This is now one of my favorite races. The logistics couldn't be easier - you get to hang-out INSIDE until the start, park 50 yards away from the start/finish, and have hot showers and a hot meal afterward. What more can you want? Yes, crowd support is a bit thin as you'd expect in a small marathon, but all the volunteers were gracious, supportive and helpful. Flat and fast course.;I'm planning on coming back next year.

Very well organized, friendly race. This marathon has a nice hometown feel to it. Food is great at the awards lunch. Very fast, flat course; excellent for a Boston qualifier. Met several runners at the pre-race dinner, and swapped war stories with them.

Race director Liza Recto makes all runners feel welcome and really puts on a nice event. I have run this race the last three years and will return next year.

This is a wonderful small race. The course support is as good as or better than the bigger races and the meal (and hot showers) available afterwards are absolutely fantastic. This was my first year to do this race, but I definitely plan to return.

Okay, if you are looking for all the things that come with a race that is over a thousand people, this is not the race for you. If you like small, super low-key races that are more like a training run than a huge event, this is your race.

The course, like others have said, does have very little to admire from about 13 to the finish; however, by then, I am not looking for scenery. I am looking for the finish line! The course marshals were great, and at no point, even though none of the course was closed to traffic, did I feel like a driver was about to run me down, or would be allowed to.

Crowd support is a little like BYOCS (Bring Your Own Crowd Support); HOWEVER, NO ONE should knock the folks that are out there. Even though they might be sparse, they were great!

The seamanship school was a perfect race headquarter. Plenty of warm, comfy space before the race, and hot showers and a meal after the race!

Like any coastal race, there is always the chance you will have a windy day, and this race was a bit windy, but a tailwind nearly all the way from 18.8 to the finish.

Liza and team put on an excellent race!!

Overall a well organized, fun race in a beautiful place. Many others have commented on the course (beautiful first ten, then "boring" second half), and I asked one of the club members why not do it backwards, or do the island twice. The main reason (according to him) is that the island has narrow roads, and there are several churches on the island that would be severely disrupted if we were to appear any later in the morning. Fair enough. Other comments are listed below in the Kudos/Room for Improvement section. Thanks to Lisa and her crew for putting on a really classy run!

KUDOS
1. Good course, beautiful sunrise over the bay, mostly flat, and the few hills were very manageable.
2. Excellent, well stocked aid stations with friendly volunteers braving the very cold, windy day. A gentle suggestion: maybe slightly bigger cups. One gulp isn't really enough.
3. Nice start/finish area. We were able to keep warm with plenty of toilets until right before the race.... Very nice.
4. Post-race feed was perhaps the nicest I've ever had in over 20 marathons. Hot food and lots of it, and a beautiful view of the water in a nice dining room. Very, very nice amenity.
5. My personal favorite: Hot showers with a supplied towel and soap at the finish! Oh my god was it good. I'm a slow runner, but there was hot, hot water left and nice fluffy towels. How could you NOT love this??

Room for Improvement
1. The shirt was a little on the plain side (I'm really reaching here for negatives) and cotton. How about a technical tee?
2. Hold the pasta feed somewhere else. The price was right, but the service was slow, they ran out of food, and substituted whatever they felt like in exchange. How 'bout having it at the dining room that where the finish line luncheon is held. Jack up the race price a bit, include the dinner and we'd all have a great time.

Executive summary: One of my favorite small races; keep up the great work, and thanks for a wonderful day.

Although all are entitled to their opinion, I think that the comments from f. g., Playboy Mansion, California (3/13/07) are definitely in the minority here. I will not waste words trying to refute opinion, however the comment about "horrible water stations" was off-base, mean-spirited and uncalled for. The small but enthusiastic band of volunteers are to be commended for their dedication and enthusiasm. But, I guess when you hail from Playboy Mansion California, you probably aren't in touch with reality anyway :-). Enough negativity!

First and foremost, the race director is second to none: the best among some good one's I've run into (Akron Roadrunner and Virginia Creeper). From the day I signed up, I felt she was organizing the marathon specifically for me. Her e-mail communication was timely, personal, detailed and humerous. She is a runner, giving of her time and talent and passion for the benefit of other runners. Liza Recto, you're #1 in my book. By the way, Liza has a love for filet mignon, and gladly accepts "thank you gifts" from past and future participants... really!

I'll echo what you'll see throughout the rest of these reviews. Beautifully scenic course - yes the 1st half is prettier than the second, but the second half doesn't deserve some of the abuse it is getting. In fact, the 1st half was so scenic that I went back and drove the course after completing, so I could share the sights with those not lucky enough to have been there. The host facility and the post-race buffet are are both wonderful. The headwinds from mile 12-19, were indeed, tough. But, who do you blame that on? The volunteers were enthusiastic, cheery and helpful. I too would have like to had the water stations spaced a little closer in the second half of the race, but think that was more a function of my "pre-race" dehydration than any real "need." More crowd support would have been nice, but those who were there were enthusiastic. And yes, it was nice to have your vehicle parked within 100 yards of the start and finish.

Thank you Liza and staff/volunteers for putting your heart into this event! Most of us truly appreciate your efforts!

I'd definitely run this one again!

This is my second run on this course (I did the full in 2005 and the relay this year). As I ran the flat, scenic, first part this year, I enjoyed again what I carried away from my first run - the wonderful, early-morning water vistas encountered on every part of the first part of the course - and I noticed things I hadn't the last time. This is a complete spectator course for the runners. As we mid-packers went into beautiful St. George Island, we saw the leaders come charging back on their way out, and we were entertained by the sight of three-peater John Piggott running past, stride for stride early with a fast relay runner.

The same was true for the trip down the road to Camp Merrylande, and then it was off the island (the wind hits you hard on the bridge off the island) and over to Piney Point. By this time the race was more spread out, but we could still see friends coming or going as we ran. Then it was off for the long slog out along the highway and back, where the rolling hills kicked in. This is a course with some challenges to it. But we could also see the race unfold one last time on the opposite shoulder as the race leaders ran by on their final return. It was exciting!

The support at this race is ample and enthusiastic. The ambience is great. Do you like finding parking with no problems, within 100 yards of the start line? Do you like showering after a race? Would you like a full post-race buffet, served to you? Come run this race! I encountered a 50-stater marathon runner in the dining hall afterwards and asked him, "What marathon have you run in the country that has a more beautiful first 4 miles?" He thought long and hard, seemingly stumped. Minutes later he suddenly brightened and said, San Francisco! Nice company for a nice, little marathon!

First the positives, which are many: good organization; informal pasta dinner was great; race start was on time; inside building area before start was great; post-race meal the best of any of my 37 marathons.

Areas of possible improvement: while I'm not a big fan of double-loop courses, turning us around at 13.1 and taking us back toward the lighthouse and back across the bridges to the island would make it more interesting, since there isn't much to see during the current stretch from 12 - 25 anyway. Also, double-check the mile markers from 25 to the finish. My GPS showed the last 1.2 miles to be over 1.4.

My first "small" marathon - about three hundred or so runners. the scenery was gorgeous, but there was a bit more traffic than I expected during the final "out and back" stretch. The hospitality at the school of seamanship was great.

First half of this race is as pretty as they come - bay views, narrow lanes, nice trees. Second half is not as good - boring in fact - on a wide country road with very little traffic, but lots of wind and sun. Why not run the first part 2 times? Liza and her crew, in particular the wonderful volunteers, did a fantastic job... no complaints at all. The full, sit-down buffet (lasagna, pasta salad, meats, dessert, chefs in big white hats, 20 servers, etc.) was incredible. I have never seen as fine a food service as this at any race, any where - all high quality and delicious. My sincere thanks to all who made it possible.