I've done the half marathon here twice and the full twice. The course for the half is terrific, with varied scenery, the university and stadium, and downtown areas, but once you begin the second half of the course, you are on roads with traffic whizzing by. It is coned off, but I had a headache for hours afterwards as a result of the traffic noise. No spectators in this part of the course, aid stations were far apart, and at the finish line, all that was left was water and bananas. All the pizza was gone, and when I asked about age group awards (since I won my age group), I was told I had to send $8 and it would be mailed. Now, I live in town, so there should be no reason to mail an award, but there was no place locally for me to pick it up. Very few folks did the full this year and I suspect strongly that it will not be long before the sponsors concentrate on the 5K and the half and omit the full entirely. And that may be a good idea. On the plus side, kudos to the volunteers who braved the cold to help us out with water and to the policemen and policewomen who were kind and did their best to control traffic. They were wonderful.

Weather was fine, though some thought it was too cold (30 at the start and 40-45 degrees at the finish). The course is rolling but not too bad - almost all on roads. There was traffic at times, but it never interfered, and aid stations were frequent. During the second half I only saw one other runner, so if you don't mind running without a lot of runners near you, this could be the race for you.

If your looking for a Florida race in February that's not too big or too small, then this is it. Good value for the price, adequate expo, excellent aid stations, and a nice finish line set up. Traffic support and encouragement by the local PD was awesome. Weather was a little cool at the beginning but awesome once the sun came up. Try it; you will not be disappointed!

When I asked seasoned marathoners where I should run my first race, the FPOL came highly recommended - and I'm grateful. Although I don't have any others to compare against, I'll say that this was as hassle-free as I guess one could hope for. My only negative was the paucity of porta-potties on the course, but that's far outweighed by the positives. Challenging course but not too much so, plenty of hydration stations, and it was very safe (with police or volunteers even at minor intersections). Now, being a first-timer, I may be off-base, but according to my Garmin, the distance between markers 11 and 12 was 1.35 miles! Yes, I get that GPS is less accurate than measuring the tangents, but seriously... did that particular tangent cut through a building? Anyhow, I'm not complaining, since we all ran the same course, and I will definitely be back!

What a fun race this was! I only ran the half, but it was a great course through the UF neighborhoods and campus, including the football stadium. The technical shirt was a nice surprise, and there was a cool alligator on the finisher medal. Oh, they had people giving away beer on the course, too. Only problems were that the GU stop volunteers weren't advertising the GU (so I missed the last girl who had it) and my Garmin read "13.26 miles" instead of "13.1" at the end, which I hear is a common problem with this race. That's a bummer because I would go back for the full marathon if I could for sure get a 26.2-mile course. The after-party was great and well-stocked, but I couldn't get age group awards until about 3 hours after the half-finish, and so they had to mail it to me (a pint glass!).

Although this is a small marathon, the organization is top-notch, and the on-course safety is first-rate. Since I carried my own fluids, I cannot comment about the fuel/water stops, but the volunteers were enthusiastic. My only gripe is that, having now run this marathon twice, I am convinced that the course is significantly long. Yeah, say what you want about being certified and running the tangents.... I know all that. But after my first experience, I was focused on running the tangents, and I still showed the course at 26.56. I am convinced that the runners cannot run the tangents as measured and remain on the marked course. Nonetheless, I enjoy the venue, and it's a challenging route with just enough hills to make it so.

I thought the race was great. I did the full marathon. I've been to different marathons across the nation, and I would say that it's one of the better ones. Good water and medical staff. I'm definitely coming back again. Thank you to everyone involved - it was great.

- Patrick, Boston Qualifier

I've run the half marathon in Gainesville twice and decided to attempt the full this year. I'm usually a ten-minute miler for marathons, so I'm slow, but not the very back of the pack. The half and full run together for the first 13 miles, and I really enjoyed this part - there were lots of runners to talk to, and some enthusiastic spectators. That all seemed to change on the second half of the course. With fewer than 200 full marathoners, the second half was LONELY. At many points, I couldn't see another runner in front of me or behind me! With the current course, I wouldn't recommend the full marathon to a first-timer. You really need some motivation to keep going at the end, and running alone makes it far to easy to stop and walk. I think I heard that they're changing the second half of the course for next year. I hope so.
That aside, the police for traffic control were excellent (I was amazed that they were blocking every tiny side road), and the volunteers were enthusiastic. I appreciate that they were handing out Gatorade (rather than the nasty Cytomax I've been surprised with at other races), and the GU and Clif Bars were also great. Could've used a few more porta-potties in the first half; I saw two at each of the three stops on the course, and there were lines at the first two sets.

Overall, great race!

I have read some of the previous comments about the 2008 race. The comment about the port-o-lets? TRUE! Not enough at the start line. Water stations were ok; perhaps one or two more might have helped (not sure about the full marathon and the second 13 miles). The end ceremonies and activities were very good. The expo was excellent for a small race. Spectators were fewer than last year in my opinion. Organization is very good for a small race. Good support from police and EMS, as well as good volunteer support. Length of race is a question. I too use a GPS device and have run 5 half-marathons just this year, yet this was the only race that appeared to be somewhat longer (my device ended my session before I reached Hull Road). The medal was the same as last year; would be nice to see a little variety in the ribbon from year to year for those who enjoy the bling thing. Nevertheless, it was a good run and I would recommend it to others.

Decent little race for those who enjoy marathons with under 1,000 runners.

Pros: Great, efficient organization. I especially appreciated being able to pick up my packet race day morning as an out-of-towner!

Also, great volunteers and police assistance.

Cons: Would have preferred the second loop to replicate the first loop. The second loop was not shady and it was also very boring.

Out-of-staters need to prepare for hot Florida sun and humidity; maybe start at 6:30 a.m. next year?

Not enough port-a-johns at the start.

All in all, I would recommend it to any marathoner other than first-timers....