A friend recommended this marathon. She told me it was a bit hilly at the start. I was excited to see that the last 17 miles are flat. It was hilly at the beginning for about 12 miles but the hills were not terrible. We ran through nice neighborhoods and there was good spectator support. The last 8 or so miles were through a park/reservoir - a bit boring but flat!!! Great volunteers and post race food. I actually won my age group!!

I really enjoyed running the Des Moines Marathon.
Pros: Well thought out course: beautiful start running towards the gold domed capitol building as the sun rises, tough hills, but all in the first half, enough water stations filled with attentive volunteers, plenty of GU on course as well as several fresh fruit stands, fun run around the drake track, and EXCELLENT bike support - cyclists had STOCKED panniers with gu, small water bottles, candy and first aid kits, and were easy to find on every portion of the course.
Cons: they ran out of several items at the finish line (bottled water included - and what had been there was in tiny bottles), incorrect information in race program on that guy Dane Rauschenberg (he is NOT the only person to ever run 52 marathons in 52 weeks. come on now), self seeding in corrals had walkers starting WAY too far up, marathon relay is present (and I always hate those).

This is a first-class operation from start to finish, especially the volunteers and the organization. The course is good (a bit hilly at the start but flattens out), the aid stations plentiful. Locals are friendly and the YMCA, where you can clean up for free, is two blocks from the finish. My time was lousy because of poor training, but I will be back when 50 states are in the books (only four left).

Had a absolutely wonderful experience. Very scenic course - trees were in full color. Yes there some pretty challenging hills but they are in the first half. The Full only runs on the Drake Univ. track which was super cool. Half and Full start together so the group is huge (+8000) but the split is at mile 2.5 and then it thins out alot. Nice sized expo, well organized, great volunteers including some on bikes loaded with first aid supplies. Half and Full has pace groups and Half runs the second half of the Full marathon. Finishers party had plenty of warm and cold food and lots of free beer and entertainment. Stay downtown and you won't need a car or pay for taxi's. Be careful what hotel you choose! We picked the Embassy Suites which was listed as a 'marathon hotel' but they absolutely refused anyone having a late checkout. Race starts at 8am and checkout is noonimpossible unless you run a 3hr or less marathon.

The entire course was very pretty and had nice scenery. There was very little spectators in the 2nd half and less entertainment than the 1st half. The expo was nice and small, just enough. The run around Drake Stadium was the most exciting part. The restrooms at the start was the worst part, they were hard to find and get too and then back for the start. Overall, nice marathon for the size and location.

I am sure many people would expect nothing extraordinary from the Marathon in I-O-&where? What a pleasant surprise is this Des Moines Marathon! It was organized perfectly. Even the weather was perfect; I am sure the organizers had something to do with it as well. Lots of water stations, lots of friendly course support volunteers on bikes checking the runners and giving them words of encouragement. The course itself is very beautiful with most of it on forest-like streets of charming suburbs with entire towns out on the street to cheer the runners.

There were small children holding facial tissues, and there were their grandparents playing banjo and tuba, singing the country music. With the scenic course, with such enthusiastic supporters, with lots of great volunteers, lots of water and gels, what else could you ask? I would easily call it one of the best Marathons in the country! Great job!

Fantastic organization. Great fans. A nice average medal. Mucho post race amenities. Excellent course with a nice mix of normal hills and flat stretches. Nice mixture of scenery for a larger city race. No sharing of roads with cars. Great weather this year.

I can't think of a con unless I get picky with small personal preferences such as races beginning earlier such as 7:00 instead of 8:00.

I stayed 15 minutes away at the Wildwood Lodge in Clive, IA and had a 2:00 check out time. This motel\lodge must be a secret because it is the nicest place I've stayed at for any event in a very long time and they still had rooms the week of the race.

Des Moines delivers serious value for your money, especially if you register early. This was the most convenient, best organized & executed road marathon I have run:

Good selection of hotels within 1-2 blocks of the start/finish, close to East Village & Court Ave; good values to be had & easy packet pickup at the expo; well organized [8am] start & finish; abundance of porta-johns both before race & during; high quality cotton, long sleeve shirt; prepared & knowledgeable course marshals/monitors; well staffed race (thank you, volunteers!); well provisioned aid stations & Gu handouts; flavorful local bands along the course, including blue grass, country, rock-n-roll, DJs, & more; lots of opportunity for spectators; medal snobs will love the medal; largest variety of post-race comfort food ever.

The course is point-to-point through city, nice residential, and then wooded/park [paved] trails. A good scenic mix. Although it's all pavement, you can get some miles on grass through the residential sections & next to the paved trail through the park.

I don't think they offered a drop bag service, but the nearby YMCA opens it's locker rooms, gym, & shower to all participants.

This was my first race of marathon distance. It was all I could ask for. Expo was good, with lots of vendors. A number of good pre-race programs with nationally known runners. Start/finish area was laid out logically. An abundance of water and gatorade stops. Multiple Gu stations. Lots of fans and musical entertainment along a beautiful course (although that 2 mile stretch through Water Works Park is a bit of a bore). Lots of food at the end. Great, hefty finishers medals. The only thing out of the organizers' control was the weather and they even nutted that. If you're looking for a great first 26.2 in the midwest, this is probably it.

I would definitely recommend Des Moine for someone looking for a high-quality, low key, runner-friendly race. I am a back-of-the-pack, enjoy the experience runner, and this event met all my needs & wants. There were plenty of porta-johns all along the course, there were frequent aid-stations, all had plenty of water &Gatoraid - did not run out [important for those of us at the end]. Course went through neighborhoods, and there was welcome support from residents. I was offered donuts [declined those] and beer or champagne [took some champagne]. There was live music of all kinds, all along the course. The expo was large enough to enjoy and find anything you might have forgotten, but not so big as to be overwhelming. The pasta dinner was delicious, and even a vegetarian could be happy. Good police support at intersections -[again, important for the slower of us!] and friendly course monitors. Weather could not have been nicer [not under control of the race organizers, but it certainly added to the overall experience]. The pre-race emails keep you informed and get you energized as race day approaches. Results are well organized, and you can print your own finisher certificate [something I personally really like to hang on my wall.]

For anyone who wants a not-too-big, not-too-small, well-organized, good-time race - put DesMoines on your short-list!!