Of the 15 marathon courses I have run, this is my favorite. I ran the race in 2002 and 2003. The organization and planning for this race is the best I've seen. The entry fee for 2003 was higher than most marathons, but allowed for extras you won't find at other marathons. The t-shirts are something you can actually race in. The buses are comfortable and warm. The post-race party is well done. There are awards for all the deserving participants. They even snuck in an unadvertised finishers medal this year.
The training runs were well organized, and definitely worth doing.
Both years, my optimism exceeded my training and I started out too fast, leading to a good split time and a mediocre finish time. I expect I will come close to a PR in the future on this course - with proper training.
I put this race on my calender for next year, and will work the other races around it.

I ran this race in 2003. It had snowed the night before (6+ inches in Denver) and there was a beautiful dusting of snow on the mountains at the start. The roads were clear and dry -- we couldn't have asked for better weather.

The early start on the buses is worth it. The sun rises in the Canyon and you have new scenery around every turn. One view is more awe-inspiring than the next.

Don't let the downhill scare you. It is a gentle downhill that doesn't give you quad-kill. The camber of the windy canyon road causes more problems than the downhill grade, but that too is not bad.

After leaving the Canyon (approx. mile 14-15), the course dumps out on the shoulder of some not-so-great roads. This section is tolerable and eventually you end up on a paved bike path into town. (You'll run by Verns, which is a diner worth visiting after the run!).

This was my 11th marathon, and it was the most enjoyable 1st half I've experienced. The first 13-14 miles go by in the blink of an eye because there is so much to look at and absorb.

If you want a smaller, well organized, beautiful, and gently-downhill marathon, add this to your list! I have a feeling that as more people learn about this marathon, it won't stay so small.

Excellent course -- the nice variety of scenery and terrain kept it interesting. Fast, too. Good thing we ran Sunday, because it snowed at the start on Saturday! Pre-race packet pickup was smooth and the buses to the start worked exactly as advertised. Spectators were great and the finish line felt like a much bigger event.

This was my first marathon and I couldn't have picked a better one! Poudre Canyon was gorgeous.

This was my 30th marathon and one which I shall run again. Not many fans for much of the race, but that is because much of the race is run in a canyon. Great finish. Net elevation drop but not too steep. Beautiful course! Race director knows how to take care of runners.

The dedication and energy of the organizers will, in a couple of years, make this race a great spring marathon. At two years old, it's only got a couple of bugs that need to be worked out.

The pros: the first 14 miles, a consistent, gentle-on-the-bones downhill through the Canyon is spectacular. Awards and post-race festivities are unusually generous. The organizers are very dedicated to the race, providing lots of information, arranging training runs on the course in the weeks approaching the race, etc. Allowing the busses to stay at the start, providing a warm place to wait, was very appreciated, as was a well-handled baggage check.

Constructive criticism: Miles 15-22 are run on the very narrow, sometimes uneven shoulder (particualrly for the killer miles of 19-22) of a somewhat busy highway. I know road closings are an issue along this portion of the route, but the most difficult part of the race happens to be run on an unpleasant surface. A little more room taken from the more level travel lane of the highway would have been welcome. If that can't be arranged on the highway, perhaps it is possible to re-route the course to less-traveled roads that could be more closed off to runners.

Although aid stations were well-staffed, there needed to be more, especially in the beginning of the race. With only four aid stations in the first 13 miles, staying properly hydrated requires runners to carry their own water. A couple of small water-only stations run out of the trunk of a car or off a card table by 2-3 people could help fill the gaps.

These are not overwhleming problems, and the dedication of the organizers to this event suggests to me that, over time, they will be addressed, making this a very enjoyable spring race.

Other comments: Traffic control is also what creates the need for a *very* early start time-- to get to the start for 6:00 a.m., the last bus leaves downtown Ft. Collins around 4:45 a.m., and the bus from the official hotel left no later than 4:15 a.m. Although the early start made it possible to get back to the hotel to shower and check out before the post-race party, it made for a very early wake-up call.

Where it exists, spectator support is strong, probably because access to the course for spectators is practical only at the turn on Mile 16 and at the finish line. If you need fans to encourage you, this is not the race for you.

A portion of Mile 22 was run through an area under construction, leading to some soft, muddy conditions and an awkward step onto and off of a concrete bridge. Presumably, by next year, this will just be regular road.

Overall, this was a very enjoyable race, and the organizers deserve lots of credit for the job they did. A little work on getting the runners a little more room in the later miles and some more water stations along the course, and this race will be just about perfect.

This was my first marathon in Colorado, and I cannot imagine that there is a better race in Colorado for setting a personal best at altitude. I had a p.r. 6 months ago in Kansas City (4:49), but this being only my 5th marathon and me being nearly 42 yrs. old, I have set a personal record 3 out of the last 4. My new p.r. is 3:30, and that 19 minute improvement could have easily been 29 if there were just a few more porta johns at the start, and if I had not decided on the lighter shoes over the more cusioned ones. Sudden onset of leg pains at mile 20 are a dead giveaway that the upper part of the course was too much of a shock to those muscles! I live in West Kansas at 3200 ft. and the average elevation at this race figures to be 5500 ft or so. My only criticisms about the course would have to be the one mile out-n-back section and that the bridge construction section was in the latter miles and the mud and the little crater holes and the 10' step up onto the new concrete were all not welcome at that point. I didn't really know how to rate spectators because aside from just about enough of them to have about a 2:1 ratio, there were so few. Maybe they could hire a band or two, have music stations & Gourmet Coffee with scones at mile 18 and 25 to attract spectators and have a contest for 'best cheerer' or something. Personally, I'd like to hear bagpipes at mile 18 and some loud rock music a mile from the finish area. The post-race party was just the best ever. All of the people from the volunteers to the organizers to the fellow runners were fun and friendly. All you guys who were running in the 7:30/mile pace group (you know who you are) get my salute and thanks. Next time, I hope to stay with you a few miles further.

Scenic course, spectacular downhill race on the Poudre Canyon (saw a guy stopping every other mile to take pictures!). Mostly asphalt, gentle downhill, only a small hill at mile 19. Aid station w/ drink and gel every 2.5/3 miles (that helped... apart from the girl that gave me water instead of GU at mile 21...). PERFECT organization: Steve is a great host! All the volunteers were awesome, being there at 5 a.m. with 30F, what would you say??? I had loads of fun!!! Fans were great in the last 10 miles. It's a pity they cannot be allowed along the Canyon!!! See you in 2004! Marco

Given the spectacular views along the course - especially through the canyon, the great organization of the event, and the BLAZING fast course during the first quarter, this small-town race is only going to grow and grow and grow!!! I highly recommend this race and will be back next year!

Fantastic organization and volunteers. Sporadic, small pockets of fans along the course (great at the end). I'd give the course 5 stars, except for the stretch along the highway. After-race party was lots of fun. Race T-shirts, for once, were more than a race logo silk screened onto a lightweight Fruit-of-the-Loom undershirt. I've never felt a finer material for a race shirt.

Now for the highest of the highs and the lowest of the lows:

Low:
Printed race information seemed to assume all participants were local to the area. The offical course map was not a map, per se, but a not-to-scale generalization of where the race started and finished. Because of this, we were unable to scout out the course the day before, and my wife was not able to venture out onto the course to watch on race day since the map left her with no sense of how she would get from here to there, or back again.
It took her almost an hour to find the finish, which was within a half mile of the bus pickup. The race brochure only stated on which side of Old Downtown the finish would be.
And speaking of buses to the start: Instructions as to where to meet the buses for the ride to the start had the same vague local flavor, omitting an address or cross street, referring to the pickup point by a name not found in any phone book or map.

High side:
It's about time a race in Colorado shed the notion that awards are limited by some law of nature to only go three deep. It's about time a race in Colorado realized that 10-year age brackets are both unfair and irrational.
This race is not greedy with is appreciation of its participants.

1) Great looking awards (especially for overall winners)!
2) Five year age brackets.
3) In most cases, awards went four deep, and as many as seven or more deep (depending on the number of entrants per bracket).
4) Top ten overall category (men and women).
5) Top three - four overall for Masters and Senior Masters (men and women).

The course was a gradual downhill. The weather showed no sign of the heavy, unexpected snowfall the day before. Race organizers really gave the impression that they were glad you were there to run their race (even us out-of-towners who didn't know the local landmarks).

Like two or three other new (above 10 K) races that have hit the the front range in recent years, race directors of other, shorter-distance, longer-standing races could learn a lot from how races are being run in Fort Collins and Loveland/Georgetown.