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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 21 to 31]

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M. W. from Leixington, KY (6/18/2013) "Well run, fast, friendly race!" (about: 2013) 2 previous marathons \| 1 Carmel Marathon COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 4 If you want to high-five Mickey Mouse, dance with Cinderella, hear cow bells and strangers calling you awesome do not run this race! If you are looking for a superbly organized, fast, friendly race, this is your race. Shuttle rides from the block of host hotels were frequent and brought us right to the start/finish line. Volunteers were great. Beware, if you like to grab a few bites to eat during the race, I found but one, bread from a local bakery around mile 19. No fruit or GU to be had! It was cold....30 wind chill. NO HILLS and I PR'ed 3:56! Highly recommended!!
D. S. from Michigan (5/7/2013) "A big city marathon in a small package..." (about: 2013) 50+ previous marathons \| 1 Carmel Marathon COURSE: 3 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 3 There were some aspects of organization details not usually seen in a marathon this size (<750 runners); informative website, course condition flags, split times/clocks, lure of out-of-staters...and advantages to still being relatively small including easy access to Expo and free parking at start/ finish. Yeah, the course was pretty quiet & tame but I have to admire that they were willing to commit all the resources to allow us a pt-to-pt course around practically every nook & cranny of Carmel (no mindless out-and-backs). Previous year's concern regarding post-race food were corrected so organization looks to improve. My biggest complaint is regarding post-race in general which was pretty much over and being dismantled (including beer garden!) at the 4:15 hr mark on account of the other races had already finished.
J. E. from IN (5/6/2013) "Nice marathon, flat course" (about: 2013) 11-50 previous marathons \| 2 Carmel Marathons COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 4 This is the second year I've run this marathon. There was a somber tone to the start, as the 2013 race was just 5 days after the tragedy at the Boston Marathon. It was fully appropriate. The course itself is very friendly and very runnable. I've run on hills...this is not hilly!! Ha...there are hardly ANY hills in the north half of Indiana!!! It's clearly worth running and running again. I've already registered for 2014.
B. B. from Texas (4/24/2013) "Lots to like here" (about: 2013) 11-50 previous marathons \| 1 Carmel Marathon COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 3 As a 50 stater, it was either this one or Monumental, and the timing worked better here and I wanted to meet an online friend. Glad I ran it and can highly recommend it to others. Good: 1. Web site, including accurate elevation chart. Good info for us. 2. Small, especially for the marathon, and the half thinned out soon enough, then split off after about M4 and the 8K had a different course. 3. Not far from major airport. 4. Nice, attractive city. 5. I went to a nice party sponsored by a woman in the Marathon Maniacs, but there were plenty of good places to cargo load, and eat after the race. 6. Good choice of reasonably priced hotels near the start. I highly recommend the Marriott Residence Inn, which is one big room with a kitchenette so you can cook your oatmeal or breakfast, sofa, etc., and free breakfast for family and WiFi, late checkout, very nice staff, and only 1/4 mile walk to the Renaissance shuttle stop. 7. Shuttles to the start/finish 8. Oh, did I say the start = finish? (I dislike point to points.) 9. Nice, small expo in city's attractive community rec center. 10. Good set up for the start area. Really appreciated the gear check tent, as it was cold (22 wind chill). 11. Course was mostly flat with some small rollers. Mostly went through residential areas so you had something to look at. No concrete. 12. Well laid out finish area. Plenty of food and beverages. 13. Free massages at end by some very nice people. 14. Good water stops. Volunteers were super. 15. Excellent traffic control. No cars on the course. 16. More pacers than I'd ever seen. Every 5 minutes, wow. Minor flaws: 1. Not a visually inspired course. But I've run on a lot worse. 2. Some uneven pavement, but that happens, and they had just gotten a lot of rain. 3. Lots of turns, but it spread out the wind. 4. Thin crowds, but common in small races. So all in all, very good. Thank you Carmel!
s. b. from indy (4/24/2013) "very well done race" (about: 2013) 4-5 previous marathons \| 3 Carmel Marathons COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 3 3rd year running this race 1st year doing the full. expo was small but got my stuff real fast just wish thay would have race day packet pick up..as a lot of other small and mid size marthons do. race day was cold bout 30 race went well for me plenty water stops plus plenty of food left over for the back of pack runners and i even got 2 medals one for marathon and one for running race all 3 years.
D. C. from Nashville, TN (4/23/2013) "Small and uninteresting" (about: 2013) 3 previous marathons \| 2 Carmel Marathons COURSE: 2 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 1 This is the second year I've run either the half or full at this event, so I feel obliged to comment since I didn't review it after last year. Pros- -Easy for spectators/family to get around the course and view runners at multiple points -Nice medals, this year was better than last -Better food choices offered this year over last year. Pizza, Powerade, cookies, chocolate milk, etc. -Good communication leading up to the race -Small expo, but easy to get in and out -Easy to park at the race. Shuttles also provided from host hotel Cons- -Small race, especially for the marathoners, parts of the race can get lonely -I would definitely not call this race flat. There are some hills, but much of the race is at a slight incline. So, for the majority of the race, it feels as though you are climbing. -Running through suburban neighborhoods with little to no fan fare. I believe the only spectator I saw was a man in his robe getting his newspaper -Unisex shirts, way too big for women -Water (and Powerade) was out of the fire hydrant. Had a strange metallic taste -Course not interesting with several sharp turns -No post race party as advertised. Everyone seemed very somber after the event- both full and half. I feel that there are several other marathon options in the area. If you like a festive race with fan fare, this is not the race for you. If you like a smaller, low key event with little to no fan fare, this would be an option for you.
A. S. from Indianapolis, IN (4/22/2013) "Fast Course, Great Organization" (about: 2013) 6-10 previous marathons COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 3 The 3rd annual Carmel Marathon & Half Marathon was a great race, and I will definitely be back. Highly recommended to anyone looking for a mid-sized, fast race in the spring that doesn't break the bank. Pros: 1) Excellent communication from the race organizers. Lots of updates via email and facebook, and questions were answered promptly. 2) Race organizers took runner feedback from last year to heart (i.e. lack of finish line food, poor tasting water, etc.) This year the water & powerade were great and the finish line food was awesome! Chocolate milk, pizza, cookies, bananas, etc. 3) Scenic, fast course. There are small rollers throughout, but no big climbs to slow you down. 4) Convenient, free parking for expo and on race morning. 5) Nice 'perks' like a high quality tech shirt, big medal, mylar blankets at the end, results available onsite, etc. The ribbons to honor Boston were a great added touch too. Some stretches of the course were closed due to bad flooding in the area. The night before the race, the race organizers worked to re-route and re-certify the course. It did result in some mile markers being off again this year, but this was not a big deal given the race organizers scrambled to ensure an accurate, certified, and safe course for us runners. Thank you!
K. B. from USA (4/22/2013) "Great small town marathon" (about: 2013) 11-50 previous marathons COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 3 Extermly well orgainzed with bus shuttle to and from the hotel. OK expo for a small race. T-shirt and medal were OK but not that big a deal to me. Some parts of the course had too many turns. A few negatives, keep the bikes off the course! Some of the relay runners had bike pacers and were yelling at the runners to make way for the relay runners,'bad form'. Maybe could add a few fuel stops, no gels on the course and don't mix the power aid with 'hose water' or fill the water cups with hose water. Volunteers were fantastic as well as all the race officials.
L. F. from Terre Haute, IN (4/21/2013) "Expertly Organized and great personal help" (about: 2013) 11-50 previous marathons COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 4 This was to be my 16th marathon. I had to transfer to the half because of being ill for the month prior to race. But I stayed to enjoy watching some fast marathon finishers and heard many achieved prs. (My comments are intended to show that comments made by others from earlier races have been addressed by the race director in an impressive way).Transfers can be done at the expo in 30 seconds for any of the three races. The race director answered my two emails within 1 to 24 hours. He also rapidly arranged respectful and comforting ways to honor the Boston victims with less than one week to do so, communicating this to the registered runners within just a few days from the bombings (I believe he had just returned from running Boston himself). He deserves a great deal of credit. Runners wore ribbons and bracelets-all available at the expo and some wore personalized shirts. The post race food was plentiful, generous, and of great variety, including chocolate milk and pizza. The volunteers were excellent and cheerful, despite standing in 32 degree temperatures for hours. Obviously this race is designed by runners who understand runners. There are not massive crowds. But runners who are serious about obtaining a PR in a running friendly environment should try this race. Some of us missed some mileage signs. Not sure if that is my fault or there could be improvement there. Another positive is that hotels are close by, and at this point, there appears to be no price-padding happening. Also, for running couples and families, there are a variety of distances, including the 8k, half, and a kids mile. So the atmosphere is one that celebrates running well. Great job by a race director for only the third year of the race!
L. B. from Baltimore, MD (4/20/2013) "Rough start, nice fairly flat course" (about: 2013) 11-50 previous marathons \| 1 Carmel Marathon COURSE: 3 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 2 I hope the race officials re-route the start line. The potholes in the first half mile are treacherous. I fell, unable to see one through the crowd of runners. A man fell off to my left about fifty yards later, then another woman went down shortly after that. The 4:10 pacer nearly went down on an orange cone. I finished, but slowly, my right knee bleeding and swelling for the remaining 26 miles. Otherwise a gorgeous course.

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