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Twin Cities Marathon Runner Comments

Back to Twin Cities Marathon Information & Reviews

Course Rating Course 4.8 
 
Oranization Rating Organization 4.6 
 
Spectator Rating Spectators 4.9 
 
 
Number of comments: 455 [displaying comments 421 to 431]
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Tanager from South Dakota (12/16/2001)
"Best marathon in America!" (about: 2001)


COURSE: 5  ORGANIZATION: 4  FANS: 5


This IS a fabulous marathon. The course is awesome and scenic. The fans are wonderful. The weather is almost always ideal. The TCM Expo is great fun.

The only negatives I should point out is that they tend to run out of sports drinks for the runners that are midpack. The $50 entry fee is a bit steep too. Last year I forgave them considering their T-shirts were of such high quality but that wasn't the case this year.

My only other disappointment was finding out that TCM 2002 would be in September, not October. Otherwise this is simply the best marathon you can find.

 

Martin. from Winnipeg,Manitoba.Canada (11/8/2001)
"Cannot run a better course" (about: 2001)


COURSE: 5  ORGANIZATION: 5  FANS: 5


We are a running group from Winnipeg who come and run here each year. In my opinion this race gets better and better. What a rush as we waited for the start. To hear 'the Star Spangled Banner'sung brought a lump to my throat. How about playing it as well as God Bless America, at each start? Great expo, great pasta supper. What can you say about the race, fantastic. Such a scenic and challenging course, wonderful
spectator support. One part was really emotional, in the latter part of the race we passed an aid station and as we did they played, 'Born in the USA', all our tiredness seemed to fade away. I thought of Sept 11 and all those innocent people that perished as well as the heros of all the fire, police, EMS and all the others who gave their lives and I will admit I shed a tear. That song really spurred us on.
Evrything about the TCM is so well done. Little things like getting your bag given you at the end is so nice. I would like to thank each and every volunteer and spectator for making it a wonderful day fir all us runners. It does not matter if you are first or last you still get great applause. I have run in The New York City Marathon as well as the 100th Boston and this is just as good. I defy anyone to run Twin Cities and not have a great time. Thank you once again. I am sure you are tired of hearing this but, God Bless America. You guys rock. Geoff Martin. Winnipeg,Canada.

 

A Runner from Los Angeles, CA (10/31/2001)
"The Best Experience" (about: 2001)


COURSE: 5  ORGANIZATION: 5  FANS: 5


The Twin Cities Marathon was my first marathon. The marathon was perfect in absolutely every aspect: great fans, great volunteers, great organization, great weather and a spectacular course. I have no doubt that I will do the TCM at least one more time-if not more. This is the perfect race for any type of runner, young, old, first-timer or an old pro.

 

Nirav Vora from Minnesota (10/31/2001)
"Great Spectators" (about: 2001)


COURSE: 5  ORGANIZATION: 5  FANS: 5


This was my first marathon, and I don't think I could have completed without the spectators. They were very encouraging, yelling out whatever they could to motivate the runners. I happened to be wearing a Michigan sweatshirt at the time, so I could hear 'GO MICHIGAN' everywhere. It was great!! To all the Minnesotans and other fans out there, thanks.

 

A Runner from St. Paul (10/31/2001)
"AWESOME" (about: 2001)


COURSE: 5  ORGANIZATION: 5  FANS: 5


Great marathon.

 

A Runner from Chicago (10/22/2001)
"Very near perfect" (about: 2001)


COURSE: 5  ORGANIZATION: 4  FANS: 5


Beautiful course, very encouraging spectators and good organization with one exception. I run in the top third of the finishers and yet I could not believe organizers ran out of Ultima, which tastes terrible anyway, until 15 miles for me, and more like 20 miles for my slightly slower friends. I was really concerned about blowing my PR attempt that I had trained for since March, because of nothing to drink but water. The gels at 16.5 were great and many fans had food so we did not go hungry. Do this race, its a great time, just have your friends handy with Gatorade and don't count on the race director for your sports drink.

 

A Runner from St. Paul, MN (10/21/2001)
"Wonderful first marathon" (about: 2001)


COURSE: 5  ORGANIZATION: 5  FANS: 5


This was my first marathon and a terrific experience! The fans were incredible, the weather and fall colors were beautiful. I plan to run this marathon over and over again!

 

A Runner from Atlanta, GA (10/10/2001)
"Great Race" (about: 2001)


COURSE: 5  ORGANIZATION: 5  FANS: 5


What a great race. The weather was cold, but perfect for racing. The temperature at the start was about 33 degrees and about 45-50 when I finished. Race organizers open the Metrodome for keeping warm and use of bathrooms. This is the first race I have ever been to that had adequate restrooms at the start. The race wastes no time in getting out of downtown - by Mile 2 the route is into beautiful tree-lined neighborhoods. This year, the leaves were at the height of their fall colors. The route continued on past several in-town lakes and over to the Mississippi River. The Minneapolis portion of the race takes you through about Mile 19 and is by far the most enjoyable part of the course. You may be tempted to really turn it on during this part of the race. However, when the route crosses over to St. Paul, a steady incline begins that was just brutal for me (you'll find that race descriptions describe the course as mostly flat)- the elevation change is about 200-250 feet in total, not too bad, but it comes late in the race - be prepared. The scenery is beautiful in St. Paul as well. You even get to run past Jesse Ventura's pad. Mercifully, the finish is at the bottom of a generous downhill. If you run part of the 5K course the day before, you can practice the finish with fresh legs. The finishers' shirts this year were less than spectacular or nicely understated - depends on who you talk to. The medals were large, heavy, and very nice. In the finish chute, in addition to bananas, water, and other typical finish line goodies, the race organizers had steamy cauldrons of hot chicken, broth. It really hit the spot, much better than it sounds. There was a huge line to get into the finishers' party tent, so I ended up skipping it. The people in MN may be the nicest on earth. The volunteers were great. By the end of the race, we knew several of the race directors on a first name basis. I highly recommend this race, just leave some gas in the tank for St. Paul.

 

A Runner from North Platte, NE (10/10/2001)
"AWESOME AWESOME AWESOME!!!!" (General Comments)


COURSE: 5  ORGANIZATION: 5  FANS: 5


This was my second marathon, and it was so much better than the marathon I ran (I won't mention any names, but it's initials are KC) before, it's not even fair to compare. The fans were unreal!!! The support helped my time by five minutes at least!! Great, scenic course, and great accommodations for the runners. Way to go Twin Cities!!!

 

A Runner from st.paul mn (10/9/2001)
"1st time marathon experience" (about: 2001)


COURSE: 5  ORGANIZATION: 5  FANS: 5


Although this was my first marathon, I have run many 1/2 marathons and never expected the type of spectator support that I saw on Sunday.
I expected the race to be well organized and knew the beautiful course very well already. What I didn't anticipate was the many, many people along the way who inspired me so much!
Thanks to ALL who ran, watched and organized. It was truly a once in a lifetime 1st marathon experience! I hope to be back next year!

 

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