Boise usually doesn't get a lot of rain, but at the start of this race, it was around 37 degrees and raining steadily. Luckily, it changed to a race-long drizzle and continued all day. I think this is why the number of spectators was smaller than normal. Cold and rainy is not ideal for folks who only get to stand and watch.

Jeff always organizes these races very well. I'm sure that the number of participants would double if this race were held on a Saturday morning, as many of the LDS runners in Boise won't run on Sunday. However, the number of runners was ideal. The race was neither small nor big.

My only complaint on the course would be the downhill from Federal Way towards the green belt. It's downhill on concrete. There are some concrete stretches in other areas. It would be nice to find a way to eliminate these stretches. It's a little jarring on the joints.

All in all, Boise is awesome, and very peaceful and nice on a Sunday morning. Thanks, Jeff and volunteers. Your team is better than what I've seen in most races. I'll fly in from Minneapolis every year to enjoy the City of Trees Marathon.

- Kevin

This was only my second full marathon, and my previous marathon and halfs have been at some huge ones, so this was actually kind of a nice change. There were virtually no spectators along the course except for the few groups that were driving around to support their respective runners. My husband and kids were able to meet me at several points in the race, which was awesome! All of the volunteers were great! The course was also very nice, although the area somewhere in the late teens was a bit too scary with traffic; but again, the volunteers were amazing. There were plenty of water stations, but the sports drink was Heed and I have never used that so I wasn't going to try it out mid-marathon. I have to agree with the below post about the medal. It would be really nice to have a year at least on there. One thing I would recommend would be more upright signs. Again, in the late teens and early 20's it was mostly chalk arrows on the ground so you can't really see it until your on top of it, and the field was so sparse that there were times when I could barely see anyone in front of me to follow. Overall I thought it was a good race, and I'll do it again next year.

The course was not a bad course and was the best part of the race. It was not a closed course but there were volunteers to stop traffic at most intersections. I was impressed with the number of volunteers to help with directing runners. There were very few spots with spectators. There were aid stations spaced nicely, but half of them only offered water and the other half offered Heed. On the website they said that there would be sports drink, which I assumed to be PowerAde or Gatorade. This was not true. The only other thing offered was at mile 19; they had Hammer Gel, but other than that, there were no other options. The medal was alright; it was silver with no color, but the real issue I had with the medal is that it did not have a date or even a year on the medal or ribbon.

This was my first marathon. The course provided a nice tour of Boise, and was mostly flat. The stretch along Americana is a bit rough, especially with the traffic. The volunteers and spectators were great! There were many stretches where I was completely alone - no fans, runners or volunteers in sight. My next marathon will definitely be a bigger one, with more than 160 runners. My biggest complaint was that there were not any sports drinks until mile 17 - that really threw me off and was a disappointment!

Since this was only my 2nd marathon, I can only compare it to Mesa Falls (my 1st). This course was virtually without hills. I ran it 28 minutes faster than Mesa Falls. While I have only run 2 marathons, I have, however, run 20+ 1/2-marathons and am always appreciative of all the volunteers and their parts they happily play to give us a great running experience. This was true of the volunteers at the City of Trees. I'm used to very few fans, so no surprises there. Those that were there along the course were needed and appreciated!

I too went off course at mile "twenty-something" (it got a little mentally muddy) but not by much. I too won my division in spite of the flub.

Beautiful trees! Beautiful homes! A little creepy running on the right side of the road... whose idea was that, I wonder, and why?

We stayed downtown because of a free room opportunity and when talking with the locals, no one knew there even WAS a marathon that day. More PR would help.

Bread and broth with a banana were not really enough, but we went to eat soon after anyway.

I had a great time and will probably be back as Boise is close enough to home to be do-able and is on a weekend when I'm not running anywhere else.

This was my third marathon and by far the smallest. I get that lower-budget races are different, but this, frankly, was less fun than the mid-size races (Salt Lake, Carlsbad, CA) I have run recently. I guess the bottom line is that the effort expended is the same, so I'll opt for a bigger race with more company/support in the future.

That said, the limited number of Boise "fans" were really nice people. The aid stations were inadequate - mostly just water, only one with GU that I recall. (I did carry my own, fortunately.) There is no entertainment on the route, and with just 157 marathoners, we got spread out real thin. I missed one turn about 23 miles into it and added another 100 yards or so - not that big a deal, but frustrating. The painted arrow pointed straight where I should have turned.

I missed the camaraderie of the larger races - I guess I'm a social animal. I was pleased with my result (cut 20 minutes off my last marathon and won my age), but again, I guess it just wasn't quite as much fun.

Food at finish was pretty sparse. Awards ceremony took a long time, and seemed disorganized. Proximity to hotels was excellent! Course was pretty and varied, although sharing some narrow streets with traffic felt a little dicey at times.

I won't run this one again, but did chalk off Idaho (now just 46 states to go!!).

I love marathoning and hope to do more next year, especially since most of my 65+ age competition is dying off and I actually get to win! Thanks, MarathonGuide.com for all the good info. Next stop: Maui in January.

Let me start by saying that this was my first marathon, so take my comments with a grain of salt. The course for the marathon was great and showed the best of Boise. It could have been marked better, but given the race's low budget, I think the safety was adequate. Boise PD and volunteers were out in force and did an excellent job. My main complaint was the lack of replenishment along the course. The website led me to believe that there would be sports drinks and gels, bars, etc. every four miles. The announcement was made 10 minutes before the race that there would only be gels at mile 19. Luckily I packed my own gels. I don't want this to overshadow the overall good experience in the race, but this was unacceptable, in my opinion.

I would run this race again, but if I were looking for a premier event, I'd go elsewhere. The event is low-key, with small but spirited crowds along the course.

I think this race has lots of potential. It's quite small and could use a dose of PR. No reason why the local paper shouldn't run a story; none of the locals seem to know about this event. The biggest need for change is the course design. The parts along the busy road are pretty treacherous. I was "buzzed" more than once by an irritated driver who didn't like sharing the road. Plus, I felt unsure that I was on course several times during the parkway portion. Other than that, the course is flat, volunteers were very friendly and the start/finish were quite convenient in relation to the host hotel.

Like everyone else, I enjoyed the flat course, and the volunteers are great. I do have one comment, though. I think you should get rid of the out-and-back to nowhere just prior to going up the hill on Americana. Isn't there a better way to set up the course than to run down one side of the street and then turn around and go right back up the other side? Other than that, I thought it was great.

This race was a great 26.2 mile Sunday run. Pretty much the only spectators were the volunteers at the aid stations, which was refreshing. It was great weather and a nice low key course. The volunteers were great. Aside from the shirt, also got a duffle bag and a local PT place was handing out free track bags and gloves. Everyone around town was nice. I agree that the chip needs to go to a tie on the shoe model, I also am dealing with sores from the band being around my ankle. I PRed so I recommend this course for a flat fast time. Host hotel was very accomodating. More food/drink outside at the finish line would be better, maybe some bananas, gatorade, cookies, bagels. And thanks to the family that rode around the entire course with the doors to their van open cheering for us all!