After reading the comments posted by others, I have to say I wholeheartedly disagree with the negativity! My gosh. This was my first marathon. I can't say I was exactly prepared for the hills, but to say they were brutal is just unfair to the hills. There wasn't much spectator-ation, but I didn't expect any. The race volunteers who cheered me on -- and commented on my big smile even at mile 20 -- were more than enough for me. The aid stations got an Aid + from me and my running cohorts. After the race, we took an 'ice bath' in the reservoir, which is what we believe God intended in designing this course. The out-and-back section was harsh, especially considering I passed half-marathoners. (Once I figured that out, I felt much better about my own progress, but the psychological damage was fresh then.) I do have one more tiny complaint -- where was the mac and cheese?

This race was an excuse to visit a friend who moved to the Boulder area last year. I loved the course, it was exactly as advertised. Because of the overcast conditions, we did not get the views shown on the race website, but the sun wasn't beating down on us either. I'll take that. If you were surprised by the hills, you didn't do your research. The volunteers were great and the aid stations were all laid out the same with Accelerade at the front and water at the back. Parking was not bad, but getting to the race is terrible since there is only one road in. Friends running the half spent 1-1/2 hours driving 2 miles. Organizers know this is an issue, but the only suggestions are carpool (we did) or park two miles away and walk or bike to the start. The latter is definitely not runner friendly. How about shuttles from remote parking? Or possibly making all traffic one-way and using both lanes to get cars in the lot? The other bummer was post race refreshments. I finished just under 4 hours and the only refreshments were brats, beer, and cheddar crackers. Not what was advertised. Organizers expected 3,000 participants, but obviously didn't have an appropriate amount of food. I hope these issues can be corrected, because I really enjoyed the race itself.

The course is incredible! I am from foothills outside of Boulder and the views through the county dirt roads were amazing. I will take out-of-town guests over the course to give them a different view of the Boulder area.

However, this is the second time I have done this race (half marathon in 2003) and hoped that the additional years would have provided more information that could be used to make the race more organized. It took 35 minutes to drive the last 1/2 mile to get to the parking area. It didn't appear that they had enough supplies to provide to all of the runners. They ran out of t-shirts, 'goo' at every station (more than half had none), and at the finish there was only bratwurst, beer and Goldfish. Again the traffic was a problem leaving and it took me around 25 minutes to get out of the parking area.

This was my first marathon and I guess I would have expected more for the runners. Perhaps chips for the shoes, shuttles to the start and 'healthier' food at the finish. The sponsors provided plenty but I think more could have been provided from the fee for the race.

Unfortunately, I would not run this marathon again. I will run the course with friends and support myself.

This was my 4th marathon this year, and it was by far the hardest! The organization and the weather were the only positive things with regards to this race. The race course is not as advertised... soft dirt roads??? More like roads that have been tractor plowed (very uneven surface... hard on joints!!!). To get an idea of the scenery, no false advertising there, just look at the pictures posted on the website... boring and dull (not the Colorado beautiful you might expect). Hills; let's put it this way: San Francisco seemed flat in comparison. Crowd support? Maybe a handful, 50 spectators, along the way (this number is not including the volunteer race staff). The second half of the course is poorly laid out. There is an out-and-back, and an enormous hill at mile 20 and one after that, and another one after that, and another one after that (get my drift?). I have never seen so many people walking a marathon at the end. Brutal, brutal, brutal! If you decide to run this marathon after reading this, please have the ice bath waiting for you back at your home/hotel.

I haven't done many marathons, but this was the best one I've done so far. Well organized with bathrooms nearly every 2 miles (I definitely noticed this since food poisoning set in during my race). Their exceptional planning allowed me to finish the race under less-than-ideal health conditions. The attitude of the organizers and other runners was very positive and the area simply gorgeous.

My only negatives were parking (which I think they handled about as well as they could have under the circumstances) and the finisher's medal. Leadville only gave medals to the marathon finishers. I realize that finishing a half-marathon may be an achievement for some, but they should get a different finisher's medal than those who finish the full marathon.

Otherwise, the event was a blast and I will probably travel up from New Mexico to do it again sometime.

Parking - when they say get there early, they mean it!! Too many cars and a one-lane road to get in.

Food - finish early or the food WILL be gone. I walked the 1/2 in 3 hours and there was very little left in the food tent.

Course - watch out for the traffic, esp. if you walk this one. You will have a very narrow lane for you AND the folks finishing the full marathon.

Let me preface all this by stating that this was my very first marathon (I've done 5 half marathons) so I don't have a ton to compare it with.

I probably should give this marathon 5 stars for everything because it was a great experience for me and my wife. This was the first marathon for us both, and we thoroughly enjoyed the race, although it was a difficult run!

First off the weather was perfect; overcast and cool, but no rain. We were able to stay hydrated and cool throughout.

The course is mostly on dirt roads in the (gentrified) country, which was nice on my knees. The course was fairly hilly, but not mountainous; you can train for this race by running normal hills where ever you live (this is *nothing* like the Pike's Peak marathon!). I'm from CO so the altitude didn't affect me but you probably do need to respect that if you live near sea level. The scenery is very beautiful, but it's not 'Colorado Rocky Mountain High' vistas. Although you can see the mountains from the course you are not running amongst the pine trees and deer! If you want that I suggest the Steamboat, Estes Park or even (to a lesser extent) the Ft. Collins Marathons. My only complaint about the course (and this is probably typical) is that in the last 4 miles we combined with the half marathon course, and the ?halfies? were running at a much slower pace (they started an hour after us), so we had to dodge a bunch of people near the end. Maybe it was a blessing in disguise; I had something to think about other than my I-T band!

The organization during the race was excellent. The aid stations were thoughtfully laid out and very well stocked. In addition to water, Accelerade, and Clif Shots, at the later aid stations they also had bananas and pretzels. There were aid stations pretty much every 2 miles and they all had toilets. I ran pretty much in the middle of the pack and they did not run out of anything while I was running. However there were some issues with the post-race food. The race had bratwurst, soup, water, and beer available for the finishers. I was in no mood for a brat though, and I don?t think I was alone in that b/c they were completely out of soup when I got to the food tent. So I munched on a dry brat bun, which was probably as good of a post-race snack as anything I guess, but a cup of soup would have tasted better! No worries though, I went to the Southern Sun in Boulder after the race and simply wolfed a chicken burrito! But because of that I can?t give the race a 5 for organization.

The spectators were few and far between (everyone in Boulder is out doing something active instead of watching some race!!) but they were enthusiastic and much appreciated. So I can?t give this a 5 after reading about what it is like in New York or Boston. If you need wall-to-wall people cheering you on, I can?t recommend this race to you!

Anyway take a first-timer?s comments for what they?re worth. The race is no pushover, but it?s clearly run by people that know what they?re doing, and I recommend it. Now on to the Ft. Collins Old Town Marathon in 06!

Thank you and kudos to the organizers! The course was scenic and had plenty of challenges. The volunteers were awesome, very helpful and supportive. The spectators (the ones who stayed till the end - see the following 'adventure') could not have been more enthusiastic. And the weather was perfect!

Our 'adventure' was a comedy of errors (we're taking all the credit, btw). First, hubby and I misread the marathon start time (thought it was 8 AM), so we started with the Half, 70 minutes later. At the Half's turn-around point, we're told that the last marathoner passed by 45 minutes earlier. We decided we're in pretty good shape, so we kept on trucking. A volunteer (sweeper?) in a white Subaru noticed that now we're the new back of the pack.

Armed with only a vague idea of the course map in our heads, we followed three runners up the hill from us, until they turned around and we found out they were just running extra mileage. We continued on for another mile or so, before we decided we should not be running on a highway. Thank goodness our guardian angel in the white Subaru showed up again (thank you!) and directed us to the right direction and gave us a map.

We finally joined the marathon field on mile 17 or so. We told some volunteers that we decided we were not going to win the marathon today, so we slept in for another hour instead. The folks at aid stations were super; those at mile 14 found us some Clif Shots from their private stash. Very much needed and appreciated. The course marshals were so patient and encouraging. Thank you!

Shy of running a 50K, we managed to cross the finish line before they packed the clock, got our medals, and grabbed some Cheddar Bunnies and Tootsie Rolls. We enjoyed ourselves immensely out there. What a great run! We'll be back again. And next time, we'd even get up an hour earlier!

I'm from Phoenix and train on a treadmill but still had a great time at this race. Weather was PERFECT: mid-40's with no sun, great cloud cover. The weather was a marathoner's dream. I used Boulder Backroads as a training run.... Even if I took the race seriously I would estimate running this course 10-15 minutes slower than my best. I highly recommend this race. If you are a laidback runner just wanting to run a course for the sheer beauty and organization, run this course. If you are a type 'A' personality when it comes to leaving right after the race then forget about it, the parking is horrendous but... you run the race for the experience, not the parking, right? I will be back for another training run, thanks organizers! Oh yeah, at mile 16 world champion marathoner Mark Plaatjes handed me some water; that made my whole race!

First off I would highly recommend hill training. There is no shortage of them, and while most of them aren't too difficult, for a flat-lander you're going to end up walking some. Luckily I'm local and get plenty of practice.

Weather was perfect. Volunteers and aid stations were PERFECT. Every station had people lined up with Accelerade or water, and they yelled out what they had so you didn't have to guess. There were porta-potties at every station (a much appreciated situation). At the stations that had gels, they had volunteers way out in front so you had enough time to get the gel down before getting to the water. A lot of the volunteers wore costumes, and different stations had themes and music which made it more fun.

Organization was pretty darn good. Considering the difficulties of parking because of where you are, I thought they did a wonderful job.

Spectators were awesome. On the parts of the course where you were sharing the road with traffic, the drivers were cautious and cheered you on as well.

As you came into the finish chute, you could hear them say your name and where you live over the loud speaker. Nice touch!

Food and beer were pretty good, and there was plenty of both. Ditto for the stations that had food on the course.

Really is a top-notch event. I'll be back!