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Apr 29, 2024

Twin Cities Marathon Runner Comments

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Course 4.8

Organization 4.6

Spectators 4.9

Number of comments: 454 [displaying comments 61 to 71]

More Comments: [ < 1 .. 5 6 7 8 9 .. 46 > ]

A. T. from Lakeville, MN (10/23/2012) "Beautiful and Loud!" (about: 2012) 3 previous marathons \| 1 Twin Cities Marathon COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 5 As advertised, the course is beautiful from start to finish. Fan support was unbelievable with most of the course absolutely lined with cheering spectators.
Douglas Hall from Lincoln, Nebraska (10/23/2012) "My first Marathon. A simply PERFECT experience." (about: 2012) 1 previous marathon \| 1 Twin Cities Marathon COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 As this was my first marathon, I have to say the bar with which to judge other marathons is now incredibly high. I cannot think of one thing I would change. From the organization, the course, the support staff and the crowd.... I don't know what could possible be done to make it a better experience.
R. B. from St. Louis, MO (10/14/2012) "Great race. Did I say this is a great event?" (about: 2012) 6-10 previous marathons \| 1 Twin Cities Marathon COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 Great marathon. Great course. Outstanding organization. Great community support. I am coming back in 2013.
S. A. from St. Paul, Minnesota (five blocks north of Mile 24) (10/14/2012) "Finally, I got to run through my neighborhood!" (about: 2012) 4-5 previous marathons \| 1 Twin Cities Marathon COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 5 I've been among TCM spectators at Mile 24 for 14 years, and finally, after catching the marathon bug, I ran my hometown race. Nothing about the course was disappointing. Nothing. As others have indicated, Minnesotans turn out in force (and, for the record, most don't carp about the road closures). The only sparse spot is on the Cedar Avenue bridge, which on a warmer day would've been a nice respite, but admittedly was a slog right into a southerly wind. But I'm pretty lucky, OK spoiled, because I run Summit Avenue every day, and River Road once or twice a week. Our Twin Cities are indeed beautiful, and those stretches are even awesome in the winter! The trot to the finish is fantastic, and the medals and food handout areas nicely staffed. Loved the chicken broth! I have to agree that medal looks cheap in comparison to other races. That's about it, though. I'm hooked on this marathon stuff. And while I'm sure I'll run Chicago and/or New York at some point instead of TCM (and will volunteer at TCM when that happens!), I'll be in my hometown race many more times and love to hear the many compliments of my hometown!
Mimi S. from U.S.A. , Minnesota (10/13/2012) "fabulous fans with excellent organization" (about: 2012) 2 previous marathons \| 2 Twin Cities Marathons COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 Wow, my second marathon and a perfect, beautiful course and fan support. Thank you twin cities. I have run this marathon twice and definately will be back. The medal was not all that great, but hey, it's a medal. I am so proud to say that I ran this race and had a great experience. Be sure to hit up the Twin Cities Marathon if you are in the area. You won't regret it.
C. T. from Jackson, Mississippi (10/12/2012) "Spectacular course! Wonderful weather! Great fans!" (about: 2012) 3 previous marathons \| 1 Twin Cities Marathon COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 5 Having run all my long runs in 72+ degree heat with 80-90% humidity in Mississippi, the 32 degree temperature at the start was a Godsend, and actually made it hard to contain my pace for the first ten miles. But even better than the weather was the fact that fall foliage does exist in Minnesota, as opposed to Mississippi; the trees with all their yellow, orange, red, and brown leaves were gorgeous!! Running around the lakes at the start brought far larger crowds than I expected, and it was truly energizing, as was coming off the Mississippi River bridge on the 20th mile. The climb on mile 21 along E River Pkwy was the toughest part of the course, even tougher than the persistent gradual going up Summit. As many have said before, the finish passing the cathedral and going down to the Capitol was fantastic. And the crowd during that entire last 10k were not only supportive, but knowledgeable about what's going through the runners' minds at that point - keep moving, stay positive, and pretend the finish line is pulling you like a magnet. The down side was the same as others have mentioned - the aid stations. While there were a ton of volunteers, there were a few mile marks in the first half that did not have fluid, and at a marathon this size with so many runners with different hydration patterns, having fluid at every mile is a must to me. This was my third marathon, and so very different from the first two, which I will always remember for other reasons. However, this one far surpasses those experiences in the factors mentioned above - weather in the context of my training in the South, course, and spectators.
E. J. from Vancouver, BC (10/12/2012) "An incredibly well done marathon" (about: 2012) 6-10 previous marathons \| 1 Twin Cities Marathon COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 This was an absolutely beautiful marathon. The Fall colours, as well as the beautiful lake views, homes and historic buildings were stunning. The spectators were fantastic and everywhere despite the cold temps. It felt like the community really supported and was behind the race. The course itself was varied enough to keep it interesting. There are some hills, but they are totally doable. The corrals were very tight at the start, so if you desire to run near a pacer, be sure to get out early. It took at least a few miles to spread out. I felt the organization was very well done and the runner tracking was really helpful for my family to find me to see me on course. I also felt that the Runner's only area after the finish and the Family meeting area was well managed and I was through quite quickly. There have been other marathons where this part was pure chaos, so I was happy to get through fairly quick. All in all, I was really impressed and would travel to do this race again some day and definitely recommend it to others.
R. K. from TN (10/11/2012) "Nice Fall marathon" (about: 2012) 6-10 previous marathons \| 1 Twin Cities Marathon COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 Pros The spectators were unbelievable the entire way! I liked the cold :) Staying in the Metrodome until race start. It's a very pretty city in the Fall. Great volunteers. Cons 1) Corral 2 crowds. I ran 26.5 miles because of all the back and forth to get around people for much of the race. 2) Water/Powerade stops should offer on both sides of road in such a crowded race. 3) The medal is a dud for the price. It headlines with '2012 Finisher'. Great, I'm a finisher but where? California, Nevada? In what event? the 5k, the half? ... 'oh wait, there's some fine print around the outside, let me take a closer look' ... This is definitely the dullest race momento I have. I also saw that the 10k medal headlines '5k/10k'. Seriously Medtronic? You can't do better than that? With fees I paid $133 for the marathon since I signed up later in the year. For that kind of money I expected top-notch quality, not something generic. If I paid $30, I would expect what we got or even nothing at all. However I paid 153 dollars if one also includes parking for both the race and the expo.
D. S. from Michigan (10/10/2012) "Better than Chicago" (about: 2012) 11-50* previous marathons \| 1 Twin Cities Marathon COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 5 *Provided they keep the focus on the marathon and not add other distances or push the race cap higher. Chicago (& NYC) may have much more spectators but there were few if any 'deadzones' at Twin Cities with fans spread along the entire route. Nice course but there were some real bottlenecks even 6 or 7 miles ESPECIALLY when you get stuck behind a pace group. Note: Make sure you start between your appropriate pace groups! I think staying in St. Paul was more economical. Bus 54 direct from MSP to & from downtown St. Paul, hotels/ good restaurants, walking distance to expo and raceday shuttle bus. Post race itself was OK (that soup hit the spot!) but exit area was disorganized and you had to push through the 'reunion' crowds to get out plus the shuttle bus locations were not posted. Finisher shirt and medal were OK although not very creative. All in all though, petty complaints for a highly recommended race!
J. S. from Michigan (10/10/2012) "No False Advertising- Most Beautiful Urban Mary!!" (about: 2012) 2 previous marathons \| 1 Twin Cities Marathon COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 5 TC Marathon was my second and first since becoming a mom. I've been looking forward to this race since January and TC Marathon did not disappoint. Thank you Twin Cities for really bringing it this weekend. If I had it in me to do multiple marathons, I'd be back for sure. Spectacular. High Points: 1. The course- phenomenal, beautiful, breathtaking, gorgeous. So well planned & thought out. Loved it. 2. The finish line- over the top of the hill to see the downhill past the cathedral and to the capital? Ok, I'll stop crying now. Seriously enjoyed all that down hill in the last few miles. Awesome. 3. SPECTATORS. Party in the Twin Cities. Thank you MSP! 4. Pre-race in the Metrodome. This is brilliant and I was very, very grateful as race morning ended up 10 degrees cooler than I'd expected. I would have frozen my butt off waiting and ended up starting very comfortable due to waiting in the 'dome. The start line/gear drop off was extremely well organized, thank you. Low Points: 1. Have aid stations on both sides of the road and signs ahead of time so you know their coming! This race is too packed to have people guessing where they need to be to get fuel. 2. The area beyond the finish line area was insane- packed, chaotic. Once I left the runner only area it was like being in a mosh pit. My husband tried for an hour to get to the finish line and park but never made it and was crushed. Understand that construction + marathon + NFL game is a huge challenge but you need to have space & signage to get our supporters to the finish area!! I had to walk several blocks to go find him on the other side of the capital (just what I wanted to do at that point) and he and my little ones missed my finish. :( 3. Super boring t-shirt and medal. Seriously, I saw finishers from Chicago during my layover and had serious medal envy. I'll be doing Detroit in a couple weeks as part of a relay and I know my medal from that race will be tons cooler. This one looks way too cheap and simple. The t-shirt is too plain and if you're going to hand them out to finishers at the finish line the part that says FINISHER should be HUGE!! Just sayin'. Bottom line: AWESOME race. So glad I did it!! Still on a high!

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