Lincoln National Guard Marathon Official Website

Christine R.
Conway, SC

  (08-03-2009)

"Great race! My favorite part was the straws in the drinks. I now carry straws with me in races. The post race party was fun, too."

Reviewed by a: First Time Participant for 1999

Megan K.
Houghton, MI

  (05-20-2009)

"What an outstanding race! Whether you are from the area or are a 50-stater, this is the spring race to do in the midwest. This was my third USATF marathon in my career, but I’ve done a lot of other longer races, including trail marathons, Ragnar Relays (ultra and 12-persons), and road races. The National Guard Marathon is definitely worth the effort of training and traveling. With a low entry fee (only $65 for the full, $45 for the half) that include sweet race swag, a great location and town, and phenomenal spectators, I would tell anyone to do this! I’ve highlighted all the sweet race bonuses below in bold.

I registered for the event back in February, because I have a friend at Creighton in Omaha and I wanted to visit her in the spring. I also want to do a marathon in every state before I’m 50, so I thought “heck, free lodging? Might as well!” When else will I get to Nebraska, anyway?

We went to Lincoln on Saturday (from all over the midwest) and hit up the race expo. There were lots of local shops selling running clothes and shoes for cheap, and packet pickup was a breeze. We were given our shirts, which were really comfortable dry-wicking shirts with a fun design, and also got our race chips. This year, the organizers decided to go with commemerative chips, which were lightweight plastic chips that racers could keep. There was a free pasta feed but because of my diet issues, the other girls let me pick the place to eat. We went to the Venue, which was on the southwest side of town, and I had sea scallops and mashed ‘taters. We went back to the hotel and went to bed. My friends enjoyed big personal pizzas for their pre-race meal from Venue and had two-thumbs-up for a review.
On Sunday morning at 615am, we headed to the race, and found a parking spot about three blocks away! It was great.
There were a lot of port-a-johns at the start, but the colliseum was also open and toilet lines were very minimal. The start area was sectioned well for pace groups, and even though I was planning on running 740s, I started with the 7min pace group (it went from 7min/mile to 8min/mile). The spectators were amazing! The streets were lined with people, and there was music playing and kids high-fiving and posters and banners and honking… So great. I was taking a gu every half hour, water and gatorade at every station I tried to distract myself, talking to people I was running with, tried to keep a tally of those from in the National Guard from other states that I was passing and were running with and those that were passing me. Alaska, Nebraska, Hawaii, Wyoming… Toward the end, I was struggling, and I saw my goal of running a PR slip away. Then, I was just trying to hang on to my satisfying goal of qualifying for Boston. I almost cried when a finish line helper walked over to me in her combat uniform. She handed me a rose and medal and helped me walk through the finish area. The support crew handed me two water bottles and I drank them both in just a few minutes. Then, I hobbled out of the finish area and found my friends. I started to cry, and they hobbled me along to get a free massage. There was barely a wait for a massage, and I was in and out and already feeling better. I took a shower and ate a Honey Stinger bar, and we walked to the Champions Club to get our awards.

My friend, Leslie, finished 4th overall for the half marathoners. She PRd, and won prize money, too! Another friend finished 7th in her age group for the half! I ended up getting an award, too, for finishing 7th in my age group. Each of us got a plaque, with the same design on it that is on our t-shirts. The post-race dinner was delicious locally-raised pork roast, pasta salad, pop, chips, and cookies- the best post-race food I have ever seen!"

Reviewed by a: First Time Participant for 2009