I am so pleased that I chose this for my Colorado race for my 50 states. What a beautiful run! I would have given the course 5 stars, but I'm one of the few runners who does not love bike paths. The first 18 miles or so were absolutely beautiful though, and worth the bike path to the end. I'm from the flat lands, and the downhill was a good way to compensate for the elevation. The race was organized very well from the beginning (registration) to the end. Nice amenities (aid stations, shirts, expo, finishers posters and medal, etc). The host hotel (Hilton) was very accomodating to runners as well. The 4:15 am shuttle buses were a little early, but it was quite a trek for the buses to travel up to the start. This marathon was well worth the trip as we took a few days on both sides of the marathon and explored the beautiful state of Colorado. Run this one for the beautiful course along the river, great volunteers and spectators, and well-organized run. Great job, race staff and volunteers!

Another great race Colorado Marathon in Fort Collins. The downhill course is beautiful for the first 16 miles or so along the river. It gets a little boring along parts of the highway and bike path, but that would be tough to change. It is just a fact that there won't be many fans along the course since much of the course is closed to traffic. That isn't a big deal to me but others might not like it.

I loved the starting time change for the half marathon. It made those last 5-6 miles so much easier to navigate. Please keep that!

The awards ceremony was nice with the free pizza and beer. But why was the announcement order - 5k, 10k, half, marathon? By the time the marathon winner was announced (the very last name called) many of the people had left and the remaining folks had grown weary of clapping for 30 minutes. I felt bad for the winner that he wasn't properly recognized by the crowd. The marathon is the main event. It should be done first in the awards.

Hands down one of the best marathons I've run. Fast and scenic course. Very well organized. Delicious oatmeal at the finish, free all you can drink beer and all you can eat pizza. Expo was smallish but nice. Race transportation was awesome.

Great scenery, especially for the first 16 miles or so. Nice downhill, too, although that plus the altitude took a toll on my legs the last 7 or 8 miles (yes, I'm a flatlander). That said, I still PR'ed. It can definitely be a fast course. Spectators can't get to the course before mile 16 or so, so if that's important to you, it may be a problem, but honestly, the scenery (and volunteers) are so nice that I didn't find it to be a bad thing. Really great awards ceremony afterward with 2.5 hours of free pizza and high-quality craft beers: awesome! Also a nice tech shirt and medal. Fort Collins also has fun breweries and restaurants and is worth hanging around for a couple extra days, if you can. Great job! Will definitely recommend.

This is significant downhill course. I trained for it, but it also really takes its toll on your quads. Absolutely gorgeous course for the first 15 miles, in the canyon, next to the stream, with no spectators, and a mostly closed road. The course is the steepest in this part, but not too steep, and you may run faster than you think. Miles 15-21 are out in the open, on the road, and are pretty boring in my opinion. The last 5 miles are on the bike path leading into town. Still a little boring, but at least more opportunities for shade. Wonderful custom medal. Was a little disappointed in the post race food, but otherwise, this is a great race.

I've run the marathon twice now and believe it's the best marathon in Colorado. The course scenery is superb, an early start time ensures cool temperatures, and the organization is excellent. Also, the after-race awards lunch at Cooper Smith is a nice touch.

A lot of the positives about this marathon have been mentioned but I want to warn people about that downhill. The road is very uneven and it took its toll on my right hip! The trail at the end was truly never-ending (it seemed) and utterly boring. I would've preferred rambling around No. Ft. Collins more. The half marathon walkers were in the way, no doubt. At mile 22/23/24 of a marathon it's just too hard to be maneuvering around anyone or anything. Also, for the cost, the finish area food was really a disappointment. I had more goodies at our local half marathon than there were available for something so expensive. Yes, it was pretty, and yes it was great weather-wise, but I wouldn't do it again because of the pain in my legs (deceiving because it wasn't obvious at the time) and hips and the lack of food at the end.

This is a net descent course, perfect for that Boston qualifying time. It's super-scenic, and well organized. The race organizers were extremely friendly, and this is the best marathon in Colorado.

This is a wonderful race. I've run it in 2010 and 2011 and have had nothing but a positive experience. The organization is flawless, the volunteers are fantastic, and the fans are out in force once you get out of the canyon. I love this race and hope to do it many more times. Oh, and the t-shirt this year is also really cool - different from all my other tech t-shirts. :) And, keep serving Hammer, please.

This is my 15th marathon, and with regard to natural beauty, this is the most spectacularly scenic course I've run. The course starts up at about 6,000 feet and is between the canyons above route 14 and 287 right next to the Poudre River. It was a fast course, so even though I was out of shape, I was still able to match my averages. The expo and organization are well orchestrated with not much complication to confuse the runners. I do take issue with the 10K runs converging with the end of the marathon, though. Because the first 15 miles of the course were well outside residential areas, fan presence was sparse until the last few miles. Getting into Fort Collins was a different story though. All in all, it's a fine race that I wouldn't mind doing again. Heck... I would love to do this race again.