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May 5, 2024

Carmel Marathon Runner Comments

Back to Carmel Marathon Information & Reviews

Course 4.1

Organization 4.3

Spectators 3.0

Number of comments: 75 [displaying comments 11 to 21]

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

M. P. from Columbus, Indiana (4/2/2018) "Desolate course with very few spectators" (about: 2018) 3 previous marathons \| 1 Carmel Marathon COURSE: 3 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 1 Disappointing spectator involvement. No excitement, few bands, no nutrition along the course, just hydration. Desolate. Community not significantly involved.
Knud Hermansen from Colorado (4/23/2017) "Beautiful neighborhoods, friendly organizers" (about: 2017) 11-50 previous marathons \| 1 Carmel Marathon COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 2 Pre-race organization: Website has all of the standard good info. I got a reasonable number of pre-races emails which were helpful and worth reading: Start: The start was not too hectic. About 500 folks in them marathon and the new wave start seemed to work well. There seemed to be ample bathrooms. Course: Course goes through some very pretty and well-off neighborhoods. Volunteers and water stops were plentiful. My only complaint about the course was that we keep leaving and rejoining courses with the half-marathoners so it could be hard to track who you were racing. I gave the spectators two starts because there was at best groups of 3 - 4 folks along the course and these were pretty sparse. Even at the end there were not that many folks. Overall this was a well run race and I would do it again.
J. P. from Columbus, Ohio (4/23/2017) "Well run young race" (about: 2017) 11-50 previous marathons \| 1 Carmel Marathon COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 4 Just ran Carmel marathon for the first time and can say it's a gem for such a young race, 7th year of it I believe they said at the start. Beautiful course and yes flat. Water stops very well run, great volunteers. Not a lot of entertainment but felt it wasn't missed! Enjoyed the entire event and again such wonderful volunteers.
A. T. from Chicago (4/17/2016) "Very well-organized, flat race" (about: 2016) 50+ previous marathons \| 1 Carmel Marathon COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 2 Extremely well-organized and well-supported. (Water/Gatorade/potties). Variety subdivisions, busy roads, nature trails, through trees and along river. Huge parking garage right at start/finish, can transfer bibs legally. Free pasta night before at Whole Foods. OK to stay at hotel along 465; extremely easy to drive to race. Pizza, chocolate milk, etc. at finish.
C. Y. from Baton Rouge, LA (4/16/2016) "Most enjoyable; well supported; great race" (about: 2016) 11-50 previous marathons \| 1 Carmel Marathon COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 4 Great communication ahead of time; stayed at a race hotel and the bus service to the race start was very convenient. Great course support, friendly people and a flat course as advertised. Reasonable amount of food at the end and 'free' massage! It was unseasonably hot and some parts of the course are a little more open than I like, but all-in-all a great experience.
Bob Kroeger from Cincinnati (4/20/2015) "Flat as flat can be!" (about: 2015) 50+ previous marathons \| 1 Carmel Marathon COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 4 Carmel is a PR course, though this year's heat hurt - low 60s at the start, rising to near 80 by noon. Pros: All volunteers and staff friendly. Flat course with a few gentle hills No urban blight; mostly suburbs and bike trails with some shade Great hotel (Comfort Inn) Well-policed; good traffic control Well-marked course Cons: Relatively few fans for such a health-oriented city Could use a water stop at each mile after mile 20, especially on such a warm day Well done, Carmel!
Tim Molony from Cincinnati, OH (5/19/2014) "What a great day and place for a race!!!" (about: 2014) 11-50 previous marathons \| 1 Carmel Marathon COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 4 When I signed up for this race I wasn't really sure what to expect. However, I was overly satisfied with almost every aspect of this race. Somehow, someone even managed to produce the most wonderful race weather possible. Kudos to the race directing team for that. I LOVED, LOVED, LOVED this race. The course was friendly with the most strategically placed spectators I can remember in a race. My goal was to PR and sure enough, I PR'd with a time more than 3 minutes faster than my existing PR. If you're looking for a mostly flat course with a limited number of barely rolling hills in the Midwest, this one is a great option. Great Medal! Great Shirt! Great Organization! Great Race!
K. B. from Indiana (4/22/2014) "Great midsize marathon" (about: 2014) 11-50 previous marathons \| 2 Carmel Marathons COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 3 The organization continues to improve since last year. I like the shuttle to and from the race. Lot's of turns on the course but fairly flat and a bit sencic through the parks.
E. F. from Los Altos Hills, CA (4/21/2014) "Well-Organized Event" (about: 2014) 11-50 previous marathons \| 1 Carmel Marathon COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 3 I really enjoyed this race. Larger events should be so well organized! Water stops were plentiful and well spaced. The course was a nice mix of city streets, parks and beautiful suburban neighborhoods. I do agree, however, that the hand-cycle racers posed a definite danger. On a narrow bike path, I saw an advance cyclist push a runner to the side to avoid being struck by the hand cyclist who followed. An earlier start for that division would make more sense. Lots of fun things to see and do in the Carmel area. I'm glad I chose this event for my Indy run.
T. E. from SW Michigan (4/14/2014) "Great small town marathon with big city feel!" (about: 2014) 50+ previous marathons \| 1 Carmel Marathon COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 4 What an excellent event! From the e-mails pre-race all the way through the finish, they left nothing untouched. The Carmel team thought of everything! I've done 50 marathons from very small to Boston, Chicago & New York. Carmel had the ammenities found at the large marathons with the personal feel of the smaller ones. Way to put those together! The course itself winds through several neighborhoods & parks. There's not a ton of crowd support, but those that were out were loud & friendly. The course description reads 'flat'. It's not as flat as Chicago, but not hilly either. I would call it gently rolling. It's definitely a fast course. Portions of the course were gorgeous and there was always something to look at. Aid stations were plentiful and staffed with a good number of volunteers. Police at the intersections were top-notch & friendly. The one item even close to a 'con' that I would have would be that the hand-cycle division started after the marathon. That led to them passing the marathoners in a park where we were on a 3-wide bike path. The hand-cycles each had bike support that would clear the left side of the path for them. This was great except for the two times we were trying to pass a group of slower runners on the path & had to hold off until a hand-cycle passed. Very minor & not really an issue but perhaps the hand-cycles could start a few minutes before the marathon next year? All-in-all a VERY well done event! I would return in a heartbeat! Thanks to the Carmel team!

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