Miami Marathon

Ran out of food for the full marathon runners parking at bayside was $50.00 which it was mentioned on Miami marathon to be paid parking at $5.00.

The food and corral they would not let us in corral 1.

The expo is amazing. Huge! Lots of samples and sale shoes.

The course is gorgeous over bridges with ocean breezes and views of huge cruise ships and palm trees.

The course is pancake flat except for a few bridges which are no big deal. There is a lot of shade, but there are also some exposed causeway legs with lots of sun and it got hot. Very hot. and humid.

This is a big race and the half runners stay with the full almost to 13.1 miles, so the course is crowded for the first half.

There is a shuttle from Miami Beach to the start line and back, so you can stay in Miami Beach or downtown Miami and not worry about parking. The race started at 6 but there are multiple corrals so you might not go off until later. This is a big race.

Cool medal, too, though you couldn't carry it on a plane which was a bummer.

Positives: The course featured beautiful runs over two of the causeways between South Beach and downtown and a beautiful run through South Beach...overall a scenic course. The expo was amazing...lots of vendors giving away samples, easy bib pick up. Nice race shirt. Beautiful finishers medal, and the organizers have offered to send replacements to runners who received medals that they received from the manufacturer broken. First aid stations were well equipped with salt tablets and other necessities for a hot day. A good selection of treats at the finish line.

Negatives: Gear check wasn't operational one and a half hours before gun time, and given the distance away from the start line gear check was, that simply isn't good enough for a major race. Runners should be able to check their gear up to two hours before gun time. Volunteers, while dedicated, were not adequately trained or informed in too many cases. One of the volunteers who was controling who went into a coral wasn't letting people into the coral from corals ahead of that coral. It was a hot and humid day, so a number of runners were looking to move to slower corals to adapt to a hot/humid pace, so being stopped from doing something the organizers promised you'd be able to do at the expo turned out to be quite the bummer. This extended to aid stations which were a hot mess. Volunteers had not been properly trained on how to hold water cups so runners could easily grab them (rest the cup on a flat hand). Volunteers were also frequently holding the cups without wearing gloves...a real no no in aid station work given that some of them were holding them from the top of the cup with their fingers on the lip (ew!). Instead of gatoraide and water being in predictable places in aide stations (Gatorade first and water second or the other way around), the positioning of gatoraide and water was essentially randomized at all aide stations so you never knew where to go to get what it was that you needed quickly while maintaining your pace through the station, a real pain.

Overall, I was disappointed with the organizational issues I saw in a race that had taken place over many years. While there certainly were positives, I wouldn't recommend this race...too many negatives for me.

South Florida in late January is a crapshoot. Be prepared for hot and humid or possibly gale-force winds.

They don't fully close the streets just a section of it. the cars to drive right next to you. I lost count of how many times I nearly got ran over as I ran this marathon.

Almost flat, few bridges as a hills.

Love this marathon! Ran the full marathon 6 times and the half 4 times. A beautiful view at every turn including Miami Beach, Coconut Grove and Biscayne Bay at around mile 20. Just seeing the sun glisten off the bay gives you enough energy to make it the rest of the way.

Please, watch the weather and expect anything. Past years have been as hot as the 80's and as low as 40's at start. Be prepared!

Expo was best-of-class. Mostly nice roads.

I'd say that 90% of runners run the 1/2. It gets very suddenly comparatively lonely.

Try to line up in front corral. I know that's not fair, but it is complete mayhem. Way too many walkers allowed to front. ZERO consideration by people there.

The DJ's along the route have no clue about running or life in general, typical South Florida. 2 miles before end one DJ was on mic telling people "only 5 miles left". Maybe because he was close to the 4KM sign? Confused, someone?

I ran this race on an unusually cool day which certainly helped. If you get lucky though it's a fast course and perfect for a PR.

Expect some heat. Miami's probably going to be warmer than most places at the end of January. The course is essentially flat but don't get caught up with the half-marathoners kicking to the finish just before you turn off at 12.8 miles. Get into a groove and enjoy the solitude in the second half.

If you stay at the Intercontinental you're right by the finish line. Otherwise try to stay at one of the hotels on Brickell Ave downtown and you'll just have a short walk to the start.