IMT Des Moines Marathon

IMT Des Moines Marathon
Join Us At The Finish Line!

Tuesday, May 10, 2016

Course Annoucement!

New scenery and new distances are ahead for participants in this year’s IMT Des Moines Marathon, organizers announced today.

The IMT Des Moines Marathon and Half Marathon, Principal 5K Road Race and the Bankers Trust Marathon Relay will all run on new routes this year, due to the start of construction on downtown Des Moines bridges. “We tried to keep the parts of the courses that people liked best,” race director Chris Burch said, including the Drake Blue Oval on the Marathon course. “But at the same time, this was an opportunity to incorporate the Capitol grounds and some new neighborhoods. We’ve also added a little bit of a challenge.” The Marathon and Half Marathon will both see new changes in elevation, with a stretch dubbed the “Capitol Climb.”

All four races will begin and end at a somewhat familiar spot: Cowles Commons. “This was our start/finish line back when it was Nollen Plaza,” Burch said. “We’re excited to try out the open, renovated space.”


The IMT Des Moines Marathon and Half Marathon, Principal 5K Road Race and the Bankers Trust Marathon Relay all take place on Sunday, October 16. Full course maps are available at DesMoinesMarathon.com.

Organizers also announced a new slate of events to take place on Saturday, October 15. Mercy Medical Center will sponsor Mercy Field Day, to include the 5-mile Mercy Live Up Loop, Mercy Children’s Hospital & Clinics Junior Jog for kids and many other family activities. Mercy Field Day will be centered at Principal Park.


Find a complete race weekend schedule or register for any of the IMT Des Moines Marathon events at DesMoinesMarathon.com.


Wednesday, April 6, 2016

Ten Reasons Why You Should Run the IMT Des Moines Marathon

My family after the IMT DMM in 2015.

10. Free stuff after the race! My food and drink experience at the IMT DMM these last few years has been amazing. Vendors with chocolate milk, beer, water, beer (did I say that already?), pizza, cookies, peanut butter on a spoon, fruit, sandwiches, granola bars...the list goes on and on... Oh and last year they even had vendors passing out food to spectators. How great is that?! No joke- several vendors walked around and gave out sub sandwiches to everyone. As a mom with three young kids cheering her on, this helped out tremendously!

9. You can run two races in one weekend! Yes, as many of you know you can complete the I-35 Challenge, by running a half or full on Saturday in Kansas City and then another half or full in Des Moines on the Sunday of that same weekend. However if you want to run two races on the same weekend but in the same city, you can register to run the IMT DMM Mercy Live Up Loop, which is a 5 mile run on Saturday and then choose a 5K, half or full on Sunday.

8. Guess what? The Junior Jog (kids run) is on Saturday, the day before the 5K, half or full. This is great for parents who want to enjoy a family "running" experience. I have always wished that my kids could run the "kids fun run" option with me at most of the races I particpate in, but these are always held at the same time as my run. The IMT DMM has you covered by holding the Junior Jog the day before! How awesome is that?!

7. The registration fees are really, very affordable. Right now (until April 18th), you can register for the full marathon for only $73.00. And, as the price increases in April and July, the highest fee is still under $100. That truly is a good value. If you run races, you know it is often the fees that sometimes dissuade us runners from registering. The half is currently only $58 and never goes higher than $68. You can even run the two IMT DMM Mercy Live Up Loop option for as little as $44 right now!

6. The expo rocks. By far, the best exposition/packet pick up I have ever attended. There are so many vendors, advertisers, companies, organizations and other races with booths and lots of free stuff to hand out. Deep discounts on merchandise and other race registrations are very easy to find. Plan on spending at least an hour browsing the exposition after you very quickly and efficiently pick up your packet. Last year there were guest speakers presenting during the expo, one I listened to for a few minutes was an ultramarathon runner. Wow, incredible stuff.

Outside the expo in 2014.

5. Pasta. Really- need I say more? The Saturday night of race weekend there is a pasta dinner, very affordable and you can bring the whole family. A great way to meet other runners and carb load.

4. So I don't like to admit it, but sometimes I run races for the cool shirts. The IMT DMM has included in the registration fee pretty awesome long sleeve, dry-fit pullovers both years I have participated. I get compliments all the time on mine. It isn't some cotton t-shirt that you will never wear again- these shirts are wonderful. I wear mine weekly. I love how they state your distance on the back too, and are color coordinated for whether you ran the half or the full that year. Very cool IMT DMM, very cool. I also heard that there are training shirts available on their website this year too! I need to get my hands on one of those!

In my awesome race swag!

3. Technology savvy. Not only is the #IMTDMM active on Twitter, Facebook, Blogspot, Instagram and has a really great website, but the race has a wonderful App that you can put on your mobile device. It shows you where your runner is while they run, has route maps, gives you your race results afterward, and has several other cool functions. Follow this race on social media and over the next few months you will get a lot of good information about route changes, guest speakers, price increase dates, discount codes, etc.

2. Supportive. This is the most supportive race I have ever, ever run. There are volunteers during and after the race that truly make this experience what it is. From complete strangers cheering you on by your first name (yes they put your first name on your bib!) to helping you figure out where the Gatorade, water and GU stands are. If you have ever run a distance race you know that sometimes after a long run you can get a little disoriented. There are lots and lots of volunteers on hand to help guide you to get your finisher medal, move you through the stations afterward, find first aid or massages, point out the free nutrition and hydration vendors, and really are just there to answer any questions that you might have.

1. You could run for free! Ahem... My giveaway of TWO race entries ends at midnight on April 11th, so you still have several days to enter. You can enter multiple times on multiple days... so what are you waiting for?! Enter this awesome giveaway! Even if you don't win one of the free race entries, a few other lucky entrants will win free race swag. See the giveaway at the top of my website to enter.

Sunday, March 27, 2016

The Big 3000 Follower Giveaway: Free IMTDMM Marathon, Half, 5 Mile or 5K Race Entries & Swag!


Last month I noticed that I was getting close to 3000 Twitter followers, which is quite a milestone for just one year of MamaGottaRun. I was so excited that I decided to offer another awesome giveaway to celebrate! The last giveaway I offered was a couple of free race entries, and my Tweeps seemed to love it, so I thought I'd try to offer race entries again. Hoping to find a donation from one of my favorite races, I jumped onto the IMT Des Moines Marathon Twitter page and saw that they too were right around 3000 followers, perfect! When I approached the IMTDMM it was an easy sell. They were gracious enough to offer two race entries (full, half, 5 mile or 5K- your choice!) and swag to two additional winners, so 4 prizes! This year the races are on October 16, 2016. Please see the Rafflecopter at www.mamagottarun.com (starts Monday, March 28), but hurry and come back often as the giveaway ends 4/11/2016.

This giveaway is particularly special to me because the IMTDMM was my very first marathon in 2014 and last year they invited me to be a guest blogger on their official blog for them as I ran the IMTDMM half in 2015. This year I will be training to run the full marathon again, so I am really excited to offer these prizes and hopefully get to meet some of you on the start line!

Recent training. Although for a different half I have next month, the miles
will kick-start me as I begin training for the IMTDMM full coming this fall.

I absolutely love the IMT DMM races. As I said, I have run both the full and the half, and both times have been an amazing experience for me. I blogged about both race experiences here and here and am excited to start blogging about my training for my 2016 experience. Last year I posted several articles on the IMTDMM official blog that will help you understand why I love this race so much. Not only is it in my home state of Iowa so I always have family to cheer me on as I run it, but last year my brother even ran the half with me- his very first half marathon. The medals, the course, the option of the I-35 Challenge (two races in one weekend), the amazing food venders, but more than anything the IMTDMM is the most supportive race I have ever run. So many incredble volunteers and spectators cheer on complete strangers as they run the course... the race director does an excellent job of making sure the whole package comes together wonderfully.

Me running the full in 2014.

My 4:19 finish in 2014. I am hoping for closer to 4:00 this year.

Running the half in 2015 with my brother who completed
his very first half marathon that day!

Last year, 2015, when I completed the I-35 Challenge (two
half marathons in one weekend, Kansas City and Des Moines).

Okay, so how do you enter to win these free race entries and awesome swag? It is so easy! On the top of this website there is a Rafflecopter. You simply complete a few easy tasks of your choice, such as visit the IMTDMM Facebook page, 'Like" us both and Tweet about the giveaway, as well as a few other options, and you're entered! Some of the entry options you can even complete daily, meaning that you can get even more entries into the drawing. When the drawing ends, Rafflecopter with randomly draw winners from the entries and then I will personally notify winners via email and tell them how they can collect their prizes. The Rafflecopter will run for two weeks and the only stipulation for winners is that they must use the free race entry themselves (no gifting it to someone else). Remember you can decide what race distance you want to enter (full, half, 5 mile or 5K). And that's it! 

On your mark, get set, go! I will post again next week with more details about the race, such as price increase dates, the race weekend events, route maps and anything else I can pass along.