I loved this course. I guess some don't agree, but I thought the scenery was gorgeous. The volunteers were all friendly and supportive, and the organization of the race was great. I enjoyed the finish on the track.

The Montana Marathon was my 40th marathon and my 37th state. I thought that overall, it was nicely done. The near perfect weather and fast course were additional bonuses and helped me finish in my fastest time since 1992.

If I have any criticism at all, it was in the almost complete lack of traffic control. Rimrock Road was a little scary at times. As we got into the the heart of Billings, I thought the volunteers with the stop signs were very brave to step out in front of traffic considering how oblivious most of the drivers were. The $45 entry fee seemed a bit steep for a race with no police protection.

Otherwise, the technical fabric shirt, the unique medal, and the friendly volunteers were much appreciated. The wet washcloth at the finish was a nice touch. Nice job.

Very efficiently run race, just to echo what's been said. YMCA races are a favorite of mine, and this one has a super group of exceptional volunteers. Great bargain, in terms of shirt, host hotel, pasta dinner and organization. Course is well staffed with volunteers at aid stations and traffic crossings, and finishing on the track is a nice touch. The slant of the road on the last 5 miles or so is a bit tough, the first 3 miles on gravel made you glad when it ended, and there's some traffic to contend with on the way into town, but nothing life-threatening and law enforcement is out and riding the road. As far as I can see, that's the only downside, and if you're reading this, you'll be mentally prepared and that should take care of it. One of the more pleasant post-race gatherings I've been at, with races for little kids, good, fast award ceremony, and variety of food and drinks.

First of all, let me preface by saying that the organizers seemed like nice, caring people who wanted to put on a good race. Unfortunately, there were some problems.

First, there was not enough water on the course; a major fault considering the potential for heat in the summer.

Second, the course runs unprotected over the great plains in the early morning hours, when Bubba and Hoss are just coming back from a night on the town, and don't take too kindly to all them skinny out-of-towners clogging up their speedway.

Third, the course starts out beautifully into the sunrise. We also saw some pronghorns. But soon enough, the direct sunlight gets to you, and the tedium of the sun in your face while running uphill over featureless terrain (the only thing to do is count the power lines as you pass them) can get a little old, a little quickly.

Fourth, nobody in Billings seems to notice or care that there is a marathon going on. Fair enough, but a little community support would be nice.

Finally, there is not much going on at the finish line to warrant sticking around very long afterwards.

I ran this in 2000 and 2002, and am just now commenting because I'd hope to see improvements that could encourage me to run it again. It's not at all badly done, given that you're in Montana--where Big Sky means pretty much empty of people (as in spectators). Organizers can't do much about that, but I hope they address a few frayed edges:

1. Heat. It's too early in the year for the baking plains of Montana. The start, way out in the country at 7 am, isn't too bad, except for running into the blistering morning sun. But you end up on the pavement of Billings at 10 am to noon, and the temps by now are mid-80s with unrelenting sun. This race begs for Oct. or even early Nov.

2. Volunteer goof-ups. Maybe this is part & parcel, but in 2000 the bus driver got lost and kept stalling, so we disembarked at 6:50--ergo, no warm-up. In 2002, after finishing, I went back to the ice tub for a 2nd bottle of water and the volunteer said no! Only one per runner! Good thing no one suffered heat stroke & sued them.

On the plus side, in '02 I got my coolest race shirt ever--a black tech job with a very small & tasteful green logo. And the folks who mention scenery are right--it's spectacular, especially for non-residents. In '00, at about mile 3, we looked in a field by the road and saw about 10 pronghorns--not only a fantastic animal in their own right, but also the chosen symbol of this marathon!

This is a great marathon. The point-to-point course is extremely scenic, especially in the beginning of the race. You run past fields of horses and other breathtaking views.

You're on a slight incline for the first ten miles or so, and then it's all downhill with some flat areas until the finish. It's a great race for a PR.

Billings is a beautiful city, and the people are very friendly. The race director knows what she's doing here. This is highly recommended.

I ran the 2004 Montana Marathon and it was my very first. The weather was good, course was good and the race was well organized. Views were awesome. I would run this race again if I have the chance. One improvement would be number or spectators, especially miles 20-26. Great race.

I thoroughly enjoyed the race and my first visit to Montana. The Billings community was so friendly and helpful, including everyone from the airport security to the car rental agents, hotel, restaurant, retail outlets, local folks including the race staff and volunteers, spectators, fellow runners and Forest Rangers. The weather was excellent too, sunny and warm on Saturday for sightseeing, overcast and cool on Sunday for the race, snow in YNP on Monday, mild at Lil? Bighorn on Tuesday.

Back to the race. Race organization was first rate in my opinion: the packet pick-up went smoothly, the goody bag and nice quality Coolmax shirt were appreciated, the pasta dinner included all you could eat two kinds of sauce, bread, green beans, and chocolate brownies ? all for $5. On Sunday morning, there was parking aplenty in front of the YMCA so that you can sit inside the Y until the buses loaded up to the start in Molt. The course was very good, two-lane blacktop rolling in the first half, mild downhill into the residential area on the second half, but not quad-killers. I enjoyed the Big Sky openness of the race; even the 3 miles of gravel were not a problem. Traffic was sparse as were the spectators, but it was a cool Sunday morning.

At the finish line they handed out wet towels in anticipation of a hot day, though Mylar blankets might have been more appropriate. I asked a volunteer for an extra trash bag to cover my shoulders, but I should have used the ?gear drop? option ? my fault. They had peanut butter and honey sandwiches, my favorite post-race food, and the awards started right on time. The age group awards were nice quality caps with embroidered Montana Marathon 26.2, the medals were nice (though I wish the year was engraved); but hey, this was a fund raiser for the YMCA kids, and any expense saved went to that ?cause? which I support (notice the entry was only $45). The walk from the finish line back to the YMCA was about 4 blocks ? I asked a fellow runner for ride, no problem.

I took a side visit to Yellowstone, easy 150 miles on the interstate (Beartooth Pass was closed due to snow). The park is amazing if you?ve never seen it ? especially in the snow. I also took a side trip the opposite direction to Little Bighorn Battlefield ?also worth the trip.

The whole experience was wonderful and I thoroughly recommend it ? can you tell? But you must persevere in tracking the information online. The 2004 race info was not linked until August and then the information was buried within the ?registration PDF?.

This race was very well organized from packet pickup to post race activities. The shirt was the best one I have gotten, an actual microfiber running shirt as opposed to another cotton Tshirt. The elevation decline is a little distorted because most of it comes over three long downhill stretches. The course also starts with 3 1/2 miles of dirt road which was easy to run on but the race director should look into controlling the amount of traffic on that part of the course because cars and buses kicked up a lot of dust. If you don't like running alone for large stretches or need a lot of spectators, this is not the race for you.

The race management and volunteers could not have been friendlier. The downhill course, cool morning, and light breeze made for an enjoyable marathon. The pasta party was a great value where runners could meet old friends or make new ones. My wife and I made the front page of the newpaper and John Standish sent us a copy to make sure we had seen it.