This was my 4th marathon, my first Frederick marathon and my first Spring marathon.

The 6:30 a.m. start time was kind of a pain, especially when your alarm clock is going off at 4:45 a.m., but then, because of the early start, you are done at a reasonable hour in the morning, it won't take up your whole day. The early start is also good for marathons at that time of the year as the weather can go either way; thankfully in '08 it didn't get too warm. The hills in the second half of the race would have been so much worse in hotter weather.

The course is a nice mix between urban and rural. When you're only a mile or two outside of Frederick you can be surrounded by farmland. Along with this comes the smell of cow manure in a few places along the course, although I would take that over diesel fumes from trucks as you run along Route 144 any day. One thing I liked about the course throughout was the 6-foot tall mile markers, which are very easy to see from a distance.

A few others have mentioned the weirdness of the section around the Wal-Mart between miles 9-10. I think it was even weirder for the employee out back on her smoke break than for the runners.

The water stops were plentiful throughout. The two kids handing out orange slices somewhere in the neighborhoods between mile 19-22 were much appreciated, thank you.

I couldn't find any fault with the organization, expo, jacket, parking, timing, race size, finish line food were all hassle-free and easy to deal with. I would recommend the race to anyone.

My own race went well. I set a PR by just over a minute, and the best thing about the race for me was the leg muscle pain in the couple of days after the race was the least it has been in my previous 3 marathons. Not sure why, but I'm glad.

Thoroughly enjoyed this race this year, with improvements noted over previous years. The addition of that 26.2 company to the expo was great. Nice quality UA tech tees available before the race and after having actually finished!

A very difficult marathon; I recommend steering clear of this one. Organizers claim that the hills are "not that bad" in the second half, but do not expect to get a PR on this course. The hills are extensive and will likely bring your run to a grinding halt. The second half is very uninteresting, as you run along highways, while cars buzz by on other side of red traffic cones. You can find nicer, kinder, more interesting marathon courses in the area.

I really enjoyed both the race and the race experience. I recommend this marathon to others. Online registration was easy, packet pickup was effortless, the race course was scenic, the volunteers were great and the police provided excellent traffic control. Although the course does have tough hills from miles 16-22, I still managed to PR by 10 minutes.

One nice thing is that the race organizer sponsors group runs along the course in the weeks leading up to the race. Since I'm not from this area (I was in town on an extended business trip), it helped a lot to have participated in a 20-mile group run.

Marathon entrants were provided a running jacket. Very nice! The finisher's medal is also attractive and will be proudly displayed in my collection.

This was my 6th marathon and 1st Frederick Marathon - even though I live in Frederick. The course was really nice, except the 3-mile (or so) stretch that went around Wal-Mart and down Moncacy Road. I thought the fairground was a great place for the start/finish. The hills toward the end were a challenge, but as the second place-finisher asked me earlier, "Who runs a marathon because it's easy?" Wonderful community support for a small-town marathon.

I ran this marathon last year and this year was much better! I thought the course this year was much improved, although a lot more challenging. The hills from miles 15 - 23 were tough! I did miss the run through the graveyard but the run through the canal just before mile 14 that was added this year was great too. I think the fan support was much better this year.

The one change I'd like to see is runners' first names on the bib numbers. I saw this at Disney and felt it was great to hear fans cheer for you with your name - as opposed to, "Great job, 201."

Frederick was my first marathon and I enjoyed the experience. The organizers, spectators, and local runners all worked hard to provide visitors with a positive race experience. Parking was easy but I arrived early. I did hear of some people hitting early morning traffic and rushing to the start. The water stops were well stocked and staffed with eager volunteers. The course was generally scenic and the (limited number of) spectators were energetic. The course as designed for 2008 had some challenging hills around mile 20. I saw several 3:30 and 3:40 pace group members walking up the biggest of the hills, which showed me how tough that section of the course was. There were about twice as many half-marathoners as full, so the field thinned considerably for the second half of the race. The finish had lots of energy and live music. There were plenty of bagels, granola bars, bananas, and fluids at the finish as well. Overall, Frederick is a well organized, small (but growing) marathon that makes for a fun weekend. If you are going to run Frederick next year, don't miss the twilight 5K the night before, which includes music and a general party atmosphere.

This was my 4th marathon and 1st Frederick Marathon. The organization was great and the volunteers and community support were fantastic. The course was difficult - the hills from 16 - 22 were tough, but that makes the finish even more enjoyable. I ran with the Geiko pacers and they were great too. They made the last few miles in the 10-20 miles-per-hour wind gusts seem less horrible then they were. The only issues with the course were the run though the Walmart parking lot/loading dock and the "out and back" by the airport in the open area - the winds were terrible. Overall, a great race. I will absolutely run this marathon again!

I ran this marathon last year and enjoyed it so much that I returned. The modifications to the marathon as a whole were terrific from the expo to the finish line festival (which for a small marathon was great!). The new course was challenging in the last 13. I think that it should be reversed to share that fun with the half marathoners. But how about a few more porta-potties at the start?

This was my first time running this race. The first half of the course was very nice running through downtown Frederick and around Hood College. In fact, a better course would have been two loops of the first 13.1. The second half of the course was very hilly and along stretches of highway in direct sunlight and through subdivisions. The hills did not stop from miles 16 - 23. The overall organization was quite good with well-stocked stations with gatorade, water and gu. The marathon website lists ways that you can contribute to a 'green' race, however, they used plastic cups for water. In addition to this being an avoidable environmental waste, they cups don't crimp well and crack when trying to drink while running. Please use paper cups next year! Also, the Frederick County Fairgrounds were a great place to start and finish the race, but please add more portajohns for next year. Many of the bathrooms had non-functioning or overflowing toilets - just gross. I did not do a well as I had hoped but still enjoyed completing another marathon!