At one point, between miles 12 and 13, me and a bunch of other people actually went off course. I was the second female at that point and believe I would have hit the half marathon mark around 1:23ish but instead hit it around 1:29. I gave up at that point out of frustration...there were females behind me who hadn't ran the extra mile and passed me. My marathon PR is 3:02, but I ran this in 3:30. Overall, it was an awful race and no apology was ever issued for us going off course. I wouldn't recommend it.

A quiet run through woods, crossing beautiful creeks. Most of your spectators are hawks, but when you do pass people, they are completely supportive. My 11th marathon and I highly recommend it!

The 2011 Run for the Red Marathon was my first marathon, and it was a tremendous experience. My lone regret was that I thought my time would be much better than it was, because the course was deceivingly easy for the first 18 miles. After the 18th mile, I started to encounter some rolling hills over the final 8.2 miles, but I still finished, which was the important thing, from my perspective. The hotel situation is a bit tight, and I had to use a Holiday Inn three miles down the road, but this was still a great experience, & I'd recommend it for any runner.

This was my Second time ever running in the Run for the Red Pocono Marathon and my second ever marathon that I have run in my running career!!! I had alot of fun running in both the 2010 and 2011 editions of the Pocono Marathon its a great experience and some day hope to run in the New York City and Boston Marathons down the road in the near future!!! There are a bunch of other marathons that I would to participate in too!!!!!

This race is advertised as a downhill marathon, but there are plenty of uphills on this course. This was my third marathon and by far the worst one I ran. The hills played a major effect in my knee dislocating at mile 15 and I tried to get help on the course and no one could help, so I had to walk 11 miles to the finish to get help. When I was injured and limping the crowd was unfriendly stating that is this a walking race or running race. Furthermore, when I came in the stadium they said on the loud speaker that they were waiting for me. So overall, just a really bad experience for me (even though it wasn't the organizer's fault). I had two 4 hour marathon previously and I was trying to break that time and this was advertised as a boston qualifier..I would not recommend this race to qualify.

This was my third Pocono Marathon. Overall, it is a pretty good race. Here are my pros and cons:
Pros:
Small, so you have room to run without tripping over people
Good, friendly support at aid stations

Cons:
The old course was better. This one seemed hillier and more painful on the legs. It is in the mountains, don't forget that!
The date seems to be getting later in May. We were spoiled a few years by very cool weather, but this year's was more typical and it was very warm. Fortunately it rained to keep things cooler.
Not much of an expo to talk about.

Race Director
*Post driving directions to the start. I wanted to drive the course the day before and spent an hour or more trying to find the start (I tried using the address on the Facebook page and ended up at a different school).
Participants
*Be careful to avoid any painted lines on the downhills, if it's wet. They can be slippery.
*Run on the shoulder of the road (which is blacktop and wide) in sections of the course where the roadway is concrete. I find that it's easier on the legs.
Good luck to all!

Nice, low-key, well-organized event for runners who don't need all the excess and fluff that seems so prevalent in running events these days. No loud bands, ridiculously huge medals or crowded expos. What you do get is a closed off course, lots of support, easy logistics and an overall chance to run your best. Small event (724 marathon finishers)so not a lot of company along the course.

I know a lot of previous comments say what a fast course it is. I found it a bit challenging though I'm sure my severe quad cramps didn't help. Whether the course is fast or challenging really depends what kind of runner you are. The downhills don't start until after Mile 6. Plenty of challenging uphills after Mile 14. In-between are the downhill miles. Majority of the race is run on a closed off back road which was much appreciated. Lots of nice scenery the second half. Kudos to the host hotel, the Quality Inn, which gave a late checkout to all race participants. Pasta party wasn't much but I certainly won't complain since it was free.

Nice tech shirt this year. Great volunteers. Supportive and friendly fellow runners. I would definitely run it again and hopefully it won't be as humid as it was this year!

Some Suggestions for the Race Director: (not criticisms)
1) Have mile markers higher up and not on ground level. If this is not possible, at least have the signs on both sides of the road.
2) First couple of water stops could have used more volunteers. The 2nd and 3rd water stop I believe only had 2 people giving out water which actually caused me to wait and stop running in order to get my cup
3) At Stroudsburg, Have someone direct which busses for the runners to get on. I got on the first bus at 5:50 a.m. and wound up being one of the last busses that left at 6:35. (Direct runners to busses in order of when they leave. Fill each bus up and have them leave in that order instead of having the runners get on any random bus.)
4) The post race food was a bit lacking in bagels and sliced oranges.
5) Perhaps have a 'Half Mile to Go Sign' as when runners first make the turn and enter the High School lot, it's pretty deceiving as it's a lot longer to the actual stadium than what runners would expect or perceive.

Why You Should Run This Race:
1) A True 'Runners' Race
2) Convenient logistics
3) Friendly and supportive runners
4) Free pasta party
5) No crowds to navigate through
6) Great volunteers
7) Nice that we are able to stay indoors at the school gym waiting for the start
8) Great finish with a final quarter lap around the High School track.

I ran this in 2007 and again this year 2011. It is a nice small town marathon where you start out in a rural area then make your way to the quaint town of Stroudsburg ending around the track. The positives are that the course can be fast if you train on hills. From about mile 14 the downhill changes to rolling but there are no enormous uphills. The course is completely closed off which is a huge plus. The spectators were few but the ones who were there were terrific. I liked finishing on the track and actually picked it up a little and passed some people. As for negatives, can't think of any but I did notice next year the race is scheduled for May 20 which is late and the weather in Northeast PA can change to warm very quickly towards the end of the month.

An excellent course to PR and BQ. (Which I did). Yes there are rolling hills in the latter miles, but the downhills outnumber the uphills. Nice finish at the high school. If you want to BQ and/or PR this is a good one.