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May 3, 2024

Indianapolis Monumental Marathon Runner Comments

Back to Indianapolis Monumental Marathon Information & Reviews

Course 4.6

Organization 4.5

Spectators 3.8

Number of comments: 214 [displaying comments 21 to 31]

More Comments: [ < 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 .. 22 > ]

R. K. from MO (11/4/2018) "To date: My Favorite Marathon" (about: 2018) 3 previous marathons \| 1 Indianapolis Monumental Marathon COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 4 So far, this is my favorite marathon - loved Indianapolis! Pros: Great course for a PR! The course is fairly flat, and you do pass some great sites. Packet pick-up was well organized (for the size of the race, there could have been more expo vendors). Each mile is clearly marked. Good amount of spectators cheering you on and great volunteer support. Cons: There are some very uneven road surfaces on the course. Even with a wave start, the first miles are very congested (added an extra .22 miles to my Garmin having to dodge around so many people). There were several cross roads where cars pulled out in front of the runners. *NEED MORE PORTA-POTTIES ALONG THE COURSE - There was always a line of people waiting to use them along the course :(
K. M. from IN (12/12/2017) "Fast course, good time of year to race" (about: 2017) 3 previous marathons \| 1 Indianapolis Monumental Marathon COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 3 My fastest marathon to date. You get a great tour of the city with the course, which is almost entirely flat. Plus the time of year is pretty much perfect for fast racing, 40s-50s most years.
B. B. from Pittsburgh, Pa (11/8/2017) "Solid race in a very nice city" (about: 2017) 50+ previous marathons \| 1 Indianapolis Monumental Marathon COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 3 Generally a very good race with good organization. My only major complaint was an extremely congested starting area. Fortunately, I was still able to get into a decent pace quickly. A scenic course, particularly through the downtown sections. Very nice finish area near the capitol. Mostly flat course with a few not very steep hills. Great swag with a nice t-shirt, medal, and beanie and plenty of food, including chocolate milk. Very good race. After the race enjoy a cold one at either Bier Brewing or Metazoa Brewing Co.
J. G. from Ohio (11/8/2017) "Great course with easy access from Downtown Hotels" (about: 2017) 6-10 previous marathons \| 3 Indianapolis Monumental Marathons COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 4 Fast course with reliably great running weather. Great to roll out of the hotel 20 min prior to the start. Corral system needs to be enforced, but no other complaints. Love this race!
J. S. from Minneapolis, MN (11/7/2017) "Flat course and well organized." (about: 2017) 11-50 previous marathons \| 1 Indianapolis Monumental Marathon COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 4 This race was 99% good. The best things were: the really flat course, the good separation of marathon & half (the halfers didn't get in my way), starting & finishing so close to hotels, the pasta dinner and the overall organization. The things that were just 'okay' were the crowd support, the number/distribution of porta-potties along the course and the look of the medal. The only real negatives were a lot of potholes on the course, running on a very slanted road most of the course and not very good traffic control (3 times I saw cars drive across the course with no traffic control - nearly hitting runners).
s. h. from Louisville, KY (11/7/2017) "Big city appeal with ease" (about: 2017) 4-5 previous marathons \| 1 Indianapolis Monumental Marathon COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 5 Great race, probably the best of my five. Attractive course pairing downtown Indianapolis's monuments with pleasant runs through old-money neighborhoods and parkland. Very flat with only a couple minor hills. PROS: Well-integrated logistics on booking hotel and parking. Easy to get in and out of downtown and race day and easy for family spectators to get to multiple points on course. Nice to have the convention center open before the race to stay warm before heading to the start line. Attractive, well-staffed course that one could set a PR or BQ on. Good spectator support downtown and in the neighborhoods. CON: Only complaint was the convention center could've easily opened more restrooms beforehand. Lines inside got very long in the hour before the start, though port-a-lets were available closer to the start line.
R. V. from Mission Viejo, CA (11/6/2017) "Well organized & Easy logistics" (about: 2017) 50+ previous marathons \| 1 Indianapolis Monumental Marathon COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 Overall very well organized - didnt find a hiccup with anything related to the race. They started right on time, well marked course with enthusiastic volunteers and folks along the way making sure you didn't miss a turn or even have to think about which way to go. More than ample aid stations that were well staffed and well stocked. Great job by the volunteers!! Great crowd support, bands, cheering sections etc. to help get you through the tough miles late in the race. Super well organized finish area with plenty of snacks, cookies, water, chocolate milk. Plenty of post race pizza and a nice tent to sit. Super easy getting around with everything right downtown I literally walked out of the Embassy Suites hotel and around the corner to the start, the finish was a block away and the expo just down the street. The hotel was super convenient and they were kind enough to let me back in my room to shower and change after. As you would expect with any large race there is a little congestion at the start. The only crazy part was where the marathon & 1/2 marathoners came together the last few miles. It definitely kept you on your toes as there was the need to dodge in and out in a few places. Traffic wasn't an issue and public safety officials had given thought to several key areas, blocking access with city busses, etc. Overall a great experience. Thanks to the race team for getting me off the waiting list and in to the race and thanks for doing it so quickly.
t. y. from iowa (11/5/2017) "flat, fast and very, very well organized" (about: 2017) 11-50 previous marathons \| 1 Indianapolis Monumental Marathon COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 3 This race has grown quickly from positive word-of-mouth and the organizers deserve the credit for that. Packet pick-up is a breeze at the massive exhibition center, which also then is open before the race as a warm place to use restrooms and stretch out before walking a block to the starting point. The post-race food is the best I've ever experienced - chips, chocolate milk, fruit, pizza (Between this and the on-course food, a person could possibly run this race and gain weight). Parking is advertised on the race website from a parking garage sponsor at high prices, but ample and cheaper parking garages are available on race day just a couple blocks east of the finish line. They advertise the course as flat and the one minor hill that hits around mile 16 is more of an annoying bump than a hill. The on-course hydration stations are seemingly everywhere, most stocked with excellent Gatorade (not the watered-down stuff seen on many marathons). You also pass three candy stations, three gu stations, and several private groups (churches, neighborhood associations, etc) also handing out water or candy on their own. The event volunteers and traffic control were tremendous and very supportive. Although this is a big race, the new wave start kept things from being overly congested. My one big complaint is the lack of crowd support. Crowds are big at the start and finish, but mid-speed runners saw surprisingly few spectators on the last half of the race (50 degrees and off-and-on mist wasn't crowd friendly, but some of the neighborhoods were downright empty). Overall, Indy is a fast course and the race allows you to truly see and experience the city of Indianapolis.
R. M. from Buffalo, NY (11/29/2016) "Not a Hill to Be Found, Good Experience!" (about: 2016) 11-50 previous marathons COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 4 Out of towner, who came in to run this as my fall marathon with another runner. Pros: Not a hill to be found, hardly a bump! Expo was very easy to get in and get out with what you need. Everything is located downtown (start, finish, expo, hotels, etc) so that makes the logistics of race morning a breeze. Mile markers very clearly marked, aid stations stocked, well defined course route. Weather couldn't have been better this year. About 45 to start, 55 to finish. Finish chute was easy to navigate after. Medal and t-shirt were okay for those that are big into these things. The mobile app was pretty cool and accurate. A true not for profit race, good job by the organizers! Cons: There was a ton of congestion in the first mile or two (Half Marathon goes with full until mile 7). I was in the 3:10 pace area and had to deal with a fair amount of congestion (there are a lot of turns in the beginning, which does not help with the crowds), however everyone that started a little bit farther back had to deal with the congestion a lot more than I. I get how this can be frustrating, I think a corral starting system would work wonders. Some of the roads are not closed to traffic. For example a four lane road has one lane specifically for runners with the other three open to traffic. Couple this with the size of this race, it's tough to squeeze so many runners into one single lane. Not so much an issue for the front of the pack, but once you get back into the 3:30+ finishes, this could be an issue. I've noticed a lot of the roads were pretty bumpy, maybe they were normal 'bumpiness' but this is the first time it has stood out to me in a race. Nothing the RD can do, but something I noticed nonetheless. Overall, great experience. If you're looking for a later fall marathon on a flat and fast course, here ya' go.
T. S. from Harrison, Ohio (11/12/2016) "One of the best1" (about: 2016) 6-10 previous marathons \| 2 Indianapolis Monumental Marathons COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 4 I ran this race for the first time in 2015 and again this year. Excellent weather conditions both times which obviously helps! Route is very scenic with all the monuments and just slightly rolling...a good course to PR on which I did both years. As others have stated, the biggest downfall is the start and the first few miles which are very congested. I believe implementing a wave start would help this tremendously. Otherwise it's a great experience.

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