After searching high and low for my first marathon, I signed up for this one. Great race. I was able to see my wife about five times throughout the race, which kept me going. As a first-time marathoner, I wanted the initial experience to be a positive one and this race really delivered. Three cheers for the organizers.

I had a great time!!!! The organization was excellent. The course and park are beautiful.

I brought my family (wife and kids, six and eight) for the weekend. We highly recommend staying in the Residence Inn in downtown Chattanooga. It's a stone's throw from the riverfront, the GREAT Chattanooga aquarium, the IMAX theater, restaurants, and even the movies. Our thanks go out to the very friendly people of Chattanooga and Northwest Georgia and especially the Chattanooga Running Club for organizing such a great race!!!

Great run past all the different monuments - a real nice run... usually with only one or two other runners. Pulled off another Boston qualifier.... I will be back!

Chickamauga is a keeper. The course is not nearly as difficult (hilly) as the website promises. The park is absolutely beautiful and not at all boring. The marathon has the feel of a run on rural roads and it's a nice escape from the big-city marathons.

Spectators are few and far between, but I was in good company among other runners so I was never lonely. Aid stations are spaced every two miles or so and some had orange slices and bananas as well as powerade/water.

The post-race food was one of the best I've seen after a marathon: Pizza, fruit, homemade soups, assortment of breads, banana pudding. It's inside a church basement, which gives you a chance to sit down in chairs and mingle with the other runners.

The course is well-marked with mile markers, but no time clocks, so wear a watch if you care about splits. Also, the few intersections you cross are staffed for safety so there is no trouble dodging vehicles.

This marathon is a high-quality marathon. There may be few participants (323 this year), but the whole event is well-organized, voluteer-friendly, and hassle-free.

They have pulled the rabbit out of the hat again. The weather turned out great, the course was well marked, and there were a ton of friendly volunteers. This is a great course through a very beautiful setting. I would very much recommend this race to anybody wanting to run a rural marathon.

This was the 3rd different course in the three years I have run this race...each progressively tougher....

Unfortunately this year's run was not my best. A double loop course with a series of progressive hills, so once you got through the first loop you had no misconception about how hard the second was going to be....I started cramping at 20, I ended up walking and running the rest of the course my Friend Patty caught me 22 and we ran to almost 25 together. I walked to the mile marker then caught her again before she finished. We had the 5 kids, my William, Patty's 2, Torrill and her 2 all finishing together...everyone started cheering as we rounded the last corner in mass and holding hands. It will be a great picture....

Bottom line is I didn't train enough for this one....

Great first marathon! Water stations were excellent and the course was not difficult or easy. Great course that I would recommend to anyone.

This was my first marathon, and I ran it on a dare from my best friend. He dared me about three months prior to the event, so I had a little time to train, but not nearly enough, with all my college studies and all. I decided to go for it anyway. The volunteers and runners alike were all extremely helpful and encouraging, since I wore a "first-timer's" number and they knew I was new to it all. The course was amazing, the food was great, and the fact that the event takes place right when all the leaves are red, yellow, and orange just adds to the beautiful backdrop of the Civil War battlefield. Amazing experience. And although my legs were immobile after four hours of running (I finished in 4:02), I will continue to run these races until my body no longer is able to. Incredible race. Definitely recommended.

I wasn't sure what I was getting into. I chose this marathon because it was relatively close to where I live. We drove in Friday night and we didn't even drive the course. I finally, after seven tries, obtained my Boston qualifying time! I would highly recommend this course to everyone. Although the crowd support isn't huge (though neither is the marathon), the course is so nice and peaceful that you don't care. I can't say enough. Good job you guys!

I spent the marathon on Veteran's Day Weekend ruminating on the sadness of the place (34,624 total casualties, US 16,170, CS 18,454, according to the National Park Service). I thought about the men that died there and felt terrible for their children, who did not know they had lost a daddy on that day, but they had. It made me think about the men who marched marathon distances regularly in leather boots. I am glad that I went to this marathon, but I would not do it again. 2006 was a gray, misty day, with brownish-red oak leaves swirling down from the sky. This weather formed the backdrop for the granite monuments that constantly remind what happened there. Organization was good.