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☰
Lake City Marathon Runner Comments
Back to Lake City Marathon Information & Reviews
Course 3.9 
Organization 4.1 
Spectators 2.8
Number of comments: 30 [displaying comments 21 to 30]
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C. D. from USA
(1/4/2007)
 "Very organized and well run marathon!" (about: 2006)
1 previous marathon
| 1 Lake City Marathon
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 4 This was my rookie marathon and I was pleased to be able to qualify for the Boston Marathon in my first marathon finish. The race director does an awesome job of organizing a quality race. The half-marathon participants started 90 minutes after the marathon start, running the last 13.1 miles of the marathon course. This was extremely helpful and gave people like me (running 26.2 miles) someone to run with in the final stages of the race. | |
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B. F. from Southern IL
(10/4/2006)
 "All-heart, down-home event" (about: 2006)
11-50 previous marathons
| 1 Lake City Marathon
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 2 It was my first time running Warsaw, and it was worth an eight-hour drive, each way. The RD pesonally answered my email. He and his wife made their selves available at the free dinner the night before. Price under $40 is kind to the runners. I also felt a part of the community while there. There were very generous prizes after the race, and excellent post-food. Great volunteers. This race should serve as an example to other races where they charge big bucks and little to show for it. Thanks for it all. Directions to expo site could be better. | |
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c. r. from Michigan
(9/10/2006)
"Great Run!" (about: 2006)
6-10 previous marathons
| 1 Lake City Marathon
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 2 This marathon was very well organized. There was a lot of support and encouragement from the volunteers. The area was beautiful and course flat. Water stations were plentiful. There were several turn-arounds that provided opportunity for camaraderie with the other runners. Great dinner the night before, and having gifts for first-time marathon runners was a great touch. | |
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B. C. from Fort Wayne, IN
(11/11/2005)
"Beautiful, fast, and fun!" (about: 2005)
11-50 previous marathons
| 1 Lake City Marathon
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 2 I thoroughly enjoyed the Lake City Marathon. I have run several courses, both urban (Indy, Cleveland, Mobile) and rural (Ellerbee, Old Mulkey, Smokey Mountain - when it was in Townsend, TN, etc.), but I rank your course and event with the best of them. The variety of neighborhoods, the boardwalk, and the trail, provided a wonderful mixture of terrain and scenery. Several out-and-backs of varying length, instead of one long out-and-back, or even two, gave variety, but with some degree of predictability. The course is not completely flat, and I like that. The course workers who manned the aid stations, and all the workers behind the scenes, deserve great kudos. They did a fantastic job. It appeared that they were few in number, but they did yeoman's work. I especially appreciated the enthusiasm they expressed as we came across the finish line. I didn't take advantage of the early start, so I have no idea of the extra responsibility and work that required, but I'm sure those runners were equally impressed and appreciative. True, there aren't many spectators, but there are plenty of folks running the mini to keep you company, at least for awhile. I typically run alone, so I found it pleasant. Closing off half the road on the far south side of the course was a real class act. There was no birm to run on, and I can't tell you how impressed I was that you went to the trouble (and expense?) to do that for us. I thanked one of the officers, and he was very gracious in his response. The motorists were also polite and patient with us. The post-race packet was wonderful. It included a CD full of pics, printed race results, and a small finish-line photo. A great value-added. The RD returned email, and mile markers will be a top priority next year. I also suggest somebody redesign the artwork on the shirt I plan to return in '06, much better trained, as I believe this is a PR kind of course, and definitely a BQ'er This is already a good marathon, and only a few minor details will make it a great one. By my standards, it's a class act, and a great value for the money. | |
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R. M. from Dothan, Alabama
(10/28/2005)
"I loved it!" (about: 2005)
4-5 previous marathons
| 1 Lake City Marathon
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 2 I ran the half marathon. I ran my 2nd best time even though I had a slightly injured foot. The weather was perfect for a half marathon. After training for this event in the south in the summer, it seemed incredibly cool to me. I grew up in this town so I really wanted to run it and I'm so glad I did. I'll be back next year. The course is very pretty, winding around lakes and through residential neighborhoods. The race director seems like a nice guy and was pleasant to deal with. They need a little more help with mile markers - I never really knew what mile I was on. Port-a-pots promised didn't exist - fortunately at mile 7 I found public restooms at a park on one of the lakes. Running only the half I didn't need gels or fruit - I don't think they had any of those either. They had a tremendous turnout compared to 2004 so I can only imagine 2006 will be even better. I met some interesting people and the whole experience was nice. I'll be there again next year and I'm sure they will work on the markers and course amenities. No fans really - I hope the town gets a little more into it next year with some publicity in the local newspaper. | |
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T. A. from Madison, Wisconsin
(10/3/2005)
"Very good, small-town race" (about: 2005)
4-5 previous marathons
| 1 Lake City Marathon
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 3 I'm very happy I chose this one as my fall marathon. The 6 a.m. start turned out to be a big advantage. The fee was inexpensive and the race served a free pasta dinner. In my 5th marathon, I ran a PR by almost 3 and a half minutes. The first half of the course was easy to follow. The second half was tougher, but I also spent time the day before driving the course and realized we'd be running through some generic subdivisions without much support. The course description also made it clear marathoners would run a half-mile on dirt in woods. I appreciated the considerable shade in the last few miles. With plans for better markings next year, I'd recommend it. | |
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a. l. from chicago
(9/30/2005)
"great race for its size!" (about: 2005)
4-5 previous marathons
| 1 Lake City Marathon
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 2 As other runners said, this race had issues with course markings but the race fee was small and you can't expect the features of a major race at such a small, inexpensive event. The director generously offered tickets to the pasta dinner at no additional cost to any number of your family and friends. Pictures, results and a free dinner in town were also included in the race fee. The town was lovely (many small residential races are very boring and even ugly and depressing). There is also no question that people worked and tried their hardest to put together a fun event. There aren't going to be a lot of fans in a small town for a small race but the people out there were nice and encouraging. The course was reasonably challenging and the weather wasn't windy or too hot. It was one of the more pleasant racing experiences I've had. I could make complaints about every race I?ve run but it's important to take into account the type of marathon you are running and enter it with reasonable expectations. The benefits of running in a small race can be great. While it was hard to know which mile you were running, and there are no split times available, I never got hit, cut off, squished, kicked or slowed down by other runners, and those happened throughout my runs at Boston and Chicago. There weren't long lines to get our race bibs or waiting periods at the start line. Parking was free and nearby and spectators can easily drive through town and follow you for almost the entire route - you never see family and friends that much in a big race. It's a just a different experience. With all the mess and expense a race creates, I am amazed that my race fees ever pay for an event, and in this case, a fee under $40 couldn't be more reasonable. | |
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J. M. from Keller, TX
(9/25/2005)
 "Help With Mile Markers" (about: 2005)
50+ previous marathons
| 1 Lake City Marathon
COURSE: 3 ORGANIZATION: 3 FANS: 3 Typical small-town race, with the typical advantages and disadvantages. Weird course in the respect that it was essentially a series of about six out-and-back 5K courses linked together. The leg of rugged dirt trail late in the race was a cruel surprise. Mile markers were absolutely the worst I've ever seen in 20+ years of running. As mentioned earlier, marked in chalk on the street, some with numbers, others without. I saw 7, 8, 13, 22 and 24, making for interesting splits. | |
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K. T. from Indiana
(9/13/2005)
 "Good Experience, Plenty of Room for Improvement" (about: 2005)
First Marathon
COURSE: 3 ORGANIZATION: 1 FANS: 2 This was my very first marathon, so I can't compare it to other marathons. However, the organization needs some serious help. I understand this is a relatively new event, but some things need to change. First, they advertised a 5 am, 5:30 am and a 6 am start (earlier starts for us slow folks). It was going to be a HOT day so I planned for the 5:30 am start to avoid the roasting sun. I arrived earlier enough to start at 5, but decided to wait until 5:30. Well, at about 5:20 the race director instructs me that the 5:30 start is cancelled because it would be too difficult to manage. That was a bit of problem. The website advertised for water and gatorade stations nearly every mile. This wasn't even CLOSE to reality. In addition they said there would be fruit and power bars and SEVERAL of the aid stations, but there was NONE! I am glad I prepared by pinning some power gels to my shorts. It was entirely too hot to promise food and fruit and not deliver. The course was NOT marked well at all. There were ZERO mile markers! Well, I finished my first marathon in 4 hours 19 minutes, but I feel like the experience could have been with planning. | |
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J. B. from Bloomington, IN
(9/12/2005)
"Very pleasant & well organized" (about: 2005)
11-50 previous marathons
| 1 Lake City Marathon
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 3 I'm the first person to comment on this marathon?! A very nice, low-key race in a small lake community, the Lake City Marathon has a very loopy course which actually plays to its advantage -- there were virtually no dull stretches. The weather was warm, but plenty of water stations with Gatorade kept us on course. The race started at 6:00 am with an option to start earlier, so we couldn't ask for better conditions in Indiana in September. One nitpick -- the mile markers were written in chalk and were barely visible, but I wore a Garmin so I was OK. Other than that, a truly well-organized race in a small, attractive town -- what could be better than that? |
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