This was a terrific event. The course was wonderful. It was very scenic. The organization superb. Mile (Km) markers at every km. The volunteers did a great job and were extremely encouraging. The best thing about this race were the people. It is obvious that the people of Ottawa take great pride in this event. There were tons of spectators throughout the race even though it was raining fairly hard for most of the event. Especially the second half. They were very enthusiastic and encouraging. Good job Ottawa!!! I would recommend this event to any marathoner in the Northeastern US as a great destination race because of this city and its people.

My 30th marathon! There is nothing like running in your home town. This race was better than last year's with the course changes, increased gel stations and sponge stations. It could do better with cheaper entry fees and more water stations (one every 2 kilometers). Great crowd support (even with the rain) and good runner support at the end. Will do it again but there is room for improvement.

Had a great time in 2010. Everything was extremely easy to get to and the race organization was good. The weather was near 60 degrees and cloudy. If I had any negatives, it was the stinking hill at Mile 22 that killed my shot at finishing in under 4 hours. There wasn't much crowd support during Miles 18-23, but it really picked up closer to the end. Very flat course - definitely a PR-type of course. I never felt as packed in as at other races either because of the marathon-only start.

This was marathon #1 for me. I thought it was great. I have nothing to compare to but there were lots of people cheering and plenty of aid along the route. Everything seemed friendly (I love the Canadians) and the course provided some interesting views at points.

Very interesting race route: it winds through residential neighborhoods, landmarks, farms, and parks. The spectators are present all along the way and are very encouraging. Extremely well organized. Nice athletes' village and family area at the finish line.

I live in Ottawa, so I know this route well. The first 10K go through Gatineau over rutted and pot-holed streets - not attractive (though going over the bridge back to Ottawa offers a scenic view of parliament and the museums). It is too bad that the race does not run along the better roads along the river before coming back to Ottawa.

The spectators were fun, with some wild ones at the plentiful water stations around the 20K point, and a large crowd along the final part of the route that really adds that needed energy.

The only real downside was the lack of pace bunnies. Unfortunately, the advertised pace bunnies for 4:15 and 4:30 were doing a run/walk training workout from the Running Room and were unable (or unwilling) to actually run the whole distance. If the organizers want to make this an international event, they should ensure that they have pacers who can actually keep a steady running pace - and aren't there just for the Ottawa Running Room crowd.

On the whole, it was a good race. I have run some big races in Europe and hope this one gets even bigger in the future.

This was my 3rd Ottawa Marathon and finally I enjoyed the experience! The new course route was terrific and I hope they keep it for next year, but it seems like it changes from year to year.

Crowd support was good. In the sections where it is dead it might help to have music stations set up; many of us don't listen to iPods when we run and a distraction is always welcome, especially when you are running up Colonel-By (at 27K) and then after the Heron Bridge (at 33K).

Running as a pace bunny was a positive experience for me and I just want to thank all of the runners who ran with me for parts or the entire race and shared their stories (struggles and triumphs); I found all of you so inspiring.

I am already looking forward to next year!

The expo gets high marks for ease of packet pick-up, but there was no bag for the schwag and very close quarters. I love the staggered start of the marathoners and half-marathoners. The course was pretty, but often tight and difficult to maneuver past slower runners. Not too hilly, but around 34K, the incline sure felt like a hill. As an American runner, I must say that seeing the "24" sign and realizing that you are only just past the halfway mark is a little disheartening. Great volunteers, nicely supportive crowd (writing your name on your shirt always helps), and I easily found my cheering friends. The end could definitely use some improvement. I would have to agree that the finish seemed a bit farther than 26.2. Towards 41K, I was a few minutes off of my time goal and at the finish, my watch had me off by about three minutes. I was disappointed to find that the chip time had me off time by 11 seconds! The volunteers handing out the medals were asking whether you had run the full or half-marathon and not checking bibs. The food after the race is pretty spartan - bananas, oranges, yogurt and bagels running low. Complementary bag check is nice, but bag pick-up was a disaster, with really long waits. Don't get me wrong - organization is great when it counts, during the race. I'd definitely run again.

Really a great show - the organization was precise. I had zero problems with the race expo, the organization of the start, the run, water (etc.) stations, and the finish area. Probably the best organized race I've run; I could not find a flaw. The course was interesting but not very hilly really (yes, there are hills, but they're mostly short and gradual). Perfect running weather this year too.

However, according to my Garmin, it was 240 meters long! I thought that odd, so I checked with 2 other friends who said they stopped their watches after walking around a few meteres after the race and they had 42.5K. So either the satellites weren't working accurately or it was long. Not a huge deal to most, but I was 12 seconds from beating an 8-year-old PB, which I would have broken even if it were only 100 meters too long.

Great crowd support, scenic race, only minor hills. Only complaint was that the water stops seemed too far apart at the end of the course. Otherwise a fantastic experience!