This was my second year at Portland - once again it was fantastic - great support, great organization, bagpipes and drums were extra bonus.

I decided to 'squeeze' this race in this year, since I was injury free and Chicago was already full when I decided to register. Am I glad I went to Maine instead of Illinois!

The biggest challenge about this race, frankly, is figuring out how to get around the city of Portland by car! I spent a couple of hours on the day before the race charting my route to get to parking on race morning! I won't bore you with details, but suffice to say that if you're from out of town be prepared for lots of one way streets, no left turns, changing street names, closed roads, etc.

The 'expo' was small, but fine for a race that size, and I picked up some very reasonably priced ($10) extra high tech, colorful shirts (in addition to the high tech, long sleeved shirt you get with your race registration). Race day dawned with clouds and wind, and having Starbucks as a sponsor helped (think hot coffee with flavoring at the start!). The weather conditions were actually ideal for me through the first 1/2 of the race, as the wind died down but the cloud cover remained. The sun came out on the second half and it got somewhat warm (70's), but still very runable. The out and back course is scenic (lots of water views & trees!) and the marching military troup on the course was inspiring. Not only were the aid stations well stocked & plentiful, but many residents also put out water tables and snacks (with cute kids to 'serve' us too!). The only thing I can think of to criticize is the size of the finisher's medal (small!), but I guess I'm spoiled.

If you're looking for a race with a relatively small field (<1,000 marathoners, maybe 1,600 halfers), with beautiful fall scenery, in a quaint and friendly town, this is for you! I'm glad I used this one in checking Maine off my 50 states quest.

I loved the scenery but THE HILLS WERE SOMETHING ELSE! The course support was great. They need more police officers for road blocks since most of the time we were on main roads with fast driving cars. The expo was really small but I'm used to races with 30,000 people. I was really scared about the hills so I decided to do the one hour early start and walk the course. Good thing I did. Overall the race was great. I was really disappointed with the medals. By far the hardest course I personally have ever done and the medals were small, dinky and cheap. But in the end I did earn it. Thanks to the beautiful city of Portland for having us. What a way to see the sunrise...this was my first time to Maine and I will be back for a visit.

First the good: A great course, better than I expected for an out-and-back. Plenty of hills but nothing too daunting. I ran a PR by a lot. Also, plenty of well-spaced aid stations. Very good crowd support for a smaller marathon (though there was NOBODY for miles 24 through 25.5 when you really need the cheers).

Now the bad: Terrible traffic control on entry. Huge line of cars trying to turn left towards the registration about 45 minutes before race time. No police officer directing traffic for runners. Luckily I was riding with family and could jump out to get to register in time. Then I got to the registration to check in, and there was no shirt for me (I had requested an XL, but there were none. I was told it would be mailed... but two weeks later I have yet to receive it). Finally the abomination that is the timing at this race. First, it was not even a shoelace chip, but rather an ankle bracelet that when tied too loose bounced around, and when too tight caused skin chafing and bloodshed (which is what happened to me). But, hey, small price to pay for an accurate time. Oh, well, except for the fact that the chip turned out to be UTTERLY USELESS because the timing company failed all the runners and did not get an accurate start time. So good to know I bled for no reason. I can only imagine how much more angry I would be if this timing error had cost me a Boston qualifier. Lastly, the post-race food was subpar in relation to other marathons I have run.

In summary, an excellent course that is marred by poor planning and poor organization.

As far as smaller marathons go (fewer than 1,000 entrants), this was good. The weather was superb; however you can't give the climate credit to the organizers for the same reason you can't blame them if the weather is bad.

Course was out-and-back, with nice, subtle, rolling hills. Would have liked to have seen more vendors at the expo, but the overall organization was great. Good crowd support considering it's a smaller event.

I would recommend this to those shooting for 50 states if you want a nice, clean, beautiful race to knock off Maine.

As a reference point, this was my 44th marathon and my 25th state.

Portland is a wonderful place to visit. The coast of Maine from Portsmith, New Hampshire through Portland is unique and beautiful, with a lot of things to do. I only wish I planned to spend more time exploring the coastal towns of Maine and the City of Portland. The race itself is a great excuse to take a fall trip up to one of the nicest vacation spots in this country when it is much less crowded then during the summer. Plan to take two or three days in the area to see everything south Maine has to offer - you will not regret it.

As for the race, it is well organized with all the necessary amenities. The course, although hilly and a lot harder then advertised, is quite nice. I would suggest, if possible, closing the road to vehicle traffic. A surprisingly large number of people turn out to support the runners.

The expo, although small, is sufficent. The pasta party is to be skipped. Make reservations at one of the downtown Portland Italian resturants. Portland has two that are excellent, but if you don't make a reservation, you will not get a table.

This marathon should be included on any runner's list of races to do, especially if you are trying to get all 50 states. Avoid the new Bangor summer marathon and do this race. Portland is much nicer, the area is easier to get to, the race is better organized with a nice course, and the weather is much nicer for running.

This was my first marathon but I've run several halfs and other distances so they serve as my comparison here. The majority of the course was pretty nice including some great views out over the water. For the most part, there were plenty of aid stations and those were supplemented by many of the awesome residents along the course who set up their own stations and cheered the runners on. Overall fan support was very good, especially at the main intersections. I had quite a bit of family cheering me on so I'm biased on that count. Also, this race was very reasonably priced compared to the many $100+/- marathons out there and you got a sweet long-sleeve technical t-shirt as well. I was unsure as to whether or not I would want to continue running marathons prior to this race, but I had such a good experience that I will definitely do more and will be back for this one again.

The cons for this race were few: A few miles of the course were along a fairly busy state highway - not the worst traffic I've run next to, but definitely a stark comparison next to most of the course, which was quiet and scenic. Seemed like the last aid station was around mile 21 and there could have been one more before the finish, but maybe it was later than that and I was just really tired! The only other thing was that they had a glitch with the timing chips, so start times weren't recorded (damn computers). All times were gun times, but thankfully I kept my own time anyway, so it wasn't a big deal.

Congrats to race organizers and participants on a great event!

I really enjoyed the marathon. The course is tough, with lots of hills, but I still managed to achieve a PB in my 4th marathon. Great support on the course.

I really enjoyed this marathon. The organization was excellent and the volunteers were supportive, helpful and friendly. The race is easy to get to with more than enough parking and all of the amenities that I wanted were at the start/finish area. There were plenty of water, Gatorade and portable toilet locations along the race route. The course had more rolling hills than I expected, but it wasn't too bad and the scenery made up for the hills.

The only suggestion for an improvement that I'd make, and this is minor in the grand scheme of things, is that an information sheet (with race start time, a diagram of the start/finish area and so forth) should provided at the expo for runners. I should note that all of the necessary information was provided on the race's website, but some runners either didn't read the website or forgot what they read, so an information sheet would have been helpful.

Overall, this was a great marathon and I'd do it again.

First time doing the 1/2 - beautiful course... a little hillier than I expected. Great support from other walkers/runners, as well as from the sidelines! Will definitely do this one again!