This was my first marathon and I loved it. The road was either flat or had easy rolling hills. I think running on the dirt road helped my body as I feel better than I normally do after 20 mile runs. The aid stations were well stocked although at the end, some had run out of Gatorade. Some passed out gels and PowerBars. The stations near the end had oranges and candy. Would have preferred chip timing. I was irked that they took down the finish line decorations and the photographer left before some 6-hour runners came in. Don't come for a lot of fans. The route is around a reservoir and is closed off to fans. It is a beautiful view. I made some makeshift "gators" to help keep rocks out of my shoes. I saw a couple of people who had bought them. The weather was sunny and cool - perfect running weather. I ran in shorts and t-shirt. The finisher medals were less than stellar, but the t-shirts were nice. All in all, a great course and very manageable for a first-timer like me. :)

The event organizers did a great job for a small event. Probably not the best run for those who thrive on crowds, however, the views of the lakes and valleys was quite impressive and made the experience worthwhile.

I'll definitely return in '08.

A few concerns -

As reports by others, my GPS also registered the course long. I was at 27.3 and my running partner was at 28.7. Too many submitters seem to think the course was long.

What's with the bandit? If someone doesn't pay the entry fee they shouldn't be listed in the results; it cheats the sponsor as well as other participants. Running through a chute in no way validates that a runner has completed the course.

Aid stations were well done for a small event, however, the volunteers need to know just how important fluid is to runners. I was unable to get fluid at one of the last stations before leaving the lake loop and the feeling of dehydration mentally broke me for the last few miles. (Apparently one of two volunteers manning the station was concerned his chair would run away if got off of it.)

I really enjoyed it and will certainly do it again. Weather was perfect for running, air was cool and clean, and scenery was nice. I was enjoying it so much that I walked through the last aid station and had a great-tasting homemade brownie. Try finding that at a "big" race. It sure beat 26 miles of pounding the pavement. It's a course where you go out for a run and enjoy the ride.

I got 27-ish on my GPS. Also, timing company didn't accurately record my time at first, but they did fix it later. Beautiful course, challenging hills at end, and great volunteers. Would consider doing it again, but apprehensive about accuracy and organization. Maybe I should just stick with the BIG races.

Poorly planned course; if it wasn't incredibly scenic and beautiful running aroung the lake, it wouldn't have been worth the 27.32 miles my GPS watch told me I did. My training partner only did 26.87 so I figure he deserves some sort of refund! A comment on the website said "great Boston Qualifier." If the race director knew even where Boston was, I would be surprised. Aid stations were awesome, especially at the later half of the course. Note to anyone considering this race: expect the unexpected. Maybe next year it will actually be only 25 miles....

The weather was great. The course beautiful. I however had a cold. Ugly day for me. The course workers/volunteers were friendly as were all the other competitors - all 89 of them. I do have a few minor complaints though. I was left out of the results, and while that should have been easy to fix, I haven't had any success with the timing company used to time the event. Also they had the most lame finisher medals I've ever seen - generic trophy store stuff. I do plan on doing the race again, but next time I'm going to write my finish time on someone's forehead.

This is a small, rural marathon. It is generally well organized, with adequate aid stations. The route is a mostly flat (though with many mostly gently rolling hills) dirt road (though with 2 paved sections over 1-2 mile dams) around a lake-reservoir near Mt. San Jacinto. No spectators to speak of (except for families and friends of runners). Small field makes this very friendly. Few amenities (only a standard cotton T-shirt with ads on back, generic finisher's medal), but the scenery and low-key friendliness made this extremely pleasant and more than worthwhile.

I ran the half marathon in 2004. This was a small, well-run event. What I discovered is that I prefer larger races. I was in sixth place after about a quarter mile, and I stayed in sixth place to the end of the half marathon. No one passed me, and I didn?t pass anyone. As others have mentioned there are no fans on the course except for the volunteers at the aid stations and a small group at the finish line. Other than personal preference about race size, there are no real negatives about this race. The organization was excellent and the staff and volunteers are all friendly and enthusiastic. I hope to be back to run the 10K but will stick to larger events for longer races.

A fun course, and very enjoyable for those who like a quiet run without crowds and people lining the course. Good addition of the 10K. The awards were done as soon as the results were known which allowed those who didn't want to stay to leave. Good food at the end. Problems with finding posted race results and photos on line. Overall it was a good race and very well organized.

This was my first marathon and I finished!!!!!! I had a great experience. I was glad the course was marked every mile. The volunteers at the water stations were fantastic. They were very encouraging and full of energy. The only negative was that I wish there were more areas for spectators to cheer me on. This was disappointing, but understandable due to the location of the race.