Akron's marathon is the greatest! The expo is just right. The pasta dinner is the best that I have ever tasted. The Brooks technical jacket is better than a shirt any day. The course is varied and interesting going through downtown, nice neighborhoods, towpath along the river, a wooded park road and the finish in Canal Park Stadium with lots of cheers from spectators in stands. The fluid stations are well stocked and staffed. There a 4 GU stations. Plenty of porta-potties on course. The finish line has race director Jim Barnett waiting to shake each and every marathoners hand. There are pre bagged snacks for quickness with plenty of water, PowerAde and chocolate milk. Free massages are a nice treat. There are 2 free Michelob Ultras available for each participant. This course has mild to moderate hills all the way and the real challenge is that the first half is downhill overall and the second half is uphill overall. The final 2 miles are mostly downhill. Train for hills and you will do well. I have had my PR for the year 3 years in a row here out of 12 marathons per year. I look forward to this event every year and you will too!

My wife and I have run this course 3 times and we must say that it is one of our favorite marathons. For a small town, the organization, volunteers and spectator support are all excellent. Jim (RD) is a real guy and you will meet him. Thanks, Jim; we'll be back. Great marathon again (the weather cooperated this time too). :)

Akron has it all... a beautiful course, great organization and enthusiastic spectators! Plus, the swag is awesome! Marathoners get a race jacket and special gift (race cap last year, headband this year) at the end of the marathon. Half marathoners get a long-sleeve tech shirt. Everyone gets a year subscription to Runner Times. Also, the medal has the roadrunner on it (my favorite cartoon character). The start and finish are both very inspiring. The race director speaks at the start and shakes the hand of all finishers! What a great touch!

This was my first time running a marathon and I had heard so many wonderful things about Akron that I had high expectations - they were exceeded! Starting with the Expo, people were helpful, encouraging, and friendly. I ordered a medium jacket, but it was too small. No problem they said! Just turn it in and they will mail me a large in two weeks.

I come from a flat part of Michigan and didn't have the opportunity really to train on hills, so I was concerned. I agree that the course was probably a little tough for me because of that, but not impossible. I also joined a pace group and ran with an amazing woman, Dana, who cheered and encouraged us the entire way. I finished in just under four hours and was thrilled!

The crowd support was amazing! I loved the bands, and the kids who all wanted high-5s! Finishing in the stadium was perfect and shaking the race director's hand was pretty cool too. The medal sweet and yes, I got mine engraved at the end too.

I will definitely be back next year! I had never run a marathon before but this completely blew away the halves that I had done. Akron is a class-act!

This was probably the most enjoyable of all the marathons that I have run. I was confused when I had heard previous comments that the course was difficult due to the hills. Yes, there were hills, but none of them too difficult in fact I thought it was far better than the running on a flat courses that I have done in the past. The fan support was beyond anything that one could expect. The second half took you on a towpath and through the college campus. Nothing also could campare to the finish entering into the stadium. Top-notch all round. Way to go, Akron.

This is a very well organized race. Every touch point was well thought out, from the email updates to the path through the expo, the volunteers, the course and then the finish line. I can't complain about anything... well, except for the hills in Ohio! This is a magical experience you simply must experience! The Akron City Center Hotel is a bit tired, but the staff was very accommodating and its location relative to the start line was fantastic.

I have run 5 marathons before Akron. Akron blew them to dust. The course, the fans, the volunteer, the swag... everything was great. The attention to detail when planning and executing this marathon shows. There are no cons to this race. Everything was great. You can definitely tell that the people of Akron really get behind the marathon and are proud of it. I am telling all of my friends about it. It is definitely going on my race calendar for next year.

For my first marathon, I can say that I finished. I was not prepared for all of the hills, I enjoyed the run on the trail for the middle miles. However, the number of hills really slowed down my time. The tech jacket is nice, but I am going to do a flatter course for my next marathon.

This was my second year running the full Akron Marathon and fourth time running in this race at any distance. The only other marathons I have run are Cleveland and New York.

Overall the organization can't be beat. Everything was flawless from start to finish. All the little things make it an easy race. There was signage indicating there was a water stop coming up so there weren't any traffic jams at the tables. Water/PowerAde order was always the same. You pass the rows of porta-johns at the start line again at mile 11 so you don't have to wait in line at that location. There were 4 well placed GU locations, a very organized finish area and plenty of food at the finish. Parking and getting to the start line was a breeze.

I mention all of these pluses because these were the problems I ran into at other big races.

It did feel like that the entire time on the course I was either going up something or down something, but I enjoyed the variety. I always run my fastest on this course so the hills aren't that bad. Even the famous 3-mile-hill portion isn't extremely steep, so its manageable. It just keeps going. They do make it very obvious from all their descriptions that it is a hilly course. The long downhill at West Market around mile 24 was very welcome though!

The long hill portion is the most scenic as you are in a park on a winding road completely closed to traffic in the middle of some woods. Also love the sunrise from the bridge at the beginning with the steam scenic railway train crossing underneath! Was that planned?

Running through Stan Hywet grounds is always a plus. There was a very frustrated tourist at the front door. I overheard her saying, "Well I finally made it to Stan Hywet and guess what's going on? The Akron Marathon." (Insert sarcasm) Oops!

The jacket given to the marathoners is great but the Brooks one given out in 2009 is better. Felt sorry for the half marathoners who got a flourescent yellow shirt. It looked like there were random security guards mixed in the crowd at the beginning because the crowd was dotted with bright highlighter-yellow shirts. :)

Overall this race is a blast and all my friends who run the relay while I run the marathon always say, "Let's do it again next year!"

I've done this race 5 times: one marathon, one relay, and 3 half-marathons. I think this race is number one all around - from the organization to the awesome course and Jim Barnett shaking everyone's hand at the finish. The number of volunteers handing out water, PowerAde, and GU is just amazing!! The finish in Canal Park makes this race worth the effort!! Thanks for another AWESOME RACE!!!!!!!!!!