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Apr 29, 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 31 to 41]

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L. G. from Maryland, USA (10/16/2012) "One of my favorites!" (about: 2012) 50+ previous marathons \| 1 Mount Desert Island marathon COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 Although this was one of the harder marathon courses I have run and the weather was not cooperative, I still had a great experience! I highly recommend this race! The fall foliage and beautiful course were amazing. I am looking forward to returning. Do not let the thought of hills deter you from this marathon. The race director and volunteers did a great job. I loved the windbreaker we received instead of a shirt. Everything was well organized from packet pick up to transporting runners back into Bar Harbor after the race. There were not a lot of spectators, but considering the weather, the people that did come to cheer were wonderful. Bar Harbor was a nice town to visit, with lots of good places to eat and lots of shops. If you like to run marathons, this race is a real treat. Do not miss it!! I rarely repeat marathons, but this one is well worth the trip back to Maine!
R. W. from Boston, MA (10/16/2012) "Up and over the hills!" (about: 2012) 2 previous marathons \| 1 Mount Desert Island marathon COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 4 This was my second marathon, and I loved it! The course is beautiful. It is hilly, and the rain/wind/hills that picked up for the final 10K made it a challenge, but it was so worth it. The fall colors, sweeping vistas, and ocean views were breathtaking. There are many areas with no spectators (expected for a race with 1200 people) but when you get to the spectator areas, they are full of energy. The volunteers at water stop mile 24 were great. Only 2 things I would change - First, we stayed at the host hotel, but they did not offer late check out for marathoners! So 'bring a towel in your post-race gear. They provide showers post-race, which were hot and clean. Second, much of the course is not fully closed to traffic. This was completely fine due to wide roads, up until the last mile or so where traffic goes both ways on a narrow road. Several times I had to jump up on the sidewalk to avoid cars (NOT too fun with half a mile to go!). With about .2 to go, police were actually directing cars turning across the course! Besides those small issues, it is an amazing marathon and I would absolutely do it again.
john carboni from schenectady ny (10/16/2012) "I want to do it again!" (about: 2012) 11-50 previous marathons \| 1 Mount Desert Island marathon COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 If there are other marathons that try to do everything to please like this one does, I haven't found it yet. Great effort by the people putting on the race, nice hilly tough course, beautifull scenery, nice resort area in peak color with many fine places to eat and visit good value, friendliest people!
W. C. from Rochester NY (10/16/2012) "A lovely course worth putting on your TO Do list!" (about: 2012) 6-10 previous marathons \| 1 Mount Desert Island marathon COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 4 Yes, there are hills! But if you train properly, the hills are not nearly as daunting as some people proclaim them to be. Pace yourself wisely and the hills are a non-issue. Plus, the beauty of the surrounding area is a marvelous distraction for when those hills get tough. In my opinion, 1200 runners is the perfect race size ... not crowded, but enough positive energy around to keep one happily moving forward. Race director Gary is a great guy, and his team of volunteers are awesome. Smallish but nice expo, and a great race jacket - nice change from the usual t-shirt. 2012 was rainy, but it didn't deter from a great experience. Bonus, Bar Harbor is an amazing little town, full of fun shops and delicious restaurants.
D. S. from Maryland (10/15/2012) "Amazing course!" (about: 2012) 4-5 previous marathons COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 4 This course is tough. There are hills throughout the course and there's a long hill until mile 25. That said, I didn't just beat my PR, I blew it out of the water! The views along the course are amazing. You'll come around a bend and see sweeping vistas. The fall colors were also out in force. You will always have something to look at while you're running. The spectators were great for a small marathon. There are lots of areas where there are none, but you should expect that of a marathon this size. Plus you are too busy looking out at the fall colors, ocean, and lakes. My husband was able to see me along the course by following the directions in the spectator guide. He said the directions from one area to another were extremely helpful and made it easy to get from one place to another. The streets aren't all closed to vehicular traffic, so at points there is traffic along the route. I was concerned about this since this would be the first time running a race with cars driving by. However, I didn't have any problems. I was given enough room . Plus passing people (and being passed) was no problem. 2012 was a cold and rainy year, but it was still a great time. I would highly recommend this course to everyone!
L. A. from Charleston, SC (10/15/2012) "Beautiful hilly course with great crowds-weather?" (about: 2012) 11-50 previous marathons \| 1 Mount Desert Island marathon COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 5 The weather was cool (40s) and it rained the whole time. However, the course was beautiful and the spectator support was great, especially given the weather. The course was definitely HILLY with areas of flat terrain. The finishers medal was rather lame, though (how about using the shape of the island itself rather than just 2012 in big letters). Could use more shuttles after the run.
J. V. from Philadelphia, PA (10/15/2012) "Amazing Scenery, Great Organization, Hills!" (about: 2012) 6-10 previous marathons \| 1 Mount Desert Island marathon COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 2 Awesome race. One of my favorites. Small town feel. 2012 was rainy and cloudy, but scenery was still excellent. Fall colors are vibrant regardless of weather. Parts of course are run on highway with some traffic, which is less than ideal but really no way to find alternative I'd assume. Much of the road is crowned, so I had to be intentional about finding patches where the road was even. Hills are killer, you'd better train for them. My 3:28 here would be more like a 3:20 on a flatter course. But it's well worth it! Organization was very strong, good communication before the race. No problem parking at start or finish. Water stops were slightly confusing, would be good to have water in front and Gatorade in back, or vice versa (they were mixed in some stops). Solid food selection at end, plus massage, indoor warming, free single beer. Musician in the BBQ tent was awesome. Jacket was a good change of pace instead of a shirt. Runners: heed their warnings about it running large. Very nice medal. Overall, an excellent race, definitely a bucket lister. Bar Harbor is a great host. Lots of hotels, and Acadia is a great place to check out. I loved this race on a cold and rainy year... imagine what it's like when the weather is incredible!
J. H. from florida (11/16/2011) "Beautiful race, great destination marathon" (about: 2011) 6-10 previous marathons COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 4 Well organized race. Only gave the course 4 stars because of the traffic at the end of the race. Can't beat the scenery. Bar Harbour is a great place to visit for a marathon.
Lisa Schneiders from Fallston, MD (11/8/2011) "Beautiful!" (about: 2011) 11-50 previous marathons \| 1 Mount Desert Island marathon COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 3 FANS: 5 Beautiful course! Excellent spectators! Thank you ladies at mile 24 for letting me hula-hoop with you! As far as hills go, NOTHING compares to Vermont which I just ran in July so to me there were NO hills in Bar Harbor! I would have liked to see more port-o-pots and more hotel info on the website. There were so many hotels in town and I would have liked to have been closer to the action.
E. J. from Georgia (10/25/2011) "Utterly beautiful with lots of rolling hills!" (about: 2011) 11-50 previous marathons \| 1 Mount Desert Island marathon COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 4 As everyone else has stated, this is an amazingly beautiful course. It's definitely a must do for all 50 staters and any New England marathoners! If I lived closer I'd do it annually! Only rated the spectators 4 stars b/c they were only permitted in a few limited locations on the course. However, in the locations they were present they were outstanding! Now an important note for those of you that 1. fly to the event and 2. place at this event. The award I received was a large piece of granite. If you take the award through security with you on your way back home be prepared to have your bags/person searched. When they swabbed my award to check for explosives it came up positive. Anything that came in contact with the award in my luggage also came up positive for the residue. This caused quite a delay getting through security. So either put the award in your checked luggage, mail the award home in a flat rate box to save yourself the hassle of getting through security with the award or just leave extra early before your flight so you have time to enjoy the body cavity search without the worry of missing your flight. :o)

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