Oct 31, 2024
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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 1 to 11]
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H. M. from NW Arkansas
(7/4/2024)
"Great Race and Beautiful Course" (about: 2024)
11-50 previous marathons
| 1 Missoula Marathon
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 This has to be one of the most scenic races I've run. You start in the hills outside of Missoula and weave your way through a relatively flat, scenic route into town. There is one hill between 13 and 14 that is a bit ugly, but otherwise, the course is pretty flat and smooth. Crowd support was outstanding throughout the race, and the water stops were well stocked. One slight warning - there are 14 water stops, but the first three are spread over the first 8 miles (about 2.5 miles apart). They also offered three flavors of Gu at every other water stop. Missoula itself is a neat town. Allow yourself some time to poke around the downtown area before you return home. As for accommodations, the hotels are pricy. Consider an Airbnb instead. I stayed at an Airbnb that was directly across the street from the University of Montana campus, about a five-minute walk from the bus pick up to the start and a relatively easy 15-minute walk from the finish line. The bus stop for the local transit line is also across the street - and the buses are free! | |
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R. H. from Milwaukee, WI
(7/1/2022)
"Decent run in the mountains" (about: 2022)
11-50 previous marathons
| 1 Missoula Marathon
COURSE: 3 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 3 I drove up from Milwaukee to experience this highly rated marathon. Missoula is beautiful and the course was somewhat scenic in the first half of the race. There is a lot of running through residential neighborhoods and not as much mountain scenery as advertised. There is a decent hill at the midpoint of the run so be prepared for that as well. No issues with buses or organization of the event. Spectators were average for an event this size. Finish line was average as well. Of the 17 marathons I've run, I would rank it somewhere in the middle. I spent two days in Glacier National Park after the run. This was the highlight of the trip and the most beautiful scenery I have ever seen! | |
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J. L. from SC
(7/11/2019)
"fabulous experience in Missoula" (about: 2019)
50+ previous marathons
| 1 Missoula Marathon
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 From the time you arrive at the airport, you feel welcome here. Everyone was friendly and hospitable. The expo was well run, and the shirt and medal were very nice. The buses got us to the starting area in good time, where we enjoyed fireworks and great music while getting ready to start in perfect temperatures (high 40s to start, not very humid). The trend of sufficient port o lets began at the start and continued through the entire race. The course is lovely and has just enough elevation change to give a little challenge. We enjoyed enthusiastic folks at each water stop, offering plenty of gels later on, and encouragement all of the way. Great piano playing, places to get sprayed, and lots of kind comments made this an easy run. I never felt like I had to guess where I was going next, as the course was well marked and monitored. Enthusiastic professionalism is the mark of this race. This was my 70th marathon and it was a fabulous experience for me and my wife who came to support me. | |
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J. H. from California
(7/9/2019)
"Amazing Community and Race" (about: 2019)
1 previous marathon
| 1 Missoula Marathon
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 The scenery of this race is beautiful! You get to watch the sunrise over mount sentinel (in the summer the sun rises at 0530 in Montana). The community was highly involved in this event whether it be handing out drinks and snacks to cheering and leaving a sprinkler out for runners. The start of the race is pretty crowded for I'm glad they do chip timing. The pacers are also very easy to spot. | |
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D. B. from St. Augustine Flordia, United States
(7/7/2019)
"We'll be back!" (about: 2019)
3 previous marathons
| 1 Missoula Marathon
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 My daughter and I have been running for 3 or so years and this was our destination 'event' for this year. Great job to Tony and team for doing a fantastic job of organizing the actual event and then getting the whole town behind him too. I had not been in town 15 min and was trying to figure out the parking meter (which is cool by the way) when I was greeted by a member of the Missoula welcoming committee (yeah, that is a thing though I likely got the name wrong). We talked for 10 minutes, gave me a Destination Missoula map, good tips and directions. It got better from there. The river trail system is great if you are going to spend a few days. Diamond Bar Meats is fantastic for your post race celebration and 'most' people are forgiving of the crazy out of town drivers who just don't know what they are doing. The race was beautiful. Even for the slow runners, like myself, the on course encouragement was great too. There was a lot of encouragement among the runners running a 5hr plus pace that you may not see in other places. I mean, where else do random strangers willingly help out and share body glide with a passing runner in need. It was also cool to pause at the finish line while some of the running 'buddies' you had passed finished and you got to congratulate them, separate from everyone else, for what they had done knowing that these guys had really gone through a lot to finish. A shout out to the 'guy on the piano', other musicians and the local/non-official adult aid stations and water showers! Best of all was the puppy that we got to pet at 4 (four) different spots on the course. Tom, the 5 hour pacer, was awesome too. We did not finish with him but he did a great job. | |
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A. J. from Alabama
(7/7/2019)
"My favorite marathon course" (about: 2019)
11-50 previous marathons
| 1 Missoula Marathon
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 Most of the course is run out in the quiet countryside and you finish downtown on a bridge in front of cheering spectators. PROS: Parking and bus pickup was easy - Volunteers were there directing you where to park and which bus to get on. Fireworks at race start - Early 4th of July entertainment while you stretch and warmup Coffee at the start line Gear bag check near start line 6am start - I like the early start to help keep runners out of the heat of the day Beautiful course, very flat except for big hill at halfway point View at top of halfway point hill was worth the climb Musicians on the course - Would have loved to hang out with them a little longer, but I had a marathon to run Signs on the course letting you know aid station coming up. Volunteers at aid stations were always ready to hand out drinks Locals with there sprinklers out to cool runners off At finish line iced down water and soda pop, would be even better with chocolate milk. Gear bag pickup close to finish line Nice finisher medal in the shape of Montana Free beer - I had the Moose Drool CONS: Post race food wasn't to my liking. Cold pasta, fig newton cookie, cheese and a small piece of banana Expensive hotel - I stayed near the airport which was cheaper than downtown, but still pricey This race is a must do again for me. | |
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S. E. from Visalia, CA
(7/5/2019)
"Fan tastic" (about: 2019)
11-50 previous marathons
| 1 Missoula Marathon
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 This race was top notch in all aspects. There were a lot of races this weekend in the great NW including an ever popular tunnel race in Snoqualmie and a Revel Race at Mt Hood, both beautiful courses. However, neither could match the excellent community and race organizer support of Missoula. Port o potties scattered every 1-2 miles, a lot with NO WAIT--that's possible?? People with signs, on horseback, playing the piano, strumming the banjo, giving me free gummy bears, mimosas, Fireball shots, whiskey, M&Ms, cooling me off with sprinklers. Who are these people? Do I know them? I've never had so many fans. I was a pacer so I'm the one supposed to be calling out times and splits, telling jokes, making the long journey less arduous but the Missoulans provided far more luxuries than I could offer. Mile markers were spot on, pacers were spot on across the board---which is rare. I was very proud to experience this run. Definitely top notch! | |
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C. P. from Montana
(7/3/2019)
"By far best course I've ever ran!!!" (about: 2019)
3 previous marathons
| 1 Missoula Marathon
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 Mostly flat or down hill course. Great start and end celebrations and the spectators on the course were so fun! The course was also absolutely beautiful. | |
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N. M. from Seattle, WA
(7/2/2019)
"Very scenic, not crowded, no beer." (about: 2019)
First Marathon
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 4 My first marathon. I've run the half marathon four times. It's a mostly flat, beautiful, well-supported course. Pros: Beautiful course, well supported. Cons: No beer at end, very little audience, pre-race fireworks are scary. Details: They run out of beer and spectators quite quickly. If you can't run a marathon in under four hours, it probably isn't for you. I don't know why it bothers me so, but by the time I made it into the city, where there's usually many people cheering you on, by 4 hours, there isn't many people left. I ran the hardest I've ever run for 5 hours. With a bib that had a coupon for a free big sky beer on it. I was dreaming of that beer for hours and miles. When I finished, it was the first booth I went to. I was quickly told 'sorry, out of beer, but you can have this crappy spiked water, which is the opposite of craft beer'. Sigh. I pointed to the next table over, full of craft beer, and asked for what I was promised instead, and they again told me, 'no, that's for paying customers, not runners'. Yikes. Stick to the half marathon for more fun. Also, they light off fireworks at T-minus 60-45-30-15 minutes. Suggestion: Lose the fireworks. (1) They are WAY WAY WAY too loud for 5am. (2) I dislike running/coughing through a sulfuric cloud for the first quarter mile. | |
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P. W. from NYC
(7/2/2019)
"Perfect MT marathon for 50-staters" (about: 2019)
50+ previous marathons
| 1 Missoula Marathon
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 Flawless. Great organization, amazing swag, gorgeous course, lovely city, fun volunteers and crowd support. This was my 47th state and one of my very favorite. As close to perfect a marathon experience as I've had. |
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