Loved having the marathon in Rochester. Only two points for improvement:

1. Water stops seemed to vary. Literature stated they'd be every 2 miles. It shook my confidence a little when there was no water left at mile 4!
2. Chip pick up seemed a little disorganized.

Overall, I really enjoyed the race and plan to run again next year.

Thanks to all the volunteers for your hard work.

This was my first marathon and I have to say it was a ball. The fans, the runners and the course made it a great experience. Here are my two cents.

* PROs -
-Frontier field
-Course < besides the doubling back >
-Fan support
-Other VERY SUPPORTIVE runners

* CONs - minor complaints
-Road construction.
-Start line chaos and banner gaff.
-Bathrooms being locked at frontier field before the start.
-Post-race food location.
-Bathrooms 'on' the course < trees were the location of choice >.
-Ceremony was too low-key.
-Chip distribution and collection.

-And lastly... I'd like it not to rain next year. ;-)

These are all correctable 'live and learn' and I'd expect next year to be even better.

Overall, 'Great job.' I'll see you all out on the mean streets of Fairport. #662

I thought the course was great; being off-road for 5 to 6 miles was nice on the legs. Missing mile markers only bothered me a little. However, if the sun were out or it was any hotter, I would have definitely needed more water stations. Also, I needed much more direction on how to get out of the stadium. We ended up down by the dugouts and locker rooms and couldn't find the food. By the time we got there, there was little left. But, overall I did enjoy the marathon, the weather was perfect and course was nice.

This was my first half-marathon and it was a very exciting training summer for me and culminated in such a fantastic event on the 17th ? I thought it was very well organized by Lynn Doescher at the Arthritis Foundation, as well as Greg Brooks, the race director!

I loved the course running through areas that are so familiar to me and beautiful too. I loved starting and finishing at Frontier Field!

I would have loved having more spectator participation in the city as well, but I think that not only takes better media coverage (D&C and WHAM), but also word of mouth from us to get our friends and families out there, as well as time passing. I would hope that with each passing year, it would become an event similar to the Boilermaker in community support and festivity! Except for right in the city, the spectator support was excellent all along the half marathon route.

I was disappointed in WHAM?s coverage ? I anxiously waited for the 11PM news to see the coverage and it was such a short spot squeezed in between all the high school football coverage.

I agree with the comments about the chip retrieval system ? I didn?t like that the moment I crossed the finish line they made me stop to get the chip.... A little longer walking chute would have been nice.

I was so happy to have this be my first half-marathon experience and can?t wait for it next year! Thanks so much to all the organizers, race director, volunteer support and police support ? I have a great appreciation for the amount of work it took to pull this event off and I thought it was great!

This was my first marathon and I live in the city so was thrilled to have it here. The stadium finish was awesome!

Pros:
- volunteers/race coordinators
- traffic control, police
- spectators cheering tirelessly - thank you!

Cons:
- need more aid stations, at least at the higher mileage points
- I was at mile 4 in under 40 minutes and they were OUT of water???? Not everyone runs 8-minute miles, and those of us who don't probably need the water/Gatorade worse than those that do!
- please don't make me stop cold 10 feet after the finish and then fumble for my chip - if there's a way to turn in the chip farther down the lane that would be better

All in all a wonderful experience that I hope turns into a Rochester tradition. Thank you to everyone who worked so hard to pull this together.

Not having any marathon experience to compare this to, I thought that it was well organized (chip distribution went very quickly even with long lines). Great spectator support.

Very well organized. The course was fun, combining the canal with the Park Avenue area and East Avenue. Fans were fantastic and the weather was mint. There needed to be port-a-potties on the course though... only one was seen and it was up a hill off the course!!!

Absolutely loved running Rochester, NY. Great idea of changing from the suburbs.

I originally signed up to run the half-marathon, even though I didn't really prepare enough. I'm just a part-time runner. At race-time, I felt great. As the race progressed, the fans and runners really inspired me. I felt so good, that at the 6-mile turnaround, I decided to go on. I did 21 miles pretty much effortlessly, then struggled throuth the last five. The fans along the way, the volunteers, and every runner I met were amazing. I loved the course, the weather was great, and the overall experience was one of the best of my life. I can't believe how much fun I had, and how great I felt. People treated us like celebrities! I can't wait to do another one.

This was an outstanding event and very well organized.