We came all the way from Arkansas to to the GRM based on reviews here on MarathonGuide.com and we weren't dissapointed. Great race organization. Plenty of parking near the start/finish. Everyone is super supportive and great supply of food/beer at end. Was my wife's first full and it couldn't have gone better.

Pros:

1) Super flat course. Probably only two 'hills' on the course and to call them hills is an insult to real hills
2) Better than expected crowd support. I had low expectations but was impressed with the number of people that came out and cheered.
3) Awesome finishing medal
4) Pre-race facilities were nice and warm. Shuttles from hotels made it a snap. Start was right off the freeway.
5) Running through the downtown area was very cool as was Millennium Park.
6) Some of the best runner support ever. Many water stops with good volunteers.
6) Loved the food / treats at the end of the race.

Cons:
1) The Out and back sections of the course were a bit dull. Would've loved to have run more in the city section.
2) The technical t-shirt is definitely serviceable, but it won't be my favorite. Needs to be jazzed up.
3) Would've been nice to know ahead of time about the pickle juice stops. They always say never try anything new on race day and pickle juice definitely would've been new.

Overall, I'd highly recommend this racing for those looking for a PR. This is a professionally run race that is worthy of your attention. My hats off to the fantastic volunteers and the wonderful people of Grand Rapids for pulling off an excellent race.

What a great race, this is the 3rd time running this race.. I would put this race in the top 3 events i have participated in.
Pros
*Course is flat and fast
*Aid stations are perfectly spaced and well staffed
*The volunteers are awesome, what would you expect from a staff of marathon runners?
*Beer and chili at the finish line.. are you kidding me?
*Lots of other choices to eat like chocolate milk, and ice cream
*celebrity pace groups
*Pickle juice on the course

Cons
*Course is a little boring and remote
*Not a lot of spectators on the course
*Cheap$$ shirt.. come on Don really why did you change it from the awesome shirt?
*Price..a little pricey
*Did i say the shirt was really cheap this year already.. for that price really?

Overall i would definitely recommend this race to every one.. having fun with the cheap shirt... But Don if you try to pass that cheap thing next year for a shirt... we will have issues

I really enjoyed the Grand Rapids marathon. I was particularly impressed with the novel Celebrity Pace teams. For the Celebrity Pace Teams, they identify the finish times of celebrities who have run marathons such as Al Gore, Oprah Winfrey, Lance Armstrong, etc., and pace the team to finish at that time.

I echo all of the comments from the other runners particularly concerning organization, ease, convenience, flat course, food. I also would call this an excellent choice for a 50 stater.

The Grand Rapids Marathon has top notch organization. All the hype about this marathon is true! It truly rocks!

Pros:
1. Great Medal!
2. I have never seen so much food at the end. Bagels, chips, chocolate milk, yogurt, fruit, ice cream, chili, beer, string cheese. And the salvation army was providing hot dogs, chips, and cookies to everyone-spectators and runners for free!
3. The starting area/finish area is great. The YMCA opened their doors to runners, pre run and post run. It was super easy to park the morning of the marathon and to find my family afterwards.
4. The course was awesome. It is flat and fast! This is a PR shattering course for sure! There are some hills from about mile 7 to 10 but they are small. And 200 feet of total elevation gain over 26.2 miles is nothing. You run in the city for about the first 6 miles. Then even though you are on streets or paved greenways for the rest of the marathon it is does not feel like a city run. Kind of reminds me of running on back roads not necessarily country roads.
5. The organization is AH-MAZ-ING! It start from the top (Don) all the way to the bottom. They didn't miss anything. Don really knows what he is doing. From the monthly emails, to daily emails close to the marathon, to my name called and a hug at the end of the race. Everyone is treated like they are elites. The volunteers put the medal around my neck and when I couldn't quite figure out how to put on my space blanket, they wrapped it around me. Never once did I hear your almost done, until I was actually almost done. I heard words of encouragement and saw signs that kept me motivated when I needed to be.

Cons.
1. There really wasn't that much music on the course or spectators outside the viewing area. But the spectator viewing areas were lined with cheering fans and these areas were great! But that being said, I did see my family 5 times at different points along the course, which is fantastic!

Overall, Grand Rapids is an awesome race that I would highly recommend to anyone from the novice runner to the experienced marathoners. This race has world class organization!

Keep up the great work, Grand Rapids!!!!!!!!!!

I ran this race under the recommendation of other Kansas City runners. They did not disappoint! I echo all 2011 positive comments so won't repeat what has been said. I would like to give a two thumbs up to the Clarion hotel. They were fantastic in their hospitality for runners. Free shuttle to and from the airport and the race. And, a 3:00 pm check out time! I don't think I've ever been given that option. They were very kind and accommodating!!

Grand Rapids put on a model race, one that should be emulated by others. In addition to the stellar organization and nice course, the relatively small size (1,600 marathoners and 1,700 half-marathoners) was just right for an enjoyable running experience.

The course was mostly flat with very gentle grades (virtually unnoticeable). The one alleged hill was gentle and perhaps 150-200 yards long. The course was mostly run through wooded areas (parks and parkways), quite pleasant, but not particularly scenic.

Each mile was prominently marked with a large flag. These couldn't be missed.

Packet pick-up was a breeze (I went Saturday morning) and was open on race morning.

There was ample parking within a block or two of the start/finish line. This was important because I couldn't find a hotel room within walking distance of the start/finish, even though I started looking 4 months prior to the race.

The YMCA, a block from the start/finish line, was open race morning to give runners shelter from inclement weather. This was much appreciated.

The race director and staff worked their magic on race day: the light rain stopped when the gun went off and they managed to completely corral the 20-30 mph winds that we experienced on Friday and Saturday. Overcast skies and high-40s and mid 50s temps also made for good running.

Plenty of enthusiastic fans and clever signs along the course, even in the park areas that weren't center city or residential; i.e., people had to travel to get there.

Plentiful volunteers who were uniformly smiling and encouraging.

Half marathoners started with the marathoners and rejoined them at about mile 22.5. This did not create any crowding at my pace (8:20/mile).

A wide and plentiful variety of food and drink was available at the finish, the usual bananas and water, but also apples, cookies, bread, chips, Gogurt, custard, ice cream, and chocolate milk.

The email newsletter provided useful, late-breaking information, rather than just cutting and pasting from the website. Why can't all races do this?

The race packets were classy; the bag was a nice cloth mini-backpack carryall that could be used as a gear bag on race day. Also included was a pair of technical socks.

Gear drop off took 10 seconds and pick-up took 1 minute.

Finishing time and places were posted at the race site and updated about every 30 minutes. This allowed runners to see how they did and whether they should hang around to pick up their award on-site.

Grand Rapids was a nice destination for a fall marathon; good eating at reasonable prices, a fun museum across from the YMCA expo site (with a spooky Halloween light and music show in the planetarium) as a diversion, and it was easy to get around. The race staff put in a lot of hard work to make the race successful and it showed. Most importantly, everyone, both associated with race and not, was very friendly and helpful; even the TSA screener at the airport who told me that he liked my Flying Pig marathon jacket.

This is my second time running the GR marathon. It is run by runners and you can tell as things just run smoothly and without any fuss. The post-run refreshments are very generous, escpecially for a smaller race. The course is flat, but has two little turnarounds that detract from the appeal. The finisher's shirt previously was a nice long-sleeve Brooks wicking shirt. This year it was replaced by a cheaper short-sleeve model from some off brand. It's a pretty cruddy shirt which is too bad, as I wear last year's model all the time. Still despite the course quirks and cut-rate shirt it is a very well-run race and worth doing if you are looking for a fall marathon in Michigan.

This is the second time that I have had the pleasure, yes pleasure, of running the Grand Rapids Marathon. It is the most well organized marathon that I have had the opportunity to run. The text/email alerts were an excellent addition this year and would love to have them back next year!!

Amazing race, course, volunteers, organization.