This was my 3rd marathon, first time doing the Garmin Oz Marathon however and I felt that everything went spot on for this race from packet pickup right down the amazing weather and nice huge medal!

The packet/shirt pickup was very smooth. The highlight of the expo was meeting Bart Yasso who signed autographs and spoke at the pasta dinner. He actually ran the marathon too which was pretty exciting!

It was probably the most perfect picturesque day you could ask for a mararthon with sunny skies, temps in the mid 60's with a light a variable wind, which is rare for Kansas.

I felt that the organization was great and there were plenty of water/aid stations. There were parts of the route where there was lack of spectators as there is a lot of marathons but all the volunteers made up for that. The volunteers were very spirited and enthusiastic along the route at each and every water stop, even at mile 20! It was really neat seeing them all dressed as characters from the Wizard Oz, Dorothy, The Tin Man, The Cowardly Lion, all were there! It was really motivating and greatly appreciated!

I came away with three shirts and a huge finishers medal. This years medal was the scarecrow and each year they are going to have a different character so that you will be able to collect all of them, which is a neat idea. You definitely received a lot at this race, which made it a great value!

The only things I would possibly change would be to make the expo larger and taking out the section of the route that goes around the Great Mall of the Great Plains during the first part of the race. It was a pretty boring part of the race but fortunately there were many wonderful people running alongside me to keep me distracted.

All in all, this is a really nice race with a great theme! I highly recommend it!

I have done the Garmin/Oz Olathe Marathon two years in a row, and it's quickly becoming one of my favorite races.

Positives: The organization is superb from expo to finish line, and the addition of Garmin as the title sponsor will only make it better. I came away with three shirts (cotton participant and Garmin shirts, plus tech finisher) and a great medal, so it is a good value. The course is very enjoyable if you like a more suburban, even rural, type of setting. It is flat for the most part (just a few hills and grades here and there to keep it interesting), and I found the last half along the trail to be quite nice. I had my fastest time in a couple of years. The volunteers are friendly and well-prepared.

Potential Improvements: A larger expo would be nice, though 2012 marked an improvement over 2011. The new location at the Holiday Inn is great. The course tends to be a bit congested until the half-marathoners split at mile 12; it is also exposed for the first few miles, leaving it vulnerable to bad weather (i.e., the 40 mph gusts in 2011).

Suggestions: Make your motel reservations early. There are some great places to stay for relatively reasonable prices near the start (Days Inn is nice). I waited this year, and ended up at Econo Lodge. Nice people and near the start, but a motel I would avoid in the future (bad shower, useless breakfast, non-working TV).

All in all, this is a really nice race with a great theme. A large number of costumed runners make it extra fun (I think I saw four Dorothys this year). I recommend it wholeheartedly!

What a great run! The weather was great - cool and no wind (for Kansas).

Pros: Plenty of aid stations. Many 'Wizard of OZ' costumes (aid stations and runners). First time I've seen two pacers for same time (traded off). Good job by Police and traffic control. First half run on city streets second half on paved bike trails. Still had some cheer stations and a few spectators on bike path. GU stations. Huge finisher's metal - scarecrow (if I only had a brain).

Cons: Hard to crew runners on 2nd half. Map needs addresses for GPS. We tried to drive the course the afternoon before but hard to follow on course map.

All in all, I'd do it again on my next trip around the 50 States.

This was my 34th full marathon and 3rd time for Olathe. This is a small marathon, and typically I will pass on a marathon of this size, but I am so glad that I didn't! This was a small but very well organized event. All of the Wizard of Oz characters were there, I even saw a male runner wearing a powder blue Dorothy dress!

What impressed me the most was the friendly attitude of the volunteers at packet pickup, and spirited and enthusiastic volunteers along the route, especially at mile 20! The volunteers at this station were dressed as characters from the Wizard Oz, Dorothy, The Tin Man, The Cowardly Lion, all were there except for the wizard! And from the perspective of this chronic BOP'er I greatly appreciated thier support and enthusiasm so late in the race.

It was a picturesque day for a mararthon with sunny skies above, temps in the mid 60's, with a light a variable wind, which is rare in Kansas for this time of the year.

As with many marathons of this size spectator support was very light, and almost non exsistant on the final 13 miles, but it is the friendly and spirited support of the volunteers that made the effort worth the while.

The race begins and ends at Garmin (The Event Sponsor) The first 12 miles runs thru commercial and residential areas, miles 13 thru 23 runs on a paved trail, and the final 3 miles resumes thru residential areas and then ending at Garmin.

The finish line was well organized and spacious. And unlike many mararthons that I have done in the past, after crossing the finish line, I did not feel like I was trapped in a box, and unable to make contact with family members who were waiting on the other side.

And the finishers medal??? Well that's one huge medal! I needed help carrying it back to my car! The Olathe Marathon AKA Garmin-Oz Marathon is a small no frills event, but I would recommend this event to the 50 staters club. The Olathe Marathon is proof that SOMETIMES simple is better!

Very much enjoyed the Garmin Marathon in the Land of Oz. Perfect weather this year, mid-40s at start, sunny, no wind. Race sets up in two phases - 1st 11+ miles around the streets of Olathe, last 14+ on a paved trail. I was wary of the out-and-back on the trail, but the marathon is small enough that the crowd is spread out and the scenery is nice enough (lots of wooded area, shade) that you don't get bored seeing the same thing twice. Lots of encouragement among runners passing each other heading back too.

Aid stations were good. One suggestion to the race committee: encourage the GU volunteers to space themselves a few hundred yards ahead of the water so that runners have time to intake and then wash out at the water stop.

Medal was great, my favorite I've received so far. Race shirt was cotton, but finishers in the full got a nice tech shirt (short-sleeve). Massage at end was very helpful. Food selection was below average (yogurt, bananas) - I didn't partake in the free chicken sandwiches though.

Overall, definitely a nice course, can be fast, fun atmosphere. Had a great time!

Pros:
1. Incredible weather, great organization
2. Fast, very flat course
3. Nice post-race and great tech T
Cons:
1. 4hr pacer was way off pace and subsequently had to make up for it the rest of the race. Not as advertised.
2. No chocolate milk at finish = fail
3. Course was too long by .20 (too many runners claim this same thing to pawn it off on zig-zags.) Major fail.
4. Can you set up a 'runner's line' for the food? I stood in line for a chicken sandwich behind 30 non-runners. Not cool.

Overall, I loved this race. Perfect weather, good org, set a PR. I will be back but would like to see some improvements as it continues to grow. Also, how about putting some bands along the course? Not original, but really helps especially when you have small crowd support.

Great organization, nice course with great fans and support. Two suggestions, widen the area near the water stops (a must) and neighborhood roads during the first part of the race. They were unnecessary narrow-race is growing and runners need more space.

This race has really come of age. Great commitment by City of Olathe and Garmin. Well organized in all aspects: packet pick up; expo; pre-race; course; aid stations; volunteers; and post race. No weaknesses. Out and back on paved trail through beautiful park made for a very good race.

Lucked out and had awesome weather (38 degrees at start and NO WIND!) Good, relatively flat course. Good out and back section on a paved trail for most of last part of course with a few MINOR rolling hills. I was suffering from a calf injury but both my training partners PR'd. Very easy to get to and plenty of parking. A little short on porta-potties but that seems the norm. Not a lot of spectators but great volunteers (espectially the fluid station where all were dressed as OZ characters).

PROS: The course was beautiful, very flat, and very well marked. Never felt lost or uncertain of the course. Ended up with three shirts, a nice medal, and a great post-race party. Porta potties seemed adequate, could have had better line formation. While spectators were far apart, they were enthusiastic.
CONS: If you have allergies to tree pollen, you may not like the second half. Although they listed three Gu stations, two of them ran out before I got there, and I was mid-pack. I also noticed that one of the watering stations was using fire hydrants & trash cans for water, which caused illness in the R&R in Las Vegas.

All told, I would run this again in a heartbeat. It was a fun race & a beautiful day.