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Des Moines Marathon Runner Comments
Back to Des Moines Marathon Information & Reviews
Course 4.3 
Organization 4.4 
Spectators 4.1
Number of comments: 295 [displaying comments 191 to 201]
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R. R. from St Louis, MO
(9/19/2005)
 "Very Good Experience" (about: 2005)
6-10 previous marathons
| 1 Des Moines Marathon
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 2 Highly recommended. Excellent: commitment and friendliness of race staff and volunteers (A++), quality of city (clean, friendly), enthusiastic fan support (many thanks to those that came out -- great job!) Good: course, expo, medal Needs Improvement: number of water stations (every mile, please, especially on a warm, sunny, humid day!), early start (starters took a wrong turn) Bummer: very few supporters on course (long stretches of no/few fans ... those there were great!) I will return, especially in consideration of the push back to October 2006. | |
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Tyler Mitchell from Des Moines, IA
(9/19/2005)
 "It was my first marathon and I had a great time" (about: 2005)
First Marathon
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 This was my first marathon and I thought it was incredible. The atmosphere was great and you weren't crowded while running at all, like I hear you can be in some of the 'bigger' marathons. The course was beautiful and the volunteers were very helpful and supportive. It was a great atmosphere and I had a lot of fun. | |
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D. M. from Kansas City, MO
(9/18/2005)
"Great Job!!!" (about: 2005)
6-10 previous marathons
| 2 Des Moines Marathons
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 I just ran this marathon today and I have one word to describe the experience FANTASTIC!!!!Bravo to Chris Burch and all the volunteers and sponsors that made this such a great race! I ran this marathon last year and I was very happy with the course changes this year. Challenging but fair the course took you through a nice combination of city, parks and lake trails. Also, I enjoyed that this race was run in September, the weather was beautiful. I would highly recommend running this race. You are doing a great job in Des Moines. I look forward to next year! | |
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P. A. from Fairfiled, IA
(9/18/2005)
 "Great marathon but early bird start needs work." (about: 2005)
6-10 previous marathons
| 1 Des Moines Marathon
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 4 Overall this is a real nice little marathon. Course is great and travels along the river, around lakes, past the capital, through stately mansions and on a nice paved park trail. A few hills early but fast and flat the last 15 miles. Race Director is top notch and communicates real well to entrants. Volunteers are great, water stops well run and finish area was well organized. Lots of good food and drink at the finish as well as live music and plenty of massage tables. Mile marker problem of 2004 was fixed. No problem this year. Only problem was the early bird start. There was no bike or lead out vehicle and as a result, the whole group failed to turn at 2nd Avenue resulting in an extra quarter mile being run by most early birds. I came real close to a PR but won't ever really know as I believe the wrong turn cost me at least a minute or two. Need to consider a lead vehicle next year as well as arrow markers that can actually be seen. The early bird start also needs traffic control. It was dark the first couple of miles and I observed many near misses with runners and vehicles. Aside from this snafu, KUDOS to the whole DSM Marathon crew for a great job, I had a great time. | |
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K. M. from Missouri
(4/19/2005)
"First One - Great Experience" (about: 2004)
1 previous marathon
| 1 Des Moines Marathon
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 3 FANS: 5 I enjoyed the race. It was my first one. I loved the crowd support. The course was excellent, with the exception of running the same stretch over and over and over again. The town and Iowans were very accommodating. The pasta supper was delicious. Biggest problems (2 big complaints - sorry): MILE MARKERS were very inconsistent & POST-RACE SNACKS were practically gone by the time I was finished. | |
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D. M. from Kansas City, Missouri
(3/23/2005)
"One of the good ones" (about: 2004)
4-5 previous marathons
| 1 Des Moines Marathon
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 5 This marathon was my second and I truly enjoyed it. It was very cold but that could not be helped by the race director Helene who was great. The course had some hills at the beginning but return to flat for the second half. The mile markers were off and the down and back for the last couple of miles was kinda tough mentally. All in all it was a very good experience and I am looking forward to running in the September marathon. Keep trying this will be one of the great ones. | |
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A. W. from Des Moines, IA
(2/3/2005)
 "Several problems marred what could be a great race" (about: 2004)
3 previous marathons
| 1 Des Moines Marathon
COURSE: 3 ORGANIZATION: 2 FANS: 3 From my perspective the event started well. It is the perfect size, and having the hills in the first half rewarded people who ran with their heads. However, once I stopped being able to trust the mile markers, I literally was lost. Trying to qualify for Boston and running very conservatively on the hills, I needed to know where I was and when. It was disheartening to find myself way behind at one mile marker and confusing to then have crazy fast miles at others. Even as late at the 25th mile I didn't know whether I was in reach of qualifying. As it turned out I missed qualifying for Boston by 8 seconds... The back and forth was just awful at the end. Having to make all of those tight turns forced me to slow and speed up at a time when I really couldn't afford to do that. My aging knees also struggled with the turns. I didn't have other troubles with food, etc. because I finished early enough. | |
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D. T. from Boone, IA
(1/31/2005)
 "Great First Marathon" (about: 2004)
1 previous marathon
| 1 Des Moines Marathon
COURSE: 3 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 5 My only complaint was that it was COLD! I love the the 'This ain't no Cornfield' medal and shirt. I thought the organizers did a fantastic job. Helene was great about sending out e-mails to keep us updated. I am looking forward to the September marathon. | |
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S. J. from Iowa
(1/10/2005)
 "OK but Flaws" (about: 2004)
1 previous marathon
| 1 Des Moines Marathon
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 1 FANS: 4 Two major issues. Mile markers were seriously off and NO food at the end of the race was tragic after 26 miles and a body needing replenishment. Additionally, some people were walking the course and impeded runners, which was quite alarming. The course was flat and fast and scenic. The volunteers and fans were very good as they were quite supportive. | |
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J. P. from USA
(12/22/2004)
"Needs work" (about: 2004)
11-50 previous marathons
| 1 Des Moines Marathon
COURSE: 3 ORGANIZATION: 2 FANS: 3 This race could be something to talk about in the future but right now it needs a little work. Good volunteer and aid station work. Traffic control was excellent. Parking downtown was free so you don't need to stay downtown for the race. Negatives are that even though I registered months in advance of the race they didn't have race shirts when we picked up our packets. That's almost as inexcusable as having mile markers that were up to a half mile off. Which they did. Keep trying. |
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