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Indianapolis Marathon Runner Comments
Back to Indianapolis Marathon Information & Reviews
Course 4.3 
Organization 4.6 
Spectators 3.1
Number of comments: 157 [displaying comments 141 to 151]
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A Runner from Evansville, IN
(10/23/2002)
 "The whole event is not worth waking up for" (about: 2002)
COURSE: 3 ORGANIZATION: 1 FANS: 1 To start, parking at the Financial Center is not 5 blocks away from the Start Line, it is 3 miles away. Needless to say I did't like running a 3 mile warm up. Some miles were not posted (10,11 I noticed.) No splits were given-NONE! How hard is it to have some one call out time from their watch! Lastly, from the 12 mile on I do not recall but one water station. I was a seated runner which meant nothing to these people. If I want to go run 26.2 miles for practice I don't want to travel 200 miles pay for a Hotel and Pay for this JOKE of a Marathon. | |
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A Runner from Columbia, SC
(10/22/2002)
 "Good course, timing and amenities could be better" (about: 2002)
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 3 FANS: 2 This was my first marathon and it was a very positive experience overall. Reasonable registration cost, a relatively flat course, good weather and plenty of water stations. But it really takes place in Lawrence, not in Indianapolis, so don't expect to see any of Indiana's capital city while you're running. And it seems a marathon in a city as big as Indy should have chip timing. Half marathoners outnumber the 26 milers about 2-1. Only 527 doing the full course this time, so it's a pretty small-scale event. Packet pick-up was no problem, but the expo was quite modest as were the post-race activities. Few spectators in many areas, though good support from those who were there. I saw and heard very little in the local media about this race. Maybe the organizers need to get a TV station involved as a sponsor. | |
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A Runner from Seattle, WA
(10/21/2002)
 "great scenery, lots of water and powerade" (about: 2002)
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 3 Great race through suburbs and a wonderful state park. If you are expecting a race near the city sites of Indianapolis, stay away! Lots and lots of water stops. Very friendly volunteers. My only downer can be stated in two words: Hot Dogs. The post race food consisted of bananas (cool), oranges (cool), and a burger/hot dog cookout. Yuck! I'll trade a hot dog for a bagel w/ peanut butter. | |
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A Runner from noblesville (near indy), IN
(10/21/2002)
"excellent race, small but enthusiastic crowd" (about: 2002)
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 3 This was my 1st marathon. This was extremely well organized, with many aid stations and porta-potties. The course is more or less 3 out & backs of 4, 9 and 13 miles. 1st 4 mi has a down & up hill portion, 2nd 9 has small rollling hills, last 1/2 has a long downhill that you come back up ~ mile 24. ~1800 runners start, w/only 5-600 running the full 26.2. voluteers were great, calling out at ALL the aid stations 'water in front, power ade in back!' or vice versa. people had commented that you end up running alone for portions, but (at my speed) that didn't seem to be the case. course is certified for those looking for a boston qual (i wasn't....) had a GREAT time and will likely be back. if you pressed me to give critism it would be that it's very close in timing to chicago & columbus, eliminating the chance to run one of those the same year. but, moving this earlier and it'd be too warm; later risks too cold. spring would interfere with large 1/2 marathon associated w/indy 500. also, not chip timed, but that didn't make too much difference for my run. | |
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A Runner from Kokomo IN
(10/19/2002)
"Very challenging first marathon." (about: 2002)
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 3 This is the first marathon I ran so I don't have anything to compare it to. There were few spectators, but the ones that were out there were very supportive. The weather was windy but cool and dry. As far as the organization goes, I gave it 5 stars. The police were very polite, the roads were well marked, and the staff new what they were doing to make a race function how it should. The scenery was beautiful. I really took your mind off of the race and allowed you to enjoy it. This is a race that I would like to do again and I reccommend it to anyone. | |
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A Runner from Frankfort, KY
(9/25/2002)
"Excellent in 2001" (about: 2001)
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 4 This was my 2nd consecutive Indianapolis Marathon, and it was every bit as enjoyable as the first. The course was nice (especially the back half). The organization was excellent. The Indianapolis folks do a wonderful job putting on a great event. If you want to run a fast time, this is a fine course. If you are running your first marathon, there are few better than this. | |
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A Runner from Urbana, IL
(10/30/2001)
 "Easy course made harder by lack of support" (about: 2001)
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 2 This was a great first marathon to do as the course is nice and easy. Fan support definitely lacked however, which made it tough. It was also difficult that halfway into the race 2/3 of the runners went for the finish line of the half marathon. This caused me to go out too fast in the first half and pay for it in the last 10 miles. The organization of the event was good though, and packet pick-up was a breeze. There were more than enough porta-potties and aid stations, although they were serving red powerade, which is not the best idea. I saw many people crossing the line with pink shirts. My shoes are even a bit pink now! Overall though, it was certainly a great deal at $25, and not a bad race to do if you are used to training alone. | |
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A Runner from Iowa
(10/24/2001)
 "nice but some room for improvement" (about: 2001)
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 1 The course is two separate out and backs. The first half tis hrough parts of Fort Benjamin Harrison and adjacent neighborhoods. The second half runs through and adjacent to a State Park. The course, particularly the second half, is fairly scenic and has just a few rolling hills to break things up a little...nothing too difficult. For the most part the event is well organized. There were 21 aid stations. My only suggestion for the aid stations is to make the placement of Powerade consistent from station to station. In some stations it was at the beginning and in others it was either in the middle or at the end. Also, it wasn't always clear as the faster runners started returning on the second half of the course what side opposing slower runners should be on. In some instances the slower runners would politely move out of the way, in others the faster runners were wasting energy weaving throughout some slower particpants. Finally, I wouldn't recommend the course if you are looking for an event with interested fans. Even the parts of the course that were run through neighborhoods didn't garner much interest. The local newspaper (Indianapolis Star) didn't even mention the event or the winners in the newspaper the following day. This is a shame since there appears to be a vibrant enough running community in Indy to sponsor a spring half marathon that attracts nearly 20K participants. It would be nice to see some of that interest spill over to this event. | |
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A Runner from New Jersey
(10/23/2001)
"Wonderful Smaller Marathon" (about: 2001)
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 The marathon starts at 8:00 which is a great time for a fall marathon as the day turned warm and I was grateful for the first few hours of cool temperatures. The course wound around for the first mile allowing friends and family to cheer the runners soon after the start. Our enterprising family members figured out how to drive a short distance to see us numerous times on the course which was totally appreciated. Traffic control was excellent throughout the course, water and powerade stations were plentiful and provided by enthusiastic and friendly volunteers. I would love to see the race attract more runners by perhaps taking in more of the sights of Indianapolis -- the organization gives every indication it could handle a larger crowd. | |
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A Runner from Southern Indiana
(10/22/2001)
"Good for the price" (about: 2001)
COURSE: 3 ORGANIZATION: 3 FANS: 3 Should be renamed 'Lawrence Marathon' $25 is about the cheapest I have seen for any race so this was a bargain. On a downside, I was surprised that there was no one to call out split timings. I think the 5 mile mark was the only time someone was doing that. I thought it was a pretty course but I am not sure I liked the little stretch running over gravel and then grass. Other than small things, it was a nice race. I think they sould consider upping the price by $5 per person, which would allow for champion chip timing and adding Music along the course. Music might also bring out more fans which makes it fun for all. |
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