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May 2, 2024

Minneapolis Marathon Runner Comments

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Course 4.1

Organization 4.4

Spectators 3.8

Number of comments: 76 [displaying comments 11 to 21]

More Comments: [ < 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 > ]

P. N. from Austin, Texas (6/9/2013) "Loved it!" (about: 2013) 11-50 previous marathons \| 1 Minneapolis Marathon COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 A beautiful course on a lovely day with nearly perfect weather for running. Plenty of water stops manned by cheerful volunteers, even as far back in the pack as I am. Well organized transportation to the start. Highly recommended.
T. P. from Akron,Ohio (6/6/2013) "Beautiful course on a beautiful day." (about: 2013) 50+ previous marathons \| 1 Minneapolis Marathon COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 3 It's hard not to like a marathon when the weather is this perfect. This was my 25th state so I was a little hyped. The issues from previous years seemed to be solved. The shuttles ran smooth. The course was rolling with no big hills. The second half was an out and back along the Mississippi it was downhill both ways. The best deal was the light rail train the airport to downtown for $1.75. Finished under 4 hours with a smile on my face.
David Zajic from Alabama (6/5/2013) "Course corrected - no problems" (about: 2013) 50+ previous marathons \| 1 Minneapolis Marathon COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 3 I read the comments from 2012 and wanted to let the folks who read these comments to know that the course was changed and there was no problem with meeting up with the half marathoners. We all started at the same time and the half crazy folks split off and us fully crazy folks did and out and back to finish in the same spot. The course was pretty. There were ample water stations and porti-pots (about every 2 miles). It was hard for my wife to crew me along the course but I did see her twice. All in all, I think it was a good race. A little pricy but most of the Monster series and Rock and Rolls are pricy.
K. P. from Alameda, California (6/3/2013) "Great way to knock off Minnesota" (about: 2013) 11-50 previous marathons \| 1 Minneapolis Marathon COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 3 To start with, the sponsering hotel (Depot Renaissance) was outstanding. They gave all the marathoners an automatic 2:00 PM checkout (Portland, OR Hilton take note). Easy short shuttle to race start and nice post-race area with good beer park attached. They were carding everyone to get in the beer area which I thought odd as most runners don't carry photo ID with them. Only after I convinced the 'security girl' to check my Road ID tag on my shoe did she let my 51 year old self in. Next year, maybe they can have a list of runners and bib numbers. That way they can check age against the entry roster without all the ID shenanigans. The course was slight rolling and nice scenery along the Mississippi River. The weather was dialed up perfect too! Kudos to Amy Decker for doing a great job with this race and having such a good group of volunteers. A definite MUST for Minnesota.
M. V. from Maple Grove, MN (6/2/2013) "Nicely done." (about: 2013) 11-50 previous marathons \| 1 Minneapolis Marathon COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 3 Great course. I liked the downhill finish. Spectators are a little sparse. I did not like having a long walk (uphill) to the shuttles back to the start.
R. P. from Minneapolis, MN (11/4/2012) "Good marathon but problems at the end" (about: 2012) 1 previous marathon \| 1 Minneapolis Marathon COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 3 FANS: 4 My comments echo what some of the other runners said. The course is scenic but challenging. This year we were supposed to run on Pike Island, but flooding prevented that, so we ran through Fort Snelling instead. The revised route included more than two miles of gravel road 'very hard on the feet!' but I expect the organizers had no alternative. The trouble began in the last few miles, as the marathoners ran up into slower half-marathoners. The half-marathoners started an hour later than the marathoners, but had the same finish line. This meant, for example, that marathoners running a 3:00 - 4:00 pace ran up into half-marathoners running about 2:00 - 3:00 pace. This was a real problem, as marathoners had to dodge and weave, and even run up onto the grass beside the very congested road. It made for an unpleasant and slow last few miles. The organizers have to solve this problem, perhaps by starting the half-marathoners two hours after the marathoners instead of one. I hope they do solve it, because aside from this, the whole Minneapolis Marathon experience was really good. I'd definitely recommend it, and I hope the event continues to grow.
R. M. from Madison, AL (9/1/2012) "Nice Overall, agree with organizing concerns" (about: 2012) 11-50 previous marathons \| 1 Minneapolis Marathon COURSE: 3 ORGANIZATION: 1 FANS: 3 This race has quite a bit going for it. The expo was small but nice and the course along the river was pleasant and offered some shaded. The short gravel section and the considerable hill at mile 18 weren't too bad. The post-race entertainment and amenities were great! However, the course congestion at mile 22.5 where the half marathoners join the marathoners was awful. The events were sequenced so that marathoners running a faster pace merged with half marathoners running a significantly slower pace. There was nowhere for marathoners to run. I had to come to a complete stop twice to avoid collisions and actually ran into one half marathoner. At one point, I ran on the grass on the side of the road to try to get around slower moving half marathoners. It's tough enough at mile 24 of a marathon without having to stop for or dodge half marathoners! One half marathon pacer recognized what was happening and yelled for the runners around her to get out of the way of the marathoners, but that didn't do much. I don't think you can expect half marathoners to look out for and stay out of the way of marathoners. With a little work to make some organizational and logistical fixes this could be a really nice race.
V. B. from NY, NY (6/7/2012) "Very well-organized" (about: 2012) 11-50 previous marathons COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 3 This race was a pleasant surprise - it was much prettier than I expected, running along the river and through the park, and a fast course (despite the one major hill around mile 18 - hard to know what to call it as it was more like a long table turned on its side but you didn't lose much time by walking it). The quality of the organization was remarkable. A few notes for 50-Staters: -Easy to get/to from airport via Light Rail system -Depot (host hotel) was delightful and offered 2pm check-out for full marathoners -Good pasta dinner at hotel -Deli for extra drinks/snacks one block from hotel (not much else in the area) -Start line next to host hotel -6:30am start for full marathoners (approx. 800), 7:30am start for half marathoners -Shuttle back from finish line to start line (approx 1 mile or so but largely uphill) -Individual goody bag which included chips, nut roll, banana at finish line -Plenty of water stops and Powerade at each station, gels as well -Nice t-shirt (v-neck, short-sleeve) and medal -Packet pick-up was fabulous - options included paying extra to have bib/chip/t-shirt sent to you the week before which I chose or expo closed at 9pm the night before the race - I was so grateful for this as too many marathons have expos that close at 5/6pm the day before the race with no race day pick-up; given the state of airline travel these days, delays are frequent so the late option is always appreciated, and the mailing option is the gold standard. Thanks to everyone who worked so hard to make this race a success.
M. A. from Minneapolis, MN (6/4/2012) "Not a good race...Terrible organization..." (about: 2012) 11-50 previous marathons \| 1 Minneapolis Marathon COURSE: 2 ORGANIZATION: 1 FANS: 5 The course is fine. It's pretty much a long out and back along the Mississippi River. It would be fine if it was just a marathon going on, but you end up running into the back of the slower half marathoners around mile 22 or 23 on a really narrow road. This leads to lots of congestion and weaving in and out of people very late in the race when you're really suffering. There was a hose across the road at one of the water stops and I saw two people trip on it. One of the banners wasn't weighted down and fell over taking out another runner. Also there was very little crowd control and bikers were cutting in and out of the race very dangerously. The organizers seem to not be able handle more than one even at a time and it really shows with all the problems this race has. Highly recommend Grandmas or Twin Cities for Minnesota marathons.
B. G. from Minneapolis (6/4/2012) "Needs to Improve Race Logistics" (about: 2012) 11-50 previous marathons \| 1 Minneapolis Marathon COURSE: 3 ORGANIZATION: 3 FANS: 3 Some day Team Ortho's operations team will be as good as its marketing team. They do a great job with pre/post event parties and swag, but every Team Ortho event I've run has had major logistical problems. Yesterday there were water stops where you needed to grab your own water, slow half marathoners and relay runners wandering the course, a course that was way too tight (six foot bike lane in Ft. Snelling for two way traffic), long lines for the bus to get back to the start (anyone remember 2010 Monster Dash), and a pacer at a middle of the pack time who dropped out. I understand the Ft. Snelling stretch had to be changed at the last minute but you need to reassess whether that should even be part of the course. Net, I appreciate the free beer at the finish, but I'd prefer being treated better in the four hours on the course. This event has an opportunity to be a real spring alternative for the Twin Cities running scene, but it has some serious work to do.

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