I am doing the 50 state marathon goal, but I am a back of the packer. The Missoula Marathon was by far the best experience I have had during the race. The aid stations were still stocked. The local residents were still outside cheering for us. There was no pressure to get off the road. The finish line still had spectators and food available. An overall great experience and I was very happy with the way the event was run. It was worth traveling to from Miami Fl.

This was my first marathon in 2015. I also ran it in 2016 and 2019. I want to love it, being my first, but my experience has gotten worse each time. This is a big city race. 25,000 + runners. It can take up to 40 minutes to start the race, depending on which corral you are in. The crowd support is minimal. Most of the spectators are police, who are blocking traffic. They do a great job protecting runners from Miami's crazy drivers. They put the expo in a very "HIP" neighborhood where parking is a mess and the facility is too small. It should not be stressful to get your runners bag.
I hope the Lifetime owners don't let this race continue to deteriorate. Being my home race, I would love to run it every year.

This is a community race. The city opens its doors for all the runners. I loved having the start and finish inside the enclosed football stadium, especially since the weather was cold and rainy. The course is flat and runs through all the neighborhoods of Fargo. Even with the cold conditions, people were sitting on their lawns cheering as we went by.

Great expo. Great crowd support. Beautiful scenery. The weather was cold and rainy, but who cares. Running through those areas was worth it. This is a good race for beginners. The cutoff is 6 hours, which I trained for. I rolled my ankle just after the halfway point. I knew I was not going to finish in 6 hours. Even so, the race officials made sure I got an official finishing time. They mailed me a medal and finishing shirt with my official time. This meant a lot to me. I don't have a great runners body and sometimes I struggle, so being able to finish was nice. I would love to revisit the Twin Cities in the future and give this race another try.

This was my hardest race so far. Being from Florida, the elevation really affected me. The race starts at the top of a mountain, about 7000 ft. The first part of the race is on dirt and loose rocks and then a trail along a beautiful river. For someone who trains on asphalt, it was difficult footing. Having said that, the people were wonderful. Most of the runners behind me quit, but I'm stubborn. A search and rescue truck drove behind me the last half of the race to protect me from traffic. Every volunteer at the aid stations made sure I had everything I needed to finish, including loud cheering, which was very motivating. I had never been so close to quitting, but I am glad I finished. The race officials were waiting for me with water, fresh food, and lots of congratulations. I would suggest that this race is not for beginners as I was.
Very beautiful surroundings and well managed event.