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☰
Missoula Marathon Runner Comments
Back to Missoula Marathon Information & Reviews
Course 4.5 
Organization 4.7 
Spectators 4.2
Number of comments: 167 [displaying comments 141 to 151]
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M. R. from Missoula
(9/23/2007)
"Almost there" (about: 2007)
4-5 previous marathons
| 1 Missoula Marathon
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 3 I'm glad I was able to be a part of this inaugural event. Great volunteers and good organization. A few small improvements will go a long way though. First of all, July in Missoula is hot. Prepare for it by having water every mile after the halfway point... this is a must! I was lucky my wife was able to give me a water bottle during one lonely stretch. Secondly, consider changing the course for the last few miles. Perhaps follow the river once under Reserve Street and wind through the university neighborhood. There is plenty of shade there and I'm sure a lot more crowd support. | |
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H. M. from Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada
(8/2/2007)
"Thanks to the orgainizers and the volunteers" (about: 2007)
11-50 previous marathons
| 1 Missoula Marathon
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 3 I would like to thank all the organizers and the volunteers of this inaugural marathon. This was my 32nd full marathon, and although the weather was not too cooperative, the race more than made up for it with the volunteers. The aid stations were well stocked and I particularly would like to thank the volunteers at about mile 10 or 11 that had (thoughtfully) the wet, frozen towels available to wrap around my head Nice innovative touch on such a hot day. Thanks to all and good luck in the future. This was well organized - I've run marathons with as few as 75 people and have gotten lost on the course. Thanks again for the Missoula experience. | |
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R. S. from Tacoma Wa.
(7/30/2007)
"Great job for a first-timer" (about: 2007)
6-10 previous marathons
| 1 Missoula Marathon
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 4 The course was nice, with great views, and the people were really nice, turning their sprinklers on for us. The temperature was a wee bit hot for us slow runners. The finisher's medal could have been a little nicer than a star (after all, this was not run in Texas). Overall, I think you did a very good job and I look forward to running it again. | |
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K. N. from KC, MO
(7/30/2007)
"Inaugural Event?" (about: 2007)
50+ previous marathons
| 1 Missoula Marathon
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 4 OK, so the weather was a bit warm. I understand it was unseasonably warm. Please don't change the time of year - there are so few marathons in the summer months and this would be a great one to run and then spend a week vacationing in one of the most beautiful parts of the country. I cannot say enough positive things about the volunteers. As one of the three final finishers, we were indeed (as mentioned in the local paper) treated to a catered experience. We were told that the volunteers were going to be released to go home and get the heck out of the heat. Not a problem as the three of us were experienced marathoners and could definitely figure out a way to finish. However, imagine our surprise when volunteers were still at every aid station! Talk about going above and beyond the call of duty. And our "golf cart" support person was absolutely delightful - she should get the volunteer of the year award! Knowing the time limit going into the race and then realizing it would be a push to make it at the halfway point, there was absolutely no expectation that someone would stick with us. Again, not necessary, but so very, very much appreciated. And there were still people at the finish line with medals and shirts! In addition, I LOVED the crafted shoe mile markers - what a fantastic idea! As a first-time visitor to Missoula, I was thrilled to discover the beauty and hospitality of the area. The local REI was a great source of information (and sunglasses)! The restaurants had great food and superb service. The hotel (Holiday Inn) could not have been more convenient and the rooms were nice and quiet, despite the wedding receptions taking place that weekend. I wish this marathon much continued success! | |
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R. G. from Los Angeles, California
(7/23/2007)
"First-Time Visit to Montana" (about: 2007)
11-50 previous marathons
| 1 Missoula Marathon
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 2 You're taking a chance when participating in an inaugural marathon; however, the Missoula Marathon was an outstanding event. On Saturday's tour of the course, we were told about aid stations, course markings, traffic control, volunteers, shuttle buses, start times, and staging area. All this information and more was online, as well as in our packet, but it was nice to hear it just one more time. The course was wonderful - no need for all marathons to have entertainment on every corner! Running along the open fields, catching a glimpse of horses, or experiencing the solitude during the early miles was awesome. I was hoping for a PR, which is possible in Missoula, but no one counted on the overwhelming heat (some say it was 102). I am very grateful to all volunteers who not only endured the heat as we all did, but were so cheerful and helpful to the end. Were it not for my quest for 50 states, I'd be happy to repeat Missoula. Don't change a thing! Well, maybe more port-o-pots at the start and how about ice-cold soft drinks to be handed out as soon as we cross the finish line. | |
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Steven Lauridsen from Geneva, IL
(7/22/2007)
"Big success with tolerable wrinkles" (about: 2007)
4-5 previous marathons
| 1 Missoula Marathon
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 4 The Missoula Marathon became Montanas largest 26.2 before the first starting cannon. Even with some growing pains, MM does deserve to be the event of choice for those seeking to add the Big Sky Country to their list. Im very, very glad I did it. The organizers stress their runner-friendly priorities and credentials. Their main mistake, if that is what it was, was to stage this inaugural event on the fourth day of triple-digit temperatures, a heat wave so far out of the ordinary as to be called "historic" on the local news. Instead of the past average low of 50 degrees and high of 84, we were treated to a wake-up of 62 rising to a record high of 101. But the dew point was around 50, so even with no breeze and temperatures rising to the 80s before all but the most elite runners could finish, most of us would agree that we were not nearly as over-heated as it could have been (I'm thinking Dallas' Big D Marathon on April). The course was changed in April to exclude a finish at the stadium of the University of Montana. The website's organizer-led blog put the best face on that, calling it better than ever! That we would be finishing on the Orange Street Bridge. The race starts downstream of the Clark Fork (of the Columbia River) at Frenchtown, NNW of Missoula, and climbs at a constant but barely perceptible grade along the entire distance, for a total vertical rise of 200 feet, to a finishing altitude of 3300 feet. (Coming from a Chicago flatlander, accustomed to 600 feet, I did not notice the extra half-mile creating an altitude problem.) The only deviation from this gentle ramp uphill is a significantly steep and long hill of 160 vertical feet and almost a mile horizontally immediately after the half-way point. Then there's a little rolling down and up along the top of that hill for another mile, and then one downhill mile (the 16th) to drop back to resuming the same gentle ramp. That hilly section along the inaccurately named Big Flat Road comes after an entire enjoyable half-marathon along Mullan Road and Kona Farm Road. Mullan features lonely country-road scenes, including the morning sun breaking over the mountains about two miles after the 6:30 start. I remember mostly irrigated alfalfa fields, marred only by the prominent Smurfit-Stone pulp plant which provides the only moment of shade in that first half. But even at the unseasonable, elevated temperatures of 2007, shade is really not an issue that early in the morning. My Garmin Forerunner 201 measured the distance perfectly along this straight, open stretch, making it easy to monitor my pace, which I credit for my success at maintaining a strong finish later on. The topography of the course is essential for this outcome, making me a big fan of the first half. Also, I was glad to notice almost all of the (unmanned) mile markers, thanks to the prominent balloons. Shortly after ending the Big Flat hill, runners enter the western outskirts of Missoula's neighborhood, which could stand in as a movie set for a Balkan village. The big problem with the altered race course is that the Orange St. Bridge is closer than the university's stadium to Frenchtown, which requires that the second half involve much wandering north to south to north while making only a few miles of eastward progress. Spotty neighborhood shade is found along these streets, and some good-natured neighborhood moral support, but the area is just not particularly interesting. I suppose the organizers hope to gain the rights to use the campus in future years, and I hope that does happen. It would make the second half of the course seem more purposeful and get to the more interesting and shadier east side of town nearer to the campus. As it was this year, we spent the last 3 miles on an unshaded bike path alongside railroad tracks, which removed any chance of crowd support or heat relief in that crucial stretch. Based on the condition of those I was passing and what I heard from others later, some runners were bothered by that bad stretch. Local news had played up the possibility of supportive crowds gathering at SouthGate Mall (mile 24), but that was not to be in this heat. Negatives: It was then at about mile 24 that I was passed by the 3:49 pace leader, adorned in balloons, and entirely alone. I knew that I would beat 3:48, and indeed I did beat 3:47, but that pacer finished 60 meters in front of me, almost 3 minutes early. His faulty Garmin or internal sense of pace was one of the few complaints I had. None of the pace groups was fast enough to have helped a male runner qualify for Boston. It took 60 or 70 hours to post the results, due in part, I think, to the presence of early starters on the course. Also, perhaps the full marathoners and the half-ers got mingled in a single finishing chute. The organizers are surely planning better for next year. I was disappointed to get the shirt I did instead of the promised long-sleeve Dri-Fit. A late surge in registration came close to causing problems. Both races' starting lines reported a need for more potty facilities. It was good that Power Gels were given out in two places, but I always want them earlier than mile 18 or 21. I would recommend somewhere earlier in the second half. I don't know much about the official hotel(s), but I know every room in town is filled on summer weekends, so runners will be staying anywhere they can find. How about designating one or more of the cluster of hotels along Reserve St. near I-90 as official, and having vans to the start(s) originating directly from there? Runners could walk from any of about 8 hotels to one strategically-placed van center. And one last very positive anecdote: I developed the expected hip flexor tightness by mile 10 and was starting to lose my form and my pace. I asked at the aid station at the beginning of Kona Farm Road if anyone could spare some Tylenol. There was none handy, but before I had proceeded to the upcoming bridge, someone came from behind me in a car, personally delivering the hoped-for dose, probably found at the bottom of someone's purse. That level of personal service made it possible for me to have a good day. | |
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F. W. from Chicago
(7/20/2007)
"Hard to Believe it was an Inaugural Run!" (about: 2007)
11-50 previous marathons
| 1 Missoula Marathon
COURSE: 3 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 3 You would have thought that this marathon had been in existence for years and years - and not an inaugural event - based on how smoothly it ran. The RD did a great job and it delivered everything that the website said it would. PROS: - Shuttle buses were efficient and on-time. - Course was well marked at turns with orange arrows on the ground. - Numerous sprinkler systems (even farm irrigation sprinkler systems) had been set up on the course for the runners as a result of an article in the local paper the day before the race telling the residents how to do this. This was great involvement by the community and it was really appreciated on such a hot day! - Finish line had plenty of food even for the latecomers. There were ice cream bars, yogurt, fresh watermelon and oranges, and pasta and water in abundance. - Medal is shaped like a "Sheriff's star" and has the year on it. - Dri-Fit shirt with the date of the event on the shirt. - Finish-line bandana in either red, white or blue. - GU at Mile 18 as advertised. - Course is very flat except for one hill at Mile 13. It's a steep hill but not too long. Some people said it was almost 2 miles long - I think it was more like 1/2 mile long. CONS: - Electrolyte drink was HEED, which is really nasty-tasting stuff. Many of the volunteers mistook it for water so you had to be careful when you thought you were asking for water to dump over your head and it turned out to be Heed. - Aid Stations should have been set up every mile after Mile 20 because of the high temps. Two miles in between aid stations in temps in the upper 80's to 90's is too long of a stretch. Overall, this is a really nice, small race that is well organized and would be a excellent choice if you need the state of Montana. | |
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J. B. from Great Falls
(7/19/2007)
"Nice start but there is a lot of room to improve" (about: 2007)
11-50 previous marathons
| 1 Missoula Marathon
COURSE: 3 ORGANIZATION: 3 FANS: 5 First and foremost: If you want people to remember a race, give a medal worthy of remembering it. That was by far the worst medal I have ever received and I have been running for over 10 years in marathons. I thought it was a joke at first. Other races cost less, qualify you to run the Boston, and give medals worthy of remember them by. The beauty and hospitality of the city was the best part of the race. I am not familiar with the city, but if possible the course needs more areas with cover. The saddest part was my child's medal from the kid's marathon looked better than mine; but looks were deceiving because it broke in three places before we got to Caras Park. If you were to ask if I would run it again, my answer would be no. Too many other cities close by offer the same race, with the same or lower prices, and better quality. | |
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T. H. from Missoula, MT, USA
(7/18/2007)
"Great summer marathon!" (about: 2007)
50+ previous marathons
| 1 Missoula Marathon
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 3 This was a great small-city marathon, especially in the middle of the summer. For an inaugural event, it was really well organized, with a lot of enthusiasm, a fun crowd, excellent volunteers, and a scenic, fast course. The heat was a factor, but this is 2007, and things are only going to get warmer, right? I really was impressed by the whole thing. The best aspect is that the run starts in the small town of Frenchtown, runs through some fairly scenic countryside, and ends in the heart of downtown Missoula. I think this run will only get better next year. | |
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S. S. from Missoula
(7/18/2007)
"How about in June..." (about: 2007)
1 previous marathon
| 1 Missoula Marathon
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 5 This was a great first go around for the Missoula Marathon! Running a marathon in your home town is great. I just wish the race would have been in mid-June, not July. That way there is no threat of smoke or heat, both of which were present this year. Also, running down Eaton and through the mall parking lot wasn't too much fun. However, even with these pitfalls, it was great. Big thumbs up to the organizers and Missoula. |
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