This was the first time that I ran this race and it was simply beautiful. The course is fast and you run under a canopy of foliage. I really enjoyed it and plan to be back. My only recommendations would be to have some sort of clock at the halfway point, with breakfast and soda at miles 18 through 20. Overall, a great, small race!!!

Hard to believe this was the 26th running of the event. We sent in our apps weeks ago specifying our shirt size. When we got to the expo, we are told that there were no more small shirts, which is inexcusable. This was my wife's first marathon and she wanted a shirt to remember it by. The medium is way too big for her. My large shirt fits me like a tent. Both are off to Goodwill. Our purchased bus tickets were totally ignored by the bus driver the next day.

Course goes through residential streets for around 5 miles when you get a stunning view of the Mohawk. After that, you don't see it much at all. There was little warning of water stops ahead; most were hidden from view by turns and it was not until you were upon it did you know they were there. One water stop was at the bottom of a dip and absolutely hidden from view until you were right over it. No time to suck down a GU. After grabbing water from the stop, there was a steep (but very short) embankment to climb while gulping down a cup of water. Threw off my stride completely. Would have been much better for the runners to have that stop at the top of the dip. When my wife encountered a stop further down, they were completely out of cups. Runners had to queue up to gulp water directly from the gallon water jugs. Some runners picked up previously-used cups off the ground and poured water into them. The following stop also ran out of cups, so they pulled the table completely off the course.

At the finish, we had to climb down a steep embankment to get water/Gatorade and carbs. No protein whatsoever. Climbing down and back up that embankment was cruel for those of us who just finished the marathon.

Drivers in Cohoes and Waterviet where oblivious to a marathon in their towns. The volunteers did a fantastic job trying to direct traffic, but many drivers chose simply to ignore them. The bike paths throughout the course and especially in Albany had many cyclists that had to be dodged. They have a right to the path as much as we do, but I wish we didn't have to deal with them to avoid a collision.

All of the previous comments on this board are correct. I had fun running this race, except through the towns. The net downhill of the course is barely noticeable, which is good for the quads. My hat goes off to the volunteers, who did a fantastic job. I liked that the half started at the same time we did, but 13.1 miles away. Too may events have the half and full run together, which makes for a very crowded first half of a marathon

Overall I enjoyed this course and race a great deal. It was scenic, flat and fast. There were volunteers all along the course to direct you and more spectators than I expected who cheered for all the runners. I don't remember steep downhills and there were basically no inclines.

The weather was excellent and I enjoyed talking with other runners during the race. I did not BQ, as I was not able to maintain my speed the last 3 miles. I will be back at some point to try again.

I would have liked a bit more of an expo, and I found it annoying that I could not get the size shirt I requested. What is the point of registering EARLY for a certain size shirt but not being able to get it because you didn't arrive early enough? I missed that in the race info. I did like the opportunity to pass on many race t-shirts that I never wear. I also would have liked food at more of the aid stations. I felt it necessary to carry my own.

This was my first small marathon and I wasn't sure if I would like it but surprisingly I did. I agree with a previous racer that the end of the course was not well monitored for spectators. I had to veer around a couple with a young child in a stroller.

Overall, though, I had a great time and will be back.

This was my second marathon and it was a very good experience. The course is very nice for the most part, on a trail through the woods, along the river. The course is a little less nice when you are running along the highway, but that is only for a short distance (in marathon talk anyway).

My biggest issue was that there is no course map. The closest you get is a 16-page spectator guide, which details directions to get to various points along the race to cheer on participants. Don't get me wrong; this is a very nice thing to have. But as a runner, I would have really liked to know where it was that I was running. I didn't find out until after the race that there were mile markers posted on Google Earth! I don't understand why they couldn't connect the points and map it out so they could print it and hand it out with the schwag bag.

Oh, I really appreciated the sneaker recycling at the packet pick up. Overall, this is a race I would do again. And yes, it is fast; I qualified for Boston!

This is a small, well organized, pretty well-spectated event that has an excellent course, great volunteers and a fast finish. A few steep downhills, but overall, it's flat or slightly graded. There's a mentally tough section out on roads open to traffic (though there are lots of course marshals to ensure safety), but it's mostly on beautiful shaded bike paths. I loved it and highly recommend it - I also BQ'd, so that made me love it even more.

This was my first small-scale marathon and it was amazing. The race director/staff responded directly to emails and this personal touch carried through to race pickup and race day. The volunteers at the drink stations provided incredible support and worked tirelessly to get water and Gatorade into our hands.

My only suggestions are to (a) see if the host hotel can make better accommodations for runners, e.g., by serving an early breakfast (breakfast started at 6:30 a.m., 30 minutes before the buses left for the start) and arranging for guaranteed late checkout (we were told we had to call the morning of race day to see what the deal was); (b) add more clocks at key points of the course; and (c) start the awards ceremony earlier.

But all in all, a special and memorable race. I will be back.

I thought this race was great. I've run big-city marathons (Boston, Chicago) and small marathons (Delaware, Steamtown) and I thought this race was a success. There wasn't much of an expo and I really wasn't expecting one. Easy in, easy out. There was a good running vibe at the host hotel (Crowne Plaza) throughout the weekend. I thought the course was really nice; it had good views of the river and fall foliage. I didn't notice a lot of downhill running... there were a couple of short, steep declines, a few little inclines, and a lot of flat running. I thought the fans were great. I wasn't expecting a lot of them, but there seemed to be pockets of them every two miles or so. The volunteers did a good job; one even caught up to me to hand me some water when he noticed I dropped the cup at the exchange. Great weather in 2008 too! I highly recommend this course, especially for a fast time and Boston qualifying.

This was a race I'd definitely recommend; aid stations were well placed/stocked, with great volunteers working them. Course was mostly on a well-maintained bike path and was quite scenic overall. That it was predominantly on the path did prevent it from having as many spectators along the way, though there were certainly sections where spectators were heavy in numbers (and all of those that were there were very enthusiastic and supportive of all the runners). Great race to run if you're trying for a PR or trying to qualify for Boston!

At the upper end of my early sixties, I needed the elevation drop to help me get under 4:00 one more time to qualify for Boston. For 18.5 miles it seemed it was going to be easy, but running downhill, even slightly, does take its toll and by mile 22, my pace had gone up to 10 min./mile. It was all I could do to muster a bit more energy to stay under a 10:00 min. pace to finish under 4:00. MHRM is a better choice than Steamtown because if I had been at the same pace at Steamtown, the hill at mile 25 would have put me over the time.

I agree with all of the comments about more porta-johns at the start, but since the buses get you there well over 40 minutes early, standing in line is one way to pass the time. The other observation, is what my wife saw near the finish: The last 3/8 of a mile is along the river near downtown Albany. Lots of people use it to walk or play. My wife says kids were riding around on the path on bikes, totally ignoring the approaching runners. The organization needs to do a better job of getting others to respect the runners near the finish.

I have run this race 3 times, as I live here. I've also traveled to different races/places. I can honestly say that this race could be improved with more toilets at the beginning. The course is fast: slightly downhill on a bike trail that runs along the beautiful Mohawk and Hudson Rivers. The race ends in the New York State Capital along the river. There are many spots for spectators to view and cheer on the runners. I would be happy to answer any questions regarding this event.