Holland Haven Marathon Runner Comments

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Course 4.4

Organization 4.4

Spectators 3.4

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Number of comments: 16 [displaying comments 11 to 11]

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M. B. from Indiana (9/10/2014)

"Good inaugural race!" (about: 2014)

11-50 previous marathons | 1 Holland Haven Marathon
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 3 FANS: 4

This was a well run race for its inaugural year. There was a small field (at least for the marathon) and the entire race had a very relaxed atmosphere.

Packet pickup was easy and they offered pickup on race day as well, which made things much easier for those of us from out of town. The t-shirt is cute but ran a bit small - I will likely be giving mine away.

Runners were bused from the finish to the start, where we were able to relax indoors until the race began. There was some confusion about which buses were for the half and full so a few people ended up at the wrong start; however, the wonderful volunteers drove them to the correct start and made sure everyone else was in the right place.

The majority of the course was on a bike path which was shady and cool. Although the course map looked like we would see Lake Michigan for most of the race we only had views for miles 24.5-25.5 or so. This was actually ok as it gave us something to look forward to. The aid stations were every 2 miles and a couple had blueberries and pretzels (thanks to the boy scouts for these!). My only complaint about the aid stations was the lack of gatorade, which was offered at every other station (~4 miles apart) - next year please make sure all the aid stations in the last half of the race have this! Additionally, another volunteer at mile 25.5 would have been great since there was a long (or it seemed long at the time!) stretch along a curvy road and we weren't entirely sure where to go. I should mention that a volunteer had told us to 'follow the road' but at mile 25 no one is thinking clearly and the idea of going an extra block is terrifying. :) Overall, there weren't many spectators (expected as this was the first year) but the ones who came out were great!

The finish was in a small park and the weather was beautiful (mid-70s). There was a play area to keep kids entertained and the usual post-race food. The medals were ok, but as this wasn't an expensive race I wouldn't have expected anything more.

I would recommend this as a great option for anyone looking for a low-key, low-cost alternative to other fall races.

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