The 2012 Green Bay Marathon was canceled due to poor planning. When a marathon is canceled and runners are urged to stop running some runners will refuse. The runners that do finish the race after the marathon is canceled should have been given unofficial times. Everyone that finished after 2 hrs 35 min don't have a finish time cause the marathon was caceled. The clock should not have been stoped until the official time. I wasted $100 for the entry fee. Columbia City Indiana Veteran's Marathon and Chicago Marathon are both way better than Green Bay in different ways.

Good:
1) Really nice course - flat, great for a PR (which I did, despite the wind).
2) A big-feel marathon without the huge crowds/big-marathon hassles.
3) Could use the bathroom with minimal wait times (about 10 minutes) prior to the race.
4) Well stocked water stations with volunteers who knew what they were doing.
5) Really nice finisher medal.
6) Nice post-race food/drink/support.
7) The locals all come out to cheer you on, especially in the early miles. Thanks, Green Bay.
8) Ample parking/no hassles getting to the race start (took hotel shuttle).

Bad:
1) Course was long this year - but they admitted it and adjusted times. Good to see them do this.
2) T-shirt given at the end. I am tired, dehydrated and cold - last thing I want is another thing to carry. Would've been nice to get this at the expo, especially if I were injured or weren't running but had registered.
3) Crowd support was a little sparse after 13 miles.
4) Hard to enjoy running through Lambeau after putting in nearly 26 miles.

Would definitely do this marathon again and would recommend this race to others for a high-quality event.

This was my first marathon ever and I could not have asked for a more positive experience all around!! The first-timer newsletters were inspiring, informative, motivating and the perfect way to get pumped up! :) I even emailed one of the contact people to ask about an injury I had in my 16th week of training. They helped me calm down and understand that it's okay to take some time off, even a few weeks before the race.

The fans and volunteers were UNBELIEVABLE. I never felt like I was alone and there was ALWAYS someone cheering us on! Water and Gatorade every 1.5 miles (perfect!) and root-beer, GU, and treats as well! The volunteers were so helpful at the end and throughout the expo and days leading up to the race. AWESOME t-shirts and medals.

I could not be happier with my first time marathon experience, and I will definitely be back again!

I ran the 1/2 back in 2006 and ran the full this year, 2011. Overall thoughts on the 2011 edition.

The Good:
Excellent value.
Hotels are affordable, cost of registration with shirt and pasta dinner/beer included make this a good value race.
Top level organization.
From the expo inside Lambeau Field, pasta dinner, bus shuttles for runners for pre-race pick-up and post race delivery back to your hotel is great., a nice perk! The water stops, GU stops, and aid stations on the course were plentiful and well stocked and had very, VERY enthusiastic volunteers.

Volunteers.
A very festive, loud, enthusiastic group that were everywhere and helpful. Volunteers make this a GREAT runner experience.

Post-race
The finishing run through Lambeau is nice, not a Packer fan but still nice, the set-up in the parking lot with food, beer, brat's, band, award ceremony, etc., make for a fun and festive atmosphere.

Areas to improve:
If you are gonna give the tech shirt away at the finish with your medal, then add Finisher to the shirt. If not, put it in the bag at expo and make it simple.

Course:
A bit twisty in some sections of the course that make it harder to improve splits. This year does not really apply to this issue because we had 40+ mph headwinds from miles 15-22, so this was a KILLER, just brutal.

Overall a very well organized, executed, and fun race to run and I recommend it to those in the MW looking for a spring marathon, or those looking at Wiscy for a 50 stater. Madison in late May is also a nice race as I ran it back in 2010.

Photography:
I got a lot of really nice shots throughout the race, but my friend who finished maybe 10 minutes after me, did not get a good shot at the Finish with the clock, little thing but when you are looking for that nice photo for the wall, having the picture with your time is a nice and necessary touch.

The course was relatively flat (a few rolling hills early and one nasty bridge at mile 15-ish) and despite the 40mph wind gusts I took 27 minutes off of my PR! Water stations were well-staffed and extremely well-organized. The lap through Lambeau was a little uninspiring due to lack of spectator support and Elton John's 'Rocket Man' playing over the PA system, but the finish area made up for it...wall to wall people screaming their heads off. My only real criticisms are the disorganized food area after the race (I'm not interested in fighting the general masses for the food, nor do I want to stand in 3 separate lines for fruit, a bagel and a beer) and the they need to realize that very small women run these races. My only option for a tshirt was a men's medium or extra large! Needless to say, I won't be wearing the shirt!

Previous comments - completely agree. On this day because of the strong north wind you needed a strategy to run that was complicated even more by the extra length of course after mile 3 and the lack of mile markers. I ran with a pace group that was using gps and it was confusing given the course markers were off nearly .20. I have never ran into or against wind this strong in a race, initially occurring over the bridge in DePere where runners were belted sideways and head on immediately upon entering the Fox River trail. Personally I did great until I was unable to tuck in with the pace group and literally got blown backwards. I think my next mile pace was nearly a minute slower and then pretty much the same for the next 5 plus miles. With that said, The course is great and can easily be a PR for many. Since the half marathon is quite larger and is run simultaneously I would hope in the future they get separated somehow. The Lambeau lap is great fun especially for a Packer fan. For an early season marathon in the Midwest this is the best!

The course has a few rolling hills in the beginning, the last 16 are flat. You tour the city and surrounding areas. Support is excellent. Start is at Lambeau so you don't have to use porta-potties. Crowd support is just ok.

The Good:
1) Fast course. A few rolling hills in the early neighborhood. Lots of straightaways. Long, flat portions of the course along the river. A good PR course.
2) Very organized. From the expo to the start and finish. A low-stress race.
3) Race crowd size. The number of participants seemed perfect. Not too many so you felt cramped but enough around that you never felt alone.
4) Less expensive than most marathons. Cheaper entry fee and hotels than most.
5) Water stops. Lots of them.
6) Volunteers and people of Green Bay. Very friendly and helpful everywhere I went.
7) Cool medal.

The Bad:
1) The wind. Can't control this.
2) Course was 800 feet too long. Oops, but at least they admitted their mistake quickly and adjusted our times.
3) Miles not marked clearly. Was never sure when I hit any mile and no electronic timers on the course (not really that big of deal to me).

Overall:
One of the best marathons I've run. I would do this one again in a heartbeat. Great volunteers. Low-stress marathon. Easy to get around town. Very impressed and would highly recommend this marathon.

This is my fourth marathon, and Green Bay (even 7 hours away from house) is likely going to be one of my favorites. This is not only due to the fact I PR'ed by 11 minutes or the run through Lambeau, but both certainly helped. The course was an interesting mix of residential and trail.

The course was also extremely spectator-friendly. My wife was able to drive the course and support my run easily. I highly recommend this marathon.

I loved this race. Despite the wind, the course was flat and fast and much of it was quite scenic, which I didn't expect. People were friendly and fluid stations were well situated and well-stocked. Running through Lambeau was an emotional, unique experience. We stayed at the Hotel Sierra Green Bay, which was comfortable and convenient. I'd definitely run this race and stay at that hotel again. The only suggestion I have is to better publicize the access to the stadium for spectators so that our families can take photos and help cheer us on. The stadium was actually pretty quiet, with only a handful of volunteers and fewer than 100 spectators.