What's Hot:
*The race is point-to-point. This isn't terribly common so it sets the race apart.
*The course is run along Lake Superior which is a beautiful view. If there's a point where you can't see the waves sliding in, no worries because you have lush, green trees to look at.
*It's marketed as a relatively flat course with rolling hills. (First of all, kudos for being accurate on the description. Too many races aren't accurate.) However, as the #1 hater of hills, I had no complaints with the gently rolling hills. If there was a slight up, there was also a slight down so it worked.
*Pace groups were CLEARLY marked along the side of the start line as well as where the individual pace leader with the balloons stood. Pacers had extra bracelets with them. Kudos to them for bringing those for runners that didn't pick them up at the expo.
*Hands down, the best aspect of the race was the water stops. I'd put Grandma's up against any race in the country and bet others would also agree this race has the best water stops. Water stops have a habit of being packed or forcing you to stop dead in your tracks because the person in front of you stopped. Not here. There are tall signs (water in white, Powerade in black) in front of each table to let you know what is at each table so the volunteers don't have to shout it out (though they do that, too). They alternate tables in the SAME water stop. Water, Powerade, water, Powerade. Most of the water stops also had ice chips in them. At least three even had sponges. There was not a lack of volunteers for water stops.
*The name-that's just cool. And they even give an award out to the first grandma to cross the finish line.
*The size of the race. The organizers promote the event as "World Class Event, Small Town Charm". I'd agree. Very well run for a small race. They've had 35 years to perfect it so I expect nothing less.
*Peaceful. Relaxing. Peaceful. No other way to say it.
*The expo was huge and had well-known guest speakers. There were a ton of vendors. They even had food vendors selling bagels in 2 packs and fruit by the piece. For out-of-towners, this is perfect.
*The volunteers were friendly and went out of their way to help. When we arrived at the buses too early (only the half-marathon was boarding) in the pouring down COLD rain, the volunteer in charge of the buses allowed us to sit in his van to wait. Classy. The packet pickup volunteer moved the table so we could cut through to get to the buses. Good thing, too, because being from out of town, we had no idea how to get around the building. That's not something you want to figure out after 26.2 miles, either.
*Other runners who stepped up to the plate. At one point, there was a runner lying on the side of the road. Four other runners stopped their own race to help her. Selfless. When I finished, we were not directed to food or the thermal blankets and the temperature was low so I began shivering after I picked up my bag from gear check. Another runner noticed that I was shivering more than I should be and she gave me two thermal blankets and helped wrapped me in them. Beyond kind.
*Weather banners noted the weather on the course. They were large and easy to see so you knew what you were up against. Our day was white: hypothermia possible.
*The local newspaper posted every finisher's name and time in the paper the next day. This makes you feel special, especially if you aren't a speed demon. What a great souvenir.
*The medal ranks as one of my favorites. On the back it says, "Everyone's a Champion". It's true so it's nice to read...especially after 26.2 miles.
What's Not:
*Hotel prices. It was very difficult to find a reasonably priced hotel nearby (even taking into consideration that reasonably priced is going to be much higher than normal due to it being a race weekend).
*The expo was too crowded. I'm not sure how because it was in one of the largest areas I've seen an expo in. It was very difficult to maneuver between people and there was no flow to it. I also didn't see a help booth to ask general questions. Maybe it was there, but I couldn't find it.
*Merchandise at the expo. I waited over six months to purchase a Grandma's Marathon jacket. I sat money aside just for this. By the time I arrived at the expo, ALL jackets were sold out. There were nine hours left of the expo and they were out! Few items had size small left. Incredibly disappointed about this one.
*Finishers t-shirts. Medals are for finishers, not t-shirts. Even if someone starts the race and is forced to drop out, that person at least deserves a t-shirt.
*Lack of medics. It's hard to complain about this one because there's not a lot of room on the side of the room and it's incredibly peaceful which is awesome. But, because of that, medics either weren't around or weren't noticeable. I only remember passing one place where I saw them even though I saw more signs that said they were nearby.
*Finish line food and thermal blankets. You could see a lot of people had these items, but somehow we were not led in a straight line to these items. On such a cool day, the thermal blankets were necessary for everyone to prevent hypothermia. And food? I've never not had my bananas and chips after a race!
Final Verdict:
Would I do this race again? No...but that's only because I'm never running a full again! If I were to run a full again, this would definitely be on the list.
