This is my favorite marathon to date. I was impressed. The course is flat and highlights the beauty of Boise. It runs through the city as well as residential areas. The people/volunteers were some of the friendliest. If you don't mind the lack of fan support I highly recommend this race. It was better than expected. I hope to run it again someday.

Three of us who had GPS watches noticed that the mile markers were off... starting at mile 2, where the distance between mile 1 and mile 2 was 1.25 miles. The 1/2 marathon was 13.32 miles... so you probably need to remeasure before next year. Maybe take out that little jog to the right off of Americana!

Awesome weather, very decent organization, nice course. I don't hand out 5-star ratings easily, so don't let my 4-star ratings bring anything down. Few fans, but all were great, especially the same ones that I saw in two or three different places along the course. Volunteers were supportive and did a great job.

The mileage markers were confusing where the full and half marathons came back together to share the course. At mile 13, I thought I must be melting the asphalt with my speed, but that was mile 13 for the full marathon, not the half. Labels differentiating between the two would be nice. That, and the mileage markers were small. I missed markers #2 and #9. The medal was an unexpectedly nice touch. Volunteers searching out finishers to give them water and lip balm were nice as well.

Fantastic race: scenic course that highlights Boise, friendly race director and volunteers, plenty of fully stocked aid stations, and a SUPER race. Extremely impressed with this enjoyable low-key race and the friendly city of Boise. We can't wait to go back.

I have run this marathon six times now (all five years and once with Dean Karnazes). After 42 marathons, this one is the "complete package." There may be better courses or may be better weather, but the organization, the indoor food and awards, etc. are all top-notch. I can't knock the lack of fan support too hard because it poured down rain this year. But those diehard volunteers put a smile on my face for 26.2 miles!

I heard the date will be earlier (much better weather) and the course may change to showcase a different part of the city, so expect to see me again in 2007!

My ninth different marathon. Flat course, except for one small hill. Beautiful tree-lined course. Convenient hotel. RAIN... rain... rain... rain... rain - cold, hard rain. Cool medal, but ugly shirt. Great volunteers. Friendly city. Course open to traffic much of the race. No food to be found at the finish line. Solid aid stations. Course occasionally hard to follow. Don't wear a Fresno State sweatshirt for the race (within two days after Boise State and Fresno State played), which I did. Good shot at a PR, if it would stop raining. Great downtown area - great restaurants.

Very well organized. Good, flat course. It rained for the entire race but I was prepared with my trash bag.

The volunteers were excellent and the police officers did an excellent job of controlling traffic. Not sure what to do to improve. If weather permits, the post-race food and beverages should be outside near the finish so we can all watch the remaining finishers. This race will improve and grow as the number of runners continue to grow.

My first time running this course and it was beautiful! There were not a lot of spectators on the course (mostly volunteers) but the people out there were GREAT! Very enthusiastic and supportive. The last mile (heading past the finish line) was hard mentally simply because I was tired and could see the finish but couldn't stop (always a cruel thing to do to any marathoner). ;-) The soup at the end was fantastic! Just what this tired marathoner needed. I'd definitely recommend this race for anyone wanting a low-key, fun marathon. I also stayed at the sponsoring hotel, which was very convenient (step out the door and you're at the start line and when you finish, you're at your room!).

Overall, I thought this race was well organized and would recommend it.

Pros:
- Nice flat course
- Host hotel was very accommodating to the runners
- Airport shuttle eliminated the need for a car
- Start and finish line literally steps from the host hotel
- Plenty of aid stations; nice volunteers
- Nice medal and race shirt

Cons:
- PowerAde was not offered at every water station.
- Mile markers were not easy to see and I wondered about the accuracy of their spacing (I ran a 9:15 for mile 24, 7:58 for mile 25, and 9:15 for the last 1.2 miles in...?)

Like one of the previous runners commented, I didn't know there was any food after the race until I saw someone walking down the hallway toward her hotel room carrying a bowl of soup. Was that publicized anywhere?

One suggestion to consider would be to allow an early start option. Since there are so few flights in and out of Boise, it made it a little tight to run and make my flight home on Sunday.

Overall, I enjoyed the race. You had a nice expo, especially compared to the size of the race. The Idaho spuds were a nice touch (I'd just seen them highlighted on the Food Network! :)) Nice job! It was a good one with which to check off my 46th state.