If it were any better it would be off the scale. The website was excellent. The Runner's Den being around the corner from the airport was excellent. The support staff at Runner's Den was excellent. The "Hotline" was excellent. The expo was excellent. The bus ride and campfire and coffee was excellent. Thank you, Coronado Dons. The goodie bag and t-shirt were excellent. The course is only excellent if you like to look back on things and laugh. (I do). You could not have made it more beautiful. It was challenging, but "at the end of the day," very enjoyable. The medal was excellent. Thank you for all of it
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How do you tell someone you thoroughly enjoyed running 26.2 mile through the desert? It was 9 below when I left Michigan the morning before. People from out of town: STAY HYDRATED.

Note: Do not stay at the Super 8. No wake up call and despite being told twice (once in December, once at check in) that there would be no problem with late check-out, they told me to go to hell 8:30 the night before the race and I must be out of the room by 11:00. Do not take any assurance from them. They also knew NOTHING about the race - not even the date. A bad hotel with bad staff and a bad general manager. I showered at another runner's room in Mesa. DO NOT STAY AT SUPER 8.

I really loved it! I met some wonderful people. The course was great!! I really enjoyed running the 26.2 miles on the beautiful desert landscape and great weather. The volunteers were so organized and it seemed like they were out to serve us whole-heartedly!!

I got lost and ended up running over 15 miles. Considering the name of this marathon, I find it quite funny, however others (those competing) did not. The course was very difficult with many hills and changes between terrain (road, dirt, etc.).

Some 1/2 marathoners ran at least two additional miles as the course was not well marked at one crucial turn! The results do not reflect an accurate 13.1-mile course!

I ran my first 10K this year at Apache Junction. It was very enjoyable and well organized. I am planning on trying the half-marathon in '07.

Yes, it's everything I heard it would be. But there was more. I expected the wonderful campfires, but was pleasantly surprised to see that the start area was at the base of a beautiful desert rock outcropping that became clearer as the sun rose. The volunteers were fantastic, but I was not prepared for how much this one aspect could add to my enjoyment of the race. I've run about a dozen marathons, from small to mega, and these were the best volunteers ever.

The course was excellent, with only a couple of small excursions down a highway to dampen the enjoyment. Heck, I've run Tucson twice, and that is 90% highway! But this course kept changing. From downhill on a desert dirt road, to highway, to uphill through an upper-end housing development, back to highway, to mid-level housing, then back and forth on dirt roads, to the last crazy stretch called "Dutchman's Revenge."

My only beef is with the "host" hotel, which was somewhat runner-unfriendly, although great if you are a golfer. But that is easy to remedy (Hello, Best Western!), and my wife and I will be back next year, as it's only a 1-1/2 hour drive from Tucson.

One side note. On the bus-ride back after the race, we ran into a fellow whom we met on the bus at our first marathon ever, the 2003 Lake Tahoe Marathon. For some reason, we found this to be a closing of the circle, and oddly compelling.

Okay, I may have ranked the spectators high but the groups who were out there cheering were wonderful. The aid stations were motivating and well located. The course was beautiful, the mountains were there for me to forget how far I had to run.

This is the second time I have run the half, and I love it. I enjoy the mountains, dirt roads, and glorious weather - it is a very well-run event, small and personal. Thanks!

Gorgeous course. Nice weather, good time of year to do it. A nice small-town spirit. My only critical comments are minor: (1) I had counted on getting some race nutrition at the aid stations. The website said there would be Carb-Boom at some aid stations. Nada. Mostly oranges, which are hard to digest. More Carb-Boom and bananas would be good. (2) Directions to the race were a little confusing. As an out-of-towner, I couldn't figure out where to detour after the main parking lot filled up. But, other than that, great race!

Beautiful course with views of the Superstition Mountains. Great organization and friendly volunteers.

Ended up almost dead last. When I first started entering races I thought it would be mortifying to be dead last and in fact I entered my first race with my daughter to make sure that I would not be dead last. However, now that I've done it, it's not so bad. In the last 3 miles or so (long after everyone had finished) I had a police car following me (probably to make sure that I finished faster, so he could go home). The race director kept driving by every so often to personally supply me with water (again probably to make sure that I finished faster so he could go home). After I finished I didn't have to wait for the shuttle bus to take me to my car, he was waiting for me. When I was dropped off at the parking lot there were no other cars so I didn't have to remember where mine was.

Seriously though, the people running the race are some of the friendliest I've seen. I highly recommend that everyone try it! But remember that there is a 1-hour time difference between California and Arizona. So be prepared for a very early start if you are from California.