A well run race. Some issues were out of the race organizers' hands, like the potholes, bare trees and lack of spectators. I did not like walkers blocking the path within 1.2 miles of the finish. They definitely need to work on the finisher medals. The few small humps at the end kind of hurt the quads. The race shirt is cool but I will probably never wear it except on Halloween. Aid stations were properly spaced. The few port-a-johns did not affect me, but I could see it being an issue for the females. Good post-race food. I cannot comment on the expo because I never made it. I would probably run this race again but not until they address the cheap medals and the loud shirt I can never wear.

Very well organized. Volunteers were very helpful and encouraging. GU packs galore - almost at every water station. Plenty of bathrooms if needed. Course is very scenic in Hines park at the new location in Dearborn. I flew up from Texas to run this, and grew up in MI.

Super PR course. It's a little hilly, but it had the rolling kind of hills, and no steep monsters.

Post-race food was incredible: Pizza bagels, bananas, cookies, you name it... eat 'til you pop.

Great, quirky awards and a unique theme. Martians littering the course and mile markers, and a roving Martian Patrol van - "The Martians are Coming." Fun, fun, fun.

Got a PR, and I finished 5th in the 35-40 age range, so I got a cool martini glass emblazoned with the Martian Marathon logo.

This was my first 1/2 and I didn't know what to expect, but the martians made my day. We had a great time on a course that was a little hilly; the hardest part was the long quarter-mile turns that were hard on the hips. The aid stations were perfectly located. Great finish. Overall, a great time. Oh, and we lucked out and got some of the best running weather; it was 40 degrees and sunny at 7 a.m.

This is one of the best marathons I have run. The organization was flawless. The course was just what they stated - fast and mostly flat. A great time in a great part of the country.

Pros: registration easy, cool shirt, course through park without traffic, great volunteers at the aid stations, getting to use the park bathrooms (i.e., actual toilets!), fun theme, easy parking and getting to start line, great food at finish line, terrific weather.

Cons: If you're gonna have a course through a park system, why have it on April 6th, when everything is gray, muddy and barren? If you wait another 3-4 weeks, it would have been green, with birds, flowers, better scenery. There were virtually zero spectators, and there was no entertainment along course. I didn't like ending in a parking lot, and I thought the medal could have been better.

...I must say that the last marathon I did was the NYC Marathon; that marathon's 38,000 runners and huge size made these pros seem better, and the cons seem worse (i.e., having easy parking and easy registration and easy leaving finish here sure beat taking two hours for packet pickup; a two-hour subway, ferry, and bus ride to the start line three hours early, and being corralled for an hour or more, and having to walk an extra mile to get out there.

Because we had the tremendous scenery of all of NYC, the skyline, all five boroughs, thousands of rowdy, cheering race fans, and the diversity of the runners there made the lack of scenery on the course, the lack of fan support and small number of runners here seemed like an extra "con."

One other thing: My buddy, John, ran the half and dressed in full alien makeup, which everyone seemed to love! He should have gotten some kind of enthusiasm prize! I couldn't believe he did it!

Overall, I enjoyed the race, even though my time wasn't good because of a lack of sufficient training.

Pros: reasonable entry fee, fun inflatable "martian" markings each mile, closed course/no traffic, plenty of yummy pizza and chocolate chip cookies at the end, A+ weather (except wind should have been reversed), plenty of aid, and we got a great deal on a pair of ASICS at the expo on Sat. Come to Dearborn next year!

Run by the Henry Ford Estate, then stay for a trip to nearby historic Greenfield Village!

Cons: nope!

Wonderful local race. Took my kids to the 1.2-mile run on Saturday and was surprised to find 500 kids racing. Loud and wild t-shirt goes perfectly with the theme. It's nice to have something different from the typical shirt.

Sparse crowds have their advantages. It seems like most of the water stops had GU, and as you approached them, it was easy to tell the volunteer that you wanted a GU. Volunteers were very helpful. With so few runners (300 or so), you can't expect the crowds to be large.

Probably most importantly, the small amount of runners combined with a closed course made it easy to run the tangents. My Garmin gave me a total of 26.27 miles, substantially down from the 26.7 I recorded at the relatively small Royal Victoria.

My one criticism of the course is that loop in the parking lot at the end. It would seem like a relatively easy fix to extend the out-and-back 200 yards on Hines Drive.

This was my first marathon NOT in a big city, and it was a great experience, even after a pulled hamstring ruined what could have been a personal best time.

The organization and attitude from the volunteers were awesome. There was ample parking, no wait at registration, beverages and gels were well stocked at every station, and there was a lot of food (healthy and bad stuff) at the end.

If you run these things enough, you have a collection of generic running shirts... but the Martian Marathon jersey is anything but generic. Very original and I like it, even if I'm not sure where I'd ever wear it.

The course is pleasant and smooth. My only complaint is that the roads get very rough at points, particularly at the start and in the final couple miles. This isn't uncommon on Michigan roads, but they probably could have done something to avoid it, especially in the final stretch.

Great gimmick for a run, with great T-shirt, and nice mile markers, but no on-course entertainment and a wimpy finisher's medal. I would really like to give higher marks for organization, but packet pickup on Sat. morning was an absolute disaster. Once I had my bib, the rest went really smoothly - lots of volunteers, lots of water stops, and lots of free Gu. It's a great setup to have a support crew, with major roads crossing overhead every mile. The race would be a lot more fun if the organizers could camp up the theme even more - give prizes for costumes or special volunteer troops en route. With no on-course entertainment, it gets a bit dull if you don't have an iPod. And post-race beer, please!

Weather could not have been better for the 2008 Martian Marathon. The aid stations were well stocked and volunteers cheered me on when they saw me coming. The course is a lonely one, perhaps not the right choice for someone who needs the moral support. The traffic-free route was great, but I made two wasted trips to restrooms that were closed, so a few more porta-johns are a must. Good job, Running Fit.