Latest reviews by Mike

(2016)
"Nice, well run race."
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This was my 2nd half marathon. This race starts and finishes at the i Wireless Center in downtown Moline. They draw a good crowd for this race so it's a little cramped in the starting corral. I'm pretty slow though so it thinned out to where I could manuever around after the first mile or so. Some decent hills in the first 4 miles, in particular a long one in mile 3. Once you pass mile 4 it's basically pretty flat for the rest of the race. There are enough runners where there are always people around but not so many that you can't move about freely. There are spectators at different points along the course but there are also long stretches where nobody is out. Very scenic race, you run in both Illinois and Iowa and cross two bridges over the Mississippi river, running a good portion of the race on a path along the river. Plenty of aid stations with water; only had gatorade at certain ones so it was a little confusing sometimes if you wanted the gatorade but not a big deal. Really nice crowd cheering you on for the last 3/10ths of a mile which was nice.

The race director Joe Moreno is extremely enthusastic in his pre race talk and the race overall is very well run. Joe is also there at the finish line to high five every finisher. He's still there 6 or 7 hours in greeting the last runners to cross the finish line. The post race party is excellent with live music and just about anything you could want to eat or drink. All I had was water and a chocolate milk as my stomach was a little upset due to the high heat and humidity.

That is one thing; you never know what you'll get weather wise at the end of September. Unfortunately we got warm temps with really high humidity for this years race (around 80 when I finished with a dewpoint of 70) so the overall times were slow. I personally ran 16 minutes slower than my half in May, the heat and humidity just kicked my butt about 7 miles in. A lot of runners commiserating with each other over the last few miles, it was a tough one,

Overall, putting the heat, humidity and personal suffering aside, I really liked this race. It's a nice course, well run with a great post race party. I would highly recommend it and would like another shot at it under better conditions.

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(2016)
"Glad I finally ran it."
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I've been running for a year and a half and have ran a half marathon, a 10K, a 5 miler and a ton of 5k's. Since I live in Davenport I felt like I should run the Bix at least once although the thought really didn't appeal to me. It's a huge race with a ton of runners and I thought that would annoy me; trust me it really didn't. I enjoyed the heck out of this race.

First I'll put this out there; if you're really super focused on your time you probably won't enjoy this race. There are so many people that unless you're an elite runner you're going to be slowed down by other runners and be forced to do quite a bit of bobbing and weaving during the race. If you can approach it as an EVENT and just enjoy the experience and atmosphere you'll have fun with it. Even though I'm pretty slow I'm still competitive with myself and quite time focused on most races. However, I'm currently training for another half marathon and just looked at this race as a fun training run and didn't really push the pace until the last mile. I still enjoyed the race immensely.

The sight at the start line is pretty spectacular, watching several thousand runners going up Brady St hill. It's a long steep hill to start and it gets a lot of the publicity but some of the hills later in the race are actually more difficult. So you're slowed down by the hill at the start plus the crush of runners around you. Just be patient; once you turn right onto Kirkwood about a mile in you can make better time as it's all flat or downhill for the next 1.5 miles or so. Once you turn left off Kirkwood you go up a very steep hill, even worse than Brady St, which takes you to McClellan. Then it's downhill to the turnaround then back up again. Once you get back on Kirkwood it's a fairly long albeit slower climb for awhile. Once you reach Bridge Ave. the last 2 miles or so are either flat or downhill so that's where you can really push the pace if you want to. The crowd of runners also thins out at that point to where you can pass people much more easily. It's as tough of a course as I've run.

The post race party is crowded but they have a ton of stuff to eat and drink, you'll have no problem finding something you like. I had a Whitey's popsicle, Fig Newtons, water and some Oreos. They also had beer, Chik Fil A sandwiches and ton of other stuff. No complaints here.

Overall, I really enjoyed this race and understand why some people run it every year. The crowd support is amazing and really helps you forget about the drudgery of covering those 7 miles. I will run it again next year. They also have the street fest going on downtown to coincide with the race which has a number of bands and food vendors deep into the night. It's a good time.

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(2016)
"Good experience"
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This was my first half marathon so I don't have any other halfs to compare it to but I have run a number of 5K and 10K races. Overall, I really enjoyed this race and thought the organizers did a nice job.

The race coincides with the Marion Arts Festival. Packet pickup was at City Square park in downtown Marion and was quick, painless and well organized. I paid the extra 5 bucks for a tech shirt instead of cotton; it was a decent shirt but predominantly white which I don't care for. Just personal preference.

The race started and finished at City Square park. The half starts at 7:30 then the 5K takes off about 5 minutes later. The pre race instructions were very clear. They played the national anthem, we all walked a block to the west to the start line and they started the race pretty quickly which I like. I hate standing around in the corral for 15 minutes while people ramble on. There was a little over 500 people running the half marathon so it's not a huge race.

I didn't consider the course to be flat. There were several hills on the course; they weren't steep but were long slow climbs. I know there was a short one in the first few miles and I believe another around 3 miles. From mile marker 7 to mile marker 9 it was probably 80% uphill running. Again most of it not really steep, but long slow climbs which still tax the legs. There were also small rolling hills at points along the route. There is a nice little downhill section past mile 10. However, the first half of mile 13 is uphill which was a real killer for me. I consider the course to be moderately challenging. I ran a 10K, the Dam to Downtown in Iowa City, that was much, much tougher hill wise but this course is certainly not flat.

Not really much crowd support along the route, but there were a few people here and there. Volunteer support was great and there was never any doubt about which direction to go. Aid stations had water and lemon lime gatorade; if you called out to the volunteers as you came in which you wanted they would get it to you. I thought the volunteers were all great. Aid stations every 1.5 or 2 miles and a porta potty at 4 different stations. There was a nice crowd at the finish and they announce your name as you come across the finish line. A volunteer was right there to hand me a bottle of water and my finishers medal.

The post race had plenty of food and drink available. Water, gatorade and chocolate milk to drink; fruit, granola bars, cookies and Zio Johno's spaghetti to eat. Well staffed and no long lines to get what you want.

I would recommend this race and plan on running it again next year. I enjoyed it and am glad I chose it for my first half marathon. The course is moderately challenging and the volunteers and organizers do a really nice job.

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(2016)
"Great little race"
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This is a really enjoyable race; it was the first race I ever ran in 2015 and I ran it again this year. The course is flat and fast with the only marginal hills being the first part of the Centennial bridge at the start of the race and a small section in Schwiebert Park on the Illinois side of the race.

Very nice atmosphere, they don't keep you waiting at the start which is a pet peeve of mine. A few words then you're off at the scheduled time. It's a bit crowded at the start crossing over the first bridge but it thins out quickly as you come off the bridge into Illinois. Great scenery as you cross the Mississippi twice, first right at the start then again in the last mile as you come back across the Arsenal bridge into Iowa. Water stations were at the 1 and 2 mile markers. You finish the race at home plate inside Modern Woodmen Park, home of the Quad City River Bandits.

Where this race really kicks ass is the post race party. One of the best around for a 5K. Free hamburgers, hot dogs, bananas, water of course, and each runner also gets two free beers. Music too.

Awards are given to overall top 3 place winners plus the top 3 in each age group. Age group top 3 are placed on a podium and awarded their medals which is kind of cool.

This is a truly fun race and one I and others in my family will run every year.

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(2016)
"Hills, hills, and more hills."
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Hills, then more hills. Steep hills, long hills, soul crushing hills. Did I mention the hills? Tough course that demands respect. Well organized, point to point race. They run buses from the finish line at College Green Park downtown out to the dam where the race starts. Most of the first mile is uphill, then the rest of the race is mostly uphill; well at least it seemed like it. Very challenging. You can make up some time on mile 5; you start it near the end of a hill (of course) but then hit a short flat stretch that transitions into a really steep downhill onto Dubuque street. I ran mile 5 about 40 seconds faster than my overall pace. Of course once you turn onto Dubuque at the mile 5 marker you have to run up another hill. There is also a nice little incline just before the finish line.

It's a nice, well run race that will challenge your endurance and mental toughness. I was 5 weeks out from my first half marathon when I ran this race so it was a great tuneup race to throw into my training cycle.

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