This was my first marathon, and I had a blast. It was rainy and cold, but not uncomfortably so. The ascents and descents must both be reckoned with, but overall I came in slightly under goal pace. The scenery was fantastic, and the organization very impressive. LOTS of traffic on Sunday morning, including leapfrogging supporters. Caution: we ran in the southbound lane of Rt. 27, and in places there was a severe cant in the road. My right calf was extremely tight and sore afterward. You gotta be ready for the hills. Overall a terrific experience, and I would do it all again.

Being from Boston, I am used to all my races having tons of fans. As a first-time marathon runner, I was surprised at how few people were there, as well as how hilly the course was. My next race will be on a flatter course. The upside was that not a lot of people were there to see the awful look I had when crossing the finish line. The race crew was amazing, though - the most helpful and friendly people you could meet!

Organization was superior, especially considering the small size of the marathon. The only thing I would recommend is to possibly have food at some of the later water stations. Weather was rough (cold and a lot of rain), but, that's not anybody's fault. Course is deceiving. It may be a net downhill of 500, but, with the rolling hills, I don't consider it an easy marathon course. My body hurt more at the end of this one than any of my previous 17. Course is very scenic though. Very few spectators. Overall, I definitely recommend it.

I ran my first Sugarloaf USA Marathon in the rain on May 15, 2005. I was expecting a miserable day, but had a great time. The volunteers and spectators were such a boost and their efforts in the rain were very much appreciated. I loved my t-shirt AND sweatshirt!! A great race run by a great organization. I'm torn between telling all my marathoning friends, or keeping this wonderful race my secret!!

Very much enjoyed the small number of marathoners at Sugarloaf/USA, although was a bit surprised at the amount of traffic for a Sunday morning in western Maine. For a spring marathon the weather was perfect, all the volunteers and a small caravan of cars filled with hooting supporters were fantastic. I was able to PR/BQ on this scenic course.

This was my first marathon, and I loved it. The course is spectacular with some climbing between miles 6 and 9 and a steep downhill around 10. It rained all the way, which I didn't mind and the scenery more than made up for it. Because it's small and a bit in the middle of nowhere, spectators are few and predominantly runner-related. The organization was good, with a nice pasta dinner the evening before. Only downsides were the relative absence of cheering atmosphere at the finish line and the fact that slower runners had to run in the gutter to avoid the cars arriving at the finish line. This should be improved, for example, by putting the finish line in a street where no traffic is allowed.
Otherwise, great experience and highly recommended!!

This was my third marathon and by far the smallest. I loved the 'homey, local' feel to everything. The people were great and the brave fans who showed up on a cool, rainy Sunday were tremendous (especially the two car loads of Bates Students).

The course was a lot of downhill from mile 11 on and I found it to be more hilly than I anticipated. Regardless of the hills, I still got a PR and loved the event.

My only suggestion is that traffic somehow be controlled a little more at the end by the finish line (last .2 miles). I was finishing and had to basically run in the mud along the shoulder because so many cars were trying to get to the finish. That was a bit distracting and irritating as you're coming in trying to get to the finish as fast as possible. Other than that though, the support was tremendous and the scenery beautiful.

I will definitely run this again in the future!

This was my first marathon, and I couldn't have asked for anything more. The fans were few, but enthusiastic and the weather was a cool 50. The course was very flat with one tiny hill around mile 9, and the scenery was breathtaking. Overall a great experience!

This is a good race for qualifying for Boston! This marathon was my 5th, and my 4th serious attempt at qualifying for Boston. It's a great course comprised of mixed terrain and a beautiful remote setting. Ok, you do have to climb up one pretty good size hill which crests around mile 10, but that pretty much ends the 'tough' stuff. It's literally downhill from there, with about a 1000 ft. of vertical drop to the finish! The 'race crew' and fans give it charm as well as the feeling of a professionally run event. I really appreciate the few individuals that consistently would flash ahead of everyone in their cars and bikes every 4-5 miles, cheer everyone on while blasting some tunes from a car stereo, and move ahead after awhile to do it again! Well done!

I had caught a bad cold prior to Boston and was disappointed with my run, so the family took the trek up to Eustis for the Sugarloaf Marathon. Boy, it's a long way up. Got lost, missed pre-registration, missed dinner, but saw 13 moose during our aimless wandering!!!!!! (I always thought they were a myth). I guess there were about 300 runners for the 7 AM start. Met an 82-year old running his 150th marathon. He had done one the week before. Met several other friendly people. From the course profile, I really thought my second ten miles could match or beat my first ten. I was right on pace and felt strong at ten, but once we crested the hill, we were right in the hot sun (reached 70 very quickly), and I faded. Fans were mostly 'personal' fans, leapfrogging you in their cars. I found a hose which I sprayed myself with at mile 18, without which or I might not have finished. By mile 20, I was walking through the water stops, during which my 12-year old son joined me. The last half of the race was downhill. Didn't seem like it at the time, because of the heat, but driving the course later, I think it is a very favorable course, with very nice refreshments at the end