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Quad Cities Marathon Runner Comments
Back to Quad Cities Marathon Information & Reviews
Course 4.4 
Organization 4.6 
Spectators 3.9
Number of comments: 195 [displaying comments 181 to 191]
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A Runner from Chicago, IL
(10/10/2002)
 "Loved this--you will too." (about: 2002)
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 4 Beautiful scenic course, gorgeous weather, friendly people, crowds were great for the area's population density. Unexpectedly broke my PR by 70 seconds (2:55ish), despite the breeze. I convinced my girlfriend to run the 5K and she still got the free boat trip on Saturday (highly recommended--lots of the sights explained show up on the course), the long sleeve T-shirt and a medal. Lots of cheap places to stay, but we camped the night before at a nearby park, which was very nice. | |
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A Runner from O'Fallon, IL
(10/2/2002)
 "Great Race" (about: 2002)
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 3 Overall the race was a great experience. The course was scenic and varied. The pre-race pasta dinner was one of the best I've been to, and the low, low price only made it better. I worried about warm temperatures, but it turned out perfect! The rest of my comments focus on the negative, but keep in mind that I'm being overly critically in hopes that it may further be improved: - the last 7 miles are out and back and pretty boring. Seems like you could have extended the course a bit on the Iowa side of the river to cut down on this. - There's a lot of concrete roadways. My feet were killing me by the end of the race. - When I crossed the finish I received no direction, no mylar blanket, nor help removing my timing chip. I felt lost! I had to find the person who was handing out the finisher medals and ask for one. I hear this was rectified after the first 100 or so runners finished. | |
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A Runner from Charlotte, NC
(9/25/2002)
"Great Race, Great Town" (about: 2002)
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 This was my first marathon and I didn?t know what to expect. I picked the Quad Cities for several reasons; the time of year it's run, the flat course and I was looking for a smaller race where I wouldn?t get lost in the crowd. I wasn?t too concerned with the weather since I?ve been training in North Carolina and was used to heat and humidity. Wow! I couldn?t have picked a better race or had a better race experience. We flew into Moline Saturday morning and drove our rental car to the Isle of Capri Hotel where we could pick up our running packages at the Expo. The number of volunteers for this race is around 900 and we could tell because any time we had any question at all, there was always a friendly face to help us out. We took the bus tour of the route and got a pretty good feel of what parts of the race would be interesting and what part might get tedious and how steep the few hills were (not steep at all). We went back to the Expo ready for our pasta dinner and to hear the speaker for the evening, Frank Shorter. Having only paid $5.00 for the spaghetti dinner, our expectations were low and we thought we would end up with watery overcooked spaghetti . On the contrary, it was delicious! This was a great bargain, don?t miss it! Bart Bardwell (wheelchair marathoner) also spoke and both Frank and Bart were inspiring and motivating. Sunday morning had perfect weather ? temperature to start was around 50 and the high was in the mid-60?s, partly cloudy. There were plenty of porta-johns and bathrooms and a place to check your gear at the start. One thing I really liked about this race was the Pit Crew group that wore bright orange shirts and carried almost anything a marathoner would need, GU, Vaseline, water, powerade, etc. This group also set up drop bins where you could pin your number on a sweatshirt then discard it into the bright orange buckets set up along the course. This was great since I wore a sweatshirt at the start but didn?t need it anymore after 2 miles. I was somewhat worried I?d never see it again or that it would be difficult to get back after the race but it was quick and easy to pick up after the race was over. The crowd support was great at the beginning and the end. There was a stretch on part of the course - Arsenal Island - where there didn?t seem to be many people around and we were told that it was because the Island ? where they manufacture ammunition -was closed to the public since 9/11 and only runners and volunteers were allowed. There was one woman, Jan, that exemplified how friendly and helpful the volunteers were. She was our bus tour guide when we rode the course and had told us to look for her around the 20 mile mark where she would be helping during the race. When we passed 20, we were aching and needed Advil or something to take the edge off, we waved to her and asked if she had any Advil and she ran beside us for a bit apologizing because she didn?t. We thanked her anyway and ran along turning at 22 miles to head back to the finish. Lo and behold here comes Jan running up to us with Advil and water in hand! I wanted to hug her! At this point the only blemish to the perfect weather was a head wind that came and went for the next 3 miles. At the finish, the announcer called my name and my hometown out to the crowd which I thought was a very nice personal touch, one I almost certainly wouldn?t have received in a much larger marathon. My finish time at 4:12 exceeded my stated goal of 5 hours and my secret goal of 4 ½ hours. I?d recommend this marathon to anyone who is looking for a fast time and lots of personal attention! | |
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A Runner from Peoria, IL
(9/25/2002)
"Great race and course." (about: 2002)
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 4 This was my second Quad Cities marathon (first in 2001), and once again the organizers did a great job. Good course, fans were great, and the weather was perfect, except for a little wind at the end (oh, well). Would recommend this race for those interested in qualifying for Boston. | |
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A Runner from Rockford, Il
(9/22/2002)
 "Great Mississippi Marathon" (about: 2002)
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 3 I just finished this marathon for the first time. The Radisson hotel in Moline was perfect. 50 yds. from the start/finish, but book early. Hopefully they will hold more rooms for marathoners if they host next year. The weather was perfect. The water stations were run perfectly and plenty of them. I was happy with the medal, packet pick up, the city mayors at the start and the views of the Mississippi. I would like to see Fazoli's serve a bigger variety of their foods. Spaghetti and sauce was boring. TGI Friday's is connected to host hotel. I should have eaten there. Overall it was a marathon I enjoyed. Only real hills are bridge access roads. They are work, but the views are worth it! | |
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A Runner from Davenport, Iowa
(9/22/2002)
"Beautiful Day!" (about: 2002)
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 3 This race was well organized with a great post-race set up. I've run several marathons but never had this much course support. Great race! | |
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Tony Loyd from Rapids City, IL
(4/28/2002)
"Small Town, Big-Hearted Fans - What more can I say" (about: 2001)
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 The number of racers is small enough to feel comfortable, while the number of fans is surprisingly large enough to make you darnd glad you came. The people of the Quad Cities turn out to encourage and cheer and even to make you laugh. Wait until you see the Running Elvis! With 50+ Bands (this is home of the Bix, you know) and loads of encouragement, this race is a delight. I'll be back next year. | |
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A Runner from Iowa
(3/19/2002)
"Well Organized Small Marathon" (General Comments)
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 2 I ran the QC marathon this past fall and enjoyed it greatly! I prefer running in the 'smaller' marathons yet sometimes regret it when they don't take care of the runners. This is not true of the QC marathon! Aid stations were frequent (about every other mile) and the volunteers were great! I loved running through the wall at mile 23 and listening to the different bands play along the course. This is a great marathon for the experienced and first time marathoner. The only caution I would give is NOT to stay at the host hotel-too much smoke and price. We got a great deal at the Marriot that looks over the start/finish line. Don't overlook this marathon-it is flat, fast, and scenic! | |
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A Runner from Urbandale, Iowa
(2/5/2001)
"Pretty good race" (about: 2000)
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 3 I ran this marathon in 2000, it was my first (hopefully not my last). The course was cool. I liked running across the Mississippi River. For its relatively small size, the marathon is extremely well organized and I had a blast. One thing that did happen though is a bunch of us got stopped by a train. It cost us about 8 minutes and I think a few people ended up missing qualifying for Boston because of it. My understanding is that the train was 'lost' and was not supposed to be on the course at the time (I really don't think it was an oversight by the race organizers and I bet it won't happen again). It certainly made it memorable though. Also, beware of the Isle of Capri Hotel. They were the main sponsor for the race. We called and reserved 3 rooms and asked for the 'special' rate for participants like it said on the entry form. We were quoted a rate approximately half price of the regular rate. I called to confirm our reservations a couple of days prior to the race and was again quoted the discounted rate. However, when we went to check in, the discount rate disappeared and we had to pay full price. They said that the discount rate was for the night after the race. They were pretty rude about it too. The hotel was nice and clean, but very smoky. They allow people to smoke in the lobby, elevators, hallways, etc. Most people were there to go to the casino, not run the marathon, so it got pretty bad. Sorry about my ranting. The race is great. The host hotel is not. Overall it was a lot of fun and I had a great time. | |
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A Runner from Springfield IL
(10/7/2000)
 "Wonderful Race for First Timers!" (General Comments)
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 Very nice course, well organized, great scenery, supportive volunteers. All ingredients that made this a fantastic introduction to Marathons. I highly recommend this race. |
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