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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 261 to 271]
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E. R. from Phoenix
(10/27/2005)
"Great race, don't let anyone tell you otherwise" (about: 2005)
4-5 previous marathons
| 1 Detroit International Marathon
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 The course is fun and well run. There are some odd turns, but somehow it all works. And anyone complaining about Belle Isle being too long is silly. That is like complaining you have too much ice cream. It is a beautiful part of the race. | |
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M. C. from Locust Grove GA.
(10/26/2005)
"If you're serious about running, run Detroit!" (about: 2005)
6-10 previous marathons
| 1 Detroit International Marathon
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 3 When you get thousands of people running a marathon it is hard to please everyone. I always get a kick out of what people feel is important in a marathon (i.e., the post-race food was less than desirable, the expo made me walk through a maze, traffic was bad, the baggage check had too many spectators around it etc.). I ran over 5,000 miles the last 2 years in hopes to do well in Detroit. All I wanted was 1. Good weather (out of the RD's control, but we got it. 2. A scenic fast course, which Detroit is. 3. An accurate measured course, which I believe we got. 4. Aid stations throughout the course (they seemed to be present at least every mile). 5. Decent crowd support. I don't even know what the post-race food had. I grabbed 2 smoothies and 2 Gatorades and moved on. After a marathon, I am going out for lunch and rewarding myself with a quality meal. As for the traffic, you have to plan ahead (ask questions); I came from Georgia and stayed 20 min. from downtown. I left my place at 6:00 AM and arrived at the baseball stadium by 6:35 AM. Once again, I trained too hard to have traffic be an issue in the morning, so I planned ahead and got up early (found out if there was going to be traffic on the route I was traveling). About the race: The run over the Ambassador Bridge into Canada is great, and you get a nice view of the city. Running the waterfront in Canada is special as well. Running through the tunnel was enjoyable and I welcomed the 10- to 15-degree rise in temp. for the 6-7 min. I was in the tunnel. The run around Belle Isle is nice and about right (3 miles). Approaching the Ford Field was awesome with all the crowd support downtown. Running down the ramp was painful but doable. The only thing I would change is I would have runners make an immediate left when they enter the field and run an almost entire loop facing the Jumbo-tron infront of the fans finishing on the 50. That would give you your last 45 sec. to 1 min. on the field. If anyone ran Pittsburgh in 2003 (Heinz Field) the way they did it was perfect. All in all, if you are looking for a fast time, scenic and accurate course with plenty of aid stations, I would recommend Detroit. It could not be to bad, I ran a sub-3 there. :) | |
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No Chance from San Antonio, TX
(10/26/2005)
"Enjoyable marathon" (about: 2005)
11-50 previous marathons
| 1 Detroit International Marathon
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 3 I really enjoyed this marathon. No problems with the expo, start or water stations. The decline to the finish line in Ford Field and the stairs back up to the concourse leave a lot to be desired. Overall, I recommend this marathon, especially to a first-timer. | |
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M. A. from Macomb Twp, MI
(10/26/2005)
"Great hometown marathon!" (about: 2005)
6-10 previous marathons
| 4-5 Detroit International Marathons
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 4 This was my 8th marathon and 4th in a row in Detroit and it gets better every year. The weather has been picture perfect 4 years in a row. The views of Detroit from the bridge and the Canadian side of the race are unmatched. Aid stations are more than plentiful and spectators and volunteers in the historic neighborhoods make this marathon very special. My only complaints are repeated year after year amongst myself and friends who have also run this marathon. 1.) Why are there so few restrooms for a race this size? The lines are so long, many people miss the start. 2.) The street in front of Comerica Park is too narrow to accommodate the growing numbers marathoners and half-marathoners every year. Move the start to Woodward Ave. There you have 8 lanes to navigate. Despite these complaints, I truly believe this marathon will continue to grow as its reputation spreads. | |
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D. K. from Orlando, Fl
(10/26/2005)
"I don't understand the complaints . . . ." (about: 2005)
4-5 previous marathons
| 1 Detroit International Marathon
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 4 Just ran the 2005 marathon. By far my favorite of the five marathons I've run (others are San Diego, Phoenix, Nashville, and SF). I've read some of the complaints from others (not scenic, questionable organization, general complaints about Detroit, etc.), and quite honestly, I could not disagree more: As a sub-3:00 marathoner, I found this to be just about the perfect marathon, with few exceptions (I'll get to these later). First, the positives: 1. The course: flat and fast, with a bit of an incline going up the Ambassador bridge into Canada. No other elevation changes worth noting, besides the descent into Ford Field at the end, which I viewed as a positive because it launched me to the finish line (very cool finish on 50-yard line -- a definite plus for any football fan). The ONLY gripe I had with the course was the underwater mile back to Detroit through the tunnel. While this probably isn't much of an issue most years, it was a bit cool last Sunday, and there was a noticeable temperature increase in the tunnel. Not good to be sweating at mile 9, and then hit cool air again for rest of the race. Besides this uncontrollable glitch, however, I thought the course was great and actually surprisingly scenic for Detroit. 2. Fans: Loud, vocal, encouraging, entertaining -- pretty much all you could ask for, except for maybe to have more fans in certain stretches of the race. 3. Organization: Where the race really stood out -- the course was clearly designed by experienced runners (it's amazing how many marathons don't seem to be designed by runners -- San Francisco and its ridiculous quad-shredding decline at mile 22 comes to mind). But the Motown course was perfect: flat, scenic, aid stops EVERY mile, certain points with large amount of fans (and corresponding 'boosts' for runners). The only real complaints I'd agree with concern the city itself. Yeah, Detroit sucks as a downtown area, even with the current efforts to improve/revitalize the area (I feel like I can say this having grown up in Detroit and also having lived in most major U.S. cities since -- Detroit simply does not compare to say Chicago, Boston, D.C., S.F., or pretty much any other major U.S. city). But even given Detroit's general 'suck-factor,' I thought that the marathon really highlighted the best the city has to offer. Is the Ambassador Bridge the same as running over the Golden Gate bridge? Uh, no. Is Belle Isle the same as running along Mission Beach in San Diego? Again, not even close. But still, for Detroit, it was plenty nice. Overall, I'd highly recommend this race as a very well-run marathon that highlights the best the city has to offer. | |
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T. K. from West Hills, CA
(10/26/2005)
"First-class event" (about: 2005)
11-50 previous marathons
| 1 Detroit International Marathon
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 I think some of the comments below are embarrassing. If you're that challenged by these (at best) minor inconveniences maybe marathoning is not right for you. I thought the organization was excellent, really enjoyed the bridge and tunnel and all the historic and ethnic neighborhoods on the course. Spectators were great as were the water stations and volunteers. The finish on Ford Field was outstanding and the medal one of the best I've received yet. And I PR'd. Highly recommend this race. | |
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m. n. from Huntington Woods, Michigan
(10/26/2005)
"Great course, lots to look at." (about: 2005)
6-10 previous marathons
| 1 Detroit International Marathon
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 4 This is a great marathon. My first time running Detroit. Running over the Ambassador Bridge, through the Windsor Tunnel, and finishing on Ford Field was awesome. The neighborhoods were beautiful and friendly. Well organized and plenty of aid stations. Post-race food was a little light, but with all the other positives, who cares. | |
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E. W. from Holland, MI
(10/26/2005)
"Great Midwest run." (about: 2005)
3 previous marathons
| 1 Detroit International Marathon
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 4 I really enjoyed this race. There are parts of Detroit that aren't very pretty, but this course was mostly enjoyable and very flat. The only hill was the Ambassador Bridge, and it is a doozy. It's a great size to run a good time. The expo is small, but it works. The people of Detroit bent over backwards for us and were very pleasant throughout the weekend. | |
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C. K. from Ohio
(10/25/2005)
"Great course, bad organization and great fans" (about: 2005)
First Marathon
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 1 FANS: 4 This was the first time ever doing anything like this and being a part of a 5-person relay team. The view was great and thank goodness it didn't rain. I was disappointed with registration. Upon arrival the maze was crazy just to get too registered. The venders where ok but I have seen better. When you do get to the table you have to have your ID number - of which our team never got information stating you needed it. I had a problem with everyone's names and race numbers being out for everyone to see. When you did have a question about race-day no one seemed to be able to answer anything and when they did it was conflicting information from the last person you asked. We even went to the information table and still got different info. Being my first time at this event I was not impressed with how things where set up. It would have been nice to have our team recognized for being first-timers. This was the first time for all five of us. The morning of the race I had my handy program by my side; I followed the direction as to which bus to get on. When I got to one of them in my section I was told that I had the wrong bus and in fact the person who was directing you onto the bus was very rude, stating that she couldn't tell me if I was on the right bus or not. I had to figure that out on my own. As for the end of the race having to walk up a bunch of stairs was crazy. Whose idea was that? There was one person who ran the entire marathon who looked up at the stairs and said, "You have to be kidding me," and we all just laughed. One thing I can recommend for anyone who does this next year: bring your own toilet paper because with in hours of the start of the race there won't be any at the stops. That would have been a handy thing to know. | |
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J. F. from Tulsa, OK
(10/25/2005)
"Consider doing it just to go to Canada" (about: 2005)
4-5 previous marathons
COURSE: 3 ORGANIZATION: 3 FANS: 2 I did this race simply to experience Canada, the bridge, the tunnel and the stadiums. These items (and Joe Lewis Arena and old Tiger stadium) made the course interesting for a sports lover. That was about it, though. The crowd was sparse most of the time, but in certain areas very nice. The best crowd support was coming out on the US side of the tunnel and towards the very end. Aid stations were well organized w/plenty of fluid. Yes, the after-race refreshments seemed very limited and it was VERY crowded coming out of the Ford Center where people were waiting for racers. Probably the biggest need for improvement would be the on course entertainment. Aside from a couple high school bands and one or two percussion players, there was limited entertainment. I stayed downtown and paid $99/night which made it very worthwhil it considering I only had to walk 1/2 mile to the start line in the morning. I won't ever do this race again, but only b/c I'm going for the 50 States Club. Anyone wanting to do a race in Michigan should definitely consider this race due to the novelty of going into Canada. |
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