Despite the marathon being only in its second year, I took a chance on Grand Rapids because I am a college student there. Another reason was the course seemed similar to a race I ran earlier in the year, the Fifth Third River Bank 25-K, a very exceptional race that I enjoyed and highly recommend.

But back to this race, and I will never regret deciding to run the Grand Rapids Marathon. Of the three full marathons I have run (I also have completed Detroit and Chicago), this race was the best-organized. The course did have a few out-and-back areas, but the course was still really beautiful along the Grand River. And since it was full, the fall colors were spectacular. The course is mostly flat with some minor hills, but nothing I wasn't prepared for. The expo was not as big of an expo as the previous races I had run, but I felt like the people were really trying to get to know runners and supporting them well. I just had a feel that the organizer knew what he was preparing that he was an experienced runner who cared about others.

The fans were fairly often few and far between. In fact, I may have a little positive bias in the fan rating. This is because as I said, I am a college student in Grand Rapids, and numerous friends of mine came out and supported me at different areas of the course. The people at aid stations, however, not only provided you water, Gatorade, and other goodies you might have wanted, but really tried to act like fans as well. At one aid station, I was offered Vaseline but turned it down, not needing it but just wanting a simple hi-five, and it was granted!

Sadly, unless I live in Grand Rapids in the future, I will probably not have another opportunity to run this marathon soon because I graduate in 2007. Another reason is I am planning on running all 50 States. However, if you want a small marathon that is very well-organized and the people try hard to get to know you, this is a great pick! Recommended.

I'm tempted to lie and say bad things about this race because I don't want it to grow too much, but this is a great marathon. I've run 21 marathons - mostly the bigger ones, multiple times. I plan to run this one every year because it is my hometown and I feel like I can PR on it every year, as I did in 2005. Anymore I don't sweat the small stuff, you know, some people might not like the medal or post-race baggy; I don't really give a crap about that stuff... just give me a course and logistics that put me in a position to run my best. This race is all about that. I guarantee, you run this race once and you will know it was organized by a serious runner. If you are looking for a big-city experience, look elsewhere. If you need a lot of crowd support, look elsewhere. If you just want to PR, Chicago may have a slightly faster course - though perhaps not, when you factor in the inevitable logjam at the start. This is definitely a place where you can break free and run YOUR pace right from the get-go. The worst thing I can say about this race is that in 2005 the wind was tough in the last 6 miles, where an industrial park and open areas offered little buffer from the wind. Lastly, I will say there were kinks in the inaugural race (2004), but kudos to the organizer, because I think they were all eliminated in 2005. Now it's all good.

Maybe I'm cheating here because I only did the half-M, but we shared our half route with the full. If you want a scenic and well-organized event, but without having to battle huge crowds, this is for you. My wife and I enjoyed staying at the 5-star Amway Grand Hotel, and then just walking 5 minutes to the starting line, which is a lot closer than I usually have to park at the big races!

The weather really cooperated with near-perfect conditions. I started out with a pace group, but later pulled ahead to do a PR for the half on this fast & flat course. The best part was the path along the river, under the trees, crunching on the fallen leaves.

I'll be back in '06, skipping the Detroit race again if I have to.

I highly recommend this well organized race. Parking was within a few blocks of the start/finish and there were plenty of port-o-potties to support the crowd. The course was definitely advertised correctly as "mostly flat." In fact, the things they called "hills" I would call speed bumps! But there was enough rise & fall along the way to keep your legs from getting too beat up. There were several out-&-back sections along the way that were obviously thrown in to eek out another mile or so along the course - if that bothers you, be forewarned. For me, this wasn't really a problem.

I opted to run with the "celebrity pace groups" to help from going out too fast. The George W. Bush pace group leaders were supportive and ran like metronomes - I stuck with them almost the entire race and they definitely helped me reach my goal!

The long-sleeve CoolMax T-shirt and finisher's medal were world-class, and the YMCA hosting us with hot showers at the finish line was a very welcome bonus! Post-race food was pretty good, the beer was great (and I don't normally drink beer)! Hopefully they'll add vegetarian chili to the menu for future races. I crossed with a BQ and PR time and made sure to give the race director (who congratulates every runner crossing the finish line personally) a big hug!

You can tell that a runner organized this marathon. It offers everything a good marathon needs. Beautiful awards, medals, shirts, aid stations, and food. The course is very scenic and fun to run. It is mostly flat with just a few small hills to add variety. The only negative thing is the smell of the waste treatment plant at the turnaround! I would recommend this marathon!!

Wonderful marathon. Traffic-free course mostly on paved trails through scenic wooded areas in the peak of their fall colors. Excellent volunteers and aid stations. Well organized. Very entertaining pre-race emails. Pretty fast course. I set a PB by 9 minutes. The most fun marathon I have ever run.

A fast, flat out-and-back along a riverbank with the fall colors in all their glory. The luxurious host hotel is 3 blocks from the start-finish at the sparkingly, new Y.M.C.A. This is my definition of a perfect marathon. Only 3 hours from Detroit and Chicago, and only an hour from the Muskego Ferry for fellow Wisconsinites. The finisher and placement medals are done in grand style.

If you enjoy big marathons and everything that goes along with them, traffic, expensive hotels, $20 parking and crowded expos, then you would not like the Grand Rapids Marathon. I like the smaller marathon venues and Grand Rapids has become one of my favorite marathons.

The expo and starting line are right off the major interstate, which is easy to find with ample free parking. The expo was hosted at the YMCA. HOT showers with towels awaited you after the race.

The course is flat as advertised and offered plenty of water/Gu to drink (I drank water) and gels. The weather was perfect, although it did get breezy for a short time around mile 23.

I did not plan to run with the pacing groups they offered, but ended up running with the 'Baldwin' 3:29 group around mile 15. I've never had much luck with pacing groups, but the leaders of this group were awesome! They kept us motivated, they sang, they chanted, told jokes and all but carried us on their backs! I finished with a 3:28 and ended a long slump over over-3:30 marathons. I wish that I could find a pacing group like this one at future marathons! Thumbs up to the director, staff and pacing groups!

P.S I hope you enjoyed the London Porter! (They suggest that you bring beer for the race director at packet pick-up.)

This is a marathon well worth considering. It is very well organized and real convenient (the hotels are withing walking distance). I ran it last year and it has improved a lot. Can't wait to see what next year brings. I could see it was organized by a runner; the shirts were real running shirts, not the cotton ones, and the medals are nice.

I had fun at this race. It's somewhat small and quiet and I agree, it's a good race to just lay down the hammer without too many distractions. Nice course although very winding with lots of turns (it reminded me of a trail run). The hardest part for me was the out and back at 17-18-19 miles because you come out of the gorgeous trees to run an industrial-type road. However there were a bunch of spectators here. Thanks for the gels at the aid stations. Maybe next year I'll try the pickle juice at mile 20. Enthusiastic race director and volunteers. Fantastic long sleeved technical shirt. I'm looking forward to seeing the personalized DVD every participant will receive in the mail!