As a past resident of Edmonton, I keep coming back to this great city. This time the weather was perfect and the course was very familiar to me. The course offered many urban and natural attractions of the city. The steep ravine on the way back was steeper than I remembered from my last run and I am afraid it will be even steeper the next time. There were not many spectators, but they offered loud and needed support. And as always - excellent volunteers.

This is a very well organized event on a scenic course which twice crosses the South Saskatchewan River. Various loops throughout the course keep it interesting and enable you to see runners coming the other way. The locals were very encouraging to all runners both vocally and with signs. I would definitely recommend this marathon.

This was my first marathon and I was very impressed with the fan support and turnout despite a horrible weather day. It was rainy and cold, but the aid stations were fantastic. The course was nice, but I would have preferred not an out and back style. Overall I had a great experience and loved it. Thanks.

This was my first marathon, so I have nothing to compare it to. The course followed a very pretty route, through some of the nicest residential districts in Edmonton, plus along the river valley. Two of the hills were early in the race, so were no problem. The McKinnon Ravine hill at 30 km was tough, but at least it was pretty. The cold, wind and moisture probably deterred casual spectators, but I gave the spectators a score of four because of the volunteers. They were incredible, standing there in that weather for hours. Hats off to them for their friendly support. Organization was good. I was impressed that there was food at the brunch for the last finishers.

This was a very well organized event. I will not complain too much about the weather; at least it was not snowing. The facilities at the start/finish were OK and the volunteers did an excellent job.
Two suggestions for improvement:

1. Elevation chart of the course would be very helpful

2. The section of the course near the U of A Experimental Farm could be re-routed to avoid the obvious discomfort of breathing manure-scented air.

Hi:

No, I will not hold you responsible for the weather! This was a good run (I did the 1/2 marathon) and the organization and course were definitely very good. Road marshalls were good, there was no time I had difficulty finding the actual route or having to wake up marshalls to tell them to point the way (this unfortunately does happen in some races). The only negative for me was the high price for the extra brunch tickets - $10 would have been appropriate.

The new route allows runners to view Edmonon's beautiful river valley with a minimum of road closures. The course is challenging without an excessive amount of elevation gain. The third hill (McKinnon Ravine) after 30 km was tough, but manageable. Overall a good route.