Normally, a marathon that is only three years old is still suffering growing pains and working out the kinks but the organizers at Little Rock obviously know what they are doing because this race was run as well as any big name established marathon. The course had several hills but I didn't find them too difficult. The spectators were fairly sparse overall but they were friendly and enthusiastic. The medal is huge! All-in-all a great event.

Since I trained pretty well, the rolling hills were manageable. The 'big hill' at Kavanaugh was not too steep. The organizers worked so hard and the weather was beautiful. Runners were well provided and cared for. Excellent publicity for Little Rock. I am happy to have seen the city and state for the first time. I will return and do the 26.2 again!

First, I'd like to address a few words to Gerald Staley of Little Rock who recently entered his comments about running the 2004 Marathon at 62 and will be doing '05 with his daughter, who got him off the couch in the first place. NOTHING could be better than that, Gerald!

I ran my first mile at 60 and, like you, ran my first marathon at age 62 and at 73 I completed my 105th yesterday. It's a slippery slope, Gerald, but God knows, it's worth every minute and every mile!

Now for the marathon, the course is tough but not a killer. The expo, packet pick-up, pasta party, shuttle buses and course aid stations were all just great. Virtually every aid station had water, sports drink and energy gels and many had orange slices and super enthusiastic volunteers calling out your name as you came through. It took me about ten miles to figure out that my name was printed on the bib... duh!

Do Little Rock, folks, you will not regret it and yes, it is the biggest honkin' medal you'll ever see!

First time running this marathon. Spectators were clustered and far between. When they were around, most were quiet. The course had more hills than I expected, especially that last one around mile 25. The race went through some interesting parts of the residential areas. Once the course got past mile 18, it got real hard to keep the momentum. No fans except at the turnaround around mile 20.5. Drinks were a guess. I had one Gatorade that tasted like it had half the amount of water, could not drink it. The map that was printed off the website was wrong. My support team was talking with other people and they were comparing 6 different versions of the race course. The one we had was the 'official' map and it was wrong the first 1/2 of the race. Start and end were well organized. I parked off of 6th street and could not find a porta-potty on that side. Could not see any of them. In my personal opinion, what makes a good race are availability of drinks, especially on a warm day; availability of gels; lots of porta-potties. Did someone pay Runners World to write the article they did?

Another great LR Marathon. The same tough course, big medal, two shirts, light-hearted and welcoming feel. Great view of the state capitol at the start and finish.

A few changes: the big hill came later, at mile 13 until mile 16. It made me more tired, but I liked the course better. I don't like that long flat part out by the river. It gets too hot, and it is pretty dull. The local paper had an excellent mile by mile review of the course the day before---worth getting your hands on. It included topography, as well as sightseeing notes. The expo was larger and more crowded this year. This race has really grown.

Two cool new things I didn't participate in: there was a coat check for those wanting to wear a nice coat and then pitch it during the first mile or two. Girl Scouts were to pick up the labeled clothes and return them to their owners. DK how it worked, but it sounded interesting. The pasta party was at the new Clinton Library! How did I miss that? Like him or hate him, what a way to revive a flagging tradition. Runners got to tour the library afterwards. Hope they do it again next year.

The community still really supports this event. Even the Governor came out and ran it. There are a few bands, some organized spectators, and some funny random cheerleaders.

The kids race is in the PM now, so runners can watch/run with (ha!) their kids when they finish.

What would I change? I missed Geneva's emails. I wish the pacers wouldn't try to put time in the bank at the start---bad idea.

This was a very well-done race, from expo to pasta dinner to the event itself and right up to the post-race party. It certainly isn't a flat and fast course, but it isn't exactly brutal either. It does get tough in portions of the second half. Spectators were sparse in places but uniformly pleasant and enthusiastic and the crowd at the finish was good. The finisher's medal is every bit the monster advertised when it comes to size, and rather attractive as well. The PERKS tent was worth the extra $15 as far as I was concerned, for the quality of the refreshments, the availability of porta-potties, massages before and after, and personal baggage handling. I noted yet another instance of problems in start control, though. Once again, as I have seen at some other recent races, there were significant numbers of walkers up as far as the signs indicating a 3:30 pace. I spent a few blocks dodging these fools, including a couple of multi-walker roadblocks casually strolling four and five abreast. I'm fine with races welcoming walkers. It just seems that we need to provide some guidance for some of them.

I ran the 5k in 2005 and it was great. The people were great and the volunteers were super! I'll be there next year, but with a little more distance!

I am 62. The 2004 Little Rock Marathon was my first-ever marathon. There will never be another feeling that will replace the rush I had when I crossed that finish line. You will have to experience it to know what I'm saying. I never thought about not making it to the finish line. The wave of people along the 26.2-mile journey would not let my passion to finish die. When they dropped that finisher's medal around my neck, I was standing on the podium as a world-class Olympian receiving my gold medal. To look back at what I had just done just made my heart feel like it was going to jump through my chest. The first marathon may be over, but that rush at the finish line will live on forever.

This year, I will have another but different rush at the end of the race. I will be running with my 35-year old daughter, who got me into running 5 years ago. She was so proud of her dad that she wanted to run the 2005 race. This will be her first marathon and I will be there to share that 'one moment in time' with her. What a day that will be.

This was my first marathon. I ran because it was something I had to do before I turned 40. Now, I am still running and am going to run again this year. The course was hard, scenic and the crowds were great! I am actually looking forward to running it all over again. The marathon is such a feeling of accomplishment. To quote my daughters, "Now Mom, that is girl power to finish that thing."

Little Rock is a great race. Nice course through the city and up the river. Excellent support by the organization. Great medal - the biggest I have ever seen. It is also a race that never lets go. Over the past 6 months they continue to send me stuff from the race (results, finisher?s certification, awards, etc...). A great value as well at under $50. I ran, got a huge medal, got a starter's t-shirt and a finisher?s shirt. Also bought a wind cheater for just $10. It is a deal.

I recommend this race highly. It is what a medium size city marathon should be!