Having run three marathons before, I felt like I had a pretty good idea of what to expect from a race. However, even I knew that signing up for a marathon that had all of 133 finishers in 2011 was going to be a big jump for me. To summarize my marathon experience to date:
January 8th, 2012 Disney World Marathon 13,524 finishers
April 28th, 2012 Rock 'n Roll Nashville Marathon 3,942 finishers
June 03, 2012 Rock 'n Roll San Diego Marathon 7,106 finishers
So, on a whim, after "tentatively" (for those who know me, once I've made a decision and a plan, it's generally pretty set in stone) deciding to run a marathon in all 50 states, I signed up for the Shoreline Oktoberfest Marathon in Grand Haven, Michigan. I chose this one mainly because I was able to find a flight to Grand Rapids using 25,000 skymiles (rather than 35K/40K), and the timing was right, as I already knew I was taking that Friday off. And, I always use marathonguide to figure out if a race is a win.
My personal rating for this marathon:
Course: 4.5/5
Organization: 3/5
Fans: 3.5/5
Swag: 4.7/5
Overall: 4/5
Course
I enjoyed this course. It was run around small towns in northern Michigan and through many little neighborhoods, which is something I enjoy seeing. The race was mostly flat, with small hills throughout. To put it in perspective, it was not as flat as Orlando, but not anything like running in Atlanta/Nashville. Certainly closer to Orlando. There were a good number of turns throughout the course. Parts of the course, although not as much as I would have expected, were run along Lake Michigan. The weather was perfect - it started at 47 degrees and couldn't have gotten much above 60 degrees while I was out there (the high for the day was 70). There was a 6 hour time limit which I believe was extended somewhat this year, as I'll explain below.
Organization
Although I loved this course, there was a disconnect on the most important part of the organization aspect of this race this year - the course itself. The marathon was first, followed by the half and then a 5K. There were lead cyclists for each race. The lead cyclist for the marathon must have gotten the wrong instructions as we were taken on the first part of the 5K course, which led us to run 27.5 miles rather than the appropriate 26.2 (per two of the other participants who ran with their garmins). I will say this, however - the race director was there at the end of the marathon speaking to each finisher individually - apologizing, explaining what happened and that it would be rectified in the future. I appreciated that.
The one other big thing that needs to be improved is to add a gear check. There was no gear check of any sort. As such, having traveled by myself, I had to run with my rental car keys for the entire race. This is a simple thing, but would help a lot.
Port-a-potties were plentiful along the course, which was much appreciated. They were located every other water stop (about every 4 miles), and there were probably about 15 at the start. The water stops had plenty of volunteers, who were encouraging and helpful. They served water and gatorade. It's worth noting, that while not necessarily a negative on the race's part, they only have gel at mile 16/18, so it would be prudent to bring your own (which I didn't do!).
Fans
There were not many fans on the course, as you might expect when the course is run in small towns (Grand Haven's population is less than 3,000) and only has 150 runners. However, those that were there were very enthusiastic and encouraging. Since it was a small field, the spectators that were there could easily move from place to place so you were able to get encouragement from them every couple of miles.
The fellow marathoners were also very supportive, which was great. I was able to speak to a couple before and after the race, which was nice since I went there without knowing anybody. It was also common to have a fellow racer say a few words of encouragement as they passed/you passed on the course.
Swag
The swag, along with the course, are generally the most important aspects of a race to me, so I felt it deserved its on category. I was highly impressed with the swag in this race. The only improvement I feel could me made is to create a race shirt specific to the marathon, as currently it is the same for the 5K, half and full marathon. However, the medal was Very nice as was the pint glass at the end.
All in all, I was very satisfied with this marathon. I went into it to have a good time and not to try to PR, but to use it as a training run for my upcoming ultramarathon (Nashville Ultra - 50 miles in November), which it did well.
Performance
Finishing time: 5:00:01
I estimate that my actual "marathon" time would have been more like 4:45 since the course was so much longer than it should have been. Even so, this was my slowest marathon to date. However, I was very pleased as I have not been running the mileage to just get out there and run a marathon (my longest run hasn't been over a half marathon since the end of July). Additionally, it's Monday now, two days later, and I feel okay, not even that sore! If the weather holds up for this weekend I may do another one this Saturday. We'll see how I feel as the week goes on.
