I was quite impressed with this event-having read previous years' comments and also spoken to people who had previously run I wasn't sure what to expect.

The plusses for me are that they really emphasize the marathon (unlike some races where the half and other races are given all the attention and the full is left to its own devices). There was a separate gear check tent for marathoners, so no line ups, and there was a separate start lane for marathon runners. That was terrific as there was no fighting with halfers to get to the start line, etc.

Another plus is that there were race officials on bikes riding up and down the course the whole race. I think I saw the same person a dozen times, so I always felt that if something went wrong I would be taken care of quickly. There was also an ambulance that rode along more or less on my paceuntil they were dispatched to help someone elsewhere. Great medical support overall. The cooldown tent, with ice-cube cooled chairs was great too.

Water stations were ample and all of them had plenty of water, Gatorade, and sponges (yeah, sponges!), and the volunteers were terrific. There were also 4-5 shower stations around the course. It was warm, but not hot, but it was easy to stay cool on race day. They were prepared for much worse, which was nice.

I really liked the course, especially the stretches in the more beautiful parts of the city.

On the cons side: there were three stretches where we ran in one lane and cars drove on the other (well separated by pilons). As an asthmatic, the exhaust caught up to me by mile 22 and I had to slow up and walk quite a bit to avoid a full on asthma attack. As an asthmatic, I am very sensitive to these kinds of things and I don't think I would have cared at all about the cars were I not an asthmatic, so it shouldn't dissuade people from choosing this fine race. It's just an issue specific to me and others who might have breathing-related issues. I wasn't at all sore for the days following the race, so I know I had lots more to give...

Food choices were a bit spartan at the finish. One other negative is that though the shuttle bus from the parking areas worked for me (the race operates continuous shuttles from 4-5 parking spots around the city to avoid race area congestion), I spoke to a few people who missed the start due to there not being enough buses. My own observation was that though there were two buses waiting to pick up, and hundreds of people waiting, the dispatcher on the ground refused to load more than one bus at a time. Our bus driver implored the dispatcher to load the other bus, and even told him that he had been told to tell the dispatcher to load all the buses at the same time, yet it didn't happen. I'm not sure what can be done to fix this issue as clearly the race organizers have worked really hard to respond to the criticism of their race to put on a great event. It's possible that all the other shuttle locations operated much better.

Overall, then, this is a terrific race for a marathon, with a nice flat and fast course. I'll run it again despite my concerns about exhaust, though maybe just as a training run.

I thought I'd try a Canada race, for a change. While overall, it was a decent experience, I don't think I'll go back.
CONS: Mostly relayers run the race - out of 14000 advertised participants, only 659 ran the full marathon. I got pretty tired of relay runners zipping by me by mile 20.
I know I'm in the back of the pack, but the spectators seemed few and often quiet (calm Canadians?) This felt more like a small town race, rather than a big city race.
Yes to KM's comments earlier - the volunteers did appear to re-use the sponges! I avoided them.
I did not like sharing the streets with cars the last 3 miles, with just orange cones separating me from errant drivers (yes, one drove outside the cones toward runners).
I also did not like being funneled through a maze at the end to get to the recovery tent.
PROS: It is a flat course, as advertised.
The volunteers were AWESOME!! They were enthusiastic and supportive throughout.
Volunteers and law enforcement did manage traffic well (except at the near end).
Plenty of water stops and porta-potties.
I did enjoy the course as it wound through Assiniboine Park and lovely neighborhoods.
In summary, if you want a calm, flat course, this is for you. If you want the comaraderie of other marathoners or more spectators, this is not for you.

Years ago, the pasta fest was a good time. In more recent years, the food, music, entertainment, cash bar, etc. has been dropped. The same has happened with the marathon course. Sadly, cup sizes of water have gone down, warning signs about high heat have disappeared. A guy even died in '09 shortly after running the marathon. I was dehydrated to the point that I should have been pulled from the course in '09.

Medics were not around. The most recent 2011 course did not allow the full marathon finishers to relax on the grass in the track area at the finish line. We had to walk into a gravel parking lot where nobody could sit down in a comfortable area. Unlike in previous years, we could no longer watch others finish the course or look for people in the stands. Sadly, conditions of this marathon and the treatment of full marathoners has been getting worse every year. I have run this marathon over 20 times.

The race was great but I have one piece of advice.... Be sure you can finish in the time allowed!

I was told at about mile 18 to walk, not run, because it was getting 'hot'. The temperature was 26 C - which is less than 80 F. I live in Texas and grew up in Louisiana so I know what 'hot' is - and less than 80 is not hot.

Race officials were starting to close the course but I was assured of being able to finish the race. Imagine my surprise when I was told to stop half way between mile 24 and 25. I was instructed to get on a bus that was picking up runners who had gone pass the time allowed. I was told if I refused to get on the bus I wouldn't be able to run the race next year. (In my opinion, that is just bad PR.) But having travelled so far I was determined to finish. And that's exactly what I told the policeman and race official who stopped me. After I told them where I was from they let me continue. I had a police escort to the finish line complete with lights and sirens as we approached the finish line. I came in dead last.

I understand the safety aspect, etc. of having to close the course after a certain amount of time but come on... when a runner is so close to end - let them finish! Yes, I have a great story to tell people about my marathon in Manitoba but I feel very bad for those who didn't make it to the finish line.

I ran the half marathon this year. I realize most of the comments on this site relate to the marathon, but I thought it was important that I tell of my experience running the half marathon. This was my 5th half marathon, and I have run 5 marathons as well.
My husband and I were extremely disappointed with the organization of this event. We used the park and ride system, and despite getting to the lot by 6 am, we waited over 30 min for a bus to come. By then, the line-up was so long, the 2 buses that came could not fit all the runners on it, so there were at least 50 runners left in the lot. Once we arrived at the drop-off we had very little time to get to the start line.
We were assigned to Wave 2, however, we both had qualifying times that put us in the 1:50 or faster category, which was what Wave 1 of this race was said to be. To our surprise, on race morning, we saw pace groups of 2:00h half marathoners going out in Wave 1 as well as walkers. We also saw several Wave 2 runners in Wave 1. I had emailed the race director prior to the event to ask for clarification on the wave starts, but I did not hear back from him/her. We started with Wave 2 because we didn't want to risk being disqualified.
The majority of this race was spent passing people. This is not usually a problem in most races, however during this race we had to pass people that were walking 10 across the course, or groups of 5 people lined up running on the course. I have run in the Boston marathon and other races that are crowded at the start and along the course, so I don't consider myself to be inexperienced or overwhelmed running in crowds. In other races I have found that most people running have a sense that there are others around them. I did not find that to be the case with this event.
The relay runner exchange was chaotic to pass through. We were crowded in on either side by runners waiting for their team-mate, creating a bottleneck on the course. Furthermore, relay runners who couldn't find the person they were supposed to hand off to suddenly stopped in mid-course, or in some cases were actually back-tracking along the course and running into us. I almost ran into 2 women as they were exchanging their relay belt in the middle of the course. In other races I have run where they have a relay as part of the event, there is usually a cap on the number of relay teams. However, it does not appear that this race has a cap on any runner numbers.

I have given the course 3 stars because, while scenic and flat, I found that there was a significant lack of aid stations and lack of volunteers at aid stations. I missed getting water twice because the course was crowded and the aid stations were not long enough/stocked enough to aid the number of runners coming through.
I gave the organization one star for the reasons mentioned above. They absolutely need to provide a better bus system to the start, and they need to consider capping the number of runners, because they are over capacity for what their organization can accommodate.
The spectators were great, and more numerous than what I expected. In my opinion, they are the best part about this event. As with any race, the volunteers are also great, although for the size of this event, they need more volunteers, especially at the aid stations.

I don't know why more out-of-towners don't run this race. Winnipeg is no harder to reach from the U.S. East Coast or Midwest than races in the U.S. Mountain or Pacific Time zones, and is an interesting enough place to spend a weekend. The people are friendly, and the course is not challenging (though maybe not as pancake-flat at the website makes it out to be; and the price for that flatness is a lot of time along boring commercial strips). So overall, I recommend it.

But there are things they need to improve:
1. DO NOT STAY AT THE RACE HOTEL. I second what the prior commenter said. I could add more details of the dysfunction regarding the hotel shuttle, but you get the idea. You're better off staying at an unaffiliated hotel close to one of the public shuttle pick-up points.

2. No gel on the course. Maybe 30 years ago runners didn't fuel midrace, but it's the 21st century, and we know better now. If they can manage to have sponges and misters on the course (helpful in surprisingly humid Winnipeg), providing gel shouldn't be difficult.

3. The shirt and medal are among the least attractive in my collection.

Nice course, much of it tree lined. Spectators were sparse but the ones that were there, were very enthusiastic. Host hotel program was dysfunctional. Race warns of limited access to start line, strongly suggest you shuttle in. As an out-of-towner, I decided the safest route to getting to the couse on time was to book a room at the host hotel which has a shuttle to the race. The hotel was very nice. Marathon material said shuttle would leave host hotel at 5:40 AM, need to sign up for a seat. When checking in, asked about shuttle and they said 'no sign in, just show up'. I asked how do I know there will be enough seats? They said, 'don't worry, just be in the lobby at 5:40 AM for only shuttle from host hotel'. Then I asked for late checkout on race day from the hotel. They said Noon was the latest I could have. I replied 'the first return shuttle doesn't leave finish area until Noon so I can't get here until 12:20'. They were unaware of any return shuttle to the hotel after the race. The night before race, there was a sign in hotel lobby that said race shuttle would be leaving at 5:20 AM. My confidence in getting a ride to the race start on time was gone. Decided not to rely on host hotel shuttle as it appeared there was very little planning or oversight. (I had driven 11 hours to get here, I was going to get to the start line on time one way or another). On day of race, local newspaper had an article on the race and noted that few out of towners came for race. This may be part of the problem.

An excellent course on which to qualify for the Boston Marathon; VERY flat, with supportive crowds, and well-stocked and spaced aid stations. If you are looking to BQ, yes, the heat can get up there, but you'll probably be finishing by the time the heat kicks in (like others have said, somewhere around 3:15/3:30 into the marathon race).

I can't say enough good things about this marathon. The Manitoba Marathon was not only a great race, but a fabulous Canadian experience for me, as I've never been to Canada before. Winnipeg is a lovely, historical city and the marathon course reflects that.

For a summer marathon, this race has several advantages - generally cooler temperatures (cooler than the Midwest U.S. for June anyway), lots of shade, and volunteers handing out sponges! I've seen a few scattered sponges before at previous races, but here the sponge stations are almost as frequent as the water stations. Plus the sponges are the larger, brick-shaped ones - perfect to cool you off for when the temperature began rising later in the race. Also, a number of the local residents had makeshift showers set out along the course. Nice.

The spectators are enthusiastic and obviously proud of their city and the race. Some commented that the actual numbers of spectators are not at the level of, say, New York or Chicago. That doesn't matter; Winnipeg is much smaller city, and the spectators who were out were pumped for the runners. Plus, the marathon has a huge relay contingent; when you run though the relay points, the relay runners waiting to start their relay legs are cheering you on in a wall of sound... and there is a long line of relayers on both sides of the course.

The volunteers were well organized - from the expo to the water stations to the finish areas. I thanked every one of them who I came in contact with.

For a good majority of the race, the marathoners and half marathoners are split up. Near the last few miles, they converge, but it was a good idea to split the marathoners and the half-marathoners to separate, adjacent paths about a mile before the finish to keep things going smoothly. I loved finishing in the university stadium outdoor track of the University of Manitoba - you run into the cheers of the crowd from the bleachers for your finish.

Run this marathon - you will love it!

Take care and God bless,

- Dan

This was my first marathon. I chose it because it is my home town and it is flat. I loved the course and it is indeed very scenic. Beautiful Wellington Cres., through Assiniboine Park, over the footbridge, downtown past the Golden Boy, and along the river with a stadium finish!

The race can be HOT and HUMID so be prepared - 2010 was getting up there at the 3-hour mark. Mosquitos welcomed the first 3 or 4 miles.

The spectators were fantastic - not deep, but plentiful and very encouraging.

Cons were the relay participants who followed the marathon route. Lots of high school students flying past, but not a big deal. Brings up the enthusiasm.

I would recommend it to anyone. It can be hot, but the course is scenic and flat, the people are great, and who doesn't like a stadium finish?