Journeys Marathon

Weather was definitely going to be a factor for this marathon. Forecasts were for light snow and sub-freezing overnight weather. And this time, the weatherman seemed to get it right. The night before, check-in was at the local high school, and the Chamber of Commerce had a spaghetti dinner for the participants. Check-in was a breeze and the food was good, with plenty to eat. Buses were to depart the school parking lot at 6:45 a.m., to have the runners to the start-line in plenty of time for the 8:00 a.m. start. The start was at some kind of resort, so runners got to hang out inside until close to start time. The first half was rather hilly, and headed east, ending up where the 1/2 marathon start was. It looked like there were lots of lakes in the area with many summer homes along the way. The second half was flatter, though there were some turns, and we had to cross Highway US 45. After perhaps 2 to 3 miles on Highway 45, the course turned right, coming into town by the airport, missing and heavily traveled automobile routes, ending just past the foot-bridge over the river. The event was very well organized, and there were lots of volunteers. The course was very well marked. It would have been difficult to have gotten off-course. There were adequate hydration stations, and there were one per mile for the last 5 miles or so, but 3 of the last four hydration stations had been abandoned by their staff workers, while there were still runners out on the course, and at least one of the stations left no resources for the runners. That was really dumb. Then this race - advertised to have a 6-hour time limit - had awards after the course closed. Because of this, there were lots of people trying to cram into the tent where awards were to be handed out. To facilitate this, they moved all the post-race food to the back of the tent, then with everybody in the tent, the food was basically inaccessible. I was told by someone that the food was gone - not knowing the food was there, just pushed back out of the way. In any case, I was back at the school before I learned there was still food there for the runners. Tough luck for me. Anyway, it looked like they had some really nice prizes to hand out. But the medal was small, unspectacular, and mine was rather scratched up, with the copper coating coming off. I was not too happy about that, but those are the medals they chose for us and they were not as good a quality as they could have been. Still, a great marathon event and a very beautiful setting.

This was my 25th marathon, and one of the best I've ran so far. The course is really scenic, going through pine woods, by lakes and rivers. The hills may be kind of steep, but none of them are longer than a couple of minutes at most. The only thing I did not like about this race was the stretch along Highway G, when we had to pass groups of slower half-marathoners, running on the right side on a road with some traffic. To stay safe, I had to pass them on the right, running in a ditch, which I did not like at all. Other than that, I enjoyed the race at all, and I will definitely consider doing it again. There were many water stops with very friendly volunteers - thanks to all of you! Also the T-Shirt and post race food were really good.

'I ran the half marathon in 2013. It starts halfway through the marathon course and doesn't have the huge hills that the marathoners have to deal with during the first 13 miles. There is almost no crowd support...literally I didn't hear a single cow bell! But, I did have a deer dart across the road about 50 feet in front of me. Packet pick up was a breeze. The T-shirt was thin and flimsy. Really sub-par. No 'expo' to speak of. There are busses to take you to the start lines. The course ends in a park and the bus brings you back to the high school, where they offer free use of the showers in the locker rooms. Post race food was the standard fare...bananas, bagels, grapes, cookies, gatorade. It was really cold so I didn't stay long at the finish line. Everyone who crossed the finish line had their name announced and that was a nice touch. Each mile was clearly marked with large signs (different for the full and half). Very few porta potties and I only saw one photographer on the course. For most of the race, I was running pretty much by myself, so I was really grateful for my ipod to keep me company, although I can see how nature-lovers would enjoy the relative solitude of this course. The course was open to traffic, but most of the vehicles seemed to know what was going on and they slowly made their way around the runners. The fast marathoners and wheel chair marathoners had to weave their way through the half marathoners as they caught up, but I think it is encouraging to see the faster runners. If you don't want a big event, you may like this race.'