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Detroit International Marathon Runner Comments
Back to Detroit International Marathon Information & Reviews
Course 4.5 
Organization 4.2 
Spectators 4.1
Number of comments: 402 [displaying comments 71 to 81]
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T. J. from Texas USA
(10/20/2010)
 "A lot of fun - great scenery along the course" (about: 2010)
3 previous marathons
| 1 Detroit International Marathon
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 4 Not a PR course (the bridge at mile 3, wind on Belle Isle and inclines on mile 24/25 are challenging), but a great race and a course with plenty of character. Plenty of hydration, efficient and well organized from top to bottom, great weather, nice people. I highly recommend this event. | |
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R. J. from Georgia, USA
(10/19/2010)
"Very nice, mid-size, big-city marathon" (about: 2010)
11-50 previous marathons
| 1 Detroit International Marathon
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 4 Pluses: Unique course runs through two countries. Knowing Homeland Security, I'm surprised they still allow this race route. Well-organized. Expo, start corrals, volunteers, registration, website, all first-rate. Weather: perfect. Some nice sections through scenic neighborhoods, especially Windsor, Indian Village and Belle Isle. Fire boats spraying alongside Belle Isle. Mariachis and Polka bands. You get to run through a tunnel! Great medals and race shirts. Fast, flat course (mostly). Minuses: First couple of miles through ugly industrial district with nasty gas fumes. Miles 14-16 through ugly urban blight. Ran out of small shirts early in the day. Crowding and slowdowns on the Ambassador Bridge. To be fair, one lane was not available due to construction so this is not the fault of the RD. Still, it cost a minute or two off finishing time. No Mounties. When I come to Canada, I want to see a Mountie. Would it kill you to have a Mountie in the Canada part? And no, inflatable ones don't count. If you are staying downtown, there is NOTHING to do on the weekend. I felt like I was in one of those movies where I'm the last man on Earth. Everything in downtown Detroit is closed and the place is deserted. Except for the panhandlers, that is. Overall, a very nice, big-city race. Very well done with just a few negatives. Highly recommended. | |
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C. S. from Cleveland, Ohio
(10/19/2010)
"Nice First Marathon" (about: 2010)
1 previous marathon
| 1 Detroit International Marathon
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 This was my first marathon. I ran my first 1/2 marathon in Philly last year. From my extremely limited experience, I will say that I think this marathon is topnotch. I really enjoyed this marathon and for the most part I thought they did an excellent job. I have listed the positives and negatives below. The positives: A mostly flat course. The crowds were very enthusiastic for the most part and the course was very scenic (except at or around miles 14-16). Running over the Ambassador Bridge into Canada and back through the tunnel will always be a fond memory. The view from miles 19 through the end make up for the dreary view a couple miles back. The number of different views was more impressive in Detroit than Philly and the crowds were equal if not more enthusiastic. The spectators in Canada were very respectful (although I must admit that it felt great coming out of the tunnel and to the cheering crowds in the good ol' USA). The weather was perfect. The volunteers were great and there was more than enough water and Gatorade. Some fans had beer they were passing out, but I did not partake out of a fear of gassing out in my first. The M&M's a couple people were passing out somewhere on the back-end were very much appreciated. The negatives: There were reportedly 20,000 people at the starting line. It felt every bit as crowded as you might imagine from that. It was absolutely jammed packed in the 4:45/5-hour pacing corral. It thinned out over the first mile or two only to be jammed again going over the bridge - so much so that we were bottlenecked and at a standstill or a snail's pace for the next 10-plus minutes. For the more experienced runners looking to PR or BQ, I would imagine it would be difficult to try and make up that lost time. It may have been fine it the faster corrals, though. I wanted to break 5 hours, so I had to try and make up a significant amount of time lost over the rest of the course. I was successful in making up the time by the halfway point, but I think in doing so it ended up hurting me in the end, as I just missed cracking 5 hours. They should consider letting the 1/2 marathoners start first or vice versa to eliminate gridlock over the bridge. Overall, a great marathon with great spectators and volunteers. | |
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M. D. from Queen Creek AZ
(10/18/2010)
 "The City of Detroit should be proud!" (about: 2010)
1 previous marathon
| 1 Detroit International Marathon
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 Well organized race, great course, and tons of enthusiastic spectators. This was my first marathon, and I was impressed at how well organized everything was. The expo and packet pickup were great. Running over the bridge to Canada and back through the tunnel was awesome. Even the city's police were friendly and encouraging. I couldn't have picked a better course on which to run my first marathon. Not the time i wanted but that just means I can focus on a PR next time. | |
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J. C. from Pittsburgh, PA
(10/14/2010)
"A wonderful way to see two countries" (about: 2009)
50+ previous marathons
| 6+ Detroit International Marathons
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 Going over to Canada and then back to the States is great. Spectators on both sides were wonderful. | |
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A. W. from Grosse Pointe Woods, MI
(4/15/2010)
"Outstanding course - wonderful folks" (about: 2009)
1 previous marathon
| 1 Detroit International Marathon
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 5 I loved the combination of challenges that this course provides. This is not a flat course, nor a fast course. But if you're looking for beautiful scenery, lovely people, and some interesting challenges, this race will not disappoint. The spectacular sunrise I saw as I crossed over the Ambassador Bridge into Canada was just one of the memorable highlights of the race. I'm happy that my first marathon was in Detroit. | |
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J. M. from Detroit
(12/21/2009)
"Great race, course, and finish; expo needs work" (about: 2009)
6-10 previous marathons
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 5 I live in Detroit and ran the half (and I have done the half twice before). Liked the "new" course for '09, as well as being able to come to the expo Friday night. Did not like the shirt AT ALL - even though it is the right size for once! No food at the expo, and the finisher's food bag was pretty small if one did not have time to go to the party (and I opted not to so I could get home and support runners from my front yard during the full). Parking that morning was a mess. The Cobo ramp wasn't even open when we got there, and long lines of cars waited and waited and waited, but got in after 25 minutes. (Because we were in a one-way ramp situation, it wasn't like you could do a U-turn or back out.) The registration process is seamless, and the volunteers at the expo and on the course were just great. I also love that the Free Press keeps us motivated right up until race day!! | |
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G. K. from Michigan
(12/19/2009)
 "Beautiful day, nice support, horrible arrival." (about: 2009)
6-10 previous marathons
| 4-5 Detroit International Marathons
COURSE: 2 ORGANIZATION: 2 FANS: 3 Positive: Beautiful fall day, and the gorgeous bridge view. Negative: Although arriving downtown at 6 a.m., we sat on the freeway and couldn't move for almost one hour, having to bail and run for the starting line at the last minute with dozens of others. Nightmarish. Race start was a zig-zag mess. Unfortunately, even the most scenic points of Detroit are fairly depressing. Finally, the website charged my Visa for a membership plus a full magazine subscription without authorization. | |
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M. M. from Maryville, IL
(11/23/2009)
"Good Race" (about: 2009)
4-5 previous marathons
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 3 FANS: 5 Overall, probably a great race, but a couple of negative points. Pros 1. The course: They did a nice job of showing off the city. While highlighting the best parts of town, runners were also able to see parts that were not so nice, although I never once felt unsafe. So many cities try so hard to avoid any bad parts of town and never give you a feel for the real town. 2. Crowd support was great! While not on the entire course, it was very adequate. 3. Plenty of water stops. More gel stops would have been nice, but this was well advertised. 4. Start was very smooth. Cons 1. Race-day parking was miserable. I was constantly told that there was plenty of parking, but I was stopped on the freeway exit ramp for 20 minutes. 2. I finished in under 4 hours, and was given a bag of chips and a glass of water for my post-race meal. Was this all they had or were they out? 3. Expo was adequate, but didn't like having to walk by everything in a maze layout to get my registration and t-shirt. Overall, a good race I would definitely come back to. | |
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T. L. from Los Angeles, CA
(11/10/2009)
 "Good tour of the city, some glitches" (about: 2009)
11-50 previous marathons
| 1 Detroit International Marathon
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 3 FANS: 3 The good: the course was well laid out and planned, without a lot of out-and-backs to make up mileage. Excellent use of Belle Isle. I liked the bridge and tunnel, and the run along Windsor's waterfront and the finishing miles along the river were nice. Plenty of water on the course, and we could not have asked for better weather. Start went well. The bad: difficult to figure out where to go right after the half and full split. We were not sure we were on the right road for a little while. The GU station was out of gels, which was no problem, but the finish line was out of full marathon medals (how does that happen when some full registrants must have dropped to the half?). The most disappointing part: not one race photo of me or the buddy I ran with the whole way (who was running her first marathon). Not during the first half, and not in the second half - even though we were ahead of the last-chance pacer - and not even at the finish line. That was unexpected and disheartening. Keep the photographers until the finish line closes! Well organized, and I will consider doing this again if budget permits. |
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