The race was very scenic with great views of fall foliage and monuments. Try running with someone who knows the history. The shirt and medal look great. The post-race banana pudding alone was worth it. The course was not that difficult for the area. On the down side, the first 2 water stops did not have water ready for the mass of runners, and spectators are not present on most of the course.

Beautiful course in a great location. I enjoyed the race - good organization and everything. Not a lot of spectators because of the layout of the course, so you can't rely on much extra encouragement/motivation. It challenged me, though, and I'd like to try it again!

This was a good race, with a beautiful course, although it is hilly. (The hills didn't seem bad the first time around, but did the second loop!) The organization was good in general, but there were three negatives though: race started 15 minutes late, not enough people at some water stops (had to get the water myself), and there was nothing to drink at the end of the marathon!!! They had coolers of water set up, but no cups when I finished. Organizers should have volunteers handing out water/sports drink after the race, and never let something like that happen. One of the best parts about the race was staying at the Captain's Quarters B&B, which was literally yards from the start line! Very nice owners and good accommodations. Reserve your room early for next year.

The course was perfect... a fall run through a heavily wooded course. And the trees were peaking in color! I think I'm spoiled, as this set the standard for marathons. It's going to be hard to beat this one. There were frequent aid stations with friendly and encouraging volunteers. The organization of the event, the perfect fall weather, the after-race food and festivities, the special pictures after the race and a FIRST-TIMER GIFT of my BIB NUMBER in a FRAME with the marathon name/date made this event even more special. The spectators who were there were great; but it's hard to have a lot of spectators in the woods. :o) I will definitely be back for this one, though. Race in this one before it gets too big! Almost everything in town was about the race!

I had a great time at this race. Beautiful course and even better running the second loop in the sunshine. Much flatter than I expected. I come from a hilly place (Cincinnati) and I would describe this as mostly flat with some very gently rolling sections. My only criticisms would be for the late start (about 15 minutes late! not sure why), and the line for the finish line food. They let the "Junior Marathoners" run their 1-mile loop through the finish line at about the same time that the 4-hour marathoners were finishing. While the Junior Marathon is a worthy idea - encouraging kids to be physically fit - I would have been personally irritated to have to share my finish line with kids who were just running a mile as I finished the marathon. Since I got there around 4:30, they were done, but the kids and their families (and that was the most irritating part!) were all on the line for the supposedly great finish line food. I waited a few minutes in line and then gave up. So I would suggest maybe a separate food line for marathoners. Otherwise, a very nice event that I would come back for, if I were in the area.

Scenic course amidst peak fall foliage; deer actually stand on the side of the road and watch the runners. Great support. Great shirts and medals. First-time finishers received framed duplicate race bibs with their names on them - a really nice touch. Highly recommended.

I traveled all the way from Elberton, Georgia. I had tried to make arrangements to come up the night before only to find out a little too late that I did not have a reservation. I didn't let that stop me from running my first marathon. I had to leave home at 3:00 a.m. to make it to the race by 7:00 a.m. When I made it to the race, everything went very smoothly. I was able to pick up my number and chip and head to the start line. When the race finally started, I was a little overwhelmed by the 1,300 runners. I have never participated in a race that had more than 500 people. All worked out for the best. I met a lot of nice people and had a wonderful time. My time was not anything to brag about, but I will definitely be ready for next year. Thank you to the organizers. I appreciate all of your hard work. I will be encouraging friends to do this one next year.

I have run 2 marathons - this one, with 1,400 runners, and Chicago with 45,000+. The good: You got to run your own pace, the runners were friendly and the volunteers were great. There were plenty of aid stations with more than enough hydration and fuel to keep you going. The leaves still held their autumn color and the weather conditions were ideal. (It was 38 degrees to start and 62 at the finish.) More than half of the runners ran the 1/2 marathon so there were far fewer people after 13 miles. The course does the same loop twice so you know what to expect the second time around. The long, slow, gradual hill from 5 - 7 miles welcomes you back at 18 - 20.

The bad: really nothing at all. The race was a little unorganized, with a 15-minute delay at the start, and packet pickup seemed to take longer than necessary, but not a deal-breaker. The pasta dinner is served in a grade school cafeteria and is catered by Tony's Italian Restaurant. Tony's happens to be located 1/4-mile away so you could save the $10 and eat at their location instead. We were only allowed one pass through the food line.

I would run this one again in a heartbeat. Very much enjoyed!

This run is overrated. It is a very challenging course with only 2 porta-potties on the entire course (and even then, they weren't visible, so I missed going at that point). So I was miserable for 4 or 5 more miles. I had a great pace but the bathroom issue was serious. I had a BQ time until this bathroom issue came up and I could not get to a facility at the right time. If I had been able to find the porta-potty at 4 miles, I think I could have recovered much better. Then at mile 12 or 13 mile the porta potty was still not visible and then only one facility with a line. Many complaints by those waiting in line. All marathons, small or large, should have good facilities visible and on the course. Girls are not keen on going in the woods and I lost a lot of time due to waiting too long and then this caused more difficulties. All other marathons, even smaller than this one, have these facilities available and visible.

I thought the race starting 15 minutes late was very inconsiderate. If you are going to run a marathon, you should be registered in plenty of time and not hold up the race for a few people that decided to run on the day of the marathon. All the runners had taken in their fluids in prep for the marathon and then it was delayed. A marathon is a serious training event, and due to this, the marathon registration should have been cut off within a week before the race. I did like the people on the route cheering us on. But the buses going down the trails were very annoying and hard to run around. The bikers who aided us were great. I just think that in the future you need to organize the facilities better, start on time and have the expo as advertised. My husband and I have run many other marathons and this one was not as organized as others we have done. I was surprised to hear people so positive about this course. But even with these problems, I still knocked of 20 minutes from a marathon time from last year.

I had heard great things about this marathon and decided to run it this year as part of my training for another marathon.

I liked the feel of the small race, but I think the organizers hurt themselves by adding a half-marathon this year.

The first water/PowerAde station wasn't ready for the number of runners. I had to wait in line to get something to drink. They needed a larger area for the stops and more available while the half-marathoners were on the course.

They also only had 2 porta-potties on the course. Since you ran the loop twice, you had 4 bathroom chances... but since there was only 1 bathroom at each stop there was usually a line, especially when the half-marathoners were on the course. I really did not like this. They needed more bathrooms. I don't want to have to go in the woods when I'm on a race course. I also shouldn't have to stand in a line with 8 people to use the bathroom. I've never run a race where they didn't have several bathrooms at a stop so that you'd only have to wait behind 1-2 people tops.

I also found that the aid stations were out of the fruit and cookies when I made the second loop on the marathon. The post-race food spread was good, but they were getting pretty low when I finished.

It's not a great race for spectators. They offered a shuttle to take spectators to various spots, but my spectators said this worked better in theory than in reality. They only got to see me one time. The course isn't really set up for spectators to access easily, so if you want a race with a lot of spectators, this isn't it.

Because of the small field, you also end up running alone sometimes during the second loop of the full. If you don't like being lonely, this isn't a good race for you.

I enjoyed the fall scenery and thought it was a good little marathon for being a small race, but I do think if they're going to continue to have a half-marathon that they need to be MUCH better prepared for the number of people. I feel like the half-marathoners gotten well taken care of while those of us running the full were just getting the bottom of the barrel on everything during our second loop.

I probably won't run this again (there are too many other races to try!), but I'd still recommend it to others as long as the race organizers are better prepared in the future.