I was very happy overall with this race overall, the course, the pace groups, the organization, the aid stations and volunteers were great. However on their website it says that overall award winners will not be given age group awards, and at the awards ceremony, overall winners were also given age group awards, effectively taking awards away from age groupers. Attempts to contact race management about this discrepancy were ignored, souring my experience of an otherwise good race.

I really liked this marathon, and plan to do it next year to try to break 4 hours. The only negative I could say is I think it could have had more hills, as it only had 2 uphills and 3 down areas. I was surprised there weren't more spectators in and after the petting zoo toward the end (about 22-24), but there were lots at the finish and most of the last 2/3 of the race. The first 1/3 of the race was in the country without many spectators, but that early in the race there are so many other runners you don't notice them as much anyway. My sister-in-law ran the half-marathon, which mostly just follows the second half of the full marathon, so she had lots of spectators the whole way except the area by and just after the petting zoo. The medals and shirts were very nice. I thought the race was great. I plan to do this one again, even though my original plan was never to do the same marathon twice.

I ran the marathon in 2010 and 2012 and I might do it again in 2013. The two larger hills are at about mile 5 and 7. I really wouldn't call this a hilly course but rather a gently rolling one! There were enough runners to keep me motivated (I qualified for Boston) but not so many that I was bumping elbows the whole way like at some of the larger marathons. Our hotel was comfy, the movie intiguing, and dinner was yummy. Mankato is a great place for a weekend trip!

The organization is great and everything was easy from packet pickup, expo, getting around, parking, shuttle, start area, and finish area. Really friendly volunteers and spectators without the huge crowds of other events. Loved the psych team that helped get some of the slow runners in, but missed not having any pace groups past 5 hours. A must for 50 state runners who do not want the logistics of a big race. The downside was missing the trees turn color, the manure covered corn fields, and the lack of running in more of the downtown area.

I am a female, sub 3:20 marathoner, have done numerous half marathons and marathons. Here are my pros and cons.

Pros:
1) This race is fantastically well-organized.
2) Parking was easy.
3) The shuttle from downtown parking to the start was so quick!
4)NO lines at the porta potties at the start. Awesome! 5) This year they started the 10kers early, which made the start much less congested.
6) Awesome medical support and porta-pottie placement along the way.
7) Aid stations were well-spaced and easy to get to. 8) MN weather in October is awesome. This year it was a cool 40-50 degrees the whole race.
9) They have good crowd support for most of the course, and even a 'sports psych' team that rides the course on bikes and cheers for you!
10) Finish line is well-laid out, easy to find family members and get back to your car.
11) They control the traffic for the time that you are on the streets, so you never feel like you're in danger.
12) I love the portions on the paved bike trail.
13) You feel like you've got runners around you most of the time, even though there are only about 700 marathoners.
14) Enjoyable course, don't let the hills scare you! If you train for them and set a smart pace, they're over early in the race.
15) They allow morning packet pickup, I hope they keep doing this! I was only a couple hours away, so drove in the morning of.
16) Great race photography.

Cons (I only have one!) : The last 4 miles include a lot of turns and moving from streets to sidewalk, which can be pretty tiring (when you're already tired!) So I lost about 20 seconds per mile the last 4 miles due to that.

I went to college in Mankato so I was really looking forward to running this race and it didn't disappoint! The first half of the course was out in the country and had a couple of tough hills. The second half wound through town (past my old college apartment) and along the bike trail. This was the first time I ran through a petting zoo! The spectators and cheer teams made a lot of noise and the motivational teams along the way kept you going. Overall great experience!

Maniacs and 50-staters: This is a great small Minnesota race. You will enjoy it, so long as you figure some pretty good hills into your planning.

Course is generally good, but spends some time on sidewalks and on the shoulder of some pretty busy and open roads. I didn't see anything really dangerous, but I do think it could be quite a bit safer, hence the lower course rating. The lower rating goes up a little for the cruise through the petting zoo at 23 or 24. The hills don't suit my too-large frame, but that's certainly nothing for which to penalize the race. Prepare for them and enjoy them. Unlike me.

Spectators are better than you'd expect for a small rural race. The course winds around in a few places, so the same folks can watch from many places quite easily. This makes it seem like there are more people than there really are. That aside, the folks are very enthusiastic and seem to be having a lot of fun. Typical costumes and water station battles.

The race is well organized. Darned near everything you'd want to be taken care of is. And quite well at that. My only beefs are: The gear bag isn't a draw string. Minor, I know, but makes for a logistical problem at check-in. And the water cups they use are teeny, making it necessary to gather many cups at each stop to drink enough. A bit difficult to drink enough and run.

Minor details aside, this is a great race. I was lucky enough to have great Minnesota fall weather (low 40s and sunny at the start, 50-60 and sunny at the finish.)

Mankato Marathon is a great race for the fall. The course is awesome with variation between racing in town, on trails, and in the country. The organization was top notch. There were medical aids at all of the stations, plenty of water stops, and inspirational signs all through the course. People on bikes were riding the course giving encouragement to the runners. They had bathrooms all through the race and you never felt alone. The spectators were along the course also and really came out to support the runners. The pace groups were spot on from the people I talked with after the race.

Compared to other Midwest races, it isn't made of long straight sections of course. The hills caught me a bit off guard, but I had a great time with the varied terrain. The long downhill after mile 17 seems to never end, but the trail running was beautiful.

Overall I recommend it for the great organization, varied course and nice people!

I haven't run a smaller size marathon race before so my expectations were very low. Wow did final stretch change that! They have set the bar very high for other small marathons. The course support was awesome. Cheering zones along the way rocked! Signs were placed in random places with inspirational sayings. The day was beautiful. The course had nice variation to it. The only thing I didn't like were the two huge hills in the first 10 miles of the race but that only adds character. Thanks for a great race, will be back again!!!!

My husband and I both had a great time. The entire town seemed to rally behind the marathon that day. Start line had lots of porta potties, short lines. There were a couple tough hills in the first third of the race, but after they were done, not so bad. I wish the race route went thru town more than it did. The route is pretty rural. Some of the race was on sidewalks which we weren't crazy about. The finish was great, wonderful crowd support and some of the most supportive volunteers around. We will be back!