Miami Marathon - Race Reviews

For $10+ per mile, I expect perfect organization and didn't get it. The GOOD- great medal; organized start area; scenic course; water stops after the split; traffic control. The BAD- I registered in Nov. and could not get a shirt anywhere close to my size; dynamic bib number assignment is useless and led to my getting a wrong corral sticker; the pinch point/ bottleneck at the 1/4 mile mark; overwhelmed water stops B4 the split; mostly overly-diluted Gatorade; lousy runner post-race food and drink; no one at the finish area to help me get a lost cell phone back to its owner. The heat and humidity were rough, but probably not unusual for S Fla. even in the middle of winter.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

The course itself is nice but there are challenges prior. I traveled to the expo from the Bayside (downtown) location. There was signage indicating where the shuttle left from but no people there and no way to know which bus of the many tourist buses/vans circling is the shuttle (they are not marked). Same thing at the expo; no signage and no people to guide you. Just walk in and wander until you find the bibs. The corrals are organized just OK but I agree with a previous commentator; the first group to leave are groups pushing wheelchairs and these need to be dealt with for the first few miles. 90% of the runners do the half marathon so the first part is very crowded. Look out for a tight corner at about mile 5; on a narrow street in South Beach, water and Gatorade are on opposite sides of the street, so people are zig-zagging and you get some full contact running at this point. The South Beach and causeway runs are scenic and the second half is through mostly quiet Miami neighborhoods, which is nice. Lots of support in Coconut Grove, nice views from the Rickenbacker Causeway and the finish is great, with good support.

The course itself was really beautiful. Most of it was along the water. Unfortunately this year was unseasonably windy and cold which was tough especially going over the bridges. The criticism I have is that the race is overall chaotic. The corral system was meaningless as no one checked numbers. My corral (C - one of the first) had people walking the half marathon with disabled children. Therefore, there is a lot of weaving around walkers for the first few miles. The expo was very energetic but again chaotic - space was too small and cramped. Notwithstanding the above comments, I really did enjoy the race and Miami is a great city to visit! I would strongly recommend that the race director take care in future years to corral participants properly. Walkers should be in the back.

If you are looking for a mid-winter marathon, I'd put this one on the shortlist, despite some drawbacks. Note that in 2016 the marathon took a different route due to the closing of the Venetian Causeway. It was also much colder than normal temperatures. If you are not staying in downtown close to the start/finish, expect some traffic issues getting to the start. Downtown hotels are at a premium $$$. This is a huge race and you will feel very crowded for a good number of miles. Somehow it seems that 1/2 the field is in the wrong coral and has no etiquette  expect some jumping around very slow racers. It almost feels like two different races. The first half is crowded and basically consists of going to Miami Beach, running Ocean Drive and back. After the half-marathoners peel off, the route will take you through some unexpectedly quiet Miami neighborhoods for a different feeling. I like it. Expect wind running over the causeways. You will feel it more on the Rickenbacker causeway in the second half, as there will be no crowds to hide. The spectators are great, although they may be a bit thin for a city of 2 million. You will get to enjoy some good views, although I have, maybe too optimistically, expected a bit more. The race photos are a ripoff. Major negative point. The route is essentially flat. I can recommend it.

Start corrals very well organized. great course for PB. aid stations in both sides.

Could have been water stops on left and right side Of course, and flags in air so you knew the stop was coming up

This year's race was perfect. I took a gamble when I decided to register for Miami and try to BQ. The Expo was great; tons of goodies. Got dropped off race morning by start line early (by choice to avoid road closures). Drop off was easy and low stress. Plenty of restrooms available by start. I actually thought the lines were super short. Bag drop was well staffed (keep in mind it's by the finish not the start, but still only 3 short blocks down the street). Wave start worked really well. Mix of marathoners and half marathoners in corrals but I didn't think it was too bad. Noticeable thinning when half marathoners peeled off. Tons of water stops (approx. each mile), well marked and well attended! Beautiful scenery on course. Great medal. I used the metromover (free) to get back to where I was staying. The station was right across the road from the finish. It doesn't get easier than that! I managed a PR and BQ! The weather was unusually cold so I credit that. Overall I highly recommend!

Had a great run for my first Full Marathon. I will be running the full again in 2016.

For me was a wonderful experience to run my first marathon in these beautiful city and with my nice months before his weding, after these race we are planing to run in Sydney in 2015

Miami Marathon Miami, FL Sunday, 2 February 2014 6:15 AM On Saturday, the packet pickup at Miami Beach Convention Center was very efficient and did not take more than 10 minutes. Getting to Miami Beach and back was a different story and took me more than 4 hours due to heavy traffic and road constructions. Sunday, 2.2.2014, was the big day. I took the Metrorail and Metromover to the start line in downtown Miami. There were approximately 25,000 marathoners and half marathoners, mostly half marathoners, at the start line. Temperature ranged from low 70s to mid 80s. There was a wave start. There were pace groups. Traffic control was very good. A large number of volunteers staffed the 24 aid stations. The mile markers were easily visible and the elapsed gun time was digitally displayed at every mile. The mainly flat course was scenic and I liked it. It was still dark when the marathoners and half marathoners started the race and in spite of the wave start, it was a bit congested for a while and I wished the aid stations were on both sides of the route for the first 13 miles. We ran into Miami Beach via MacArthur Causeway. We then ran through the city via Ocean Drive (South Beach) and Washington Avenue, crossed Rio Alto Island, Di Lido Island, San Marino Island, and Biscayne Island, via Venetian Causeway, before returning to Miami. At mile 13, the marathoners and half marathoners were diverged and the course became far less crowded. We ran through downtown Miami and reached Coconut Grove at mile 18. It rained for several minutes, which was actually helpful as it had already become quite warm. The finish line was close to the start line. There were 3,529 (2,307 male, 1,222 female) finishers in the average finish time of 4:43:42. The winning times were 2:19:45 (male) and 2:49:27 (female). There were 15,453 half marathon finishers. The finisher medallion was very nice. There were plenty of recovery drinks and food items. This was my 101st and last marathon! I started my marathon running career in Miami in 1992 and wanted to end it there. No more marathon running due to bum knees. Daily runs will continue, though.

This is my second time running this race. It was a lot hotter this year, and people were having difficulty ( I was one of them!). I am from Florida so heat is normally not a problem, but it was really humid. The other runners were happy, excited and super friendly ( I collapsed at mile 24 with leg cramps, and the guy behind me stopped immediately and spent 5 minutes helping stretch. I was this a lot). They fixed the corral problems of previous years. The biggest problem I had was after the race. If you are looking for a cab to get you back to your hotel, think again. It was adventure to get to my hotel, and you normally do not want an adventure after a marathon. The medal is awesome, and each year they get better.

Miami is Miami...Hot, SPANISH, Water, Flat, Loud. The start line was a little chaotic getting into the corals but not much worse than others. Just get there early and you will be OK. It's HOT and Humid. I thought I might get lucky with the heat, but no go. It was in the 70's, not bad, but 100% humidity. The humidity will crush you. Causeways, running on grates. I now have a foot injury..not cool..it grinds into your feet. Prepare for foot pain if you run this one. I also heard a drawbridge went up in the middle of the marathon and people had to wait, I can't verify this, but if its true, I'd be livid. Overall, had a fun little trip to Miami..not gonna PR in this state. Hills not a problem. Fan support pretty good, but after mile 13, very very few people till mile 25. someHalf Marathon medals broke and they ran out..don't advertise that medal if thats whats gonna happen. Its a tough time of year to find one, but I wouldn't recommend this one.

The Good: Great start. I heard people complaining about the corrals for the 2013 race, but I felt the 2014 race was very smooth. There were a nice amount of water stations throughout the course as well as bananas and pineapple which was a nice treat. The course is flat and it is great if you are running your first half or full marathon. It is beautiful to run over the bridge to Miami Beach and back as the sun rises. My only complaint would be that there are parts of the race where you run over this metal bridge with tiny opening that cannot be safe for anyone's feet. The medal: The medals were pretty cool and the 2014 medal was one of the things that convinced me to do it as I was getting cold feet as the race got closer. The Okay: Everyone is basically doing the half. So after the cut off you can pretty much say goodbye to spectators, signs, and you might feel a little isolated. I ended up running with the pacer in order to feel I had other runners with me. Organization: Apparently they ran out of Half Marathon medals for 2014! I ran the full and I did not have this issue. If you are looking to get away from the winter blues and run a marathon, I highly recommend this race.

Despite the hot/humid conditions, I thought the race was excellent. Expo, course, fan support, race organization, volunteers, water stops were all above average. It seems to me the race directors did a nice job resolving previous years' complaints. It is definitely a bummer to hear about the missing half marathon medals...hopefully the organizers follow through with their promise to deliver all 1,400 medals to the HM finishers. I would recommend this race for folks considering it in 2015 - just prepare for the heat and adjust your expectations accordingly. I have never seen so many runners in need of medical attention before, especially between miles 19-22. But thanks to Mother Nature for the brief but much needed rain storm at mile 22!

Loved this race because of the scenery and the people! Do not expect to PR here if you are from a colder climate though. The heat and humidity make it more challenging. There were quite a few runners vomiting and some in need of oxygen due to heat exhaustion. Pace yourself and hydrate at every stop and you should be fine. I did the half marathon and I would not recommend the full. The course for the half is better and much more crowd support. I watched the marathoners and it seemed like there were not too many so it might get a bit lonely on the road if you are choosing to do the marathon. But that is just my opinion. Pros: -The medal was beautiful -The volunteers at the expo were super friendly and helpful -The shirt was a nice technical tee, blue for Boston -The course was so picturesque and the run goes by super fast -There is lots of music on the route all different types and spectators getting down to the eclectic beats -People on the sidelines cheering in all different languages (I love this sort of thing)! -Miami is Miami so there is that, LOVE Miami -Plenty of water and gatorade on the route after mile three they have it every mile -Ocean Blvd so beautiful with people dressed in costumes! Cons -Lines for the bathrooms ridiculous. When you are walking over and you see a sign before the start, go there! If you go to the porta potties by the start you may not make the start of the race. -It is super hot and humid, don't expect to PR -I was so thirsty by the time I got to mile three (bring a throw away water bottle so you can drink and not get dehydrated before you get to the first water stop). -Water stops are not clearly marked. They should have a sign stating fluid station ahead so people can prepare for the slow down on whatever side it is happening, or at least mentally prepare that water is coming (helpful when very thirsty due to heat). NYRR does this for all of their races. -Prepare yourself to run on slippery metal grates on the bridges. It is not for too long, but just be careful. - They should have had stuff at the end in bags. They had chocolate milk, water, bananas, etc. but how are you supposed to hold everything. One post-race bag right at the finish with a few goodies inside would be helpful. -So far my time for the race has not been posted, so not sure what is up with that. Some folks complained that they finished but did not get a medal and were super disappointed. Although I saw other folks posted pictures of getting two medals, one for the half and one for the full. They should not have ran out of medals.

Unbelievable! Where was the PR-touted new billion-dollar owner of the Miami Marathon who claims that 'what sets our events apart is that we deliver a premium-quality experience?' Instead, they came out looking like a bunch of penny-pinching, profit hungry yahoos who didn't make enough medals for all the spaces they sold.

I trained my butt of for this race in order to BQ, but my hopes were dashed and not only did I not BQ, I didn't PR. The good: I mean... it's Miami. What's not to love, scenery-wise? Plenty of water and Gatorade on the course. Decent crowds. The medal is cool, if you're into that sort of thing. The bad: Holy moly, it is actually impossible to use the restroom beforehand. I've never seen a worse pre-race bathroom situation. Total cluster-f. The lines were extremely long and they looped off to either side because they were right up against a fence, which made it complete chaos. I realized I didn't have time to go, so I found my corral... 3:30 marathoners. Then I noticed that the 2:00 half marathoners were corralled in front of us, which makes NO sense, seeing as how even splits would have them running 9:00 min miles, while even splits would have me running 8:00 min miles. I would do it again, because I love Miami, but I would NEVER run this race with a goal time in mind! What a disapointment :(

The good: - The first half of the course features gorgeous scenery to, through and from Miami Beach and through downtown. - The cookies handed out by Publix volunteers at the finish line. - While reviewers have blasted the lack of volunteers and cups at water stops for prior Miami Marathons, all the water stops in 2013 were sufficiently staffed and there were enough cups. Plenty of water, considering the heat. The OK - The finish-line food besides the cookies. While the corn wafers were bland, I did appreciate the carbs. - 2nd half of the course features residential subdivisions, Coconut Grove, Bayshore Drive, Rickenbacker causeway and Brickell Ave - Crowd support - best was on Ocean Drive in Miami Beach, downtown in Mile 12 and the last mile. The not-so-good - The heat and the humidity. Start time race temp was 68 deg and rose to 77 by the end. Humidity at start - 80%. Having trained in 30 degrees Ohio weather, I failed to make a pace adjustment for heat and paid. The first three miles trying to keep up with the pacer felt too hard. By Mile 7, I was struggling. Also, I wore the wrong shoes and had to slow to a walk by Mile 14. I ended up with a time 43 minutes worse than my PR. Not much shade on the Rickenbacker Causeway at Mile 23. - The course is not totally flat especially the MacArthur Causeway and downtown bridges and there's a demoralizing uphill on Brickell Avenue at the end. - On some of the bridges, you had to run on a metal grid. Not good for the feet. - On the MacArthur Causeway at the start, I found my way often blocked by walkers and slower runners. It was very, very crowded. I nearly tripped on someone's feet and nearly fell and a runner actually grabbed me to keep me up. - Aloof pacer who wasn't very engaging. - Lack of organization and confusion at the start corrals. The corral layout didn't match the map at the expo. They didn't allow runners to enter my corral into right before start time and it wasn't clear which direction we were going. Note: Some reviewers have complained about the pricy parking at the expo at the Miami Beach Convention Center. If you use the parking garage at 17th Street by the Lincoln St pedestrian mall a few blocks south, it's much cheaper. Also, you're assigned to a corral based on your anticipated finish time or past race time you submit. You can ask the Solutions Desk to change your corral, which I did.

Forget the PR. Miami Marathon is a fun long run without any snow. Let's face it. Its aweful up north. Fly down, have a great dinner in Miami, wake up and run. Then fly home and envy all those who remained behind. My 6th Miami Marathon is done. See you next year for my 7th!

First, the good, the course was really great. It was relatively flat and there was a lot of shade towards the end. It was a lot of fun running through south beach while people were still partying from the night before. Now, the bad: - The organization was awful. It felt like nobody in the city knew about this race and the people that knew about it felt like it was a big headache, not an amazing event. - Almost everyone is doing the half. I love half-marathons. I respect the distance and know it takes training and effort. However, it would have been nice to have some acknowledgement that I was doing the full. The full and half should have different t-shirts and different medals (not just different colored ribbons). I know other half/full marathons that give separate shirts and medals. - Because everyone was running the half, the crowd support after 13.1 is pretty minimal, although I appreciated the folks that were out there. - Some parts of the race can get very cramped, especially when the half-marathoners are still around. - I know it is hard to be a volunteer at these events. I totally appreciate them and thank them for saying my name every time. However, they should have been better trained. When I finished, there were no volunteers handing out food or asking if you needed to go the medic or podiatry tent. - That brings me to the finish. The finish was poorly organized. The volunteers did not know where the family meetup section was, the food was kind of gross and left out there, I could not find a podiatry tent (MASSIVE blister), etc... I sound like a brat, but Miami really needs to step up the organization, or just have it be a half marathon.

Course: Let's face it, it's MIAMI... so it is gorgeous for the most part, naturally a nice course with views of nice neighborhoods, ocean, palm trees, etc. Hard to have much bad to say about the course itself. Organization: WORST I have seen of any of the 30+ races I have ever run in my life. At one point, I felt like I was running a race full of runners who have never run a single race in their lives. No semblance of order in terms of fast runners veer left, slow runners and walkers stay right. That was an absolute joke, very amateurish. Runners would literally run and stop dead in their tracks on the LEFT side and slowly walk, shoulder-to-shoulder with others... if you ran the Marathon, you likely ran 27-28 miles just trying to jump sidewalks and swerve around idiots who apparently know nothing about common first grade race etiquite. If ran a PR on this course, God Bless you for doing so because you ran much further than usual for it. Also, the ENTIRE race was one giant bottle-neck clusterf**k, narrow roads for tens of thousands of people...great idea, let the 10K and 1/2 Marathon runners clog the streets so you can barely move for 13-14 miles until it clears up a little. Oh, and the 'split' for Half/Full runners was basically 2 signs side-by-side of identical font, color and size, separated by a couple staggered rails and a Mexican girl holding a miniture crossing guard flag. MANY people took the wrong split and their races were ruined...this should NEVER happen to ANY runner in ANY race. If it happens to ONE runner, it's one idiotic runner. If it happens to DOZENS of runners, it is an issue that clearly was not well constructed in advance. As far as actual race-day Logistics/Organzization goes, worst...race...ever. Spectators: Plentiful, enthusiastic, helpful, energetic. No issues at all here.

Just ran the Miami Marathon last week. The Expo picking up the bag is a nightmare to find parking. The metro is the easiest way to get to the race in the morning. The race was huge (35,000 people) so it was very crowded. I forgot my breakfast, and they did not have any food on hand ( they did have water though). You are assigned corrals by estimated time, but no one was following the assignment. 3 hour marathoners and 5 hours people were side by side. It is a simultaneous start, so it took about 2 miles to get some breathing room. After that, the race is great. South Beach is pretty, and there are still drunks out from the night prior. Almost everyone in the race is doing the 1/2 marathon, so after the half way mark, you get some space. The crowd support was OK, but nothing special. The medal is awesome, and the hospitality tent afterword is great. If you are looking to do the 'Big Marathon experience' this is an easy marathon to do it with. The course is very flat.

Great course and great organization. It was depressing once the half marathon runners split. I wish there was better crowd support in last half. Well-stocked aid stations and enthusiastic volunteers. Best of any race I have run. Great work, Miami!

This was my third time running the full and I've done several halves at Miami. The only bad part of the race in my opinion is the start. With 30k people you need a wave start. Maybe 3 waves - first 2 require qualifying times and the last for beginners. I registered late and could only get in the C corral. I looked around and there were Gs next to me. People were walking in mile one. That needs to be more organized. Other than that the race is great. Beautiful course and awesome volunteers! Easy and flat except for a couple small bridges.

This race was personally disappointing as I was shooting for a BQ but wasn't very close. This was my second marathon. So much more of an experience at this than the prior smaller race. Crowd support was super through miami beach, again before the half broke off back in downtown, out at biscayne and through the last two miles to the finish. I had never experienced anything like that and I found it great and a huge help. But I had trained hard for a possible BQ and the heat and humidity really did me in even though I have lived in fl for a year. Warning, when it is 70 degrees at the start, you need to adjust your goal accordingly. I didn't and suffered for it. Even my buddies who did adjust missed still their BQ times. But the scene at the start was pretty cool. I took off with the 3:25 pace group in the c coral but spent two miles dodging slower runners and traffic cones in the road. wtf on the cones? Notwithstanding my poor result, I would do this race again. One other thing I should mention, after hitting the potty at 11 mile mark, I was a bit behind my pace group. As I was pushing to catch up I saw my pacer going back the other way. Not really sure what that meant. Did she quit? Did all her runners drop out or off pace? Kinda weird. I'm sort of hoping someone else chimes in with the answer here.

Nice view, but way too many slow people who work there way to the front and then walk 3 across; blocking the way for people who actually put in the correct information for the corral.

Miami marathon is a great race. The course is scenic and well-stocked with aid stations. Volunteers were enthusiastic and supportive. The only negative was the way in which the half marathoners were integrated with the full. At mile 13 (after miles of enthusiastic support including a raucous 'fan zone' at mile 10) the half runners left, and then it was a sad and lonely journey for the last half. Miles 17-21 are tough in any race, and to endure it after fans leave is worse. That said, it was still a good race. I will return!