I did not care for this marathon course at all, way too many turns, at one point they had you run…read morelike 50 feet turn around and run back, just ridiculous. Just a heads up, if you don't cut every apex of each turn and run the outside of turns you'll end up running way over 26.2. Also this year, they ran out of medals, they said they would be mailed, but still haven't received mine. The course starts you off with huge hill and for most of the first half there's a lot of up and down elevation, this may play murder in your joints.

It'll be fun, they said. Really? 2 marathons in 2 days? Are YOU freaking kidding me?…read more That's what I said. And speaking from experience, I couldn't believe it when I found myself crossing the finish line on the 2nd day and lived to tell about it. While my performance was anything but stellar, it was a marathon finish that I would never thought possible, if it wasn't for the prodding and coercing nature of a few marathoner friends whom do this sort of thing all the time. And so, if I was to do this 50 states marathon thing more economically, running 2 marathons in 2 different states in 2 consecutive days is a must. I proudly can say that I finished the 2011 version of the IMT Des Moines Marathon in Des Moines, Iowa on 10/16/2011. It was my 1st "double" out of 6 of them completed over the course of my 50 states marathon journey. This was my 34th lifetime marathon and 32nd marathon state in a bid to knock off 50 marathons in 50 states from Hawaii. It was great to be in Iowa actually and Des Moines is the biggest city here and they have a nice race for me to enjoy and indulge in. The IMT Des Moines marathon is definitely a well oiled machine and caters to everyone - runners and walkers alike. They do not cap registration, so that's great. Everyone and anyone can participate, providing that they register officially up until the expo closes the day before the event. The marathon and half marathon is typically held in mid October, typically when autumn is in full effect and the weather is downright epic for a personal best and just great running weather. Cool conditions are expected and everyone has a fun time for all. It was about upper 40's at the start that fateful morning and warmed up to about mid 60's. It was almost ideally perfect for me. The IMT Des Moines Marathon starts and finishes in downtown Des Moines, but not before venturing outside the downtown area. The residential areas and the rural nature of the marathon makes you look at life outside the city of Des Moines and looks pretty nice. Makes you want to move here or something. I particularly liked running around Gray's Lake Park and the lake itself. The marathon course is deceptively hilly, especially at mile 6-7, where you start climbing up gradually a rural residential area and it didn't seem flat at all. While the hills were nothing major, I just felt like I was told flat, but was presented something else. Still, the course was pretty and scenic. The overall course was good and authentic, but could have used more urban flavor. I didn't visit the expo, as I had a friend pick up my race packet, as I had been running a marathon the day before in Indianapolis, IN and was traveling to Des Moines and could not get to the expo in time. My friend and I stayed at one of the downtown area hotels, so walking to the race start was just a short 5 minutes. The funny moment after getting back to the hotel after finishing my 1st double is that my legs were super wobbly, that I fell down the stairs in the hotel lobby. I guess first time for everything! Haha. Nothing broken, just my pride I guess. I didn't care. I finished 2 freaking marathons in 1 single weekend. That's got to be pretty epic. There was live music on the course on certain spots and the aid stations were 2 miles apart, so that was great. Crossing the finish line was particularly gratifying, specially when I was a little tired from the day before and I just wanted it all to be done. Everything was well organized, so I can't complain. There were sparse spectators in the 2nd half, but there was plenty to see us off and in the first 10K, before dwindling. The finisher's medal was great. Nice design and just a spectacular marathon for the city and community of Des Moines to rally around and support. Thanks to IMT Insurance company for being the lead sponsor for the IMT Des Moines marathon for many years. And so, if you would like to run a mid sized marathon in the Midwest USA in the middle of October, do give this one a chance. You'll be pleasantly surprised at what Des Moines can offer you. I didn't have a rental car on this one, but do feel free to explore the area before and after the race. This can be a destination race for y'all who want to run a fall race but don't want to travel so far. I would definitely recommend the IMT Des Moines marathon to anyone and everyone who wants an enjoyable marathon or half marathon. Whether you want to BQ or PR, or just finish your first race ever, this one has it all. Check it out! Run more! Support local! A

If previous races are any indication, than this race is sure to be a disaster. Premier Event…read moreManagement ran the Hy-Vee triathlon in to the ground, so they started their own triathlon. For anyone who has not done Hy-Vee before and is doing a Premier Event race for the first time here is what to expect. Cancellation: Expect your race to get cancelled. Premier Event Management is notorious for doing it. It may be the whole race or they may cut the race in half or have you do some strange order because they don't know what they are doing. If the race is cancelled or significantly altered, never expect a refund or apology, just expect to be told that is how it is (even if they cancel the entire thing). Also expect your race to start early or late, or whenever Premier Event Management feels like it (possibly never as previously mentioned). Des Moines: Des Moines is a great city and there are some really beautiful spots along the course. Hope some day a real racing organization can come and put on a triathlon in Des Moines, until then, I would stay away from all Premier Event Management events.

Judy is very professional in her business. She does good work and flexible with the appointment…read more My wife and I both go to her. Her prices are competitive as well.

The Good: Great Blues music, microbrew samples, dancing, meeting fun people. Run by the Des Moines…read more/ Burian Rotary club. All proceeds go to support charitable causes in the community! An annual event (last year it was skipped I think) And this was the first year it sold out! The price of admission gives you 6 beer sample tickets and a little plastic taster size souvenir glass. The beer booths are all sponsored by the microbreweries. The bad: The food was not that great. I had a pulled pork sandwich that was mostly very soft bread. Later I had a charcuterie board which, was a little better, but the cheeses were like Hickory Farms grade, if you know what I mean. Also if you want wine it's like 3 tickets instead of one. Possibly because the wine was not sponsored by a company. If you want more tickets and you don't have cash you are out of luck. They didn't take credit cards even though they said they did in the blurb on EventBright! Sheesh! Always carry cash, They don't take American Express. The Ugly: There really wasn't anything ugly. I think I personally took issue with one band that really wasn't blues (It was Rock) and features a screaming female vocalist. She did play a mean harmonica though, so, I guess I can forgive. I think the only real tragedy of the event, was the fact that you couldn't buy more tickets unless you had cash. Think of all the worthy causes that will be shorted due to this oversight. So fun times, great micro brews to try, great blues music, dancing. Definitely room for some improvement in planning, and maybe the food. Like, bring in food trucks? And for those reasons, I am awarding 4 stars. BTW, if you enjoyed my review or found it useful funny or cool, please don't hesitate to click the little button to say so, or better yet, go ahead and friend me! I Just moved to the Seattle area last October, and need all the friends I can get. So go ahead, press that button, and never miss a single one of my epic reviews in the Seattle area and beyond. Cheers and Excelsior!

Of the Asian festivals in Iowa, this one definitely blows the competition out of the water…read more Celebrasian is a 2-day event hosted by the Iowa Asian Alliance that takes place in downtown Des Moines at Western Gateway Park at the end of May. There is free admission to the event as well as free parking. It features many food and product vendors, a variety of free entertainment, and activities for kids. The event space is divided into different 'villages' that feature food and cultural activities from various Asian cultures including Filipino, Tai Dam, Hmong, Karen, Nepalese, Korean, Laotian, Vietnamese, Japanese, Cambodian, and more. Entertainment featured everything from live music, traditional cultural dances, strolling by an Asian American Greek organization, scholarship pageant, and open karaoke. Aside from entertainment, the event also boasts a table tennis tournament as well as a takraw tournament and demonstrations. Takraw is a sport popular in SE Asia that uses a rattan ball and is somewhat similar to volleyball except you use your feet to play. One con about the food vendors this year is that a lot of the vendors seemed to have very similar food (every other booth had crab rangoons, I swear) and there weren't a lot of vegetarian friendly options. Prices for food varied and so did sizes. A lot of the things there were more 'snacky' but there were some meal sized options as well. Basically food and drinks ranged anywhere from $1 - $10, but I thought I got my money's worth in terms of what I ate. Over the course of the two days I ate: pork adobo with rice ($5), Hmong sausage with sticky rice ($8), turon ($1/ea), lumpia ($1/ea), sugar cane juice ($5), and durian boba ($5). The Hmong sausage with sticky rice was a close second for my favorite food I ate, but my favorite was definitely the turon -- when are we ever getting a Filipino restaurant in Iowa!? Despite the heat and the rain I had a good time this year. Overall, I love this event and will continue to come back and support it every year as long as I'm in Iowa.

A festival I look forward to every year but this year, I was rather bored. Came Friday after work…read morewith a huge appetite due to the variety of food options. The entertainment was screeching and nothing like the previous years. Even the festival goers seemed bored. Normally, the green grass is full of families enjoying the entertainment while eating but the grass seemed empty. Not sure if it was the heat or the rain that kept people away but I wasn't too impressed with the festivities. Hopefully, next year, there will be some freshness to keep it alive and strong.

I came here to attend the 2012 Best Warrior Competition at the 103rd ESC. The team and cadre that…read moreran the events were top notch making the competition not only fun but a huge learning experience. For the soldiers that have been in for more than a day, this was good refresher training. For the new soldiers they gained valuable knowledge that they can bring back to their units and train. The competition consisted of 5 days of training that involved the APFT, combatives, Army Warrior Tasks, 10k road march, weapons qualifications via reflexive fire, written exam, essay, mount training, and a board appearance. Overall every event was spot on and there was no time to twiddle our thumbs and sit around. I hate sitting around so this was great. My soldier and I won first place and now were only one competition away to going against the whole United States Army! You bet you @ss that we'll be back next year to do the same thing!

FlatlandFuel is a comprehensive store for BMX bikes, parts and accessories. My purchase was through…read moretheir online store. I was looking for some new pegs and wasn't sure if they would fit. Their competitive pricing, fast response time with my emailed product questions + fast shipping sold me. Solid shop.

Fun AAA ballpark WHERE I CAUGHT MY FIRST BALL EVER!!! Beyond that, we had a 250 person event and it…read morewent flawlessly. We had the entire right field bleachers to ourselves. Shade for those who wanted it, sit anywhere to watch the game. Food was in good supply pregame. Supposedly pulled with first pitch but they did what I would hope: put all the remaining food out so we can take from it. (But seriously guys, if you read this? Keep serving through the first inning or so. Please.) Also a second note: Audio didn't really carry to the outfield. No secondary video screen to supplement the one directly behind us. For that fifth star, please beef that up a bit!

2 weeks ago I was visiting Des Moines, IA for 4 days visiting a friend. When planning the trip,…read moreshe wanted me to look for things I wanted to do. I did some searching and found out Des Moines was home to Iowa Cubs, AAA affiliate, of Chicago Cubs. My friend somehow got a coupon for a buy 1 ticket get 1 ticket free. I think total was $20. It was on 3rd baseline on second tier level of seats. They don't accept cash at concession stands. You have fo get a card to load or you can use a credit card. I tried to load the card my friend had but it didn't work. So we got a new card and loaded that up. I went to one stand to get beer for myself. I also got an order of steak fries. It seemed like a small portion for the price but whatever. The stadium is definitely smaller than major league ball parks. Worcester Red Sox were playing the Iowa Cubs. 6 hits Final Score 0-1 Cubs Winning. The stadium was clean, signs easy to follow.

Well it's a great ball park, I've been coaching there for the last 34 year's, I discovered that the…read morevice president was stealing money from the league, went to the whole board and explained what was going on, then denied me the information that I needed to prove it was real, I would not let the issue alone. Then the president of the board banned me from the Ballpark, then 2 weeks later my granddaughter was on a tournament team that a board member had, and that board member kick her off the team, the whole board is illegal, not any of them were voted in, the president never was voted in he has been in that position for the last 5 years they violated the bylaws set fourth on a daily basis they took away, the voting rights of all voting board members they pick pick the tournament coaches again violations by