Race Day
Ride Share
Interested in ridesharing to the IMT Des Moines Marathon? Sign up here for an account and become members of a growing and dynamic community. It is free to join and PickupPals can track the number of rides they have given or taken, the number of km they have traveled via ride sharing and we can as an IMT Des Moines Marathon group keep track of the amount of emissions we have reduced as a result!"
Parking
There are a variety of free parking options in downtown Des Moines. You do not have to put money in the parking meters on the street at any time on Saturday or Sunday.
We invite you to take advantage of free parking at many of the downtown parking ramps on Saturday and Sunday. City of Des Moines parking ramps are located at 4th Street/Grand Avenue, 5th Street/George Watson Powell Parkway, 5th Street/Locust Avenue and 7th Street/Locust Avenue.
Do not attempt to park in the 3rd Street/Court Avenue parking ramp on race morning.
Parking is also available at Principal Park, home of the Iowa Cubs, six blocks south of Nollen Plaza.
Principal Park
One Line Drive
Des Moines, IA 50309
Please be respectful of No Parking signs in the downtown area, especially on race day. Chances are likely that the No Parking signs are posted on our behalf. Your vehicle will be towed.
Have a comment or question? Contact Us if you are not finding the specific race information that you are looking for. The following links may be of assistance.
Weather
October tends to be a fairly dry month in Iowa. You will likely experience a bit of a chill to the early morning air on race day. Average lows are in the lower 50's and highs in the upper 60's. We rely on the weather team at ABC 5 for up to the minute weather updates when making our final contingency plans for race weekend.
Old race shirts, a sweatshirt or a pair of gloves are a great examples of ways to stay warm while awaiting the start of the race. Your body will begin to warm up after the first couple miles of the race and you will want to shed layers. Volunteers from the Iowa Homeless Youth Center will pick up any discarded clothing that you leave behind. We also donate all of the food that is leftover from the finish line festivities to this important non-profit organization in our community.
Locker Rooms and Showers
The Riverfront YMCA opens their doors at 6:00 a.m. You will have access to the main gym for stretching. The Riverfront YMCA has also offered use of their locker rooms as a place for you to secure your valuables and take a post race shower. Please remember to bring your own lock, as they will not be responsible for lost or stolen items. The Riverfront YMCA is located two blocks east of the start/finish line at Nollen Plaza.
Riverfront YMCA
101 Locust Street
Des Moines, IA 50309
Baggage Check/Information
A baggage check and an information booth will be available at Nollen Plaza as a courtesy of the the Capital Striders. You may want to use your Runner's World bag from packet pick up to store your personal items during the race. Simply return with your race number/bib to claim your belongings.
Nondenominational Service
Pastor Stephen Taylor will lead a brief nondenominational service at 7:15 a.m. inside Capital Square, which is next to Nollen Plaza. Anyone is welcome to attend.
Stretching
Anytime Fitness fitness instructors will lead a series of group warm up and stretching exercises before the race from 7:15 a.m. to 7:45 a.m. at Nollen Plaza.
Start 
The IMT Des Moines Marathon races start promptly at 7:00 a.m. with the Prevention Early Start presented by Team Prevention.
The IMT Des Moines Marathon, Half Marathon and Saturn Marathon Relay will start at 8:00 a.m. followed by the Principal Financial Group 5K Road Race at 9:00 a.m.
All races start in the heart of the downtown area and will head east on Locust Street towards the East Village and Iowa State Capitol.
Nollen Plaza
400 Locust Street
Des Moines, IA 50309
Push Rim athletes will line up in front of seeded elite athletes and the rest of the marathon, half marathon and 5-person marathon relay field. Please self select your starting point, or where you line up, at the start line based on your predicted finish time. A general rule of thumb to follow for first-timers is to let faster runners to the front followed by slower runners and then walkers to the back of the pack.
It is not always easy to determine who is a faster runner and who is a walker before the race has begun. We tend to joke that faster runners are always wearing less clothing. Don't be afraid to ask an IMT Des Moines Marathon Race Committee or Van Meter Industrial Pace Team member for assistance in determining where to line up at the start. You can also stop by the baggage check/information booth.
Bicycles, inline skates, roller skates, baby strollers, scooters, wheeled vehicles (except event registered wheelchairs) and dogs are not allowed on the course.
Course
Protection
The marathon course is a closed course that is open to all registered athletes for 7 hours and 8 hours for marathon walkers participating in the Prevention Early Start. The City of Des Moines has placed No Parking signs and barricades/traffic cones at key intersections along the course to ensure that you will always have the right of way. Escort services are provided for the first and last athlete in each race. Your safety on the course is a top priority to race officials.
Des Moines Police and course marshals are stationed at key points and mile markers, while race in progress signs are posted to assist you in staying on course. Ultimately as a participant in the race, it is your responsibility to know the course.
Headphones
USATF Rule 144.3(b) prohibits the use of technical devices in USATF sanctioned races. i-Pods, Walkman's and other earpiece music players fall within the guidelines of Rule 144.3(b).
Rule 144.3(b) applies to sanctioned track and field events and is intended to serve as a guideline for road races. The ruling is being enforced by some road races. We encourage you to educate yourself about the safety hazards associated with the use of music devices while running and whether or not a race that you are interested in participating in allows headphones.
The IMT Des Moines Marathon is a USTAF sanctioned race and does adhere to the Rules of Competition as laid out by USATF. You will not be disqualified or removed from the course for using a personal music device on race day. Please be extra cautious and mindful of the volume of your music and your presence on the course as it relates to athletes and spectators around you.
We will do what it can to keep you informed on this issue.
USATF Delegates Debate Headphone Ban - www.thefinalsprint.com - November 29, 2007
Hydration
Aid Stations are available at least every 2 miles along the course. Each aid station will be stocked with Crystal Clear Bottled Water and Endurance Formula Gatorade. Some of the aid stations along the course will have additional items such as oranges, pretzels, tissues and vaseline.
Many of the aid stations are staffed with employees from race sponsors and non-profit organizations. Please be courteous of their time and efforts to ensure you have the best possible race experience.
Please be good to our neighbors along the course. Try to be mindful of litter and place your waste in appropriate trash containers along the course and at each aid station. Check your parking area after the race for litter as well. Recycle or reuse your plastic bottles when possible.
Become a member of the Runner's World Green Team and support environmentally friendly races, such as the IMT Des Moines Marathon, while learning training tools to help live an organic lifestyle and shape the world you live, run and play in.
First Aid
If you need medical assistance for any reason while on the course, we ask that you try to make it to the nearest aid station. If this is not possible, please stop where you are at on the course and a course marshal or member of the Bike Iowa support team will come to you. They will alert Mercy Medical Center First Aid volunteers who will drive you back to Nollen Plaza if you wish to discontinue with the race.
Mercy Medical Center First Aid Stations will be located at Nollen Plaza for use during start/finish line activities, Mile 12 on the marathon course, Mile 20/7 in Water Works Park, Mile 23/10 in Gray's Lake Park and Mile 25/12 on West Martin Luther King JR Parkway.
A Mercy Medical First Aid volunteer will also monitor your progress on the Bill Riley Bike Trail and on the Meredith Trail elevation rise just before the George Washington Carver Bridge on West Martin Luther King JR Parkway.
Technology
The IMT Des Moines Marathon and The End Result offer a variety of technological perks that help athletes, friends and family have a more enjoyable race experience. We would like to thank Mediacom for making these race day enhancements available.
Athlete Alerts
Friends and family members will be able to sign up online to receive email or text message alerts showing an athlete's progress in real time as he or she completes the course. This allows spectators to keep track of athletes on the course so that they can know when and where to be to show their support. Sign Up NOW!
RunPix
New race technology from RunPix enables you to grasp the significance of your finishing achievement by way of colorful internet images. Based on electronic timing data from The End Result and designed to be fun rather than technical, RunPix provides a personalised analysis of placings, pace, comparisons and much more. RunPix is a lasting souvenir available to athletes and supporters of the IMT Des Moines Marathon once results are in. View your RunPix Results NOW!
Searchable Online Results
A searchable database of online results showing clock time, gun time, splits, pace and placement will be available on this page following the IMT Des Moines Marathon. These results are updated in real-time during the race with split and finish times, as well as a list of the current leading runners. After the race, our database will give athletes the opportunity to look up their official times, compare their results to those of friends and family, and show off their accomplishment.
The IMT Des Moines Marathon is proud to be categorized as a premier Boston Marathon Qualifier and touts the fastest qualifying time of any Iowa marathon.
Finish
All races finish at Nollen Plaza. Athletes crossing the finish line will be greeted by key volunteers from the Mercy Medical Center First Aid Station. You will be assisted in the removal of the Sportag™ timing device from your shoe and marathon finishers will be offered a heat sheet.
All finishers will receive an IMT Des Moines Marathon finisher medal. MarathonFoto will also be on hand to take post race photos. You can click here to be notified when your photos are available for purchase following the race.
AFMInc Heatsheet Reclying Program
Among our many green initiatives, the IMT Des Moines Marathon is pleased to be one of six marathons testing recycling protocols for “number 4” film plastics this fall. This material (low density polyethylene) is used in the Heatsheets we distribute in the finish area to keep marathoners from becoming hypothermic until you have a chance to put on some warm clothes.
So, if you don’t plan to keep your Heatsheet as a souvenir of your marathon finish, or as a reusable blanket for your emergency kit, please be sure to recycle it at Nollen Plaza by the Artistic Waste dumpsters. Thanks for doing your part to help the IMT Des Moines Marathon and AFMInc, the makers of Heartsheets, with this important pilot recycling project!
Run To The Finish
The Michelob ULTRA Run To The Finish Series will greet you at Nollen Plaza. Many of our sponsors will be on hand to offer you product samples, replenishing foods and fluids and to give away prizes to random finishers. Plan to stick around and join us for the ultimate Post Race Party. Visit the Michelob ULTRA Village to listen to live music, win great prizes and best of all, reward yourself with some refreshing Michelob ULTRA. This is one post race party that you won't want to miss!
The Michelob ULTRA Run To The Finish festivities will remain open until 3:00 p.m.
Physical Therapy
The Des Moines University Doctor of Physical Therapy Program is providing complimentary physical therapy services to facilitate recovery for athletes following the race.
Third year Doctor of Physical Therapy students in conjunction with staff physical therapists from the University will be providing the services to include stretching, soft tissue mobilization and release, ice massage, posture and flexibility screening, as well as individual stretching and strengthening advice. Look for the Des Moines University signs and tables underneath the Capital Square awnings.
Post Race
Awards Ceremony
Overall prize money and awards will be given to the top three male and female finishers in the IMT Des Moines Marathon and Half Marathon. Various team awards will be given to winners of the Saturn 5-Person Marathon Relay Challenge and first place awards will be given to the male and female winner of the
Principal Financial Group 5K Road Race.
Age division awards in the marathon, half marathon and 5K road race will be given to the top three male and female finishers in each of the following age groups: 14 and under, 15 -19, 20-24, 25-29, 30-34, 35-39, 40-44, 45-49, 50-54, 55-59, 60-64, 65-69, 70 and over.
Age division awards will be presented at the Fitness Sports Awards Ceremony at 12:30 p.m. Unclaimed awards will be mailed out following the race.
Course Records
Prize Money
Post Race Party 
Celebrate your accomplishment with the IMT Des Moines Marathon Race Director and Race Committee at the official post race party.
El Bait Shop has more than 107 beers on tap and features American made micro-brew beers. El Bait shop will offer a free taco bar for IMT Des Moines Marathon athletes on race day.
El Bait Shop
200 SW 2nd Street
Des Moines, IA 50309
Runner Rankings
Running USA offers a website designed to help you record your results and compare your performances with runners from all over the nation. By logging in and claiming your completed races, you can start tracking your results and begin obtaining points today!
