This is a great race to run in order to fine tune your running program for a spring marathon. The course is mainly bike path and roads. The course gets very congested, so utilize the roads, even though race management tells you not to. The race had great volunteers with water and GU in many locations. Do this one as a training run (only seven dollars, includes a great shirt.) Hats off to the martians!!!!!!!

I entered this marathon at the last moment as I was one of the disappointed thousands from the cancelled Washington DC marathon the week before. It was my 6th marathon and by far the smallest field (185 marathoners). The race director was great with my email questions, thanks Tami.
The surprise: a 4:17 PB! on a course that has those hills at the end. The only problem was at one of the major intersections the 2 volunteers couldn't hold back the traffic so we had to wait fot the light. But overall the organization and food were just what was required (there is a Tim Hortons coffee shop at the start/finish if you don't like the race's bagels, bananas or muffins).
Try a small marathon like this one.

I've run this race twice now: 2002 and 2003. Both years were cold and windy, this year particularly raw, last year particularly windy.

The course follows scenic Hines Park Drive for about 20 of the 26 miles (10 out and 10 back) and is run mostly on the sidewalk next to the drive. It has several short hilly sections, with some of the hills being quick, steep chutes up and down. This is especially challenging on the return trip when you're tired and it's likely to be going into the wind. This year some of the sidewalks were covered with water and you had to either run in the muddy grass or risk the traffic on Hines Drive. Not a PR course and not for the faint of heart, but a good challenge and definitely a character building race.

Other than race marshalls and volunteers there were very few spectators. There were a couple of 'designated rooters' who seemed to follow the race in their cars, parking and cheering you on several different places along the way. But in general it was pretty lonely. Last year (2002) I walked a large part of the miles 19 - 24 and it felt almost deserted out there.

I agree with most of the other comments regarding organization (generally above average) and post-race amenities (average to below average).

Since I am a local (I live in Dexter, near Ann Arbor), I'll probably run this race annually, but I'll treat it as a long training run for other marathons. Next up this year (as last): Big Sur.

This marathon is fine for a veteran marathoner who isn't looking for the thrill of a big city race. I ran it in 2002 and still haven't received my age group award.. perhaps I never will. The finish line area was just a small tent with some food - again nothing special. With how bad the weather was in 2002, there was no chance of people sticking around for an hour or more to wait for awards. If the organization is half as good as people here have indicated, maybe those age group awards will get mailed prior to the 2003 race.

If you want a stress-free marathon, this one is for you. Registraton & packet pickup were all a breeze. Also, we stayed at a hotel just a mile down the road which meant we could stay warm, use the bathrooms, etc. just minutes before the start. The race is extremely well organized and the course is scenic (out-&-back course). For such a small marathon, they had an amazing selection of marathon merchandise. The t-shirts had a great design! I believe this marathon will grow a great deal in the future.

General comments....I think I can categorize this race into two categories--good and bad.

The area where the race is run is beautiful, you run along tree lined roads and bike paths. The scenery
is beautiful. There was plenty of fluid along the route and the volunteers were very enthusiastic.

Now for the rest of the race... Maybe I have been spoiled by running other larger marathons, but this race being in its second year still has a long way to go. The package pickup was just that, you got your shirt and chip. As for the chip, I don't understand what the need for the chip is, the only time you run past a carpet that registers the chip is at the end.
I thought the idea of the chip was to register your time at different points of the course, so people wouldn't cheat, but I forgot marathon runners are all honest (Rosie Ruiz?). Also, if you run this race wear a watch, if you care about your time, because there are no clocks along the route. After you reach half-marathon and turn around, you are basically on your own.
If this is your first marathon, I would not recommend it, the hills are very rolling and would only recommend it, if you have trained in the area. If I would have paid $50 for race day sign up, I would
have really been mad. The post-race spread
was lacking. Bagels cut into quarters, muffins cut into quarters, Gatorade that was hand-mixed that I drank and spit out because it tasted awful. When arriving for package pick-up and was told that
there would be 1000 participants, and after
looking at results between half and full marathon, there was not even 500 participants. If there would have been 1000 participants I guarantee they would have run out of food.

This was my third marathon in 3 months--I am attempting to run 12 marathons in 12 months.

This was the smallest marathon that I have run to date (this was my 9th marathon), but I was pleasantly surprised. The race was well-organized thanks to Tami, the race director. The course was scenic, although hilly. Support stations were adequately manned and supplied. Not much crowd support, but that is understandable with a smaller marathon, and a cold, windy day. Like others, the strong, sustained winds in the latter half of the race were what bothered me the most. The course would have been beautiful in the Spring or Fall, but I know they ran it in March, because that is the month associated with Mars.

All in all my experience with this race was very good. My family and I had a nice weekend visiting the Detroit/Windsor area. I would definitely recommend this race to runners in the Midwest who prefer the smaller, more intimate marathons rather than the large 'cattle call' marathons.

Next stop in April: The Inaugural Lakeshore Marathon (in Chicago)

I decided to run this marathon 4 days before start time. I had an 800+ mile drive and was nervous about pulling all of the pre-race stuff together. Fortunately, the race director was easy to contact, answered in a timely manner, and exceptionally helpful. We communicated numerous times via email prior to my departure and I was able to get through everything in quick fashion when I eventually arrived. The pre-race pasta meal was simply outstanding! It was in a very nice restaurant and I left the meal having made a number of new friends. The race course was a bit tricky at times due to hills and road crossings, but each crossing was well manned by volunteers and the scenery was nice. Not a lot of spectators, but the ones out there were very enthusiastic. This experience helped me decide that I much prefer the smaller races to the Godzillas like Disney and Chicago.

The other local marathon is the Free Press. It's flatter and bigger with more spectators and twice as many aid stations, but I think I prefer the Martian Marathon. Hines Drive is a much nicer route, with less traffic to deal with (I saw some runners nearly get nailed by a Subaru at the Freep Marathon last year). Organization was great, though I could have used a little more warning at the start (I didn't hear the announcements or the gun)

The 'martian' theme is lots of fun, and I hope to do it again next year!

This was my first half marathon and it was so exciting for me. I am a former LPGA golf tour player and to be involved in this marathon where the field is open to some of the best and to casual runners, it was just great. The course was a nice challenge. Some hills, both up and down, a great balance. SUPER volunteers!! It was so cold and windy and the volunteers were cheering us on and handing us gatorade, water and GU! They made me smile, which is always a nice relief! I can't say enough about this event. I met some very nice veteran runners and some who were training for the Ironman. This was a 'training run' for some runners for the Boston Marathon. It was great to be among such a variety of people and atheletes. I can't wait to run in another and work my way up to a full 26.2 marathon! Thanks to Running Fit for hosting this event.