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May 11, 2024

Mankato Marathon Runner Comments

Back to Mankato Marathon Information & Reviews

Course 4.1

Organization 4.4

Spectators 4.3

Number of comments: 32 [displaying comments 11 to 21]

More Comments: [ < 1 2 3 4 > ]

L. B. from Minnesota (10/21/2013) "problem with relay awards" (about: 2013) First Marathon COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 5 I loved the course for the relay marathon. I have run the course for the half marathon and loved it too. I was disappointed that some of the relay runners' chip timing didn't work and weren't recorded. After talking with my teammates they said some of the runners did not have the chip on their ankles so the timing didn't register. I feel they should be disqualified if they couldn't run it correctly and fairly. They were see throwing it to the next runner and wearing the timing device on their wrists.
M. L. from Kansas (10/21/2013) "Nice Small Race, Course Could Be Improved" (about: 2013) 6-10 previous marathons \| 1 Mankato Marathon COURSE: 3 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 4 This is a small race with good organization. I PRd here by a healthy margin, so I'd rate the course as fairly fast, although it could definitely stand some improvements. There are too many, short, sharp turns in the course, especially in the middle section and again near the end, with lots of transitions from road to sidewalk to trail and back. These are momentum killers. There are also long sections on exposed country roads that made for some slow going against the wind. Crowd support was good for a race of this size, and I appreciated the groups organized to cheer on the runners. The pacing was not the best I've encountered. Our pacer took us out way too fast. After half a mile, I let him go, because he was a full 20 seconds faster than race pace for the first mile. Overall, a decent course if you're looking for a fast time, especially if the weather is kind and the winds are low, but it's not one that really calls me back to run it again.
J. S. from Lakeville, MN, USA (10/21/2013) "Great time with minor complaints" (about: 2013) 3 previous marathons \| 1 Mankato Marathon COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 I want to start by saying that I think this was a great marathon. The course was beautiful, the organization was excellent, the crowds were amazing, the pace team was fun and engaging, and the runners were great. I had a wonderful time and would recommend the race to others without hesitation. That said there were a few things I didn't like. There were a few places where the course was very narrow (at one point we were on a sidewalk with a hedge encroaching on us and had to run single file). They alternated Gatorade flavors rather than keeping one throughout the race. Also, I had a couple cups that were so thin that they were not much more than colored water. Other than that it was great and even those couple negatives couldn't take away from an otherwise excellent race. I'm sure I'll be back in the future.
E. C. from Iowa (10/21/2013) "Award ceremony flops again" (about: 2013) 11-50 previous marathons \| 1 Mankato Marathon COURSE: 2 ORGANIZATION: 3 FANS: 3 First, there were multiple errors at the awards ceremony. They started with 5-yr divisions and had to stop and revise them to 10-yr divisions. They messed up all the relay runners. NONE of the age division winners were given marathon prints as described on the website. And, then in regards to the Feb 2013 comment about awards from the 2012 race, the same error occurred this year. The race director again allowed overall winners to double-dip. I said something to him on the awards stand the moment it affected me and he brushed me to the side and I was told I was wrong. I then handed him the event booklet and pointed out the sentence stating the opposite and he set the booklet on the table and continued rather than fixing the mistake immediately. Afterward I sought him out and he said he saw what I pointed out but that it was the timer's fault and not his. I said, he can fix it now or mail me the correct award later. He finally fixed the men's awards but made no effort to correct the women's. Also, the award ceremony took 50 minutes to handout 6 divisions 3-deep and top 3 overall for each gender. WAY too long, but a sign of major disorganization. I intend to submit a separate comment regarding the race itself.
l. b. from united states (10/21/2013) "great relay but problems with the awards" (about: 2013) First Marathon COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 3 FANS: 5 I ran the relay marathon this year. There was a problem with the awards for this race. Apparently ome chip timing didn't register. Some of the problems were that the runners didn't have their chips on their ankles and instead wore them on their wrists so they could pass it off faster. I feel they should be disqualified if they can't do it correctly.
L. T. from Minnesota, USA (2/24/2013) "Great Race, but issues with awards" (about: 2012) 4-5 previous marathons \| 1 Mankato Marathon COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 4 I was very happy overall with this race overall, the course, the pace groups, the organization, the aid stations and volunteers were great. However on their website it says that overall award winners will not be given age group awards, and at the awards ceremony, overall winners were also given age group awards, effectively taking awards away from age groupers. Attempts to contact race management about this discrepancy were ignored, souring my experience of an otherwise good race.
K. D. from Little Falls, MN (10/30/2012) "great course for first marathon" (about: 2012) 1 previous marathon \| 1 Mankato Marathon COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 4 I really liked this marathon, and plan to do it next year to try to break 4 hours. The only negative I could say is I think it could have had more hills, as it only had 2 uphills and 3 down areas. I was surprised there weren't more spectators in and after the petting zoo toward the end (about 22-24), but there were lots at the finish and most of the last 2/3 of the race. The first 1/3 of the race was in the country without many spectators, but that early in the race there are so many other runners you don't notice them as much anyway. My sister-in-law ran the half-marathon, which mostly just follows the second half of the full marathon, so she had lots of spectators the whole way except the area by and just after the petting zoo. The medals and shirts were very nice. I thought the race was great. I plan to do this one again, even though my original plan was never to do the same marathon twice.
M. P. from MN (10/26/2012) "I love this race!" (about: 2012) 50+ previous marathons \| 2 Mankato Marathons COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 I ran the marathon in 2010 and 2012 and I might do it again in 2013. The two larger hills are at about mile 5 and 7. I really wouldn't call this a hilly course but rather a gently rolling one! There were enough runners to keep me motivated (I qualified for Boston) but not so many that I was bumping elbows the whole way like at some of the larger marathons. Our hotel was comfy, the movie intiguing, and dinner was yummy. Mankato is a great place for a weekend trip!
R. R. from St. Paul, MN (10/23/2012) "A very well organized pleasant race." (about: 2012) 11-50 previous marathons \| 1 Mankato Marathon COURSE: 3 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 4 The organization is great and everything was easy from packet pickup, expo, getting around, parking, shuttle, start area, and finish area. Really friendly volunteers and spectators without the huge crowds of other events. Loved the psych team that helped get some of the slow runners in, but missed not having any pace groups past 5 hours. A must for 50 state runners who do not want the logistics of a big race. The downside was missing the trees turn color, the manure covered corn fields, and the lack of running in more of the downtown area.
M. D. from MN (2/4/2012) "Fantastic small marathon" (about: 2012) 4-5 previous marathons \| 2 Mankato Marathons COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 4 I am a female, sub 3:20 marathoner, have done numerous half marathons and marathons. Here are my pros and cons. Pros: 1) This race is fantastically well-organized. 2) Parking was easy. 3) The shuttle from downtown parking to the start was so quick! 4)NO lines at the porta potties at the start. Awesome! 5) This year they started the 10kers early, which made the start much less congested. 6) Awesome medical support and porta-pottie placement along the way. 7) Aid stations were well-spaced and easy to get to. 8) MN weather in October is awesome. This year it was a cool 40-50 degrees the whole race. 9) They have good crowd support for most of the course, and even a 'sports psych' team that rides the course on bikes and cheers for you! 10) Finish line is well-laid out, easy to find family members and get back to your car. 11) They control the traffic for the time that you are on the streets, so you never feel like you're in danger. 12) I love the portions on the paved bike trail. 13) You feel like you've got runners around you most of the time, even though there are only about 700 marathoners. 14) Enjoyable course, don't let the hills scare you! If you train for them and set a smart pace, they're over early in the race. 15) They allow morning packet pickup, I hope they keep doing this! I was only a couple hours away, so drove in the morning of. 16) Great race photography. Cons (I only have one!) : The last 4 miles include a lot of turns and moving from streets to sidewalk, which can be pretty tiring (when you're already tired!) So I lost about 20 seconds per mile the last 4 miles due to that.

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