After participating in over 230 marathons around the world (yep, the 26.2 mile kind of marathons!) the Buzz Marathon near San Miguel, CA is still one of my favorites!! The full, with its associated half and 5K events, is held at Camp Roberts and the proceeds benefit programs at the nearby Lillian Larsen School, whose mascot is the hornet (hence the name).

Race Director (AKA Hornet Queen) Eileen Rogers does an excellent job organizing this event in conjunction with her dedicated volunteers - including her ever hard-working husband! Each event is well organized with enthusiastic volunteers along the way. For being a smaller event, having well stocked aid stations every two miles and a porta-potty at every three (with little to no line!) make this one of the best supported marathons I have ever done.

Of my five finishes during the event's eight-year history, this was the first time I took the two-hour early start. What a Godsend! Due to my various recent issues (read that however you like!) I was unsure what would happen once I toed the line, so my being allowed to start early made me feel more a part of the event at the finish - and I did not keep the excellent volunteers any longer than need be waiting for me.

There are not many spectators along the course which allows the athletes to focus on what they are doing and to enjoy the beautiful scenery en route. The course has been described as "serene" and certainly lives up to this tranquil description.

The medal? I have heard some folks dis this one because it is not big, heavy, and gaudy, but I think it is a CLASSIC! Since the event is held on a military base, the finisher's medal is a nice "dog tag" with a rubberized edge. Of the couple hundred marathon finisher's medals I have, this is amongst the most original and the ONLY one I have ever worn around my neck on the subsequent days after. In fact, I still have my dog tag on as I showed it to my Team in Training team (which I coach) just last night at our TNT party!

Tiffany was kind enough to share the experience with me as she did the half and received an age group medal for her efforts in addition to her finisher's medal. For the very reasonable entry fee, having age group awards was a nice added touch. Draw prizes were abundant, the après-event food was good, and an excellent supportive feeling amongst everyone there made this yet another great Buzz experience!

I trust that I will be in good enough shape to be back next year for the 9th edition next year! Til then, Buzzzzzzzzzz On!!

This was a low-pressure, low-key run. The volunteers were very friendly and helpful and the course was easy to follow. The dog tag "finisher medal" was innovative considering that the marathon is held on an army base. Although I had a pulled hamstring, I finished and enjoyed myself.

It is important to arrive early to go through the check in process at the main gate. It was backed up when we arrived and we got to the start with only three minutes to spare.

Although there were very few spectators, the few I saw were very enthusiastic and the people at the water tables were great cheerleaders.

The only improvement I would like is a course map on the website and an elevation profile. I expected a good-sized hill between mile four and five, but I didn't realize the course was downhill to the marathon turnaround. Not a big deal, but an elevation profile would be nice.

I am already planning to run this one again next year.

In spite of the warnings, I signed up for this as my first marathon because it was close to home. Sadly, race day just wasn't my day, so I performed rather poorly (barely not DFL :-) ), but the weather was great, the course was beautiful and the organization was excellent. I did wonder how it was possible for a course to be uphill both ways however. No spectators to speak of, since it's held on a military base. A great alternative to the mega-thons.

Let's get the rest of the story! The kids manning the station: very encouraging! The finishing medal: dog tags...very appropriate considering the location. Cost: very reasonable and goes to a great cause. Organization: entry to the base was backed up 25 minutes due to ID check (get there early) but start was delayed to accommodate...very good!

But let's get the true scoop on the hills!!! I expected a few rollers after the 500-foot gain at the 6-mile mark, but my GPS watch showed what I had guessed upon completion: THE 13.1 TURNAROUND POINT WAS LOWER IN ELEVATION THAN THE START (by about 75')!!! I measured a gross climb of 1500' total on the run (note: I flew down in my own aircraft and checked my GPS watch altitude vs. aircraft altimeter...it was dead on!).

Mind you I'm not complaining...the people were gold. This just isn't the ideal place to try to PR. I'd do it again, but I'd be more reasonable on my time expectations.

I love this marathon. I ran it for the first time last year and am signed up to run it tomorrow. A challenging course with amazing views. Highly recommended!

Camp Roberts, north of Paso Robles by about 10 minutes, doesn't look like much from the 101 Freeway. You see a lot of rotting, old, wooden buildings, which were once barracks that housed soldier trainees during World War II, an old train depot and a church.

If you have a relative or friend in the Cal Guard, they've probably spent a few weekends at Camp Roberts, where they can do everything from drive a black-out course in the dead of night to launch big time bombs at "enemy" hillsides. Over the last several decades, environmentalists monitoring the impacts of these activities have become part of the CR staff, which number about 500 full-timers.

One other reason the environmentalists are there is that the camp's 40,000-plus acres are home to several endangered animals and plants, including the elusive San Joaquin kit fox. Nevertheless, portions of it are open to the public for hunting, fishing, horseback riding, and marathon running.

Each February, CR hosts one of the smallest marathons in the state of California. This isn't the sort of place where you can just go on post and drive around as you please, so the Buzz Marathon benefiting Lillian Larsen School of San Miguel is a great way to learn its geography and scenery. There's also a half-marathon, which takes place on the same course, and a 5K that circles the rotting barracks. It's all organized by a very dedicated teacher from the school, Eileen Rogers, who started a much-needed sports program for the kids of San Miguel. She funds all the sports teams with proceeds from this race.

The course isn't easy. There's a gain of 500 feet of elevation in the first 13 miles, and then you lose that 500 feet on the way back to the finish. About 400 of the 500 feet are included in one cherry hill between miles 5 and 6 (this is a great place to ditch someone pushing a baby jogger). There are also a lot of rolling hills, especially between miles 9 and 12 and miles 2 and 5. Weather is known to be unpredictable. The weather around Paso Robles in February can be anything from freezing with intermittent hailstorms to the 70-degree plus sunshine we had in 2007.

The scenery is gorgeous. Beyond the rotted out buildings in the first mile, large satellites at the top of the hill, and a random airstrip at mile nine and a half, all you see are hills, trees, streams and beautiful open sky. Look out for kit fox - there are more signs warning drivers about them than there are "tank crossing" signs - but none have been spotted on-site for several years.

Aid stations were available every two miles. If possible, bring your own support crew, whether they just hang out and wait for you at the finish or drive the course and cheer like maniacs. It's so isolated on certain parts of the course (usually only about 40 runners do the full marathon; another 50 run the half) that you feel like you're the only runner out there, which is really kind of neat.

Like other comments below, lots of hills and few spectators, but a very nice peaceful run in the country. This is a very low-budget production so just run and enjoy. Just a couple of comments for the organizer: 1. I prefer races with a more consistent flavor to the drinks - this one varied from grape/orange etc. 2. Great to have volunteers, but I had to literally run off the road to pick up the Gatorade off the tables. Not a big deal since this is not a PR race, but it would be nice if they had the cups in hand like most races (though two boys at mile 10 did excellent job).

Otherwise, great race on a great course.

This was my second Buzz Run, and I appreciate the work of the race organizers which has allowed us to run a very unique/challenging course that is not normally open to the public. This is the best course that I have encountered for race-year preparation.

A beautiful peaceful course through oak forests and rolling grass-covered hills. Plan on running alone most of the way. Good support/food/drink during and after the race. Don't let the hills scare you.

Don't let anybody fool you... this is a tough course but, boy is it beautiful. It was raining on me almost the entire way but, the light misty rain was almost perfect running weather. It seemed like of the 26 miles, 17 of them were uphill. There was no crowd, but so what, the peace and quiet is welcomed. Run with a friend; or if you want to get lost in thought for a few hours, this is the place. Oh yeah, the people were nice, helpful and the after-race food was plentiful. Of the 15 marathons I have run, this is in the top three for beauty. Good luck.