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Des Moines Marathon Runner Comments
Back to Des Moines Marathon Information & Reviews
Course 4.3 
Organization 4.4 
Spectators 4.1
Number of comments: 295 [displaying comments 281 to 291]
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A Runner from Des Moines, Iowa
(10/8/2002)
 "Simply Marvelous" (about: 2002)
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 The race, the spectators, the course and the day were wonderful. It was my first marathon and I look forward to next year's with great anticipation. One of the highlights for me was the Urbandale Cross Country Team and their rendition of the song 'YMCA' in Water Works Park. | |
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A Runner from Hampton,IL
(10/7/2002)
 "Great first time out." (about: 2002)
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 3 The course is a nice mix of urban and nature running. Nice first time race.Plenty of well stocked aid stations. One improvement would be split timers and same nice mile banners that was at the later miles. | |
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A Runner from Iowa
(10/7/2002)
 "Course, organization and fan support" (about: 2002)
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 Great course except between mile 18 and 24 where you really need the support as there were very few people in the Waterworks Park and Grays Lake areas...any chance to reverse the course and start through those areas? Fan support was fantastic!!! Organization was tremendous!!! This was my first marathon and the organizers made it a very special and memorable event...they even kept the forcasted showers away!! | |
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A Runner from Overland Park, KS
(10/7/2002)
"What a weekend" (about: 2002)
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 Kudos to Des Moines. You guys put on a great race. I ran a PR and qualified for Boston. Can't wait to come back next year. Just don't order up the wind next year... | |
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A Runner from Oklahoma City, OK
(10/7/2002)
 "Low stress and pleasant experiance" (about: 2002)
COURSE: 3 ORGANIZATION: 3 FANS: 3 Des Moines was a beautiful town and the course emphasized the strengths of the city: nice neighborhoods, fun downtown streets and a run through the Water Works Park/Trail run. My complaints seemed to be echoed by those runners I finished with. The mile markers were not always visible. No one I ran with ever even saw mile marker 1. Once I determined what the markers looked like, and ran got out of the commercial streets, they were easier to notice. I missed mile markers 1, 3 and 6. This was a little bothersome as it made it difficult to make sure I had established my pace. The other major complaint I had was the supposed 'runnder friendly' billing this marathon was being given. Although the challenge was welcomed, and the hills were certainly not terrible, the elevation chart on-line was very misrepresentative of the course. Understandably it probably increased attendance, it just seemed to be misleading. There were a great number of large rolling hills in addition to the major hill at mile 7-9. The Oklahoma City Marathon is the only marathon I had run previously, so my opinion is not from experiance of many, but I also thought they could have had just a couple more water spots. Early on the water was scarce. Additionally, the GU hand-off occured immediately following a water spot. This made it difficult to actually use the GU then, leading to me just trying to cram it into my pocket for the next water point. A nice touch OKC had at all of their mile markers was a running clock and/or someone with a watch (with the running time) to give you a heads up to your pace. I was not in great condition at the finish line however I don't actually remember seeing a clock there. The chip timing was nice as well, but no one actually was given the two different times. The only time recorded was the gun-time. We didn't cross the mat to start our individual time, they just all started simultaneously. Weather and people were very nice though. The last 6 miles were definitely tougher with very sparse crowds. The finish line a last mile in the streets was well attended though. | |
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A Runner from Urbandale, IA
(10/7/2002)
"Great Organization, Fantastic Crowd support!" (about: 2002)
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 Beautiful marathon in a beautiful city. The crowd really kept me going! | |
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Bob Dickey from Springfield, MO
(10/7/2002)
"One good Marathon." (General Comments)
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 The course is challenging. The downhill portion in the second half came at a great time. I was able to take 2 minutes off my time as a result of it. This was my 7th marathon and I achieved a PR by 13 minutes over my previous best. The water stations were well stocked. The staff was great! The spectators were enthusiastic! This was a fine marathon. | |
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A Runner from Asheville, NC
(10/7/2002)
"Great course and race organization, great voluntee" (General Comments)
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 2 Overall very well done. Traveled from NC and it was worther the trip. Kidos to race organizers, volunteers! I had only one negative: At one major intersteion, runners were stopped to allow motor vehicle traffic to paass through. I would highly recommend this marathon to anyone interested in running a great course, a reace with excellent support and organization. Just make sure traffic is stopped not the runners. | |
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J.H. from Malvern, PA
(10/7/2002)
 "Great Inaugural Race" (about: 2002)
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 3 When you hear 'inaugural marathon' you might shy away from such a race - way too many potential difficulties to deal with. I'm happy to report this race had no first time problems and was simply a great overall event. The mostly-flat course was a nice blend of urban, residential and parks and the organization was incredibly effecient. Crowd support was decent; I'd expect it will increase in coming years. This is a terrific, medium-sized Midwest marathon that hopefully is here to stay! | |
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A Runner from Des Moines, Iowa
(10/7/2002)
"Tough Course - Great spectators" (about: 2002)
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 4 For my first marathon, I needed all help I could get! The rolling hills were working against me, but the fans of my hometown crowd kept me smiling! The park setting was beautiful for 6 of the final 8 miles, but hard for fans to get to, and that is when I really needed some help! The finish fans did keep me running the final 1.5m and across the line in 3:32! Thanks DSM! |
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