This is a fun marathon, great for a novice such as myself. The hills aren't hard for a local Boulderite, though I can imagine some flat-landers might want a few grades under their belt before attempting them. The course is well-stocked with liquids and gels, but NO splits! Porta-potties more prevalent at the start than on the course - could do with better distribution. More than a few runners found the trees more convenient!

Dirt roads make it easy on the knees, BUT (and it's a pretty big BUT), sort out the parking, please! Half-marathoners should surely have to park on the outskirts of nowhere, not us big, brave marathoners?? I had a mile walk to and from my car - for a beginner, walking that last mile was harder than running the 26.2 before it! I suggest putting the marathoners in the closer lots, especially as the half kicks off later. (Especially galling that the earlier you got there, the further away you were.)

Despite this, I'd definitely do this again - it's friendly, fairly quick and just plain pretty.

This was my fourth year to run this race, and it just gets better every year. It's very well organized, aid stations every two miles, and the activities at the finish seem to get bigger every year. The course is scenic and so pleasant and tranquil for an early fall Rocky Mountain morning. The dirt roads are so much easier on your legs than asphalt, and even though there are hills, the soft surface of the dirt roads offset the hills. First class marathon.

Okay, it might have been nice not to have to re-run over some of the same terrain, but that was a minor fault. Yes, this was a challenging course, but the luxury of running on dirt rather than asphalt made up for it. Very easy on the joints. Scenic pastoral surroundings (at one point about 20 horses, maybe taking a cue from all the runners, galloped across a meadow as the sun rose).

Great organization; very enthusiastic and helpful volunteers and well-stocked and frequent aid stations. The running expo was a disappointment (too small; very few booths or 'freebies'). But this was not the case at the finish line. Lots of booths, music, food and drink, and fun wading in the reservoir.

Parking is bad, of course, at the reservoir. I didn't understand why runners weren't shuttled from the outlying lot to the start rather than having to walk the mile or so. But, all in all, a fine race.

Beautiful course, about 20 miles of which is on dirt roads. Some rolling hills and 5,000 foot altitude mean that you're not going to run your best time, and it probably is not the ideal race for first-timers. The organization was excellent, and the people were friendly. I'll run this one again.

For the life of me, I cannot come up with any good reasons why this course has so many 'out and back' miles on it. There are seemingly endless ways to go yet the race effectively provides nearly 18 miles of 'out and back' terrain. In case you haven't studied the course map carefully, you do a 10 mile 'out and back' beginning at mile 12 and then rejoin the first four miles and go back to the finish for a total of 18 'out and back' miles. If seeing all the people that are ahead of you doesn't bother you, then go for it. And apart from a few westerly views of North Arapaho Peak the venue could have easily been in Iowa or Kansas.

There are ample spectators and well stocked aid stations. The nicest thing after the race was the Avery beer tent. Post race food was minimal. Was there even any music playing? I can't remmeber.

This was definitely a 'been there, done that, ain't going back' race.

After reading comments about other marathons here I would like to give a shoutout to this marathon's organizers for outstanding support for the final runners. Every aid station was manned, had plenty of Accelerade and water, fruit, pretzels, etc., and a far too chipper staff cheering us on.

In fact that's why I gave the spectators two stars instead of just one (and remember these are dirt country roads with limited available parking on the few cross streets so spectator support will always be limited) - every aid station and intersection had at least a few people cheering us on even when the race was reduced to a few scattered walkers.

A perfect early fall day and a wonderfully scenic course made for a great marathon experience! One warning though, the hills on this course are very real and unrelenting. The volunteers were wonderful and the aid stations were well equipped. All-in-all, a great experience that I will try again next year.

This was my 15th marthon and I have never met such wonderful people to run with. They were all used to the altitude and hills and helped me run through them. As a runner from Chicago, I have to say I could not have made it without their support. I recommend everyone go and enjoy the wonderful course and supportive runners.

This was a first class race from start to finish. Very well organized on a scenic course with frequent aid stations. Additionally, sponsor support was exceptional.

Traffic into the course needs major work. I ran the 1/2 and the course was much more difficult than I thought it would be, and finishing up a slight hill is not ideal. Possibly starting the race in time waves would help to alleviate the runner congestion that occured for at least 2 miles. Overall, a decent race for those who like lots of runners around them and are not going for a PR.