Missoula Marathon

This has to be one of the most scenic races I've run. You start in the hills outside of Missoula and weave your way through a relatively flat, scenic route into town. There is one hill between 13 and 14 that is a bit ugly, but otherwise, the course is pretty flat and smooth. Crowd support was outstanding throughout the race, and the water stops were well stocked. One slight warning - there are 14 water stops, but the first three are spread over the first 8 miles (about 2.5 miles apart). They also offered three flavors of Gu at every other water stop. Missoula itself is a neat town. Allow yourself some time to poke around the downtown area before you return home. As for accommodations, the hotels are pricy. Consider an Airbnb instead. I stayed at an Airbnb that was directly across the street from the University of Montana campus, about a five-minute walk from the bus pick up to the start and a relatively easy 15-minute walk from the finish line. The bus stop for the local transit line is also across the street - and the buses are free!

I drove up from Milwaukee to experience this highly rated marathon. Missoula is beautiful and the course was somewhat scenic in the first half of the race. There is a lot of running through residential neighborhoods and not as much mountain scenery as advertised. There is a decent hill at the midpoint of the run so be prepared for that as well. No issues with buses or organization of the event. Spectators were average for an event this size. Finish line was average as well. Of the 17 marathons I've run, I would rank it somewhere in the middle. I spent two days in Glacier National Park after the run. This was the highlight of the trip and the most beautiful scenery I have ever seen!