Overall, I loved this race. Nice course, super easy parking and access, nice SWAG and post-race treats, and an awesome downhill finish. The Indy Monumental Marathon is an absolute must for anyone trying to BQ (I'd actually recommend it for BQ-ing over Chicago Marathon, and I'll explain why below).

PROS

Expo
The Expo was dead simple - located at the Indianapolis Convention Center, super easy street parking, medium sized booth area that had enough stuff and races to look at but wasn't overwhelming. In and out no problem.

Race Day
Parking for this race was also a breeze - I left my friends house at about 7am and arrived at near the race start about 10 minutes later. I literally just pulled into the first ramp I saw, paid $10 and parked on the first level. Definitely the easiest time I've ever had driving to a road race (trail races are usually super small so parking for those is usually really easy). The ramp was about two blocks from the start, so off I went.

Start area
I actually didn't see many signs indicating where Gear Check was, and everyone I asked said they were local so didn't have a bag to check. I just walked to the area where the race packet said GC would be, and the MC was announcing that it was behind the stage, right next to the porto potties and a few yards from the corrals. It was a very cold morning (felt like 20 degrees F with the wind chill), so being able to walk up and drop my bag at the last minute was huge. They also didn't really close the corrals, so I could jog around and warm up before gun time. Start corrals were totally smooth, and we were off for an on-time start.

Race Course
This course had a ton of turns, and I actually was prepared to dislike that, but because the field wasn't super huge (about 3,000 I think) they were no big deal. Taking the inside tangent was easy, and the turns provided a break from the wind, which was about 18 mph that day. You run past Lucas Oil stadium, around the World War Monument, and through different parts of the city. Overall, it was a very nice course, with a few hills and that awesome downhill finish for the last 6-7 miles.
Here's why I think the hills actually make Indy Monumental a better BQ course than Chicago. Chicago's elevation pretty much stays the same the entire race - Flat. That results in the same (limited) muscles getting just pounded for 26.2 miles. At Indy, there were a few minor hills that we had to climb, and doing so kind of provided a rest for the muscles that had been carrying me over the previous flat part of the race. Going up hill occasionally, and then downhill for a long time allowed me to spread out some of the pain from running and left me feeling less banged up by the race end.

Finish line
The finishers area was awesome - tons of FREE Jimmy Johns, water and gatorade as soon as you cross the line, CHOCOLATE MILK!, Chili, massages, a free stocking hat, and instead of a heat sheet they gave out those disposable windproof white hooded zip up jackets. My legs were totally smoked and my body temp started falling quickly, so I unfortunately couldn't get in on the massages or chili. But I was damn satisfied with all the food and amenities at the end.

SWAG
T-shirt was really nice - mine was too big for me but they usually are. Finisher medal was also really nice, and manages to be one part of a four part puzzle to encourage people to run the race four years in a row. But they did it in a way that doesn't make the medal I got look incomplete, so I liked the idea.

CONS

Aid Stations
There was really only one negative aspect about this race, and it's something that's a super easy fix. The aid stations, which were plentiful, and well-stocked, all had water first and then Gatorade (in that order). It's pretty general race planning that the runner should be able to get Gatorade first and then water second to prevent tasting Gatorade the next few miles. Especially on a hot day (which this day was not), Gatorade THEN water is even more important. All they need to do is flip the order of Gatorade and water, and problem solved.

My race
Long story short, I came here to get a bit of redemption after a poor showing at the Chicago Marathon 3 weeks previously. I had no idea what my fitness level would be, so I was just going to try and PR by however small a margin. I ended up running my first negative split, and PR'd by almost three minutes! Final time was 2:50:21.

Again - this is a fantastic race that is comparatively small but feels big as far as production goes. Great bang for your buck, super low maintenance, and a very enjoyable event. If you are looking to PR or BQ (or both), I highly recommend this race!

(Full disclosure - I was given a free entry to this race but opinions are all my own :))