Being that this was my first marathon I don't have much to compare it to, but I feel like it was very scenic run. A great dirt trail along the Winnabago River and around a few ponds. It seemed to be organized very well except for one part after the last pond where the trail split and their was no arrow. Also at the very end some young students waved runners past the finish line and several runners missed the gate.

This was my first, and I based my decision to run it largely on the comments of past participants posted on this site. As promised, the course was flat, and fairly interesting - if you don't mind trail running. Be forewarned that it seems like the majority of the course is trails; connected by short spurts of road running. The race was very well organized, although, like past participants, I felt that some parts of the course could have been marked better. Aid stations were equipped with water, Powerade, fruit, and Gu. Very few specators - basically just the volunteers at the aid stations - even family & friends could only reach parts of the course due to the numerous trails. Overall, a very enjoyable run!

Ran the marathon yesterday - maybe 100 in the marathon. Nice flat course with every mile perfectly marked and frequent water stops with great volunteers. Several miles on trails - longest was approx. a 4 1/2-mile stretch on a narrow but nice trail. Well organized race. Very limited spectators but they cheered. Very positive feedback, and encourage others to run.

I ran the half marathon today. I'd give the course an A. I've run full marathons in Chicago, Twin Cities and Alabama. This was my second half. The run through the park was cool. A bit tricky with the rocks and tree roots but my hill training paid off. The pre-race organization gets a C. The website stated the half was the same as the full. Registration closed at 7:30 for a 10:00 race. An email informed me 9:30 for the half. I arrived at 9:15 to find I had about 5 minutes before the bus left. I got the feeling from the website that 1, 2, 3 place awards were given for age groups. That ended up being for the 5 and 10K. A bit more work on the website and they get a good B. A port-a-potty would have been nice at 13.1.
All in all it was a very good event for the small town of Mason City. Fee for the half was a bit much I thought. The climb up the embankment was a highlight. Nice support considering the low 30's temps. Maybe a course to return to someday.

This race should be on your list of marathons to complete. The smallest marathon I had run up until today was about 8,000 people, the largest was 40,000 so I wasn't sure what to expect. For a very small race (approx 100), it was so well supported. Water/Gatorade stops w/fruit every 2 miles. The support at those stops and from the police stopping traffic for us was great. Very scenic except for the one 2-mile stretch of corn fields. Very mixed course with paved roads, gravel roads, bike trails, dirt trails... just awesome! Congratulations to the race director and volunteers for great race. Keep up the great work and we will definitely bring more friends next time! Thanks!

Course was beautiful and pretty easy. Some of the trails were a bit rocky, but not for any serious length. The organization was excellent and the volunteers were very supportive. The worst part was the lack of spectators for motivation. This is a small race (110 runners this year) so there were many lonely stretches without seeing a single person. Fan support needs to increase.

If you are looking for a low key fall marathon this is the race for you. The marathon staff was excellent. The run was very scenic and flat. There was only one stretch along the cornfields. The trail section was beautiful! I will be going back in years to come!

Jeff Wold and I decided on Thursday that for our proposed long training
run this weekend, we'd make the hour and 45 minute drive down to Mason
City, Iowa, and run the On the Road for Education Marathon this (i.e.,
Sunday) morning.

My wife, Chris Markham, decided on Friday evening that she'd go along as well. Since today's marathon was to be just a long training run, Chris and I
also ran about 7 miles of trails Saturday morning at a pretty brisk pace.

I had talked to various race officials on the phone since Friday,
getting directions, and receiving assurance that no more than 5 miles of
pavement would be unavoidable. So, the three of us arrived this morning
just in time to park at the finish and catch the shuttle bus to the
start (and registration).

The race was wonderfully organized, and quite scenic. There were some
very pretty trails along rivers, and the course often meandered all
about through farmland. Traffic control and course markings were
extraordinary, and the police and local residents were as friendly and
supportive as you could have dreamed. Aid stations stocked with water,
PowerAde, gels, and slices of orange, apple, and banana were placed
every two miles, and the volunteers were extremely helpful and focused.
Each mile was clearly and (seemingly) accurately marked, making it a
split-keepers dream. The weather was ideal, cloudy but dry, with a temp
that stayed around 35, I would guess.

The finish was at Newman Catholic High School. They had fresh towels,
shampoo, liquid soap, and hot showers available for all the runners!!!!
Absolutely awesome!

There were, I'd guess, about 75-80 marathon runners. To my
disppointment, I discovered that there were at least 13-15 miles of
unavoidable pavement, at least 8-10 of which were concrete. Thus, I
decided to avoid the risk of pounding too hard on the concrete, and
after a 1:57 split for 13 miles, decided to walk much of the remaining
concrete, and finished with a 4:24. Fellow traildog and superpacer Jeff,
thinking along the same lines, ran an even more cautious 4:55. Chris,
toughened up for pavement by her 103 miles of asphalt at Olander 6 weeks
ago, brought home a lovely trophy for winning the Women's Masters
Division, with a PR of 4:07. Although she has run at least 20-25 ultras,
this was only her 4th marathon, so it's a rather soft PR, given what we
know she can do, but not a bad time at all given the last minute
decision to participate run, and the lack of even a single day of rest,
much less anything resembling a taper.

Overall, I give this event a solid B+, and if the concrete could be
avoided it's be an A+, easy. The parks, the countryside, and even the
downtown and residential neighborhoods are all very scenic and
enchanting, even on an overcast day. And the people were, as I already
said, but cannot overemphasize, fabulous. The shirts and finishers' medals are excellent, also.

The short trail section in the second half of the course was a lot of fun and my favorite part of the race. The organization was very good. Great small city race.

This run was nearly flat, very scenic, and had great support (food, drink, shower facilities). It does however cross railroad tracks twice(active) which may interfere. Overall a great run, with 80-120 competitors. The director says it has grown each year. There are not any spectators other than the start and finish lines, or the support crews. Those attending were very hospitable.