I enjoyed the race to a certain extent. I know that it has been awhile since we had it here, but there are some improvements necessary for it to survive. If I had been a first-time marathoner, I would have been more disappointed becuse of the lack of water on the course - for the slower runners, they had run out.

Rochester, being a pretty good town for runners, had no real fan support, and maybe it was the lack of media attention, or advertisments for the race. But, hopefully it will get better.

I liked the fact that we could run down east avenue and park avenue; those are great areas of the city.

The only thing I could see changing is allowing the runners a bit more time to have their timing chip removed. I felt like I had sprinted to the finish and then was forced to stop within seconds and have my chip taken off. I almost fell into the guy taking mine off.

The other thing would be to hand out the age group awards at the awards ceremony. I felt like I had to wait forever for that to start and then wonder what was going on. It was confusing.

It was a great time and I'm so glad it's in Rochester! Way to go!

My only negative comment is that I wish the second half of the course was marked as well as the first half.
Othewise it was great all around.

I think that the timing chips should have been given out with our packets the day before. Also the water stops did not seem to be every 2 miles like they were supposed to. a few times I wanted a powergel, but no one had them in their hand, they were sitting on the table and i did not notice them until I passed them. The course was good, but the canal path was secluded and there were very few spectators to cheer us on.

Just a great day with all the spectators and all the runners...It was special... The course through the city and the weather could not be better...I would like them to alter the start times for the Half and Full in future races....

Great energy and support for first 6.5 miles, but at the 'back of the pack' 5 + hour finisher, water stop at mile 4.5 was empty and no gel till 20 miles. Spectators a little sparse after the 1/2 split point. Not much nourishing food left at Frontier Field either! Still a worthwhile effort.

This was my first marathon. I thought that it was organized well. The Town of Fairport was the highlight of the run (besides the finish) simply because there were a lot of supporters out there chearing us on. I also enjoyed running along the canal. It was a nice break from road running.

First off I want to say this was a great event. I have been a runner/triathlete in the area since the early 90's. It's great to see that Rochester has finally put itself on the map for marathons.
After 30 years of running I decided to run my first marathon here in Rochester. Again, I can't say enough about how great the course, the people, the organizers, etc. were.
However, I do have 2 things that I think need to be added. The first and most important, more aid stations. I was amazed at how few there were towards the end of the race. Around mile 21 it seemed they were further and further away. I have spoken with a number of other runners and they felt the same way. Having competed in many tris including 5 1/2 ironmans, the aid stations become closer at the end of the race. I know that at mile 20, the slower folks didn't even get any water. So please think about adding more aid stations toward the end. The second change would be, more of a festive feeling again esp. towards the end of the race. If you have ever experience the Boilermaker you know what I'm talking about. People lining the street from start to finish, music everywhere, from local bands to radio stations. When I came back into the city I honestly thought I made a wrong turn, I felt like I was running through a ghost town. Even by the stadium there wasn't a whole lot of support. Again that's when you need a lot of commotion happening.
Overall it was truly a wonderful race, a great first marathon for me, I qualified to go to Boston which was my goal. I'm hoping to compete in the Rochester marathon again next year, so keep up the great work, and think about the couple of suggestions.
Congratualtions to all of you, and thank you very much....
Molly Huff
Fairport

* Nicely run for inaugural event.
* Course was a little rough due to street constuction. I assume this will be better next year.
* Course was not boring and had enough variety to keep race interesting. Race included a number of miles along the Erie Canal and a tour of historic houses in Rochester.
* Course was not flat and last 6 miles had a net uphill climb - never too steep but definitely enough grade to slow down many runners (myself included!).
* Despite a 'chip timing system', results were not posted quickly so people had to hang around a long time to see place (or leave and miss awards ceremony).
* Bottom line: I recommend this race.

I can't think of a better place to have run my first marathon! Everything was so organized. All the volunteers and spectators were so helpful and supportive.