Beautiful marathon course! The wind whipping through the canyon was certainly a challenge that I was not prepared for. The hills were long (the hill that begins just before mile 22 is more than a mile long). Contrary to other reviews, the last 3 miles are not all downhill. Prepare yourself. Excellent volunteers at all the aid stations! Course was long (26.41) even with running the inside of all of the curves. As mentioned before by other reviewers the camber of the road can be hard on the legs. Interesting finisher shirt. Overall not a bad marathon for someone wanting to enjoy the scenery and not concerned with a PR.

Others have addressed the beautiful scenic course. Including the snow at the start the entire experience was memorable. The excellently organized event is hosted by RD's Bob & Lenore Dolphin. Beginning with the pre-race pasta dinner, all that makes a great Marathon happen and the post-race dinner/award event the entire weekend was a classic. The 2012 YRCM was Bob Dolphin's 500th. Marathon. It was a privilege to be a part of the festivities.

I give spectators 5 stars because the ones who were out there were awesome!! I regret missing the pasta party. I heard it was excellent... but I flew out the day before on the 6 a.m. flight from Boston, and we had a snowstorm, so I was delayed. At least made it the morning of the race! Loved getting a cotton t-shirt since I have so many tech shirts now! The race organizers and volunteers were excellent! Loved being able to buy my picture at the finish... and such a nice presentation with the course and rose! Runners were very friendly. I'll never forget the course views... I ran with my camera and have a great slide show! What a great West Coast marathon - sweet memories!!

This race had majestic views that created a mood of serenity. This was one race where I didn't care that there were not a lot of fans because the scenery was all you needed. It even distracted me from a couple of pretty wicked hills. The lone ghetto blaster placed in a rock at the top of the hill playing "Highway to Hell" was classic. I would definitely tell friends about this one!

This is a race that is designed for runners and not as a backdrop for corporate logos. Heck, the shirt has no sponsor logos. Plus the competitors seem to be the friendliest of any race that I've done.

The race is a pure point-to-point, with no backtracking. The race loses about 300' over the 26 miles, but there are hills at 14, 18 and 23 miles (mile 23 is the high point so the last 3 miles lose 100' apiece - it's nice to have gravity's assistance when you need it most). The course is on a state highway, so it is fairly wide, and the hills are not steep. The first 5 miles are OK scenery-wise, but the last 21 are about as good as it gets. Aside from the 3 hills where the course pulls away from the river, the river is your companion. The walls of the canyon shoot up at about 45 degrees about 1,500' above the river. There are portions where you will be running along the base of 200' cliffs. This is a desert canyon. There was a small rockslide caused by some bighorn sheep above us. Due to clouds in the distance we were not treated to a view of Mt. Adams at the 25 mile mark. It seemed that there were 2 or 3 times as many cars on the road this year.

There had been heavy rains the previous days, so instead of the clear Yakima River, the river looked like chocolate milk, with a few logs and branches along for the ride (unlike in previous years, the river was traveling faster than runners were).

The course is closed, so aside from the aid stations (as always staffed by wonderful people), their are no spectators - only the other runners.

This was my first marathon and I can't wait for next year. Lenore Dolphin has to be the best race director anywhere. There are two challenging hills late in the run but they are doable. The fantastic scenery and enthusiastic, supportive volunteers make the miles fly by. Every marathoner should seriously consider this race.

Great, scenic course, mostly downhill, with a little wind at times. Good aid stations every couple of miles.

Pros: This is a terrific race. Incredibly scenic course; I saw several deer and hawks during the run. There are not a lot of spectators. However, the course volunteers are very friendly and enthusiastic. The course has several hills, so this most likely won't be a good PR-course.

Cons: The shuttle service is confusing and may not run often enough, especially towards the latter part of the day when more finishers are coming in. They have loud music at the last hill. This may be a matter of personal taste, but I found the blaring music distracting and rather unpleasant. However, it may have helped some folks get to the top of the hill.

Overall, it is a well done race and well worth running.

Great run. I strongly disagree with the comments/attitude of M.L., from Walla Walla, WA in a previously posted review. I fail to remember a single car passing fast. There may have been only 20 or 30 cars along the entire 26.2 miles. In my view, all appeared careful and slow. This course, for a road, was possibly the safest run provided I have ever been on over several dozen races. I also want safety. Next to a trail run, Yakima Canyon Marathon is about as safe as it gets.

My one suggestion is to clarify the bus shuttle timing. From where do they leave, and where do they drop off? I wasted a lot of time, along with others, hoping to catch a bus to the showers and back to the start line after the race. The buses were a great provision, but even the volunteers could not tell us what the bus routes included.

Gorgeous scenery. I love the personal touches that race directors Lenore and Bob did for all of the people who came to the race! They gave out flowers at the end, and recognized the first marathoners, or marathoners who'd run all 10 races, or people doing their 100th, 200th, etc. Love the pics available on the site for $10 - instead of Brightroom or ASI charging $5 shipping just for a picture! The pasta dinner was good, and the speakers were entertaining. Beautiful age awards for all categories! Lots of door prizes. I love the Dolphins (RD's), and love the course! Highly recommended!