Grand Rapids Marathon
Race Day Information
| Race Weekend | Saturday, 17 October 9:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. Expo and Packet Pickup at the YMCA. Saturday, 17 October 5:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. Pasta dinner at the YMCA. Sunday, 18 October 6:00 a.m. to 7:45 a.m. Packet Pickup at the YMCA Sunday, 18 October 7:00 a.m. Early Start for the "Velocity Challenged" - Marathon and Half-Marathon. Sunday, 18 October 8:00 a.m. Start of both Marathon and Half-Marathon |
| Race Location | David D. Hunting YMCA 475 Lake Michigan Drive, Grand Rapids, Michigan. Take the Pearl Street exit off US-131. Go west, young runner, but only for a couple blocks. Park in the DASH lots near the Y. They're not hard to find, just relax. |
| Start Times | 7:00 early start for "Velocity Challenged" for both the FULL and HALF. The early start is recommended if you'll be at a more-than-six-hour marathon pace, however, the decision is up to you. DO NOT TAKE THE EARLY START if it means you'll finish ahead of the winners!!
8:00 Official start of Marathon & Half Marathon and ALL relay teams. |
| Arrival & Parking | It's an easy walk from the downtown hotels to the starting line. If you drive, there are bunches of parking lots along Summer, Winter, & Seward, and they're all free on Sundays. THE YMCA PARKING LOT IS FOR YMCA MEMBERS ONLY. NO MARATHON PARKING. THERE ARE LOTS OF OTHER PARKING PLACES!!! |
| Packet Pickup | Is at the YMCA on race morning. Arrive early. Also from 9:00 - 6:00 on Saturday. Also at the YMCA. |
| Roads are Closed | Maynard (from Millennium Park to Vets Memorial), Vets Memorial (from Riverbend to Maynard), and Indian Mounds Road (from Riverboat entrance to Market) will be closed to traffic until 2:00 p.m. Access to the Riverboat parking lot is available. |
| Spectators | Spectators - 1. Downtown area from the YMCA south to Wealthy. 2. Near the Riverboat (Take Indian Mounds Road off Wilson.) 3. At the east end of Indian Mounds Road where they turn around at about mile 21. 4. On Ivanrest near the Wyoming Clean Water Plant. That's really about it unless you're on a bicycle. Then you might want to go to Millennium Park for a few minutes early in the race. Closed roads make it hard to get to much of the course--i.e. lousy for spectators, but great for runners because there's no traffic. |
| Bag Drop | You can leave your bag at our drop area sponsored by Fort Knox Box. Please tag your bag with your race number. Area will be supervised by volunteers, but ALL BAGS ARE LEFT AT YOUR OWN RISK. |
| Champion Chip | Wear it on your shoe. Cross the mats at the start, wherever you see one along the way, and at the finish. NO CHIP - NO TIME!!!! If it's on your wrist, it won't register on the equipment. So, don't try to experiment with different ways of wearing the chip as a fashion accessory. |
| Beer | Bring a bottle of decent beer or a pint glass from your local microbrewery as a gift for the race director. |
| Medical | Look for the folks in the ORANGE volunteer jackets. They're doctors, nurses, physical therapists, etc. All highly qualified professionals from Metro Health Sports Medicine and Life EMS. IMPORTANT MEDICAL INFO |
Sunday, October 18, 2009
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