Race was very well organized, with plenty of water/Gatorade stops, especially at the end.

Job well done for a first-time race director! KUDOS!

The day started off rainy and cold, but it was still a great day to be out racing. The number of runners was good - not too many, but still enough that there were others to run with.

The only drawbacks to the race are that there just aren't a whole lot of specators to cheer you on. If you're someone who needs that, this isn't your race.

Also, this year there were way too few water stops. Even on a rainy day, you still need water. There were also stops where the volunteers apparently didn't show up. These were in the last ten miles of the race. Organization this year was very poor, compared with past years.

Overall, I am hoping that next year will be back to other years' standards. I was disappointed, but had a great time anyway.

The Sugarloaf Marathon is a very well organized and runner-friendly event. Pre-race events (registration, pasta dinner, transportation) are excellent, there is plenty of on-course support and post-race activities are first rate. The course has the potential to be very fast with all the inclines (elevation gain of about 350 feet) between miles 5-10. After mile 10, the course is downhill (elevation loss of about 1000 feet) and flat, with some very slight upgrades in the last few miles more than balanced by gentle declines. Western Maine is a beautiful area and the accommodations at Sugarloaf are high quality and reasonably priced. I will definitely return in future years.

Great course and support. My only negative is that the registration process was too loose. When viewing the results, my bib number and name did not match. A better process for pre-regestered runners is to post the names in alphebetical order for the runners to check the bib number themselves, and then provide that number with identification so that no mistakes are made. This was corrected by the timing people after the race. Marathons take lots of effort and months of training; mistakes like this cannot be taken lightly. The bus schedule to the start needs clarification. I was told between 5:30 and 6:00 a.m. for the buses; when I arrived at 5:40 I thought there was plenty of time, but soon I discovered that the last bus was for the 15K people. Since there were at least 10 marathoners on this bus, we did get transferred to another bus and taken to the start with about 20 minutes to spare. The course is very scenic and the people were friendly and helpful and all the errors corrected. Thanks to all involved in putting together this race.

My first marathon, and it was a wonderful experience! The race director was helpful and quick to respond to my many questions. Very nice and scenic course. Great staff and support.

This was a terrific experience for the members of our run club. Many had personal bests and everyone was enthusiastic about the efforts of the race director and the volunteers at the many water/gatorade stops. The course itself is full of challenges which include some long, steep hill climbs and some equally steep descents. However, the beauty of the countryside will pull you toward the finish line. There are lakes, waterfalls and a rushing river to distract, which is a good thing as there are not many runners (281) and very few spectators along the way. Quite a difference from my last marathon, which was Disney. I thoroughly recommend them both. An important added note - we took 18 rooms at the Grand Herbert Hotel. The innkeepeers, Marcie and Lynn, treated us like family and the hotel became a house party for our gang.

This is a great no-hassle marathon. The logistics were kept very simple which made it easy for friends and family to provide support along the way. You run one road-Rte 27 all the way from Stratton to Kingfield. If you stayed at the Grand Summit hotel, there's a shuttle bus that brings you to the start and the number pickup was about a 1/2 mile down the road. The hotel even has a late checkout so you could shower afterwards.

This is a very scenic course-beautiful mountain views, woods, and a river provide a stunning backdrop although probably would have been appreciated more on a nicer day.

The net downhill is a little more challenging, I think than just a flat course because of the amount of pounding on your quads and those rolling hills in the beginning are not to be taken too lightly either. But a PB can still be achieved if you pace yourself correctly-ie do not run the downhills too fast.

Overall I recommend this marathon if you like scenery over crowds and you don't want to deal with the hassle that comes with larger marathons. Some nice touches were the free massages afterwards and receiving a sweatshirt and a T-shirt with our number pickup.

My only negative comment was on the post race food. We got chicken broth and honey water and a bunch of junk food. I personally would have liked something more substantial, soup would have done the trick but you can't expect too much with marathons of this size.

Still a good destination marathon, I will run this one again someday.

I live in NE Ohio, and this was a vacation! Marathons determine my vacations, and a different state each time. This was my twelth marathon, tenth state. The scenery would have been gorgeous on a dry day, as it was on Saturday, but I still had a great time! Take it from one who knows, the comment from Ashley - she looked fine crossing the finish line! I met a lot of wonderful people in Maine - in the marathon and elsewhere.

Course would be 5 stars except for the continuous cant to the right. But if it's run smartly and you save some gas for the downhill side of The Mountain, a big negative split can be had. Wonderful organization makes for a hassle-free run. Quantity of spectators isn't important to me, but the quality is great. A Maine gem.

This was my first marathon and it was a wonderful experience. The overall organization was outstanding and the course is beautiful. The day was wet and rainy but the scenery and excellent staff made up for it. There are not many fans, but those present were very enthusiastic and supportive. Don't let the net descent description deceive you; there are some BIG hills on this course.