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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: 406 [displaying comments 231 to 241]
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L. D. from Tampa, Fl.
(10/30/2006)
"Good marathon choice, but not great experience" (about: 2006)
6-10 previous marathons
| 1 Detroit International Marathon
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 3 FANS: 4 1. Good course, and fairly flat except for the bridge and tunnel - both in the beginning few miles. Beautiful scenery. I agree with previous comments - the roads are in very poor condition, so watch your step. What I DIDN'T see were the 20+ bands/musical entertainment advertised on the race website (and I was not running so fast that I missed them!!). 2. Nice expo, shirt, and medal. 3. Great finish line on Ford Field. Nice to hear your name/town announced as you crossed the finish line. I didn't even mind the stairs up to exit the field and collect my gear. What was ABSOLUTELY AWFUL was the lack of post-race food!!! I understand when having a half marathon (with more participants) along with a full marathon, there are lots of folks to feed. However, I ran 26.2 miles for a cup of water, mini coconut macaroons and chocolate chip cookies, and a fruit rollup?!?!?!? Both smaller marathons, the Steamtown Marathon (hot pasta), and the Oklahoma City Memorial Marathon (Hardees Black Angus hamburgers and sausage biscuits) serve these yummies ALONG with the standard bagel/fruit/etc. I do not feel slighted, however, because I finished alongside a gentleman that has finished EVERY Detroit Free Press Marathon to date, and he got the same selection as I did.... This marathon is a good choice if you're on a quest for all 50 states, but it is not one I would run again. | |
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N. n. from KY
(10/30/2006)
"Not a marathon I will do again unless..." (about: 2006)
6-10 previous marathons
| 1 Detroit International Marathon
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 1 FANS: 4 Well... after having run 10 marathons, this would qualify as the worst. After I finished the marathon I had to search for food and then there was practically nothing left.... They told me every thing was gone! Gone... I just could not believe it.... I will run this marathon only if I can finish under 5:30 so that I will have something to eat. Also, as we were close to the finish (within two miles), we were told to get on the sidewalk and had to wait for cars to pass.... Interesting, because the course was supposed to be open for six hours. That means that they do want runners who finish before 5:30. That's disappointing. | |
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K. B. from Boulder, Colorado
(10/30/2006)
"Even though the Tigers lost, this marathon wins!" (about: 2006)
1 previous marathon
| 1 Detroit International Marathon
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 As a Detroit native now living in the west, I was extremely pleased to return to Motown to experience this spectacular event. From the sunrise over the Ambassador Bridge that illuminated the Detroit skyline to the tour of the quaint and historic neighborhoods of Detroit, this marathon was a true winner. Despite the Tigers' pathetic performance in the World Series, the spectators provided a contagious energy to the runners throughout the 26.2-mile experience. There were plenty of fluid stations, the organization was impeccable and the course was well thought out and inspiring. My favorite part was the trip to Canada and back via the bridge and tunnel. The run along Riverside Drive in Windsor was quite breathtaking, as well. The underwater mile split was a great pre-mid-race motivator. Also, the course is flat and fast for those who are trying to qualify for Boston (I did!). From start to finish I would recommend this race to anyone, as it truly paints Detroit in the most positive of lights. Now, if only we could work on those Tigers.... | |
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b. k. from Chicago
(10/30/2006)
"great course, tough finish" (about: 2006)
4-5 previous marathons
| 1 Detroit International Marathon
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 4 First time running this marathon and overall it did not disappoint me. Overall I think the event was fairly well organized, considering the blustery wind conditions. The course was scenic and challenging. The Ambassador Bridge provided awesome views and a challenging climb. The underwater mile return to the US in the tunnel was exciting. Belle island was beautiful. Some city roads had some bad pavement - maybe an opporunity for course improvement. The organization had some very strong pluses, but some areas for improvement. Pluses: Free massage for EVERYBODY - even the stragglers. Well organized water stations (except the mile 5 stop ran out of refreshments early - Windsor). The back-end folks were great - cheering us on the last few miles. Lots of porta-potties at the start line and throughout the course. Things that could be improved: Mark the actual location of water stops on the map. They were not consistently near mile markers per the race materials. Have the non-competitive walkers start after the marathoners. Need more food at the finish. They only had cookies and crackers. The fan support was good for this size marathon - lots of cheering on the back-end miles, even with the strong wind. The finish was tough. The approach was on a fairly narrow street, so Ford Field was not visible until you were nearly on top of it. Then the steep downhill tunnel had to be done gingerly (5-hour marathon for me). | |
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R. M. from Ontario
(10/30/2006)
"Windy Fun" (about: 2006)
2 previous marathons
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 5 Overall this was a great race. Unfortunately, the weather, although sunny, was extremely windy. Course offers a variety of scenery with some unique features: running in 2 countries, going both over water and underwater, and 3 miles on beautiful Belle Island. Downtown Detroit is a great place (first time there). Found it very easy to find my way around. Every city needs a "people mover" in its downtown core. The finish in Ford Field was spectacular. The fan support on both sides of the border was excellent, especially through the downtown core. Volunteers were all very courteous and helpful. The course does have a stretch from around mile 14 to 16 where the roads are just horrible. Surprised no one seriously injured an ankle or knee. Also, the food provided at the end of the race was disappointing. There were no fruit, buns, bagels, cookies or anything like that. Just a couple of bags of chips and a granola bar. Perhaps this is typical of bigger races. I would certainly run this race again and would recommend it to anyone. | |
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j. l. from hamilton ontario canada
(10/29/2006)
"The best marathon I have ever run" (about: 2006)
11-50 previous marathons
| 2 Detroit International Marathons
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 My 24th and 25th marathon. They have everything - and I mean everything - right. The best scenery of any city marathon that runs along the river. Ten out of 10. I am a complainer and I have not even one complaint. I will be back to run 2007. | |
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Jeff Wang from Humble, Texas
(10/29/2006)
"Pleasantly surprised in Detroit" (about: 2006)
11-50 previous marathons
| 1 Detroit International Marathon
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 3 Just got home from my first Detroit Marathon. It was nice. The weather this year was cold and windy. Cold was nice for marathon, but it was extremely windy, which affected the running at times when we had to run into the wind. At least it did not rain as anticipated. It was a rather nice marathon. I had read about this marathon from this website and signed up as my fall marathon, with low expectations. The course wound through downtown Detroit and into Windsor, Canada, making it an international marathon of sorts. The Canadian side was not that impressive, but it was still fun to see Detroit from the other side of the river. The bridge across the US-Canada border was more difficult than anticipated. I guess that not all bridges are the same. While Golden Gate was nice and smooth, this one was all uphill, then downhill, and at mile 3, it was rather difficult for me and a few others. The return to US was via a tunnel, which was actually pretty easy (and nice, since it was warm and windless). There were a few rolling up and downs not mentioned in the map - it's not as flat as I expected. It was a small marathon, but a big race - some half marathoners but a lot of relay teams, which made it less fun, since the relay runners are either slower and therefore jam up the road, or faster which sort of made me mad due to their fresh legs while rest of us ran the whole way. Maybe they should limit the number of relay teams. The main complaint I have with this marathon was the mile maker. For the first half marathon, the mile markers were surprisingly invisible. Oh, wait, there were hardly any. For the second half, many were out of position - we would run a mile in seven minutes and next in 10 minutes. That really threw us off on pacing. The road condition was not great either, with lots of potholes. You had to watch out where you were going. My other complaint was that the starting Corrals were small, but they managed to get people to the start rather quickly. The water station, on the other hand, was wonderful. There were so many that you literally had water every half-mile at some points. The cup was big - so easy to handle - and a bit overfilled, which was nice because I did not have to go for second. The Gu station was a bit early at mile 15 - would be nicer at 20. No beer station, however. The crowd was small until the end, which was made up mostly the relay teams. It was nice to run into the Ford Stadium, which was a bit emotional for me for some reason. The finishing area had very little food - mostly chips. I could not even find a banana to eat. As for Detroit itself, it was rather uninteresting for me. They had a few casinos within walking distance, which was nice, and there were plenty of good restaurants. Sadly, shopping was awful, and not much else to do there. The loop of the commuter train, called the People Mover, made it easy to get around the downtown area, and it was cheap. What was expensive was the transportation between airport and downtown - a whopping $45-50 fare each way. That was about 1/3 of my total expense while at Detroit. There were no airport shuttles either. So, you were to go RENT A CAR from the airport!!! Overall it was a good experience. I enjoyed my visit there and I enjoyed the race there. | |
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N. H. from PA
(10/29/2006)
"Nice race, but needs a few tweaks" (about: 2006)
11-50 previous marathons
| 1 Detroit International Marathon
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 4 Spectators and volunteers are numerous, the course is scenic and interesting, and the trip to Canada and back is way cool. But there are some things wrong - things you might expect of a new marathon, but not of an established one. Here is what needs to be fixed: 1. Why do the porta-johns at the start have to be in a mud pit? 2. Put a mile marker at every mile, where it's visible, and make sure they are accurately placed. Mile marker 7 was 2/10 of a mile off, and that's inexcusable for ANY marathon of ANY size. 3. We need better grub after running 26 miles than potato chips and whatever was in the tiny packets being handed out. If you can't do better than that, how about having the concession stands open up to sell us food (and beer)? 4. The condition of many of the roads is deplorable. I realize this is probably beyond the scope of race management, but it casts a poor light on the city and at least one runner that I know of took a spill after stepping in a hole. | |
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S. B. from Michigan
(10/29/2006)
"Another great year!" (about: 2006)
4-5 previous marathons
| 4-5 Detroit International Marathons
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 5 I have participated in this event since 2001 and it only gets better. The change in the start was great and the additional port-a-johns were appreciated. The spectators were great. The only problem was trying to exit the stadium; it would have been nice to have an express exit to relieve the congestion. Also race officials may want to consider putting a cap on the field. The course is starting to be too congested in certain parts (the bridge and near some water stations). It makes it difficult to keep a consistent pace. Otherwise, this was a great race and I would recommend it to anyone. Love the finish on Ford Field. Last comment: what was the point of the half-marathon non-competitive walk? Everyone in that division that I came across was jogging. Seems like a lot of extra work for race officials when these participants should just be entered in the half-marathon run. | |
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matt wyse from archbold, ohio
(10/29/2006)
"Feed me - I'm hungry!!!!!!!" (about: 2006)
2 previous marathons
| 1 Detroit International Marathon
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 3 FANS: 4 Great course! Great fans. The medal and shirt were very nice. What I don't understand is giving you a fruit roll-up and a bag of chips after running 26.2 miles. I expect it from small marathons. They did everything else so well seems a shame to basically skip the food part of it! |
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