A quick nine miles out to the canal path; find your groove along the canal because, realistically, that is the race. Come out at the U of R and bring it home with a fast finish. Great marathon. You must do it!

I ran the 1/2 marathon in 2006 on my 50th birthday! It was also one of my training runs for my first marathon, which I ran in Chicago - October 2006! I loved the Rochester 1/2. The course was challenging and I loved the finish line! The medal and shirt are great. It was fun running with a shirt that stated "Running away from 50" on the back with my birth date! Many runners commented and laughed. I have recommended this race to friends and they will be running with me this year as "51 tries to catch me!!" Great job!

The canal portion was too long. There were long isolated stretches on the canal path. It was nice to finish at Frontier Field; however, I didn't appreciate a volunteer requesting that I move off the field. That being said, I'll probably run it again. We need to support our local marathon.

Too much time on the canal path. Being on a Sunday, except for churches, businesses shouldn't be negatively impacted by closing a few streets for a few hours. Heard one bagpiper along the canal. How about signing up local bands/musicians to provide music at corners along the way? Excellent finishing up in Frontier Field.

This was my first 1/2 marathon and I felt it was well organized with plenty of water stops, BUT I do not like the canal portion at the end. I felt like I was running, but with the scene not changing, I never got anywhere - it tired me out. The rest of the course was wonderful and very interesting!

This is a great marathon. It is flat and the section along the canal is shaded. It was very flat. I am looking forward to this one again next year.

Liked the course - it is great to finish at Frontier Field. All of the minor problems last year were addressed and it made for a great run. The weather was a little warm, but that was unusual for that time of year.

It is a fairly flat course and I beat my goal time. Looking forward to next year.

This was my first attempt at a marathon and I chose this race because it gets me back to Rochester to see family and friends. It was a nice day to run at the start, but it got hot. I expected cooler temps, but I don't think the organizers have much control over that. What they do control they did well with. I'd like to see the course stay on the road and off the canal--it might be better supported thus making it easier persevere in the later miles. I'd like to come back and run it again as I missed my target goal by 7 minutes and feel the course owes me! All in all, an enjoyable experience in a great city.

Overall, my experience with the Rochester Marathon was very positive. The course was beautiful, not too difficult, and well supported. The only complaint I had were the warm temps. I wish the race could either be pushed back a few weeks into more fall-like weather, or start a little bit earlier (7 a.m.?) so that temps could be cool for more of the race. By mile 2 the sun was already bright and high in the sky! But I still enjoyed the experience and plan to run it again in the future.

As a first-time marathoner, it was a great race to do. I have been to Boston, New York, and Marine Corps., but never ran. The course was great and the water stops plentiful. The only downer was not enough port-a-potties at the start. Having only 15 for 1,500 runners is a little slim. Other than that, it was fantastic. I won't be running next year (deal with my wife), but may either volunteer or run the half. Organization, fans, and support were great.