This was my 5th marathon and my 78th race. I felt this race was a great for the first time. Even though the course had to be changed at the last minute to a two loop course, it was still a gorgeous race. The last two miles were beautiful and were so motivating, I have never been more proud of my city. The course was well organized, and the water stations were tops! The support was awesome especially with all the groups cheering at the water stations. It was unseasonably cold, which was too bad for the race. I haved live in the Boise area for most of my life, and I have never experienced an early November day like this. They don't have to make that many adjustments to make this a world class event. Great T-shirt, Great medal, loved the chip timing, great post race food. besides the weather the only problem I saw was the unorganized awards ceremony.

This was my first marathon and I was miserably sick, but I would definitely run it again. The weather was terrible and it never really warmed up, but I loved the volunteers, they were great! Even though I was one of the slowest ones there they still cheered the whole way. I'm not sure I liked the two loops, I was tempted to quit half way then. Boise is a beautiful city though, and I'm sure I'll be back.

Reading all the previous comments will really give you a good idea of what this marathon was like--even the harsh comments. From my perspective, I liked the double loop: We got to see all the best parts twice. The trees all had their fall colors, it was wonderful--from what I saw, Boise really is the city of trees.

The Boise residents were all charming, very welcoming to a new marathon that royally screwed up their traffic for an entire day. I really felt like I was running through Bedford Falls...

But what was by far the best part of this marathon was the volunteers at the aid stations. Fifty-eight bucks? Heck, I'd pay a hundred. One aid station was personed by 'Runner Girl:' Girl runners holding up signs, shyly handing out drinks--you could feel these girls seeing themselves some day running this marathon, just like you were. I was pacing a friend of mine (we finished the full marathon in 5:00), so it was getting to be the end of the day, and runners were spread out. Even at that time, the high school kids at the aid stations were beyond wonderful. For example, the cheerleaders from Capitol (I think it was Capitol H.S.) did dance routines & formed mini-pyramids--and there were three or four runners at the station...if that much. In most marathons, by that time the aid stations are self service, with volunteers reclining in the shade. While Capitol was exceptional, they were by no means unique. Lots of marathons have high school kids & cheerleaders--but Boise's kids were the best I've seen in twelve marathons.

Boise really opened their hearts & their homes to this marathon. No, it wasn't the smoothest running marathon ever--but that added to the charm for me. If you are looking for the NYC marathon, then go there. If you want to see a small marathon with a very big heart, go to Boise.....

I enjoyed the race and the course was great. I had a problem after the race and the directors were difficult to get a hold of. I mailed them, e-mailed them, and called them and I am yet to get a response.

Despite the uncontrollable weather I thoroughly enjoyed the City of Trees 1/2 Marathon. Great course, encouraging spectators, superb post race cuisine as opposed to the usual stale bagels. As a first time race I'm assuming the minor glitches with traffic control & course changes for the marathoners will improve next year.

I enjoyed the route, you picked the best parts of Boise to showcase. It was a little disappointing doing two laps of the 1/2 marathon course, but the scenery made it a pleasure. I've run eight marathons now and nothing can match the finish of this one, running down the hill towards the Capital building. What a view. The effort of the volunteers was great, and aid stations were well placed. Hope in the coming years more bands and fans come out to watch. Also, more traffic control would help, in spots there was little or none, which made me a little weary of crossing streets and intersections.

Being a first time event doesn't mean you aren't responsible for meeting minimum standards. On course management was poor:
1. Untrained aid stations volunteers. At one station when I asked for sports drink, they handed me an unopened 20 ounce bottle to wrestle with. Other aid stations had everyone standing behind the tables and not handing out water.
2. Traffic control: A number of unmanned intersections and one older woman almost hit me.
3. The last minute course change due to a problem with the police department means the race did not secure agreement or enough volunteers early on. I would not have traveled here if I knew it would be a double loop. Minor changes are one thing but going from a single loop to double is not. The upside was that we had the 1/2 runners for some company since marathon field spread out.

The course is scenic and I can recommend the half marathon as a nice course to run.

A minor point: Disorganized awards ceremony. No one really in charge and several people earned awards but they were not available.

Bottom line: They can't control the weather but they can do a better job at race directing. Not a good value for $58.

The inaugural City of Trees Marathon
was a well organized event from start
to finish. During the two loop marathon
course one could see at various times
the Idaho State Capitol, downtown Boise,
fisherman in the Boise River, various
parks, and nice residential areas in
'The City of Trees'. Sufficient crowd
and police support was maintained
during a marathon run in the cool, crisp
mountain air of Boise, Idaho.

The course: a decent tour of the nicer parts of Boise (Hyde Park), though the course was changed at the last minute to two laps of the 1/2 marathon course. This was a disappointment from an out-of-towner, as I would have loved to have seen more of Boise 'on the run'.
One decent hill done twice, otherwise nearly flat as a pancake.

Traffic control: needs improvement. There were some points in particular that were not clear crossovers, as I had to look behind me to be certain not to get trampled.

Volunteers: Always cheerful and happy, despite the cold weather (unusual, I am told, for this time of year). Kudos to them for helping out!

Overall value for the racing dollar: Poor. $58 was a lot to spend for this race; I don't think it was worth it.

I can't highly recommend this race; the other two inaugural races I have done(Lost Dutchman, Run for Peace) were much better.

This race was COLD (although I'm told it was much colder than usual). They changed the marathon course at the last minute to be a double loop-two laps of the half marathon- which was a real drag. The course was nearly flat, Boise is a very pretty city, and the few people that watched were very pleasant. I'm not sure I'd do this one again, but I had a lot of fun even though I felt pretty crappy from the start. I think I'll look for a warmer marathon during this time of year.