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Indianapolis Monumental Marathon Runner Comments
Back to Indianapolis Monumental Marathon Information & Reviews
Course 4.6 
Organization 4.5 
Spectators 3.8
Number of comments: 216 [displaying comments 31 to 41]
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T. S. from Harrison, Ohio
(11/12/2016)
"One of the best1" (about: 2016)
6-10 previous marathons
| 2 Indianapolis Monumental Marathons
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 4 I ran this race for the first time in 2015 and again this year. Excellent weather conditions both times which obviously helps! Route is very scenic with all the monuments and just slightly rolling...a good course to PR on which I did both years. As others have stated, the biggest downfall is the start and the first few miles which are very congested. I believe implementing a wave start would help this tremendously. Otherwise it's a great experience. | |
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J. B. from OHIO
(11/10/2016)
"Don't believe the hype..." (about: 2016)
2 previous marathons
| 1 Indianapolis Monumental Marathon
COURSE: 3 ORGANIZATION: 3 FANS: 1 Pros: good course/time of year for a PR. Can be choppy roads at places. The shirt was nice. Cons: Crowds are okay, but they are all silent. Literally no cheering most of the course, no high fives, was just lame all around. The organization of the start is abysmal. To have a corral system but no accountability, along with letting everyone go at once with no gap, made sure that slower people were ahead of faster people and it was very crowded for three miles. Medal was unimpressive. Overall it was fine, a fast course, but disappointing crowds, and a terrible start/corral system. I might run it again for convenience/weather, but not sure what all the hype is about. | |
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J. E. from Indiana
(11/6/2016)
"Growing Marathon; will it find full potential?" (about: 2016)
50+ previous marathons
| 4-5 Indianapolis Monumental Marathons
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 4 This is a terrific race which can become a very significant annual event. Pros: The course is terrific. Very flat, pleasant visually. Spectators are very upbeat, support is very good. Amenities at the finish line are terrific. The 2016 T shirt is one of the best I've ever received. Cons: One and only one thing to work on ; start grid organization. I posted on this page about the 2015 race with similar concerns. Capitol Avenue is not wide enough to accommodate the surge of runners all crossing the start line. It was well into mile 5 before I was even close to finding enough space to get my pace. On this course, the organizers need to institute a wave start. Otherwise, a very good experience. Thanks to the organizers for listening. | |
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M. L. from Chicago, IL
(11/6/2016)
"Well organized, pretty course" (about: 2016)
11-50 previous marathons
| 2 Indianapolis Monumental Marathons
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 4 Nice race, with a lot of water/Gatorade stops and THREE gel stops. The course has more small rolling hills than I expected, but nothing too big or too long so it was not bad. You also get to go to a beautiful YMCA to take a shower right away by showing your bib if you don't want to stay another night in a hotel. It's a little bit of a walk after running a marathon but glad to have it. Some of the pacers bonked, but that could happen anywhere. Very responsive to questions via email before race day, too. Spectators can be sparse in places, but that did not bother me. Runners were nice and talked to each other. Lots of BQ hopefuls in this race, it felt like. AND a bonus - this is a charity race so by running it, you are also giving back. That's AWESOME! | |
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Justin Abbott from Carmel, IN
(2/15/2016)
"Gets Better Every Year" (about: 2015)
4-5 previous marathons
| 2 Indianapolis Monumental Marathons
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 This was my second time running this race. The issues that I had last year (a few intersections that weren't patrolled and running out of gels) were corrected this year, but that could also be because I ran a much faster time as well. The new start route to the race did alleviate some of the congestion, but there is still a good bit of bottleneck at the beginning, but for such a large race, you have to expect it. The crowds were once again enthusiastic and made the race enjoyable. I moved to Indiana between the 2014 edition and this years race, so it was extra special to run my first marathon as an official Hoosier. Already training for 2016! | |
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L. D. from Texas, USA
(12/1/2015)
"Great Race to PR" (about: 2015)
6-10 previous marathons
| 1 Indianapolis Monumental Marathon
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 A well organized race with plenty of course support - water, aid, gel, kleenix. The course is flat and runs through the streets of Indy including Monument Circle, passing by Lucas Oil Stadium, lovely neighborhoods, and Butler University. I really enjoyed the race and was happy to receive a PR. AM Low - 30s PM High - 55. Great time! | |
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K. H. from Akron, OH
(11/27/2015)
"Nice, flat, crowded course" (about: 2015)
3 previous marathons
| 1 Indianapolis Monumental Marathon
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 5 The course was flat and fast, weather was perfect and the spectators were great. The course, as others have mentioned, was definitely crowded, especially before the half marathoners split off from the full marathon course. Expo was sparse compared to some of the other comparably sized marathons in the midwest (especially Akron), but it hit all the essentials. The only significant gripe I have is that the results were only reported as gun time results and never adjusted for actual time. I was not in a seeded corral and had to start 5+ minutes after gun time, but my results were never adjusted. For a marathon this size, this is not excusable in my book. | |
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E. C. from WI
(11/13/2015)
"Great course, nice city!" (about: 2015)
4-5 previous marathons
| 1 Indianapolis Monumental Marathon
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 I was really impressed with the entire weekend experience. We stayed downtown at the JW Marriott and walked a block to/from the race. Downtown Indy is really nice between the cool old buildings and monuments, the river, the canal, museums, state park, etc. We biked all over the day after the race. The course itself was very scenic. My only complaint is that the race was rather tight and pretty crowded. Perhaps they should consider widening the course or staggered starting waves. Especially the first 7 miles, until the halfies turned off, it was quite tight and a little challenging to maintain your desired pace. Perfect weather starting in the mid 40's and getting into the low 50's and sunny. I set a 16 min PR but didn't quite get my BQ. I highly recommend Indy to anyone. Treat yourself to a downtown hotel if you can swing it and bring your bike for a recovery ride the next day. Take in a nice restaurant. Nice people too! | |
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B. W. from West Chester, OH
(11/10/2015)
"Nice flat + fast course in the heart of Indy" (about: 2015)
6-10 previous marathons
| 1 Indianapolis Monumental Marathon
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 4 Great course - mostly flat with some very minor hills. Held in early Nov so the weather can be unpredictable. 2015 race was run on a perfect running day (mid 40s at the start, low 50s at the finish, very little wind). Loop course with half-marathoners splitting off at mile 7 and rejoining between miles 23-24. Great job of segregating slower half-marathon runners from marathon runners so this was not an issue (unlike other courses..ahem, Dayton). Small/minor issues - only half the road is closed for portions of the course so it can get tight if you're running in a group. Police did a good job ensuring no vehicular traffic interrupted runners on the course. Also, some of the water stations were inconsistent - water + Gatorade at some, just water at others. Some aid stations had fewer volunteers meaning it was easy to miss the water/Gatorade cup if you weren't thinking ahead. The city of Indianapolis has a great infrastructure - very well planned out with hotels, convention center, parking and restaurants. Easily walked everywhere during race weekend. Overall a great race that I will continue to run for many years to come. | |
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J. E. from Indiana
(11/9/2015)
"A Growing Marathon & Event" (about: 2015)
50+ previous marathons
| 2 Indianapolis Monumental Marathons
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 4 This race is growing and for a good reason...flat course and usually good weather (perfect day in 2015). Well organized. I PRed and had a good time. My only concern was the crowd. With 11,000 marathoners and half marathoners through mile 7, it was just plain too tight in many places...curb to curb and it was work to keep from clipping someone else's heels. I finished just under 4 hours and ran in a crowd the whole way. Nice event, though, nice alternative to other big city races. |
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