If you are looking for a fun, flat, fast, great place to run, this is your race. What a great bunch of people that put this race on and it will only get better with each new year.

One of the best small races in the country. It is hard to believe this was the first year because the organization is terrific. The course is flat in a state where it is hard to find 26 flat miles. November because of the temperatures and foliage is a great time of the year to run a race in West Vriginia. Traffic control was generally good. Pizza after the race, yeah! The hardest part was climbing the stadium steps up to the green room for the post-race meal. Thank goodness they have an elevator for the trip down.

This was my 15th marathon, and I've done very big and very small races. For an inaugural race, it was very well done. Minor glitches like plastic cups won't happen again. Food ran short at end only because they didn't think to restrict access to runners only, and people had whole families in there. That won't happen again either. Plenty of bathrooms and easy parking at start/finish. For 50-staters, you should know this is the only flat course in WV, and the only marathon not in June. Good Boston qualifier - several of my friends qualified. Friendly staff, enthusiastic volunteers, modest but cheerful crowd, nice town with reasonable lodging, very reasonable cost, and a fun finish in Marshall University stadium. Register early - the fleece is a plus.

This was my first marathon, and I thoroughly enjoyed this small race. It was very flat (except for a couple very small hills) as opposed to what most would expect in WV. In fact, my training in Kentucky had more hills. For this reason, the race was very enjoyable. The time of year for this race also made for perfect running weather. It was about 30 degrees at the start and warmed to the mid-40's. There weren't a whole lot of crowds on the course, but the ones that were there were highly encouraging and motivating. And even one person is a 100% improvement when you're used to training alone. The best improvement for this race would be to have water stations spaced closer together at the end when dehydration is a bigger factor and more restrooms at the beginning when dehydration is the last of your worries. Thanks to the staff at the local Chevron who let me use their facilities twice during the race. Great race with super friendly people. I would recommend it.

Great FLAT WV race for those 50-staters out there. For a first year race, it was very well done. I ran into one of the directors at the end of the race. I mentioned other races I had run. He was very curious to get my opinion of the race. I told him I liked the course. The long boring stretches I could live without. I really liked the parks. He mentioned that they had other park options in Huntington, but the incline was like this: /. I decided that I could take the boring portions in place of hilly. The plastic cups were a nuisance, but I will never complain about volunteers. Next year, they can fix those little problems easily. The course was very fast. I was solid for 26.2 miles, but I could feel that I had just run Detroit 3 weeks prior. With fresh legs, I think this would be a very solid BQ course. Good luck next year!

Drove a long way with the family for this one and it was worth it. Had a slight problem finding number p/u but race day went smooth - weather cool, course flat. Course was average, the park was nice - have run on much worse courses - they had cones and people throughout the entire race, and the finish was unique on the football field, carrying the ball for the last 100 yards. Full plastic cups were a bit much but manageable, not a lot of fans but that comes with smaller races. They gave age-group awards as you crossed the line, and that was nice - no waiting around. Finisher?s medal was nice - I would recommend this to anyone interested in doing it.

Maybe its because Columbus got my hopes up just a mere 28 days before I ran this one, but I just didn't care for this marathon. It was my second, and I only had one to compare it to, but I can say a few things about it. The course seemed downright lonely at times, and I was by myself at some points, unsure of where to go. There was a stretch where cars were zooming by at 40 mph right in the next lane and they didn't seem to care we were running a marathon. Where fans actually were, they were AWESOME. This might be a good first marathon... I kind of wish they had GU or some other nourishment along the way. The pretzels and occasional candy were a nice touch, but the course itself just felt lonely.

My goal here was to run a Boston qualifying time, however, I developed a foot problem around mile 14 and jogged it in instead. The course is actually quite flat and one to qualify at with the exception of a few short steep inclines - the 4 stars is not for beauty. The sections run in the park were enjoyable with more spectators, and lots of trees. There are some rather run-down sections of town and because of the low number of runners (300?) I spent miles 12-on by myself; this isn't necessarily a negative but more of a warning if your into big marathons. The annoying part of the course is at the end where you are sent zigzagging down sidewalks as you head towards the Marshall U. stadium. Running the last 100 yards across the football field was fun (and the field is so spongy you almost head towards the finish line in a sprint), especially carrying a football through the endzone. How often does a 135-pound runner get a chance to do that?

There are some minor problems like using plastic cups instead of paper and low spectator turnout. On the positive side, the spectators, volunteers and police were friendly and helpful (I was in the 3-3:15 crowd, so I don't know what the lead pack would have to say...).

Very solid first year.