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May 4, 2024

Sunburst Marathon Runner Comments

Back to Sunburst Marathon Information & Reviews

Course 3.7

Organization 4.1

Spectators 2.9

Number of comments: 197 [displaying comments 31 to 41]

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J. G. from West Michigan (7/18/2011) "Got lost...HOT and the end merges to many people!" (about: 2011) 2 previous marathons \| 1 Sunburst Marathon COURSE: 2 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 2 The race seems well organized and registration was what I expected. The race course is poorly marked! I was alone in 7th when running through a neighborhood with many turns and no one directing runners (about 10 miles in). The course does have arrows on the road, but Im not the type of runner who runs a marathon with my head down looking for arrows. Need barricades or people at each corner. When getting into the said area, there were many volunteers on a corner. Had they spread them out, problem may have been solved. Its difficult when youre alone on a course you are unfamiliar with many turns to know where youre going. If I had I been running in a crowd it may not have been a problem. Then on the way towards mile 20 there was an arrow pointing to the right (not the direction of the course!) and many runners were running back toward me wondering where to go. Should NEVER happen for the effort and money people have to put in for a marathon. I grew up in the area and have run the 5k and 10 many times but the marathon course needs to be addressed. OH&it was really HOT&. The aid stations were sufficient; they had plenty of fluids etc. Only comment there is that they had PLASTIC cups! Its easier to drink while running if you pinch the cup, but plastic cups break when you pinch them&. Ill personally never do the marathon at sunburst again. Ill come back for the 5 or 10k though.
R. V. from Plainfield, Illinois (7/6/2011) "Mother Nature Isnt a Runner!!" (about: 2011) 2 previous marathons \| 1 Sunburst Marathon COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 First time at this race, was really looking forward to it because of the course and being a big ND fan. Unfortunate the race wasn't the high-light I had envisioned, but not because of the race director or support staff. They were all wonderful! Emergency personnel were everywhere also so kudos to them too. The weather ruined it all, and until we can learn how to control that we can't blame anyone associated with the race. I personally had been training for a 3:45-4:00hr finish but until the weekend before the race had no heat & humidity to train in. Both took their toll on me by mile 15. I had hit the halfway point in 1:50 and still felt strong but was still mostly in the shady part of the course. I suffered extreme dehydration the second half and crossed the finished line at 5:06, only moments before the black flag came out. While I was lucky enough to finish prior to being cancelled, it was the right decision. I don't know if walking most of the last 6-8 miles qualifies as completing a marathon but so be it. I had enough left in the tank to run the last ½ mile or so and down the ramp. I guess being hardheaded can be a detriment, I listened to my body enough to stop running when I could no longer split, but I wouldn't listen enough to withdraw. I know it isn't easy to plan an event such as these, but given the weather issues the last couple years, perhaps flipping the course and heading out to Mishawaka first and back through the shadier portion last before heading into the Stadium might help.
M. B. from Arlington Heights, IL (6/12/2011) "Perfect, except the weather!" (about: 2011) 6-10 previous marathons \| 1 Sunburst Marathon COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 Love, love, love this course! Truly a course that manages an urban setting, along with natural resources (um, a river) very well. Packet pick-up was a breeze, even got to meet Bill Rodgers! :) Could have used better marking, better maps ahead of time, but really enjoyed the winding nature of the route. Now, about the heat and subsequent black flag...I've never been so hot! It was brutal. THANK YOU to the volunteers, crew, etc., who took such good care of everyone in what, to me, was truly a crisis situation. Impressive.
G. R. from Wheeler, MI (6/11/2011) "Fantastic for 25 miles!" (about: 2011) 6-10 previous marathons \| 1 Sunburst Marathon COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 2 This was my 6th marathon in a span of 49 days, and my second in 6 days. I ran Buffalo the Sunday before, in about the same conditions. It was very hot and humid, 75 at the start and over 90 by 11am in South Bend. The race director black flagged the race a little after 11. Overall, this was a very good event. Here are my comments: The Great: 1) The expo and packet pick up the day before the race was excellent. Very easy and well organized. 2) The 6AM early start with just the Marathoners was perfect. I wish more races would start the full and half separately. 3) The course was very nice, following the river much of the race except for the downtown portion. 4) Probably most important, There were many, many water stops that were well stocked with water, gatorade, and friendly staff. It got very hot, 90+, and the stops were 1st class. 5) Second most important was the great medical support. There were medics on bikes all over the place. For those of us towards the back, they kept asking us if we were ok or if we needed anything. I saw two runners in trouble, and they both had medical personal around them. The good: The course was well marked for the most part. There were several twists and turns, and if you weren't paying attention, I can see how someone could get off course. The Bad: The finish. I was at mile 24 3/4s when we got word the race was black flagged and officially over. The clocks were turned off at that point. I was with a group of about 4 others, and we were all doing well with no problems, so we kept going. Police came around and informed us that the race was over, but we could keep going if we went on the side walk, which we did. I got to the stadium and finished at the 50, which was cool, and got my medal. I finished about 15 minutes after the clocks were turned off. They did have cold, wet towels for us at the finish, but it seemed to be a bit chaotic at that point. There was no water or food visually available, and they made an announcement for us to leave the field and head towards the shuttle busses as soon as possible. I did ask a nice volunteer for some water, and she had to go to the far end zone to get me a small cup. That was nice of her, but we should have had plenty of water right at the finish. The Ugly: After running 26.2 in the heat, we had to walk about 1/2 mile completely around the stadium again to the shuttle bus. We just kept walking and walking, and walking. A couple I was walking with said he wished he would have turned his garman back on to check the distance. There has to be a closer place to pick up runners. After the race: I have to give big kudos to the race director, Molly. Since the clock was turned off, I didn't get an official time. I emailed her my time and asked her if there was anyway I could get an official time since I'm a 50 stater, and I knew my time. She did post my time to active.com, thus giving me an official finish. It had to be a hard decision to end the race with so many people still on the course ( I would guess about 75, but I have no idea how many dropped out), but it was 100% the right decision. A runner in a half marathon in Chicago passed away on the course the same day as this race because of the heat. To my knowledge, there were no serious injuries here, and the medical staff and the director get all the credit in the world for that. I would recommend this race, just make sure you are conditioned for potential hot and humid weather.
R. A. from USA (6/8/2011) "EXTREMELY HOT DAY!" (about: 2011) 3 previous marathons \| 1 Sunburst Marathon COURSE: 3 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 3 For me, I think it was a good learning experience. I think the course was longer than 26.2 miles based on my phone app but those things are sometimes wrong. Here are the pros and cons: Pros: The route was nice and scenic. The volunteers were nice and worked really hard in an extremely hot day. A few spectators who came out were nice and some of them kindly offered their water hoses to the runners which was refreshing. There was a free 15 minute massage at the end and the line for it was not that long. Cons: It was an extremely hot day. My performance decreased by 50% due to the excessive heat during the last 1.5 hour of the race. I never faced that problem before. Be prepared for the heat. Parts of the race (from mile 14-18 and from mile 20-24) were in the streets with no shades whatsoever. Again, you may like running in this condition but it was really difficult for me. I think the race needed more water stops towards the end. Not that many spectators were out and other than a gentleman playing bagpipe there was no live or recorded music during the course. Finally, I think the route has some confusing turns but to be fair, there was always one person with a sign to guide you to the right direction.
J. V. from Broadview Heights, OH (6/8/2011) "Potential Great Race ends horribly" (about: 2011) 11-50 previous marathons \| 1 Sunburst Marathon COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 1 FANS: 4 I first want to compliment the volunteers, who were excellent. The course was nice as well. And now, the rest of the story. A decision was made to call the race due to excessive heat, which I am ok with. What is unacceptable is turning off the race clocks and giving a DNF to runners who completed the full course. This impacted me, and by my estimation, at least 30 other runners. I did not find out the race was shut down until being within yards of the finish line, where there the timing mats were turned up, and the clock turned off. The volunteers were even told to quit giving out finishers medals even though they kept calling our names. I emailed the race director 3 days ago requesting to have an official time entered, and have not received a response. Obviously, she does not care, so I am considering a lawsuit to recover the entry fee and travel expenses if I am not given an official finish. Feel free to contact me if you are interested in participating.
J. K. from Grand Rapids, MI (6/6/2011) "Enjoyable event but warm!" (about: 2011) 11-50 previous marathons \| 1 Sunburst Marathon COURSE: 2 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 2 The 2011 Sunburst was my 46th marathon overall, and first Sunburst. I found a lot to like about it. Sorry race director but I am now only going to mention the bad things. The course is difficult to navigate, you can't put it on auto-pilot. Lots of turns, not always well marked/staffed. 1st half is well-shaded, but 2nd half is in wide open sun. There are many water stops but I would suggest even more in final half given typical sun/heat. I strongly suggest one consider his/her heat tolerance before registering for this race and strategize accordingly. And once registered, definitely plan to pay close attention as you run to stay on-course and you should be OK. Also, my Garmin recorded a distance of 27.2 miles but I'm not sure if I'm the only one those things are not always correct. I'm not familiar with South Bend but I sense the race director puts on the best possible race at that time of year given what she has to work with in terms of logistics, weather and surrounding area. Nice effort, overall enjoyable event despite the above.
Monica NOwac from Cleveland OH (6/6/2011) "Great course but bitter about this year" (about: 2011) 4-5 previous marathons \| 1 Sunburst Marathon COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 3 First off let me say that overall I think I would have really liked this marathon, I just had a huge issue with the way the closing of the race from the heat this year (2011) was handled. Let's start with the good - small crowd, around 900 for the full, made the expo and starting line on race day morning super easy. Race started at 6am and I got there at 5:50am and had no issue lining up. I like that the full, and the other races start at different time and the course was very nice and ran along some pretty views of nice parks and nice neighborhoods. Spectators are here and there and the volunteers at the water stops were very enthusiastic and there was plenty of water, GU and bananas to be had. Now to the bad. the race director decided to close the course this year b/c it was over 90 and I completely understand. HOWEVER, I was told that they were closing the course when I was at mile 25, I was told by the volunteers that we could finish at our own discretion. After walking the last 6 miles of the race b/c of heat issues and cramping, you better believe I was going to finish. I saved enough energy to run through the tunnel and onto the Notre Dame field only to find out that I had missed the timing mat by 5 mins, thus I had no official time. BUT I FINISHED! I was so so bummed as I am trying to join the 50 state club and need official results. i don't understand why the director couldn't allow the people like me who had powered through and were almost there go over the mat. The last official time is at 5:08 and I came in around 5:15. BUMMER!
J. B. from USA (6/5/2011) "great!" (about: 2011) 3 previous marathons \| 1 Sunburst Marathon COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 1 I thought this marathon was very well organized for the size of it. There was plenty of volunteers handing out water and plenty of water stops and gu stops. There was plenty of food after the marathon although I felt as I had to compete with walkers and 5k to get food. The day was very hot and the volunteers were great. This is an in and out course and the scenery along the St. Joseph river is nice. The marathon was stopped early ( around 5 hours 12 min) due to hot weather for the safety of the runners. Overall, I thought it was a nice marathon and great choice for those looking to increase their marathon repertoire.
David Weiss from Middleburg Heights, Ohio (2/20/2011) "An enjoyable event" (about: 2010) 11-50 previous marathons \| 1 Sunburst Marathon COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 3 Overall, I enjoyed the race quite a bit. Good: 1. I got into town Fri. evening after packet pickup had actually ended and the volunteers were great and allowed me still to get my stuff, and gave me a great recommendation of a place to get a night-before-race pasta dinner 2. Had never been to South Bend, a beautiful town, and i enjoyed the course, and didn't have the difficulties with course markings some others experienced 3. Friendly volunteers on the course, and plentiful hydration 4. Finishing on the football field at Notre Dame, a must for any football fan - I practically thought i was hearing a "Rudy, Rudy, Rudy" chant as I was crossing the finish line 5. Enjoyed going to the College Football Hall of Fame in the afternoon after the race, although I think giving racers a day-of-race discount or free admission (with a finishing medal or their race number or something) would be an awesome touch 6. easy parking for the start of the race Bad: 1. Standing in POURING rain with nothing - no tent or shelter of any kind - for at least 20+ minutes on shot legs, waiting in line for one of the buses back to the start line was lousy, although the buses that finally arrived were extremely nice 2. getting herded quickly out of the stadium because of rain and possible lightning was unfortunate; i know they had to, but I really wanted to hang for awhile and soak in the experience more Out of 14 marathons, my worst marathon time, but an enjoyable, small-town race that'd I'd recommend.

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