Review
There weren't many options for an Iowa marathon, so that's why I picked Des Moines
I flew from Morgantown to connect through Chicago. And fortunately, I didn't have issues!
Des Moines felt significantly better than St. George since it was in the 40s!
The expo was at MidAmerican Energy Two Rivers Park, so there were tents to pickup our bibs, merch, fuel, and take pictures!
I liked the park since there was plenty of space to spread out
At the start of the race it was chilly since the weather was high 30s/low 40s, plus we were just standing around
I was impressed with the race!
Easy bag drop, lot of porta potties, easy corral entry
The course is easy compared to West Virginia!
We start running through the downtown area
At around mile 5 there’s a decent size hill, miles 5-12 is in a neighborhood at a higher elevation. At mile 12 back downhill out of that neighborhood
A cool thing was around mile 12 we ran through a track field/football field (Drake Stadium Track) and we saw ourselves on the screen!
Then we run through some leafy suburbs, through Valley Junction, forrested bike paths and around a lake.
The last few miles we head back downtown crossing the river on a bridge
Overall the course is rolling hills/mostly flat
The finish line was amazing!
There was live music, pizza, bananas, beer
I was able to snag an entire box of pizza!
Crowd support wasn't the best, but I wasn't expecting a large crowd to begin with
I could see myself running this race again!
Since the course isn't difficult, I could see people use it as a PR and/or BQ
Race Website: Des Moines Marathon