4 Beautiful fall colors, coastlines, harbors, etc. You don't notice the long hills when you have all that beautiful scenery to soak in. I made a week vacation of this and stopped at places along the coast before finishing in Bar Harbor for the last 3 days, but you could easily spend a few days just hiking around Acadia National Park. Pasta feed was good, and guest speaker Dick Beardsley was entertaining even to my non-running girlfriend. Could have provided perhaps a little more food post-race (like more stuff with blueberries - it's Maine after all). The 10-minute massage times were enforced by changing tables en masse. (Fair way to do it, but I would have preferred 15 minutes or more - who wouldn't?) Beautiful awards for the top finishers in each age group. T-shirt and medal design were very attractive (good enough that they just change the year number and keep everything else the same). Odd thing about this race: They let walkers start 1 hour before the marathoners on the same course. This did not present a problem, and it was kind of interesting to see how far some of them got before I passed them.
John Damen from Cambridge, MA (10/19/2005) "Challenging Beautiful Course" (about: 2005) 4-5 previous marathons \| 1 Mount Desert Island marathon COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 This was one of the most enjoyable races I've ever completed. My time was about 15 minutes slower than my previous marathon (3:05) but given the size and frequency of the hills I'm not too disappointed with the result. This is definitely a very challenging race, even more so if you do not train sufficiently on hills, and not a marathon someone should use to try to qualify for Boston. The overall weekend was fantastic. Every aspect of the race from the expo to the showers at the finish was well run. Acadia National Park is beautiful even during the rain and all the residents on MDI were extremely nice and helpful. We are already looking forward to a great weekend getaway next October. I would definitely recommend this race to someone who is looking for a challenging, beautiful, relaxed, well run marathon and who is not most concerned about their finishing time.
D. I. from Gainesville, Florida (10/19/2005) "Challenging, but OUTRAGEOUS scenery" (about: 2005) 3 previous marathons \| 1 Mount Desert Island marathon COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 Simply a fantastic experience. The scenery is INCREDIBLE.... Truly beautiful. Gary (race director) is very 'hands-on' and organized. The course was hilly, but I completed the marathon as a walker without difficulty. The weather was chilly for my southern bones, but it was all part of the experience. The Acadia National Park was beautiful.... The ocean vistas were stunning. Supporters were encouraging and helpful. The course was VERY WELL MARKED. The pasta dinner was actually very good.... And Dick Beardsley spoke. How could you go wrong!? Don't miss this fabulous marathon opportunity. Thanks, Gary and all, for an incredible journey!
J. R. from Arkansas (10/19/2005) "Great race - bad weather" (about: 2005) 1 previous marathon \| 1 Mount Desert Island marathon COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 3 This was my 1st marathon and MDI was a terrific challenge. The race was VERY well organized and the staff were the best. The weather did not cooperate with downpours of rain and gale winds. The crowd support is almost non-existent but the people who were there were awesome. Plenty of hills to traverse and when you finish you know you've made a great accomplishment.

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