The fall weather in NW GA was perfect. The course is scenic through gently rolling hills. The volunteers along the way were friendly, even to us back of the packers. The stops had water, powerade, fruit and hard candy. The battlefield is inspiring.

Course was challenging to a degree, but interesting being in the battlefield park. Positives were there was plenty of water stations, miles were marked and accurate, award ceremony was on time and over quickly for out-of towners. Negatives were the water was in plastic cups which break if you bend your cup to drink from, and the last 3/4 of a mile is way too busy with traffic on a road that has no shoulders, no place for a runner to get out of the way of the traffic you shared the road with.

A beautiful rolling course with a built-in double loop in case you missed some of the good stuff the first time through. A Mom & Pop marathon with NYC amenities. The civil war monuments, etc., made this a special marathon. Support was excellent also. Race organizers need to take a serious look at directions to the race. Also the last few miles were treacherous in traffic. I am going to add this one to my 'every year' list. Easily a PR course, as it is not flat but no significant hills. A good family event with picnic areas and a double loop so the kids can holler at you twice.

First time for this event. The course is GREAT except for a few miles which are outside the park where some runners encountered auto traffic but presented no problem for me. Weather was perfect...chilly at the start (35F) then warmed up some (maybe 50ish). Not many spectators but then this is a small event, and the ones there were very friendly.

As a first timer, it was an enjoyable (?!) race. Yes, it was tough to get a pre-race handle on the full course the way it was mapped out (some one-ways through the park). However, it was well-laid out and the volunteers were very helpful and encouraging. The course is relatively flat with mostly wooded areas to offer the runners shade. The race had optimum conditions - temperature in the mid 30s to start and sunny. In general, no complaints and one I would consider doing again. It was nice to receive a framed number for completing a first marathon.

From the bad directions posted on the internet (we wanted to drive the course and packet pick 'begins' @ 6:00) to the over-an-hour long wait standing in line to the race director who almost ran over participants while he was tooling around in his 'vette...did I mention runners shared the last 3 miles with heavy traffic? This marathon was in no way the fun event we thought it would be. Very amateurish...cool shirts & medals okay. LOTS of room for improvement....p.s. I direct a marathon & 10K in my hometown so I have a idea about how to 'do' a race.

Great scenic course & good organization for a small marathon. Not nearly as hilly as you would expect for Chattanooga. Pack a couple of gel packets and an energy bar with you, because the food they hand out (bagels, bananas and cookies) while good quality is not really what you need. The weather was a little on the cold and windy side, but tolerable and certainly better than too hot.

Even though it is a double loop you don't notice it because of the scenic views. Support and fans are excellent. Course is is fair and a great choice for first timers.
Have run this race nine years in a row and continue to look forward to it.

Small, super-friendly marathon. All in all, a pleasurable jaunt through well-preserved battlefield park (which made the hair on this ol' Civil War buff's neck stand on end).
Course, while mostly flat, does have some rolling sections, but overall fairly moderate. Did drop the score one star due to a few sections of rough pavement.
Good organization, including race personnel and course workers, and nice amenities. Again, dropped the score one star because a few of the mile markers were inaccurately placed (c'mon, folks, this is an easy, but ESSENTIAL, one).
Spectators are few (which is just fine with me) but enthusiastic. Aid station workers, including numerous long-timers, are especially supportive. Five stars, since quality is far more important to me than quantity.

(Ran in '00; windy conditions.) Small packet pickup 6-9 pm night before race, so if you plan to tour course, request a course map well beforehand. Volunteers and fellow runners friendly and helpful, though, unfortunately, vols maybe slightly fewer than needed to have top-notch organization. Course: lots of small-to-moderate ups and downs, with a short but cruel uphill series in the last 1.2 miles. Portion through battlefield park very scenic, though with some rough asphalt. Points lost for many mile markers being off. Fans few but reasonably vocal, and Chattanooga TC members had a helpful morale station. Finish area a bit odd... 1-2 steps beyond line is a wall of people and chute is at 90 degree right turn. S/F at elementary school, an uphill from the finish. Gym/hallways/real bathrooms available pre-/post-race. Goodies decent... water, Powerade, coffee, fruit, rolls, pizza. Award ceremony and results processing took much longer than it should have, given that modern technology was used. (Rumor was that a different timer had this duty this yr.) Local sportswriter was a participant and interested in runners' stories.