Marathon Details - Miami Marathon

North America Marathons > USA > FL > Miami and Miami Beach > Miami Marathon

Life Time Miami Marathon & Half Marathon

Miami and Miami Beach, FL USA

February 2, 2025

http://www.themiamimarathon.com

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Address:	PO Box 56-1081 Miami, FL 33256
Phone Number:	(305) 278-8668
Email:	Email the organizers



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Reviews

Course 4.5

Organization 4.2

Spectators 3.5

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Number of comments: 312 [displaying comments 1 to 11]

More Comments: [ < 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 .. 32 > ]

D. V. from Boston, MA (2/19/2020) "Too Crowded" (about: 2019) 6-10 previous marathons COURSE: 3 ORGANIZATION: 3 FANS: 2 I'm an 8-time marathoner and ran this as a half marathon. I would not come back to run the full. The course was incredibly crowded and while that can add to a fun energy in this case, I have never seen so many people just stopping to take selfies. I'm not an elite runner by any means but this was too much of a 'fun run' even for me. The waiting to start was also a bit much - I appreciated the corrals by time but my group didn't start for almost 40 minutes after the race start.
T. B. from Florida (2/9/2020) "Half marathon is LONG. Like 13.3, not 13.1" (about: 2020) 6-10 previous marathons \| 1 Miami Marathon COURSE: 2 ORGANIZATION: 3 FANS: 4 Note that I ran the HALF MARATHON, not the marathon. It is LONG. And it's not just Garmin drift. It's more like 13.3, not 13.1. Go on Athlinks and look up results from the winners all the way down. The mile split at 21k and the mile split at the finish would yield results like 18-minute miles for that last 0.1 mile if this were a straight-up 13.1 mile course. I get that many point-to-point courses are slightly long (just to make sure for USATF purposes that a point-to-point course meets the stated length), and Garmins get weird about cloud cover, tall buildings, and running tangents and around people. But not to this degree and so uniformly. The winners' splits on Athlinks for 21k and 'the finish' are just as weird as the midpackers' splits, so the length discrepancy can't be attributed to midpackers jogging through traffic. ALL OF THIS SAID... If you want a warm-weather 'tune up' practice race to help set you up for a bigger goal, bust some rust, or just practice racing - Miami is great. Amazing expo in one of the coolest 'hoods in the country, if not the world. Wynwood SLAPS. Linger there a bit. BALLER MEDALS Enough crowd support (at least for the half) when you need it Gorgeous views Challenging, but fair course - bridges are hills (but what goes up comes down), and the wind / heat / humidity is a big variable. Given this, I would NOT recommend the Miami half (and, to some extent, the full, since I think the full marathon is also long - just not as over-long as the half) as a goal race where you're aiming for a certain official time or simply an official PR. But there's a lot that this course and overall experience can offer if you come in with the right mentality and information.
A. B. from Maryland (9/23/2019) "More of Half Marathoners" (about: 2019) 6-10 previous marathons \| 1 Miami Marathon COURSE: 3 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 2 I didn't enjoy this race all that much. I found the start to take longer than it should have, standing around for way too long before we took off though I appreciated being surrounded by runners at my pace. It's a flat course that runs through a lot of neighborhoods and that gets very boring, very fast. Spectators are low throughout some of the toughest miles of the marathon. If you are planning on the half, it'll be fun and then you can enjoy the post race activities. Half marathoners will have good crowd support but it disappears almost immediately post 13 miles. Most marathoners aren't ready to rock after completing 26 miles. Not a single person working the event could tell me where the family meet up stations by last name were so I had to use a strangers cell to find my family. I really expected more of Miami. Was hoping for a vibrant race with some fun music along the way but the marathon crowd was just too small.
Nigel Mcgregor from New York (6/5/2019) "Love this RACE! No Race is Perfect" (about: 2019) 11-50 previous marathons \| 6+ Miami Marathons COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 3 FANS: 3 I have ran this course 9 times and I've seen all of what mother nature has to offer from Hot and Humid, heavy rain, and freezing cold in this Marathon. The first half of the marathon is where the most spectators are located. The second half is where it is the most challenging. There is little to no crowd support as the course goes through private neighborhoods. My advice to ALL out-of-state athletes who wants to run in Miami is to arrive a few days early so your body can adjust to the climate (i.e. Thursday leading up to the race on Sunday). Hydrate properly prior to the race so you do not be drained. Use ALL Water stations along the course while holding your pace (If not thirsty, splash it on your head and back to stay cool). If you do these fundamentals, you will PR and you will enjoy MIAMI's post race concerts and food.
R. F. from Plantation, FL (1/28/2019) "It's more for half marathon" (about: 2019) 11-50 previous marathons \| 6+ Miami Marathons COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 3 FANS: 2 I had run this marathon since 2004. It used to be very good. Now it more like a half marathon because 80% of participants are half marathon runners. Marathon and half marathon runners are mixed in different corals and start at various intervals. If you are not the elite to start early you won't get your PR. It's very crowded. Some parts of the course are very narrow and you can't run at all. This year no parking information is given. I am local and I had trouble to find parking in 2018 and 2019. Roads were closed in a way and you had to make dead circle and could not find parking, some are more than $40.
S. B. from Waco, TX (1/30/2018) "Hot and windy day in Miami" (about: 2018) 11-50 previous marathons \| 1 Miami Marathon COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 4 The Miami Marathon is an extremely well run event and a very scenic course. The expo this year was at a convention center and getting in and out was no problem at all. There were lots of interesting vendors at the expo as well as several work out sessions that were going on during the event. Race day was well organized and the race starting at 6am helped with the weather. Unfortunately, the weather this year was rough, starting in the mid 70's and extremely humid. A constant 20mph breeze actually helped mitigate the heat but was tough to run in and out of all day. The weather is absolutely no reflection on the race itself, it's a wonderful event and is well supported by the volunteers and plenty of spectators. Even though there weren't many of us that continued after the full/half split (half-marathoners out numbered the full by the thousands), the water stations and spectators will still plentiful and didn't suffer like they do in far too many other events. Unfortunately, you can't count on cool weather in south Florida, just take it easy and enjoy the day.
B. G. from Fairfield, CT (1/29/2018) "This race COULD be great" (about: 2018) 50+ previous marathons \| 4-5 Miami Marathons COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 3 FANS: 3 It is run on a great course through Miami and Miami Beach in the heart of winter. Perfect destination race right? No quite. It is a big city event put on by small time organization. They try. But so many small things ad up to disappoint experience. But I have to commend them for going all in on hydration stations. Seemed to find water at every mile. On a near 80 degree day with dry winds it was great to see and much needed. But, the expo is was a loud, disorganized mess in a factory space in an 'up and coming' area of Miami. Nice idea but no clues how to find it, park, get-in, locate #. Vendors were spread out across massive loud soulless factory floor. The start area is chaos with chain link pens with no obvious way to get in. Staggered start has you wait as much as a half hour to get going for a race that demands you be there by 6am! Not a cup of coffee or bottle of water in sight. 20,000 runner and maybe 500 spectators the entire 26 miles. Not their fault but Miami is just pissed at street closures. Does not seem that city embraces the event but again, not their fault. The race sponsor seems to change each year so there is no clear personality to the event. They do have world class medal which seems to be their big thing. This is not a BAD event. It just can't seem to find to make it worth the effort to get there.
J. G. from Florida (2/9/2017) "Chaos is part of the charm" (about: 2017) 6-10 previous marathons \| 2 Miami Marathons COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 3 FANS: 5 I love this marathon because chaos is part of its charm. Lines are long, you'll always spend hours at the expo, parking is a major hassle, people cut in front of you, they get in the wrong corrals, bag check is never where you'd expect it. But that's Miami! You just have to go with the flow, smile, embrace the chaos. The volunteers are awesome, law enforcement is outstanding and amazingly it all works in the end. Hats off to organizers this year who had to deal with the pouring rain, wind and unseasonably cold weather.
D. G. from Indianapolis, IN (2/7/2017) "Great Location, Good Course, Horrible Organization" (about: 2017) 11-50 previous marathons \| 1 Miami Marathon COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 1 FANS: 3 Miami in January is wonderful for a marathon, this year temps were good (50s) but had sporadic rain throughout race, the course is flat and fast (PRs are definitely possible), most of the runners do the half-marathon, so there are few participants and spectators in the second half of the race. The organization of the race is clearly not up to the standards of what you would expect for a large marathon. 20,000 participants obtained their race bibs at the Expo at the Marlins baseball field. Instead of using the field or a parking lot (a big open space), the organizers weaved the participants past all of the sponsors in a way that only a casino operator could dream of, to get to a gate that had 3 metal detectors and stadium employees to check bags prior to entry. Once passing that bottleneck, the same participants weaved through more sponsors only to get to another checkpoint to be released to the numbered tables to get their bibs on an upper level concourse of the stadium. Needless to say this process took hours to complete, and was not designed for the number of participants on hand. If an open area was chosen, it would have taken 15 minutes or less and then you'd be more in the mood for browsing the sponsors tables afterwards. The pickup bag did not include any information about the start of the race, course layout, post-race layout, that is standard at most larger races. Then came the post-race layout. Again all of the sponsors tables were at the finish area, and gear check was placed more than a half mile from the finish area isolated from everything else. Most organizers have the gear check close to the finish line, so that participants can get their recovery items quickly to be able to enjoy the finish area. Some simple changes could make the race on par with other larger marathons.
R. S. from SF, CA (2/2/2017) "Fast course, lacks organization" (about: 2017) 11-50 previous marathons \| 1 Miami Marathon COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 2 FANS: 3 2017 was a wet year for the Miami marathon, which may explain why spectators stayed at home, so a big shout-out and thank you for the volunteers who braved the cold and kept our spirits up. The course is scenic, very flat, wide, and with long stretches of straight road. Could be a PR course. However, I will not run it again. The lack of organization was disturbing. The expo had moved to the Marlins stadium for the first time, and on Saturday at 1pm the lines started circling the stadium: a line for security, a line for picking up bibs, a line for riding up an escalator, and a line for getting the shirt. I usually spend 30 minutes at a race expo (and still have time to visit some exhibitors that I like), but at Miami, it took me two hours, and I did not visit any booths. On race day, getting into my corral was chaos, with hundreds of runners stuck outside corral F, and barely able to move. The few medical stations that I saw along the course only seemed to have petroleum jelly and band aids. Then, on a wet, windy, and cold day (low 50s), no heatsheet at the finish line either. All in all, during the expo and the race, I had the impression that my safety and health were at risk. I have done big city and small town races, and had never experienced such chaos at either one. Two stars for organization, as law enforcement did a great job directing traffic.

More Comments: [ < 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 .. 32 > ]

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D. V. from Boston, MA (2/19/2020) "Too Crowded" (about: 2019) 6-10 previous marathons COURSE: 3 ORGANIZATION: 3 FANS: 2 I'm an 8-time marathoner and ran this as a half marathon. I would not come back to run the full. The course was incredibly crowded and while that can add to a fun energy in this case, I have never seen so many people just stopping to take selfies. I'm not an elite runner by any means but this was too much of a 'fun run' even for me. The waiting to start was also a bit much - I appreciated the corrals by time but my group didn't start for almost 40 minutes after the race start.
T. B. from Florida (2/9/2020) "Half marathon is LONG. Like 13.3, not 13.1" (about: 2020) 6-10 previous marathons \| 1 Miami Marathon COURSE: 2 ORGANIZATION: 3 FANS: 4 Note that I ran the HALF MARATHON, not the marathon. It is LONG. And it's not just Garmin drift. It's more like 13.3, not 13.1. Go on Athlinks and look up results from the winners all the way down. The mile split at 21k and the mile split at the finish would yield results like 18-minute miles for that last 0.1 mile if this were a straight-up 13.1 mile course. I get that many point-to-point courses are slightly long (just to make sure for USATF purposes that a point-to-point course meets the stated length), and Garmins get weird about cloud cover, tall buildings, and running tangents and around people. But not to this degree and so uniformly. The winners' splits on Athlinks for 21k and 'the finish' are just as weird as the midpackers' splits, so the length discrepancy can't be attributed to midpackers jogging through traffic. ALL OF THIS SAID... If you want a warm-weather 'tune up' practice race to help set you up for a bigger goal, bust some rust, or just practice racing - Miami is great. Amazing expo in one of the coolest 'hoods in the country, if not the world. Wynwood SLAPS. Linger there a bit. BALLER MEDALS Enough crowd support (at least for the half) when you need it Gorgeous views Challenging, but fair course - bridges are hills (but what goes up comes down), and the wind / heat / humidity is a big variable. Given this, I would NOT recommend the Miami half (and, to some extent, the full, since I think the full marathon is also long - just not as over-long as the half) as a goal race where you're aiming for a certain official time or simply an official PR. But there's a lot that this course and overall experience can offer if you come in with the right mentality and information.
A. B. from Maryland (9/23/2019) "More of Half Marathoners" (about: 2019) 6-10 previous marathons \| 1 Miami Marathon COURSE: 3 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 2 I didn't enjoy this race all that much. I found the start to take longer than it should have, standing around for way too long before we took off though I appreciated being surrounded by runners at my pace. It's a flat course that runs through a lot of neighborhoods and that gets very boring, very fast. Spectators are low throughout some of the toughest miles of the marathon. If you are planning on the half, it'll be fun and then you can enjoy the post race activities. Half marathoners will have good crowd support but it disappears almost immediately post 13 miles. Most marathoners aren't ready to rock after completing 26 miles. Not a single person working the event could tell me where the family meet up stations by last name were so I had to use a strangers cell to find my family. I really expected more of Miami. Was hoping for a vibrant race with some fun music along the way but the marathon crowd was just too small.
Nigel Mcgregor from New York (6/5/2019) "Love this RACE! No Race is Perfect" (about: 2019) 11-50 previous marathons \| 6+ Miami Marathons COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 3 FANS: 3 I have ran this course 9 times and I've seen all of what mother nature has to offer from Hot and Humid, heavy rain, and freezing cold in this Marathon. The first half of the marathon is where the most spectators are located. The second half is where it is the most challenging. There is little to no crowd support as the course goes through private neighborhoods. My advice to ALL out-of-state athletes who wants to run in Miami is to arrive a few days early so your body can adjust to the climate (i.e. Thursday leading up to the race on Sunday). Hydrate properly prior to the race so you do not be drained. Use ALL Water stations along the course while holding your pace (If not thirsty, splash it on your head and back to stay cool). If you do these fundamentals, you will PR and you will enjoy MIAMI's post race concerts and food.
R. F. from Plantation, FL (1/28/2019) "It's more for half marathon" (about: 2019) 11-50 previous marathons \| 6+ Miami Marathons COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 3 FANS: 2 I had run this marathon since 2004. It used to be very good. Now it more like a half marathon because 80% of participants are half marathon runners. Marathon and half marathon runners are mixed in different corals and start at various intervals. If you are not the elite to start early you won't get your PR. It's very crowded. Some parts of the course are very narrow and you can't run at all. This year no parking information is given. I am local and I had trouble to find parking in 2018 and 2019. Roads were closed in a way and you had to make dead circle and could not find parking, some are more than $40.
S. B. from Waco, TX (1/30/2018) "Hot and windy day in Miami" (about: 2018) 11-50 previous marathons \| 1 Miami Marathon COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 4 The Miami Marathon is an extremely well run event and a very scenic course. The expo this year was at a convention center and getting in and out was no problem at all. There were lots of interesting vendors at the expo as well as several work out sessions that were going on during the event. Race day was well organized and the race starting at 6am helped with the weather. Unfortunately, the weather this year was rough, starting in the mid 70's and extremely humid. A constant 20mph breeze actually helped mitigate the heat but was tough to run in and out of all day. The weather is absolutely no reflection on the race itself, it's a wonderful event and is well supported by the volunteers and plenty of spectators. Even though there weren't many of us that continued after the full/half split (half-marathoners out numbered the full by the thousands), the water stations and spectators will still plentiful and didn't suffer like they do in far too many other events. Unfortunately, you can't count on cool weather in south Florida, just take it easy and enjoy the day.
B. G. from Fairfield, CT (1/29/2018) "This race COULD be great" (about: 2018) 50+ previous marathons \| 4-5 Miami Marathons COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 3 FANS: 3 It is run on a great course through Miami and Miami Beach in the heart of winter. Perfect destination race right? No quite. It is a big city event put on by small time organization. They try. But so many small things ad up to disappoint experience. But I have to commend them for going all in on hydration stations. Seemed to find water at every mile. On a near 80 degree day with dry winds it was great to see and much needed. But, the expo is was a loud, disorganized mess in a factory space in an 'up and coming' area of Miami. Nice idea but no clues how to find it, park, get-in, locate #. Vendors were spread out across massive loud soulless factory floor. The start area is chaos with chain link pens with no obvious way to get in. Staggered start has you wait as much as a half hour to get going for a race that demands you be there by 6am! Not a cup of coffee or bottle of water in sight. 20,000 runner and maybe 500 spectators the entire 26 miles. Not their fault but Miami is just pissed at street closures. Does not seem that city embraces the event but again, not their fault. The race sponsor seems to change each year so there is no clear personality to the event. They do have world class medal which seems to be their big thing. This is not a BAD event. It just can't seem to find to make it worth the effort to get there.
J. G. from Florida (2/9/2017) "Chaos is part of the charm" (about: 2017) 6-10 previous marathons \| 2 Miami Marathons COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 3 FANS: 5 I love this marathon because chaos is part of its charm. Lines are long, you'll always spend hours at the expo, parking is a major hassle, people cut in front of you, they get in the wrong corrals, bag check is never where you'd expect it. But that's Miami! You just have to go with the flow, smile, embrace the chaos. The volunteers are awesome, law enforcement is outstanding and amazingly it all works in the end. Hats off to organizers this year who had to deal with the pouring rain, wind and unseasonably cold weather.
D. G. from Indianapolis, IN (2/7/2017) "Great Location, Good Course, Horrible Organization" (about: 2017) 11-50 previous marathons \| 1 Miami Marathon COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 1 FANS: 3 Miami in January is wonderful for a marathon, this year temps were good (50s) but had sporadic rain throughout race, the course is flat and fast (PRs are definitely possible), most of the runners do the half-marathon, so there are few participants and spectators in the second half of the race. The organization of the race is clearly not up to the standards of what you would expect for a large marathon. 20,000 participants obtained their race bibs at the Expo at the Marlins baseball field. Instead of using the field or a parking lot (a big open space), the organizers weaved the participants past all of the sponsors in a way that only a casino operator could dream of, to get to a gate that had 3 metal detectors and stadium employees to check bags prior to entry. Once passing that bottleneck, the same participants weaved through more sponsors only to get to another checkpoint to be released to the numbered tables to get their bibs on an upper level concourse of the stadium. Needless to say this process took hours to complete, and was not designed for the number of participants on hand. If an open area was chosen, it would have taken 15 minutes or less and then you'd be more in the mood for browsing the sponsors tables afterwards. The pickup bag did not include any information about the start of the race, course layout, post-race layout, that is standard at most larger races. Then came the post-race layout. Again all of the sponsors tables were at the finish area, and gear check was placed more than a half mile from the finish area isolated from everything else. Most organizers have the gear check close to the finish line, so that participants can get their recovery items quickly to be able to enjoy the finish area. Some simple changes could make the race on par with other larger marathons.
R. S. from SF, CA (2/2/2017) "Fast course, lacks organization" (about: 2017) 11-50 previous marathons \| 1 Miami Marathon COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 2 FANS: 3 2017 was a wet year for the Miami marathon, which may explain why spectators stayed at home, so a big shout-out and thank you for the volunteers who braved the cold and kept our spirits up. The course is scenic, very flat, wide, and with long stretches of straight road. Could be a PR course. However, I will not run it again. The lack of organization was disturbing. The expo had moved to the Marlins stadium for the first time, and on Saturday at 1pm the lines started circling the stadium: a line for security, a line for picking up bibs, a line for riding up an escalator, and a line for getting the shirt. I usually spend 30 minutes at a race expo (and still have time to visit some exhibitors that I like), but at Miami, it took me two hours, and I did not visit any booths. On race day, getting into my corral was chaos, with hundreds of runners stuck outside corral F, and barely able to move. The few medical stations that I saw along the course only seemed to have petroleum jelly and band aids. Then, on a wet, windy, and cold day (low 50s), no heatsheet at the finish line either. All in all, during the expo and the race, I had the impression that my safety and health were at risk. I have done big city and small town races, and had never experienced such chaos at either one. Two stars for organization, as law enforcement did a great job directing traffic.

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Marathon Details - Miami Marathon