May 2, 2024
Current Year Results
Results Search
Biggest/Best Boston Qualifier
2024 Results
2023 Results
2022 Results
2021 Results
2020 Results
2019 Results
2018 Results
2017 Results
2016 Results
2015 Results
2014 Results
2013 Results
2012 Results
2011 Results
2010 Results
2009 Results
2008 Results
2007 Results
2006 Results
2005 Results
2004 Results
2003 Results
2002 Results
2001 Results
2000 Results
☰
Minneapolis Marathon Runner Comments
Back to Minneapolis Marathon Information & Reviews
Course 4.1 
Organization 4.4 
Spectators 3.8
Number of comments: 76 [displaying comments 61 to 71]
|
Willie Tibbetts from Minnesota
(6/9/2009)
 "Inspirational and Challenging" (about: 2009)
2 previous marathons
| 1 Minneapolis Marathon
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 For me, this race has raised the bar and it will be difficult for any other marathon to compare. Team Ortho organized a training group that motivated me to commit to training and to give it my best. The course was challenging, but the quote flags, the spectators, and the water station crews along the way kept the motivation alive to keep plugging along. People cheering out on the course sincerely cared for the runners and made sure we knew they supported us. How could we not keep going? Minneapolis Marathon, I feel fortunate to be part of such a marvelous event and inspired to continue with my training so that I can do it again next year. Team Ortho, you made me feel like part of a family. Thank you for an experience of a lifetime! | |
|
R. H. from Minneapolis, MN
(6/9/2009)
 "Poorly organized marathon" (about: 2009)
11-50 previous marathons
| 1 Minneapolis Marathon
COURSE: 2 ORGANIZATION: 1 FANS: 3 Mile markers were off. When I got to Fort Snelling, it was very confusing as to what the course was. They didn't have course markers where they needed them. I saw all kinds of people running on different trails/roads around Fort Snelling. I counted about 17 runners that were running a different route. I was very disappointed with the organization. After all that training, the course officials did not do their part. I will never run this marathon again. | |
|
T. V. from Minneapolis, MN
(6/8/2009)
 "Outstanding organization! Great fun!!" (about: 2009)
1 previous marathon
| 1 Minneapolis Marathon
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 For my first marathon, I couldn't have chosen a better event. The organization was fantastic, the event well planned and the experience unparalleled (in my brief experience)! Will definitely do it again next year. The course was a bit hilly, but what marathon (or race) course is perfect? If your are after a great time, good fun and a wonderful running experience, THIS IS THE ONE!!! | |
|
D. F. from Minneapolis, MN
(6/6/2009)
 "Very solid debut" (about: 2009)
11-50 previous marathons
| 1 Minneapolis Marathon
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 4 There wasn't much advance buzz about this race, so I was very pleasantly surprised. Weather was beautiful, which helped, but the course was great too. For its first running, organization was impressive (with the exception of the mismarked first mile). The low-key finish line was refreshing - it was the first time that my kids were able to join me moments after I crossed the line. Details like the finisher's jacket, top-notch medal and post-race party were great too. Nice job, Team Ortho. | |
|
Rodney Chang from Honolulu
(6/3/2009)
 "84F - bad luck of the draw" (about: 2009)
11-50 previous marathons
| 1 Minneapolis Marathon
COURSE: 3 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 2 I live in Hawaii and run select mainland marathons to avoid the heat. I watched the weather report with vested interest as race day approached. Anything above 70F for my aging body (63) is risk for leg cramps after 18 miles. The day before it was 71, but race day shot up to 84F, catching slower runners like me in the afternoon peak heat. I cramped, as expected - at 22.5 miles. It was a grueling and disappointing final miles for this walking wounded. (Somebody later said to try taking in ionic calcium.) The next day it dropped back to 71, and then the following day, to the 68F that I had prayed for. Guess the marathon gods had it in for me! :=( But the race, even after the weary layover flights from Honolulu to Minneapolis was, overall, a pleasant experience. I loved the trail route along the Missisippi River, even if most of the run is along it, backtracks on it, making all of the trees and the river then become a bit monotonous. Accommodations at the sponsoring Depot Rennaissance Hotel were wonderful, especially since I love old trains, and the place was the train station in its heyday in the 50s (think Lionel trains!). The cooking was delicious in the sponsoring hotel's restaurant. They even thought of having chicken liquini for carbo loading the evening before the race. It is a great convenience to out-of-towners to have the packet pick-up, start, and finish line all at one location. As Hawaii's only participant in this inaugural race, I appreciate the woolly "fleece" long-sleeve pullover, with nicely designed logo of the marathon. The organizers were also more generous than competing events by awarding quality long-sleeve shirts to the finishers - with "Finisher" printed on it. Nowadays, as everybody knows, participants have to BUY finisher t-shirts at sign-in expos, at $35-45. What happened to the good old days when the challenge of finishing was earning the finisher t-shirt besides the medal? You couldn't buy a finisher's shirt - unless you earned it! The most fantastic moment during the course for me was when I came upon Ft. Snelling along the forested Mississippi trail. I never heard of it before. Its stone ruins were so fascinating. Now I realize it is a national registered historic site. Union infantry soldiers, Civil War volunteers, and WWII recruits all did service at the federal site, first built in 1820 to guard the spot were the Missisippi and Missouri Rivers join up. As a professional artist, this juncture of the run turns out to be the inspiring scene that I shall oil paint in order to reminisce about my Minnesota once-in-a-lifetime marathon run. And I thought I'd be painting trees in this award-winning "green city." One disappointment is that the Metrodome was not on the course (I am a Viking fan). In New Orleans, the start is the Saints' home field, and in Nashville (I ran both this year too) the finish is the home of the Titans. | |
|
G. L. from Maryland
(6/3/2009)
"Great Inaugural Race" (about: 2009)
11-50 previous marathons
| 1 Minneapolis Marathon
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 4 This marathon was well organized and enjoyable. The expo, host hotel, race start, and race finish were close together, which was very convenient. The course was beautiful, with lots of shade, and though it had some hills, none were terrible - at least compared to other marathons I have run. There were plenty of aid stations, and I enjoyed having HEED as a sports drink instead of Gatorade. There were a good number of spectators for most of the course, and they were enthusiastic, as were the many wonderful volunteers. Instead of a tech shirt, the marathoners were given nice finisher jackets. Overall, this was a well organized race with a very scenic course. I highly recommend this race and look forward to doing it again in the future. | |
|
j. f. from minnesota
(6/2/2009)
"Nice, scenic route; great workers" (about: 2009)
11-50 previous marathons
| 1 Minneapolis Marathon
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 3 Great job on a new marathon for Minneapolis, MN. Cool weather for the start, and lots of shade for later in the race when the sun gets up. There was very friendly help, and plenty of pit stops. Very nice finisher jacket, and I enjoyed the HEED and Hammer Gel packs along with all of the water stops. Parking was easy and the price was fair - $3 to $5 for a short walk to the start and from the finish. I saw many buildings and lots of river views that I have never seen before - even a close up view of old Fort Snelling! Not many fans or crowds; that's to be expected from a new race. I think they did a great job, and I will do this race annually if able. Thanks for putting on a race in the spring of the year for the many cool-weather runners. | |
|
J. S. from Minneapolis, MN
(6/2/2009)
"Great inaugural marathon" (about: 2009)
1 previous marathon
| 1 Minneapolis Marathon
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 3 I can only compare it with the Twin Cities Marathon, but here goes: Pros: Beautiful course (I run it almost weekly, so if there were hills, I was used to them); great swag (!); lots of water and porta-potties; smaller crowds made logistics very easy; iPod-friendly. Cons: Splits at odd intervals (15K and 16-mile only); spectators really thinned out where the half-ers turned around; needed better/more food at the finish; like others, my GPS got messed up at mile 1 (what's that all about?). I liked it just as well as Twin Cities, but for very different reasons. | |
|
C. P. from Minneapolis
(6/2/2009)
 "Hilly but scenic course" (about: 2009)
6-10 previous marathons
| 1 Minneapolis Marathon
COURSE: 3 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 3 The first 5 miles of the course had too many sharp turns! The course is hilly with some of the steepest grades in the last 10K. I would run again if the beginning of the course were improved and the end were less hilly. | |
|
A. R. from Franklin,TN
(6/1/2009)
"good inaugural race" (about: 2009)
11-50 previous marathons
| 1 Minneapolis Marathon
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 5 I thought this was a very good first showing for the Minneapolis Marathon. The expo was nice, with a cool venue. The race started on time, and there was great weather, lots of volunteers and spectators. Plentiful water stops - although HEED has to be the worst-tasting sports drink on the market. The last mile of the course was straight uphill, but that is part of the challenge. My only real complaint was that the finish area was very cramped. Within 20 feet of crossing the line, somebody handed me a nice medal, and there were 2 tables with bananas, cookies, and cups of water. And that was it. No one taking your timing chip, and no one directing us to where we should pick up the finisher's jacket (which is pretty nice actually). I was about brain dead by the end of the race, and after running into another 20 runners in the finishing chute, I was in such a rush to make room for others that I missed out on the little bit of food that was there. Besides the finish line issues, I really think they did a great job. There were no problems that they can't fix by next year. |
© 2000-2024, All Rights Reserved by MarathonGuide.com LLC
