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☰
Grandma's Marathon Runner Comments
Back to Grandma's Marathon Information & Reviews
Course 4.5 
Organization 4.7 
Spectators 4.4
Number of comments: 298 [displaying comments 81 to 91]
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R. V. from Des Moines, IA
(6/22/2011)
 "Must Run Race" (about: 2011)
2 previous marathons
| 1 Grandma's Marathon
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 4 Course was beautiful!!! 5+ Stars. Packet pickup was a little crazy. Only 2 people handing out women's packets could have been better organized. Finish line could have had blankets moved up on cold day and hard to find food. Great fan support in town and through all the water stops. Fewer people out of town but that wasn't an issue. They were there when you needed them. Can't go wrong with 35 years of experience. I would run this one again and it is a must run for Minnesota. | |
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J. W. from Midwest
(6/21/2011)
 "Not the marathon expereince I was hoping for..." (about: 2011)
First Marathon
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 2 FANS: 4 I trained all winter for my first marathon and couldn't wait to finally particpate in a marathon with my husband. Sadly, I was dissapointed with my Grandma's experience. My husband is a much faster runner then I and came in at 3:14. While reviewing his pictures and experience I see that he had flowers at the finish line, space blankets (it was freeezing once you ended), multiple viewing angles in the finish line cameras, and a lot of food choices at the end. He was also lucky enough to get a finisher shirt!! I on the other hand finished at 5:23 (on a course that is advertised as open for 7 hours) and found that they were out of fisher shirts, no space blankets (i was shivering beyond belief trying to find my sweat bags that were a long ways away) no flowers and very limited food options with many of the tables being taken down and the volunteers discussing 'packing up.' I felt like I should be running to gather my stuff to get out of their way because I was an inconveniece coming in at 5:23. Looking back I'm starting to feel like I'm an unofficial finisher, and that the marathon didn't value my slow marathon as much as they value the expereince of the faster runners. There were other Spring marathons available and I picked Grandma's because of the large number of poeple and hoping that there would still be 'hype' even if I was slow. I have contacted the marathon to try and order the finsher shirt that I orginally ordered in my registration form, but I'm still awaiting their reply. | |
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W. F. from Rochester, MN
(6/20/2011)
 "A great day on the north shore" (about: 2011)
6-10 previous marathons
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 Very well organized marathon with great volunteer support. Beautiful course along the shores of Lake Superior, flat to slightly downhill except the small Lemon Drop hill at mile 22. No traffic of any kind except runners along the entire course. Truly a joy to run this course, the near perfect conditions helped. Finish line support and amenities were very nice, the finisher's medal was awesome. I will definitely be back. | |
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P. D. from Fayetteville, AR
(6/19/2011)
"Great Race" (about: 2011)
11-50 previous marathons
| 1 Grandma's Marathon
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 This marathon sets the standard for all others. The course was excellent, running next to Lake Superior was something I won't soon forget. This was for sure the flatest course I've been on so it's not for those looking for a difficult challenge but it is for those looking for a new PR. The aid stations were great. Water and powerade on both sides of the road and more than enough volunteers to pass it out. One smart thing they did was start the half-marathoners at mile 13. This prevented congestion at the beginning of the race and it was nice to know that all the people around you were doing the same race, kind of like at Boston. They did a fantastic job with the transportation to and from the race. My bus arrived at the start line with over an hour to go before the start and I was back at my hotel soon after the race was over. I really don't have anything negative to say about this race, I would highly recommend this to any runner and I will come back in the future. | |
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C. Q. from Washington
(6/19/2011)
 "No support at finish line for slower runners" (about: 2011)
6-10 previous marathons
| 1 Grandma's Marathon
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 2 FANS: 5 Great Course Great organization to start and even timing intervals tracked Great spectator support course published 7 hour time limit. Runners who came in at 6 hours or later (well within the limit) found the food tables being folded up, signs down leaving them searching for their warm up clothes from the drop point, and out of most shirts. Shirts could be ordered for mailing, but nothing but water at the end after being out there for 6 hours was really a bummer. | |
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J. L. from Fort Frances, Ontario, Canada
(6/19/2011)
"If you love sun and warmth, this wasn't the year!" (about: 2011)
11-50 previous marathons
| 6+ Grandma's Marathons
COURSE: 3 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 3 Grandma's 2011. I knew it was going to rain a week ago. I've done marathons in the rain, but it stresses you out (what if there's lightning and the race is cancelled? What if my feet slide around in my wet shoes?). Since it's cold AND raining, if you stop and walk, you'll be wet and chilled. I admit i like urban races with stuff to look at. I love Grandma's, but it's just you and the lake for 19 miles. I lost focus so many times and I'll have to work on that. Otherwise it was fine. | |
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Jim Reimann from Eagan, MN, USA
(6/19/2011)
"Need a marathon in June that is colder than 50?" (about: 2011)
11-50 previous marathons
| 6+ Grandma's Marathons
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 4 I'm assuming that my line summary got your attention. While the 2011 Grandma was the first of 26 marathons that I've run that had the white hypothermia flags flying, I have run it in close to 90 degree temps in past years. Still, just the possibility of having these type of temps, should have more Marathoners coming next year in 2012. I have run this 10 times, hot, cold, etc. and it is my favorite, no doubt. | |
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Big Bad John Wyant from Clearwater MN
(4/29/2011)
"Jet Fly-Over At the Start Line" (about: 2009)
3 previous marathons
| 1 Grandma's Marathon
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 I ran Grandma's in 2009 and it was really hot that day, but the course was really nice - lots of fan support, lots of entertainment. I am in it for 2011 and hope you are too, as I know it will be lots of fun. This is a scenic area for those who have not been here before and worth the visit. I love Grandma's Marathon!!!! | |
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Lucas Heart from Wausau, WI
(3/22/2011)
"One of the better overall marathons" (about: 2010)
11-50 previous marathons
| 1 Grandma's Marathon
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 Here's what's bad about Grandma's: hotel rooms in Duluth. The race itself is a really, really good time. The course is pretty, along the shore of Lake Superior. There isn't that much shade. The finish has a hill near the end and a long, winding approach. But the actual finish was great. Lots of friendly people, food and music. The late-night post-race party was almost all drunk kids; very surreal - they were drinking, smoking and making out. Every now and then we saw other runners - like lost souls set adrift amid a vast, dead ocean. | |
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K. S. from Cromwell, MN
(12/27/2010)
"Worth Coming Back" (about: 2010)
6-10 previous marathons
| 6+ Grandma's Marathons
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 5 I have been in Grandma's Marathon since I was 16. It has always been a blast to run, and I always thought the shirts were quite nice. The only problem I had was on the first year they had the train. I had trouble getting closer to the starting line because we had gotten there much later than the buses. They seem to have fixed that problem last year. The train got to the start much earlier. |
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