Indianapolis Monumental Marathon Review

Race Review ...

3rd Annual Indianapolis Monumental Marathon

November 6, 2010

Indianapolis, Indiana
8th Marathon Completed

Overall Rating ... 4 out 5 Monuments

POSITIVES...

• Good Expo & Packet Pickup  - Very well organized with volunteers pointing you to the next place you needed to be.  Race packet pick-up lines were well numbered and very easy to access.  It took me a total of 5 minutes to receive my info. Lots of vendors at the expo, with the typical pre-race deals and product demos.

Packet pick-up at the Indianapolis Convention Center

•  Good Location - If you stayed anywhere down town, you were close to everything.  I stayed at the Hampton Inn and it was only about two blocks from the Expo and Starting Line.  Indianapolis has a great down town area with a lot of great restaurants that are close to everything you need.  I parked my car all weekend and didn't move it until I left on Sunday.
• Great Course - Flat! Flat! Flat!  Probably the flattest course I have run to date.  The course took you by several Indy landmarks including Lucas Oil Stadium and the Capital Building which were very cool.  After you leave beautiful downtown Indy, you run through several tree-lined neighborhoods.  The only slightly boring, or "not-so-scenic" area is the 2 miles or so along the river during 20-22.  It's a little tough to keep your focus here.  You feel a little isolated.  But this very minor - this really is a great course.  I'm sure many people set PR's here.  I ran my second fastest time on this course.

• Crowd- Great crowds down town, they were diminished a little in the out lying areas - but really good overall.
• Police Support - As with most races, my hat is off the men and women who helped out.  The Indy Police, as well as the volunteers at the aid stations were great.  Thank you to all these people!
• Post Race Corral - Pretty good - a little small, but they didn't rush your recovery or herd you out like cattle.  Everyone was really supportive and congratulatory.
• Photos - Good coverage - a lot of photos were available for purchase.
• Technical T-Shirt - Nice short sleeve Adidas shirt - everyone got this

• Medal - Pretty good - nice lanyard and classy looking medal

2010 Indianapolis Monumental Marathon Medal

AREAS THAT NEED IMPROVEMENT...

• Gear drop lines were too long and the volunteers seemed really slow - several runners were late to the starting line
• Course was a little difficult to scout due to several one-way streets and no turn-by-turn instructions.  Course map was a little vague
• There was a problem with the posted times immediately after the race and final results.  They were about 1 minute slower in the final results.  It didn't affect me, but if you thought you just made a Boston Qualifying Time by less than a minute ... you hopes were crushed when the final times came out.

Summary

I gave this marathon at 4 out of 5 Monuments!  It was a good experience overall.  I found out after the race that Jackie Dikos - a local Indy runner - qualified for the 2012 Olympic Trials with a time of 2:45:17.  That was really cool.  Indianapolis is a great town and this race showcases many of the great things about the city.  The people there treat you with a typical Midwestern hospitality and friendliness.

There are so many things to do in downtown Indy.  I went to an Indianapolis Pacers basketball game the night before the race. It was literally about 100 yards from my room.  Very convenient! 

I would definitely run this race again.  Great course!  Great people!  Great town!  GREAT EXPERIENCE!