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Bayshore Marathon Runner Comments
Back to Bayshore Marathon Information & Reviews
Course 4.8 
Organization 4.6 
Spectators 3.9
Number of comments: 247 [displaying comments 111 to 121]
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A. I. from Columbus, IN
(5/26/2008)
 "Scenic Course. Small Race. Ideal for First-Timers." (about: 2008)
1 previous marathon
| 1 Bayshore Marathon
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 3 This was my first marathon, and I thought I made a good choice picking the Bayshore Marathon. The course is flat and very scenic. It loops around the east arm of the grand traverse bay and is shaded. The race organization was also great. Aid stations were at 1.5 miles, with GU at 12, 14 and 20 miles. The Brooks technical shirt was nice. They can improve the spectator access points to the race. Register early, as this race tends to get full quickly. Hotel prices also skyrocket if you don't get them early. I stayed at B&B Wellington Inn close to the race. Overall, a very good first marathon experience. The ice cream at the end was a nice touch and the finisher medal was awesome. I reached my goal: finish my first marathon (5:15:06). | |
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K. T. from Washington, DC
(2/24/2008)
"Small race with big heart and great organization" (about: 2007)
4-5 previous marathons
| 1 Bayshore Marathon
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 4 Bayshore was one of those idyllic small-town races with fans in lawn chairs playing music for the runners and terrific families and high school runners manning aid stations. There was plenty of water stops and the Gu was abundant. And what can I say for the course itself? You have Grand Traverse Bay on one side and beautiful homes and wineries on the other... definitely enough to look at to make the miles go right by! Fellow runners were friendly and supportive... it is the Midwest after all! Because it is an out-and-back, you get to see your family and friends a couple times... mine were able to see me at about 10 and 15, and then make it back with plenty of time to see me finish. Race organization rivals any of the bigger races. Race tee was a nice Brooks technical tee (but for the ladies out there, make sure to order a larger size than you normally wear) and the finisher's medals were awesome! Even though I personally had a rough day, this race was so good that I will be back time and again! P.s. One more piece of advice: run in the middle of the road when at all possible. The road is pretty crowned. | |
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A. T. from Pullman, WA
(11/2/2007)
"Great course if it is your 1st or 99th marathon!" (about: 2006)
1 previous marathon
| 1 Bayshore Marathon
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 4 I am from Michigan, and the Traverse City has a lot of memories for me. Needless to say, it was very appropriate to run my first marathon here. Coming off of four years running NCAA D1 cross-country and track, I wanted to try a marathon out. It is a great course. Minimal hills and great shade for the beginning of the race. Water stations are positioned every two miles, which makes it nice mentally and physically to get through the marathon. This is an EXCELLENT course, whether for first timers or if it is your 100th marathon! The city is great, with fantastic people and locals. Plus there are great activities pre- and post-race for you to experience. I recently moved out to Washington and I am coming home specifically to run the marathon again this year! Do not be surprised by the humidity in Michigan, especially this time of year. Michigan is notorious for its high humidity, so it can be a shock if you are not used to that type of weather. | |
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Mervyn Chin from Pickering Ontario
(10/11/2007)
"A highly recommended race" (about: 2007)
11-50 previous marathons
| 1 Bayshore Marathon
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 3 Bayshore was my 41st marathon and I have done a lot of previous races in many different cities like Chicago, Disney; Grandma; Marine Corps, Flying Pig. The first impression I had of Bayshore was very positive since the folks responded to all my questions on a very timely basis , no matter how trivial. It gave me a very good impression of the type of organizers. I do not think you get these responses from the big races. Bayshore is one of the scenic races that I have done along with Big Sur, Cape Cod, Erie, Adirondacks. It runs along the bay most of the time and is shaded 75% . It is out and back and this is very nice since you get to see different views of the bay. There is no traffic and the half marathoners do not interfere since they are running in the opposite direction for a lot of the time. There are a lot of gels and Gatorade on the course . Because of the set up, spectators can only see you at certain points during the race. Bayshore is better than Grandsma. The dorm rooms in Duluth is about $100/ night with a 2 night minimum. Plus Traverse City and Mackinaw are much more scenic than Duluth. Grandsma is a lot of hype. I stayed at the College the night before the race and all I had to do in the morning was to walk a few feet to the start. Bring pillows and a fan if you plan to stay at the College. I believe that they can improve the Expo to a full day ( at another location), if they wanted since they have over 4000 runners. They certainly have enough runners to attract more vendors and make it more enjoyable. The City Bank was the major sponsor but they did not have a booth at the expo. The food at the end was so-so. I cannot eat dry bagels after finishing a race. I think some bands and an announcer calling out names at the end would make this race even better. All in all I had an enjoyable time running this race. I will recommend this race highly but it gets its quota so word has certainly spread. I would do this race every year if I could but I live very far so it might not be practical. In general, I always recommend the smaller races, rather than the mega races because of the attention to details.. Just do it if you can. | |
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K. N. from Pittsburgh
(9/15/2007)
"Fantastic" (about: 2007)
1 previous marathon
| 1 Bayshore Marathon
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 4 I did the half marathon and would absolutely return for the full in 2008. Bayshore is a beautiful, scenic marathon; you are running right along the water the whole time. I was worried that it would be windy, but it was not. The half marathoners start at the halfway point of the marathon course, so the half runners and full runners are running towards each other, and it is awesome to see the first full runners blaze past. The organization is fantastic; no flaws whatsoever in race day organization, plenty of food at the end, and the results are up very quickly, within an hour at least. The weather was perfect, not too hot. Crowds were alright. Plenty of water, Gatorade, and gels on the course. It's a smaller marathon that caps, so it's not a really crowded race. It is pancake-flat and a perfect PR course. | |
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C. Y. from Michigan
(8/15/2007)
 "Could not have been better!" (about: 2007)
11-50 previous marathons
| 1 Bayshore Marathon
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 This was my 15th marathon. I found Bayshore to have excellent pre-race communication via email and great race weekend organization. I had heard from many people how beautiful the course was and was still surprised by just how wonderful it was. I love the "out and back," and the gentle, rolling nature of the course - and I thought aid stations were appropriately placed. There were sufficient port-a-johns at the start and I appreciated the availability of showers at the finish. And the ice cream!! It is the perfect size race... very conducive for my PR, first BQ, and a negative split. | |
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Stephen Hickman from Lydd-on-sea. England
(7/9/2007)
 "Worth the trip from England" (about: 2007)
11-50 previous marathons
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 2 I traveled from England especially to run the marathon. Fantastic course - and I ran my 2nd fastest marathon. The people of Traverse City made us feel very welcome. We thank them. One small complaint: my wife traveled on the supporters bus but it arrived too late for her to cheer me on. She was a bit disappointed. Apart from that, we had a great time in Traverse. | |
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T. T. from Northern, Michigan
(6/29/2007)
"First Marathon" (about: 2007)
1 previous marathon
| 1 Bayshore Marathon
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 Finally made the leap. Course was beautiful; weather was great. Spectators really made you feel welcome and gave you that extra push just when you needed one. Great first experience; looking forward to next year. One down - now trying to improve on time. | |
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Jenny Janjua from Eagle River, Ak
(6/26/2007)
"Michigan Pride" (about: 2007)
1 previous marathon
| 1 Bayshore Marathon
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 5 This was my first marathon in my home town and could not have been better. The weather was fabulous high 60s and sunny and the course beautiful. For a small-town race the support from the community was great. Kids set up water stands and many people blasted great Michigan music - Kid Rock, Eminem and Motown. If you are looking for a great race without all the hype, this is perfect. | |
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B. B. from Cranbury, New Jersey
(6/23/2007)
 "Better Than Disney" (about: 2007)
1 previous marathon
| 1 Bayshore Marathon
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 2 This was my second marathon (I ran the Disney World Marathon in January) and I must say this was a much more enjoyable experience. Running along the bay is just beautiful and the size of the marathon allows you to really enjoy your surroundings. Having perfect weather is an added bonus. Given the size of the marathon, there is limited, though enthusiastic, fan support. The race is very well organized and the finisher's medal is almost as ostentatious as Disney's. Bayshore makes marathon running almost pleasurable. I highly recommend this race. |
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