The weather wasn't too bad... and the course was well marked. In spite of the cold, damp weather, there was crowd support. I enjoyed running through the stadium. I thought it was well done and well organized for a first marathon for Gainesville in many years. I did the half and would do it again.

For a first-year effort, this was a nice race. It was a good smaller race (1,000 runners for the full and the half) run in a nice town.

The course is well planned with terrific traffic control by police at all intersections. The entire course is coned with a full lane of the road reserved for runners, the only exceptions being a section through Florida Field (UF's football stadium) and on a rails-to-trails. Since this is Florida, the course is generally flat except for about 2 to 3 miles of rolling hills. There is a decent mix of much of the city along the route from residential to business areas to the historic duck pond area to the University of Florida to the rails-to-trails.

Good water stops and a surprisingly good number of gel stops for a small marathon. Also, no bagels and bananas at the end; instead we got as much pizza, apples, cookies, and energy bars as we could eat. Free post-race massages were also available.

Here are some complaints: Water stops were not situated at the mile markers but at weird places (like mile 3.2, 5.5, etc.), so it is difficult to time consumption of gels or even know when the next stop is coming up. The mile markers on the course map were incorrect, and only the volunteer Google map had the correct spots for mile markers. This combined with the former complaint made it hard to plan race nutrition. I was too tired to remember whether the next water stop was at 19.5 or 21.2 miles....

Due to the course layout, the half start is a quarter mile in front of the full, so marathoners had to run through the HM'ers. This wasn't a big problem since the start area runs directly onto a big two-lane road wide enough for passing, but it could be in the future if it draws 3,000+ runners. Crowd support is sparse (though enthusiastic in a few spots), partially because the race is new to the city. Also, the race results so far seem a little off for some people with the online results showing no times for some finishers.

All these are minor problems that should be fixed next year, so I wouldn't hesitate recommending this race for anybody interested in a smaller-sized race. I will definitely run it again! Hat's off to the organizers and the city for putting a strong effort behind this race!

I have done five major marathons (New York, Marine Corps, Disney to name a few) and the Five Points of Life Marathon has world-class quality. It was very well organized, and the host hotel was conveniently located to the start and finish. Runners were offered one lane of the road or a paved bike trail; and it was well marked and gave a nice tour through the campus. Running through the football stadium was a nice touch, especially with the drummers as you exited. The local police force were on just about every corner. I felt very safe crossing major intersections. Good finish line with music, food and massage therapists waiting for you. There were plenty of places for family and spectators to go.

My only suggestion would be to use the actual "chip" for timing. Although the anklet didn't bother me, maybe others didn't have it facing correctly. Congratulations on a race well done.

As a Florida alumni I looked forward to traveling back to Gainesville after 30 years to run in one of my favorite towns. The course did not disappoint, but where did you find the hills...I don't even remember hills in Gainesville except the one on UF campus leading down to Shands!! :-o The neighborhoods, the historic district, downtown and of course UF campus were great fun. I enjoyed this much more than Disney last month. I hope that someone makes a special point of letting Gainesville police know how much their enthusiastic attitude was noticed and appreciated. No matter what the pay is, it can't be fun to stand out all Sunday morning dealing with traffic and unhappy motorists. They were great and I don't always see that in races.
The informative email newsletters were helpful leading up to race day. Some thoughts for next time: be sure to include start time on all correspondence and make it prominent, the medal for half marathon should say half (not just on ribbon)and include year on medals too, (keep the gator on it of course!) as the race grows get a couple of small local bands to play at certain spots. Water tables were spaced just right, lots of good food afterward. I personally appreciated the Starbucks coffee as I had to climb into the car immediately and drive back to Virginia. Many thanks to all who organized and volunteers who made it work. Good job!

The course was beautifully laid out, especially the first 13 miles. Downtown Gainesville and the University area make quite a scenic course. The last 8 miles were not quite as scenic but still pleasant. The race staff had enthusiasm to spare and were well organized. However, being the first marathon in the town there were not an over-abuncdance of spectators. My congratulations to the race organizers for their efforts. It was an awesome experience for me.

Do you ever get the feeling that those chip timers don't always work? Well they didn't work for me or my two fellow runners. We ran the half marathon together and had great times, for us. After running 13.1 miles, the results were posted at the race and the final results were emailed to us afterwards. Both sets had me not finishing, one co-runner's time was 10 minutes too slow, and my other co-runner's was over one hour too slow. I overheard other runners voicing the same complaints. This course was supposed to be a Boston qualifier for full marathoners. Hopefully this error will be corrected and hopefully this was just a result of first-time jitters!Otherwise, the race was above average, from the course to fans to other activities. But when you get down to the meat of it, you want to see how you did overall and in your age group.

The organization and layout of the Five Points of Life Marathon greatly exceeded my expectations for the first offering of this marathon. The course was well designed with wide running lanes and had runners going through very lovely sections of downtown residential Gainesville and the University of Florida campus during the first half of the course (yes, there were plenty of small, gradual hills). The second half wasn't nearly so lovely, but heavily-used, very wide bike trails away from traffic and offered wide running lanes when on busier roads. Traffic control was outstanding throughout the course and provided maximum safety. Gainesville police were out in force expertly keeping the very wide running lanes clear of traffic and providing very safe crossing of major intersections. (I never realized the how many Gainesville police there were until I ran the course). Thank you, Thank you! Water and Gatorade stands were placed every two miles and well staffed. Beyond 14 miles, there were gels and PowerBars in ample supply. Portable chemical toilets were strategically placed throughout the course and in ample supply.

Spectators, staff and policemen offered support and encouragement throughout the course, and there was ample food and water at the end of the marathon. I have only run one other marathon (Disney) and almost ran the Ocala Marathon instead this year. Five Points of Life was better organized than Disney, offered a much more interesting course than Disney or Ocala and was a lot of fun because of the level of community support.

The people who organized this marathon obviously consulted a wide array of experts on marathon organization and enlisted very strong City of Gainesville support and generous sponsorship by area businesses to lay out a very safe, beautiful and enjoyable course with excellent support. I recommend The Five Points of Life Marathon to others interested running marathons during our lovely Florida winter.