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Detroit International Marathon Runner Comments
Back to Detroit International Marathon Information & Reviews
Course 4.5 
Organization 4.2 
Spectators 4.1
Number of comments: 402 [displaying comments 121 to 131]
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k. r. from toledo, ohio
(10/25/2008)
"Big-city marathon, but not quite worth a trip" (about: 2008)
1 previous marathon
| 1 Detroit International Marathon
COURSE: 3 ORGANIZATION: 3 FANS: 3 This is an old, well-established marathon drawing only about 15,000 runners, of which only about 5,000 were full marathoners. The course is cool because it takes you on the bridge to Canada giving you a gorgeous sunrise and brings you back in the underwater tunnel before running along the river onto Belle Isle. On the other hand, it also took you through a couple miles of suburban mansions that seemed like forever and wasn't very motivating and kind of disorienting. I'd like to see them take the course around the downtown stadiums perhaps, or through Greektown instead. I have no complaints about the fans. This is probably as much spectator support as one could expect from a mid-major race on a breezy Detroit Sunday. There were bands and plenty of support, however. I guess my only real beef was with the packet pickup and my hotel stay. To get your chip/bib/etc you had to weave through to the end of the race expo only to find they had run out of large and extra large tech shirts! Interesting ,considering when you register you record your shirt size.... I failed to see one single volunteer, however, that didn't have on an oversized tech race shirt. Aid stations were plentiful and always had water and Gatorade and were clearly marked; they had more people sweeping the cups off the street, though. One word to the wise: choose where you stay carefully. I didn't realize it was so easy to drive in the morning of the race and park atop Cobo Hall. Instead I forked over the dough to stay at the downtown Sheraton. This old dump had had one single elevator working (five-person capacity), had a wedding reception that kept me up till 2 a.m., and the 5:30 wake up call I requested came at 5 a.m. instead. My complaints were met with a shrug from the manager. No class. I'd like to see this marathon make it to the next level. I really think they're going in that direction, but theyre definitely not there yet. | |
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Roger Marquis from Old Town, Maine
(10/24/2008)
"Detroit Rocks" (about: 2008)
50+ previous marathons
| 1 Detroit International Marathon
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 I completed Detroit as the last of 7 full marathons in 23 days. I enjoyed each and every marathon but Detroit was without question the most fun. I would highly recommend this marathon to anyone. Very nice expo, great shirt, nice course, well supplied aid stations, great crowd support and a very nice medal with ribbon. This course would be a good target for a BQ or PR. My only complaint was the post-race food. My goody bag had a banana, a plain bagel and a bag of crackers. I tried to get an extra banana and was told no. I was the 3:30 pace team leader for full marathon and the group of people running along with me were awesome. | |
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G. W. from Northeast PA
(10/24/2008)
"Another good Detroit Marathon!" (about: 2008)
6-10 previous marathons
| 4-5 Detroit International Marathons
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 5 My 4th time doing this marathon and it is always well organized with great spectator support. It was a perfect day for a marathon and the course is very well laid out. I preferred the Ford Field finish as it was easier to find family and friends. | |
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D. P. from Texas, United States
(10/24/2008)
"Great international race experience" (about: 2008)
2 previous marathons
| 1 Detroit International Marathon
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 4 Congrats to the organizers for putting on a well organized race and developing a beautiful course! Windsor, Corktown and Indian Village were awesome. Belle Isle was beautiful with the leaves changing with the fall. Expo was good, race day went very well and course was scenic. One thing, though: watch out for the Detroit PD. One of the cops wanted to give me a citation right there on the race course for ducking into some bushes to relieve myself. There were plenty of women's port-a-potties, which is something they need many of at races; but guys, watch out for the cops! | |
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d. c. from Waterloo,Ontario
(10/22/2008)
"fun course, great spectators, but no bananas" (about: 2008)
4-5 previous marathons
| 3 Detroit International Marathons
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 I absolutely love running this course. I liked the new changes (though it was a little tight in spots, due to construction). I especially liked running along the waterfront, and the finish was better as you had a chance to go for it at the end if you had anything left in the tank. Water stops were plentiful and well managed and spaced out, as we didn't seem to be running into each other. There was the usual party in the Indian Village, which I also find as a pickup (jellybeans, cookies, cheering) to get you going again. The food at the end wasn't much; no bananas, a stale bagel and chips in my bag - and I finished in the 3:50's . Last year the food package was much better. We arrived Saturday afternoon for the expo looking for deals and there seemed to be very little to buy. Maybe we were too late. There was absolutely nothing in our handout bags worth keeping - only literature. But I love the shirt. Thanks to Pat Ball and staff, and the people of Detroit and Windsor, for a fun and enjoyable Sunday run. I will be back. | |
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D. V. from SE Michigan, USA
(10/22/2008)
"Did it, don't regret it, but..." (about: 2008)
1 previous marathon
| 1 Detroit International Marathon
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 2 FANS: 5 It's not one I'll do over and over, if ever, again. Midway through the expo, they ran out of all shirts - unless you wear a small or XS, that is. (They had an e-mail address to notify so you could get yours mailed, but we'll see.) They ran out of a lot of the swag too, as tons of non-runners got some. Volunteers were great, though. The course was absolutely beautiful except for a traffic jam on the Ambassador Bridge, some Garmin problems in the tunnel, and a very family-unfriendly fenced-in final stretch. The Windsor side was spectacular as the sun came up on the river just about the time we were through there. Lots of fan/spectator support and encouragement, even from the cops who were directing traffic. Like I said, I didn't have a bad time, but next year, I'll probably try another race. | |
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B. G. from Detroit
(10/22/2008)
"A Wonderful Run" (about: 2008)
11-50 previous marathons
| 4-5 Detroit International Marathons
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 5 This was my fourth time running this marathon and it was better than ever. There is nothing like coming out of the tunnel to all the cheering spectators. The route always had interesting scenery, great spectators and/or enthusiastic volunteers. Seeing friends that were running, volunteering or spectating throughout the run made it special. The event is a showcase of some of the greatest parts of Detroit and Windsor. The finish line could be better organized and cheerier. I was very grateful not to have to climb out of Ford Field. The massage was excellent. | |
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D. G. from Southeast MI
(10/22/2008)
"Great Course & Expo" (about: 2008)
2 previous marathons
| 1 Detroit International Marathon
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 4 After running the half in '06 & '07, I opted for the full marathon in '08. This is, overall, probably the best organized race of the 100+ that I've done. The starting corrals, to which you are assigned by your projected time, are a great idea. More races should use this approach, rather than "elite in front, and the rest of you fend for yourselves." You don't need to waste a lot of time or energy getting by the slower runners who tend to line up too close to the front at most races. The expo is quite large, with lots of shoes and clothing offered at a good discount. Crowd support is always good and was even better this year. Volunteers at fluid stations were plentiful and friendly. It's a unique and scenic course, which is also flat enough to yield a good time. My only complaint is that this year, the half-marathon started 5 minutes after the full, instead of at the same time, which was the case in previous years. This caused a potential bottleneck approaching the bridge at 3.5 miles, because the course was quite narrow there, and the faster half-marathoners did not have much space to pass the bulk of the slower full-marathoners at that point. I would have been frustrated by this, had I done the shorter distance. When the races started at the same time in previous years, there was plenty of width on Michigan Avenue for the field to thin out before the bridge. | |
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J. M. from Chicago, IL
(10/22/2008)
"A nice, mid-sized race on its way to greatness." (about: 2008)
6-10 previous marathons
| 1 Detroit International Marathon
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 4 2008 was my first time running Detroit, and overall, I was impressed by the race organization. I got the impression that it was a year with more participants than they are used to having, which left a few small details that could have been handled better - but the groundwork is there for continuous improvement and some great future races. As an "out of towner," I was disappointed with the race route maps - way too small and missing street names for things like the start line! I'm sure if you're from Detroit it was really obvious where to go, but my spectators and I struggled to figure out what actual streets we were looking for. I also found the start line "over-corralled" with way too many fences up... and ditto on the finish line. Take some fences down and let people walk around a bit more - you've got a lot of people here who need some more space! On the plus side, the course was beautiful - much nicer than what I'd expect "Downtown Detroit" to look like. Canada was amazing, and the Motown bands along the route were pretty cool, too. Running under the tunnel was definitely hot, but the "uniqueness" and views it included were a worthwhile trade-off. Well stocked aid stations and accurately marked mile markers made the whole race run smoothly (but can we get actual pace clocks at each mile, rather than a person yelling times off a stopwatch?). Nice finisher's medal, too - and a nice touch to have both country flags on it (plus both national anthems sung at the start). I'd definitely do this race again, and encourage others to experience this "just large enough" race. | |
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J. S. from Beverly Hills, MI
(10/21/2008)
"Nice Fall Marathon" (about: 2008)
11-50 previous marathons
| 4-5 Detroit International Marathons
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 3 I have run the Free Press Marathon 5 times, and I think this year was the best yet. The start was less congested than it has been in the past for the full marathon, and minimal time was spent walking at the onset of the race. I hope everyone on the bridge noticed the beautiful sunrise as we ascended. The crowds, however sparse, were very enthusiastic when runners passed by. Thank you, 4:30 pacer Bill, for your support and encouragement of the group's efforts. We came in at 4:29. You can't beat that for achieving the targeted time!! |
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