Amy Holmes's Staging Area

I really, really liked this event and the city of Berlin much more than I expected I would. I thought the race was very well organized with plenty of people around to help. I was very surprised by how inexpensive Berlin is compared to Stuttgart, Munich or Frankfurt. The city is very walkable, and has so much to see. Public transportation is easy to and Uber was cheap, even for an event weekend. Get there several days early and explore the city. We stayed close to the Brandenburg Gate, and got to familiarize ourselves with the race area in advance.

Expo: The Expo is enormous. This is my first World Major and I loved the massiveness, international vendors and the food vendors there, but others who’ve been to Chicago or NYC complained it was disorganized. Lines were long, with people waiting about at least an hour for bibs and pre-ordered race shirts. I got lucky with the lines and walked right up to the counters.

Course: Keep in mind it’s a big city race. Finisher village is enormous, you need your map to navigate it. I never found the course to be crowded or streets too narrow like others did. But my friend, who is tiny, said she was constantly under someone’s armpit or knocked around like a ping pong ball the whole way. I also never noticed any hills along the course. Perhaps one incline that lasted maybe 20 feet. Lots of changing scenery and lots of fan support. It’s great to have a name that translates well to many languages-I got called out a lot on the course. My biggest gripe is that I felt the water tables were too far apart-every 3 miles. I would prefer standardization in the majors with water 2 miles for every race. And those plastic cups were really awful. The sound as runners kicked through the tidal wave of cups will haunt me for weeks to come. And I guess with a huge international field you have to tolerate things that just would not be allowable on an American course-like shoving. A few folks met did remark how aggressive the runners were on the course. The pre-race pump up was really fun with high energy music, and HUGE TV’s for each corral to watch the previous corral start.

Swag: It was okay. Adidas brand. Cool designs, but you have to buy your finisher shirt and the expo sold out of common sizes on day 2, so if you want to shop, get there on day 1. Post race goodie bag was severely lacking, and post race beer was non-alcoholic (?!?!). You did get a free poster at the Expo, that has a place for your bib. Speaking of bibs, they are huge (like an 8.5″ x 11″ sheet of paper), you could wrap around yourself. And if you save your bib for a souvenir, expect to be disappointed because its just plain with a number and your name.

The Bling: The medal features the portrait of someone significant in marathon running. This year has Kipchoge’s portrait on the back (cool coincidence with him setting a new record this year), which adds to the specialness for me. The best part is that I got to run the same race where Kipchoge broke the men’s world record. I was around the halfway point when I found out. The city erupted in celebration, which was fun to see.

The best part: Running through Brandenburg Gate at the finish. So cool.
Most annoying: Chip rental. Seriously? What decade are we in? Berlin needs the chips on bibs like everyone else. You get fined if you forget to return it.

With all that aside, do the race, its worth it.

**UPDATE TO MY INITIAL REVIEW FOR THE 1/2 MARY** 2018 was my second year at Fargo and first year running the full. I continue to be impressed by this event. Compared to the half, the full has considerably fewer spectators as much of the first 2/3’s of the course runs through parks and while its pretty, its not easy for spectators to reach the course (at least from what I could tell). This is definitely a PR course, so if you are wanting that huge PR, I really recommend Fargo. Only 2 significant hills, and they aren’t big climbs – maybe 30 feet long at the most. GREAT swag, big heavy medal that is well designed, robust expo and easy to spectate if your family is coming along, even for the navigationally challenged. Its cheaper than Grandma’s (one night hotel stay vs two in Duluth), cheaper entry, and hotel costs are lower. I’d go back. (photo credit Grifftown Photography)

Full disclosure: I am typically not a race repeater. But with that said, I would definitely repeat a race (and I have) if I felt there was a purpose to it. This one however was a disappointment.

Perhaps my expectations were too high going into it, but I really felt it was a let down from the expo all the way to the finish line.

Expo was not as huge with a large number of of vendors as I expected. My kids love coming to these things, but the vendors didn’t have the spinning wheels for free stuff, or give out candy. The folks at the pace team booth weren’t very helpful either.

The start: When you have 30k runners, there really needs to be a corral and staggered starts. MCM uses an honor system and depends on people to line up according to their expected finish time, but this is not what people do. For the first 5 miles I weaved in and out of slower runners who were not where they should have been (I lined up by the corrected pace sign for my ability level). It was frustrating.

I guess the flyovers and parachuting marines at the start line are cool, but when you are looking where you are going, looking for bag drop, ports potties etc…. you aren’t looking up in the sky.

Course: Weaves in and out if the different neighborhoods of DC and Virginia. Lots of out and backs felt to me like a lack of creativity on the part of the race organizers. Additionally, I expected to see the monuments and to run past landmarks, but I only remember the Washington Monument, Jefferson Memorial and the back side of the Air and Space Museum. There were pockets of fan support and they were awesome. I mean enormous crowds of people, but there were really only 2-3 if these. But then when you get to the Capitol-no one.

The water table at mile 19 ran out of water (for real). Only 2 Marines madly trying to fill cups. After waiting a few minutes, I just decided to leave and run to the next one. Seriously? In a huge and storied race such as MCM a water table is understaffed? Someone dropped the ball in the staffing department.

And who can forget the concrete wasteland of the 14th Street bridge, or running through the industrial park in Pentagon City. No need to say more on this subject.

Post race: I felt this was the best part. The city streets closed down at the finish and it felt like giant block party that stretched for blocks. Bands, vendors, free food and drinks everywhere. It was really fun.

DC is not charitable tho. You don’t get to ride the metro for free if wearing your bib, like in other cities.

Bottom line, I expected pomp and circumstance, roaring patriotism and American pride. I left feeling empty. I’m glad I did it as it was a bucket list race for me, but I’ll do something else next time.

This course has a fun theme – you get to pick which state to run for: Wisconsin or Minnesota. Evidently there is a winner in terms of participation, but I’ve never seen it announced.

Start is at the fairgrounds in Stillwater. Its just okay. It has all the basics that are required, but still seems a little flimsy. The medals (if thats your motivation) have a wide margin for improvement. They are nothing special (one year it was plastic and didn’t have the Gopher or the Badger on it, which leads me to believe perhaps they are having some licensing/proprietary issues? IDK).

The course is rolling hills, so be prepared. One porta-potty at the half way mark. Finish line party is nice with plenty of food, a professional photographer and ends in Hudson by the beach close to the downtown area. Take a dip in the St Croix river to cool off after this hot August race then grab pizza at Dough Boys or beers at Pier 500 just a block away. Don’t park at the start line as there is no shuttle back to the fairgrounds after the race starts. You don’t want to get stranded.

Around the great lakes, Grandma’s marathon is a must-do, so of course I signed up. Perhaps I need to give it another chance, but in my view it was a let down.

Pros: Water tables are well stocked and plentiful, as you’d expect with a large race, they are approximately every two miles. The race is well organized, there is the option to transfer bibs to another runner if you can’t run and the communication with the race organizing team is very good. Take the train to the start line instead of the busses. You have to get up 30 mins earlier to get a seat, but you get to ride in climate controlled car and it drops you off right at the start 30 mins before the gun goes off. Once you entered the city of Duluth, the fans were eager and excited.

Cons: Expensive race entry. Hotels in Duluth jack up the prices that weekend and require a 2 night stay. The wait for the start is ridiculously long – like hours as you are bussed to the start and have to sit and wait in the elements for the gun to go off. The Michelina pasta dinner at the expo was not anything special. I felt like I was at a fair with the mass of tables, over cooked pasta, loud atmosphere and checked table cloths. Restaurants at or near Canal Park will not accept reservations. The weather on the North Shore can be miserable and the pendulum swings wide. The several years its been brutally hot or torrential rain storms. They don’t ever seem to have nice calm, cool weather on race day. Prepare and expect the worst. Maybe you’ll be surprised.

I didn’t find the course to be all that great. It was pretty to look at the lake for the first few miles, but then after that the view never changed and it was boring. Looking ahead on the course all I could see were rolling hills. Mile 24 is where it started to get interesting at least, because you entered the main drag in Duluth but I found the last 3/4 mile or so was really frustrating as there were several turns. You’re tired as all get out after running almost 26 miles, make turn and hope to see the finish only to see more running and no finish. Repeat several times. Finally you see the finish line and its 100 yards ahead – UGH! In my view it was mentally debilitating.

In recent years the swag has improved and the medal now is pretty unique with a flat part that will let you stand it up, which is neat. Personally, I don’t find this event to be worth the expense or the trouble.