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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 41 to 51]
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B. B. from Texas
(11/8/2012)
"A great marathon" (about: 2012)
11-50 previous marathons
| 1 Des Moines Marathon
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 4 Let me echo the praise by saying that this was one of the best ones of my 38. Everything is great. The course, organization, fans, amenities. Only gripe I had was the emphasis on an ultra religious group that offended me and I'm sure others. Thanks to the RD for listening to my complaint and quick response. I PRd here so although miles 3 to 9 are hilly, I enjoyed the neighborhoods and didn't mind. The spin around the Drake track was unique. Free massage and sports therapists at the finish with good food. plenty of lunch places - try the Court Street Brew Pub You should stay at the host hotel, Marriott SAvoy? Nice rate, great service late checkout until 3 pm, and best right on the start and finish. Oh and they gave me a free ticket to the pasta dinner. Dane R nicely congratulated you as you crossed and the announcer called out your name. It's that kind of race. Small town feel but big city class. Loved, loved, loved DSM. | |
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A. R. from Des Moines, IA
(10/26/2012)
"Fantastic Race" (about: 2012)
1 previous marathon
| 1 Des Moines Marathon
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 I ran the Des Moines Marathon this year and it was a fantastic experience. The organization was superb -the race started on time, traffic/parking was simple, and there were more than enough water stations. The course itself is great. It takes you through some beautiful parts of DesMoines, around the Drake track and around Gray's Lake. Part of the race is like a giant loop, which makes it perfect for spectators to easily cheer you on at multiple points in the run. I plan on running it again next year and would recommend to anyone else. | |
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G. A. from Odessa, TX
(10/25/2012)
"Great Race" (about: 2012)
11-50 previous marathons
| 1 Des Moines Marathon
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 4 This marathon was one of the best marathons I've run. PROS: Great small city to visit. Easy to get around in. Great downtown. Easy to get to the Expo. You could park relatively close to the start/finish. And there was an indoor area to wait in until the race started. The course itself had a good bit of variety. We started out in downtown, went through some marvelous old prominent neighborhoods, went around the Drake track, on trails around Gray's Lake and then back downtown. There were mild to moderate hills in the first half, but a flat terrain in the second half. Everything was well organized. CON: Only one: when the marathon reconnected with the half-marathon, most of the half-marathoners were walking. The trail at that point was not as wide as the previous streets and when 3 people walked side by side, there was little room to run past them. Overall I loved the race. | |
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C. J. from Iowa City
(10/25/2012)
"Great first marathon!" (about: 2012)
1 previous marathon
| 1 Des Moines Marathon
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 4 I ran the half last year, and had a good experience with that. This year, I decided to go for the full. I finished in 4:30:28. THe course is great, and about mile 11, you get to run on the Drake Relays track... it's cool to see yourself on the jumbo tron. There's also a good spacing of water and fans throughout most of the race. There's a couple of miles on abike path in a forest and through the waterworks park, where there are not many fans nor water stops. That was the hardest part of the marathon. There are a couple of hills in the first 8 miles, but you run through such a beautiful neighborhood at the time that you don't notice it. In those neighborhoods, families are out front of their house, and cheering for you. GREAT FAN SUPPORT!! | |
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B. V. from Des Moines, IA
(10/23/2012)
"Better the 2nd time" (about: 2012)
4-5 previous marathons
| 2 Des Moines Marathons
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 I ran the race in 2008 and thought it was nice but nothing special. After doing various other races in the midwest I now know DSM IS a special race. Kudos to Chris and Des Moines for a world class event. Course, volunteers, food, swag, pacers & elites all were top notch. | |
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L. G. from Maryland, USA
(10/23/2012)
"Excellent time in Iowa!!" (about: 2012)
50+ previous marathons
| 1 Des Moines Marathon
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 4 I cannot say enough good things about this race! Very well organized, scenic course, nice shirt and medal, and amazing course support! This is the first time I have ever had a cyclist ride by and ask me if I needed anything ( tissues, gels, water, etc). Awesome volunteers! The city of Des Moines really makes the runners feel welcome. The host hotel, the Renaissance, gave a 3 PM check out, breakfast to all the runners, and was within a block of the start and finish lines. Overall, I had a great experience and would return to do this race again! Nice job Des Moines! | |
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J. C. from Illinois
(10/23/2012)
"Great Big, Small Town Race" (about: 2012)
11-50 previous marathons
| 1 Des Moines Marathon
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 I must say that the Des Moines marathon was an unexpected treat. My intention in signing up for this race was merely to practice the distance for a later fall marathon, but I came away very impressed. As an out-of-town runner, I stayed in a hotel the night before the race. Accommodations were reasonably priced even within 10 minutes walks of the race finish and start area. Highlights of the race, itself, were the fan support and the amenities. In smaller town races, spectators tend to be clustered in s few spots and only cheer for the people that they know. This could not have been farther from the truth as spectators lined most of the course except for a few miles within the public parks. They were incredibly friendly and supportive no matter if you were at the front of the pack or the back. The fans helped make this a must-return-to race. The second highlight for me was the amenities, especially at the finish line. There were sandwiches, burritos, and all the water, Gatorade, or chocolate milk that runners could drink. Along the route, there were plenty of fluid stops and they were staffed with an appropriate amount of volunteers. I was also a bit surprised to see some of the past comments about the portable toilets. There seemed to be plenty both at the start and along the course route this year. Most marathons only include two stops with gel packs. They never seem to be at the correct interval for me to actually eat them. The Des Moines marathon had three stops with gel packs. It was nice not to have to carry the gel pack for miles waiting to eat it at the correct point in the race. The only (somewhat) negative thing that I can say about this race was the course layout. This is not the best course to go for a BQ on. The front half of the course was more hilly than I expected from a Midwest race. I suspect that this course layout was done to highlight some of the natural beauty of the city's neighborhoods. It did make for some nice fall foliage viewing, just not for a great race time. Overall, this race was the right number of runners on the right size course for for the price. I feel like a got more than my money's worth. | |
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L. B. from St. Louis, MO
(10/22/2012)
"Des Moines loves their marathon!!" (about: 2012)
6-10 previous marathons
| 1 Des Moines Marathon
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 A friend recommended this marathon. She told me it was a bit hilly at the start. I was excited to see that the last 17 miles are flat. It was hilly at the beginning for about 12 miles but the hills were not terrible. We ran through nice neighborhoods and there was good spectator support. The last 8 or so miles were through a park/reservoir - a bit boring but flat!!! Great volunteers and post race food. I actually won my age group!! | |
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M. H. from New York, NY
(10/22/2012)
"Great Race!" (about: 2012)
11-50 previous marathons
| 1 Des Moines Marathon
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 5 I really enjoyed running the Des Moines Marathon. Pros: Well thought out course: beautiful start running towards the gold domed capitol building as the sun rises, tough hills, but all in the first half, enough water stations filled with attentive volunteers, plenty of GU on course as well as several fresh fruit stands, fun run around the drake track, and EXCELLENT bike support - cyclists had STOCKED panniers with gu, small water bottles, candy and first aid kits, and were easy to find on every portion of the course. Cons: they ran out of several items at the finish line (bottled water included - and what had been there was in tiny bottles), incorrect information in race program on that guy Dane Rauschenberg (he is NOT the only person to ever run 52 marathons in 52 weeks. come on now), self seeding in corrals had walkers starting WAY too far up, marathon relay is present (and I always hate those). | |
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Brent Manley from Arlington TN
(10/22/2012)
"One of the best marathons I have run" (about: 2012)
50+ previous marathons
| 1 Des Moines Marathon
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 4 This is a first-class operation from start to finish, especially the volunteers and the organization. The course is good (a bit hilly at the start but flattens out), the aid stations plentiful. Locals are friendly and the YMCA, where you can clean up for free, is two blocks from the finish. My time was lousy because of poor training, but I will be back when 50 states are in the books (only four left). |
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