I expected the majority of the race to be downhill, and boy, was I wrong. Thankfully, I guess, there were lots of ups (my forte). The sun was brutal out there, but with my GUs (no gel stop, even though it was promised) nothing was gonna stop me. The volunteers/spectators were awesome, but the organization could have been a lot better.

-only two people for bag pickup, which is something marathoners do not want at the finish, with their tired, cold bodies

-limited post-race food spread

-subpar expo

-though they had us start at the elementary school, the course was closed the whole way (except Main St. in Stroudsburg) - though water stops were perfect, there was great charity, a free pasta dinner, and beautiful scenery

I might do the half-relay next year for fun.

Overall a very nice job by race organizers. Advertised as a super fast course, it's not as downhill as the elevation map would indicate. There are plenty of inclines and lots of ups and downs. Large portions of the road are "crowned" - find the middle or high spot. I was warned not to charge down the declines, but if I did it again I'd go for it. The course is virtually closed to all motor traffic - incredible job. Spectators are sparse, but everyone is very nice. Plenty of Gatorade and water, but that's it. No noticeable food at the end - I saw some bananas. No merchandise at the expo. Pasta dinner was very spartan, but it was free. Nice, long-sleeve, tech shirt for all entrants. It's definitely a great race to run. I did PR by 13 seconds. Lastly, there were plenty of hotels around - they were cheap but not fancy. The Quality Inn on Main St. was under $80, had a good bed, and was about half of a mile from the "finish," which is where you go for the buses in the morning.

I agree with others that there are many great things about the race. Well organized, friendly people, small race, nice scenery in parts, etc. And after barely missing my BQ time in 2 recent races, I did finally get it here, so I was excited. But the course is quite difficult, and although the descent starts around mile 10, it is spread out over such a long distance that I found the second half a good bit harder. Thank goodness I had plenty of banked time (at one point over 9 minutes), because I needed almost all of it to get my BQ time. The first half had steeper downhills and shorter uphills, and I was flying and felt sure I could maintain this pace with the majority of the descent coming in the second half; but later, the downhill grades were less and the uphills were longer, making it harder to maintain my pace from earlier. And I was counting on a gel station that I either missed or wasn't there. Parts of the course were shaded, but many sections were not, so if it's sunny and warm, it's tough. Overall, it's hard to complain when I achieved my goal, but I'm not quite sure how so many others have significant improvements in their PR times on this course, because it is not easy - and I have run lots of different courses.

The director and staff were great - very accommodating. Nice, small-town atmosphere yet well run.

Course is very fast; I set my personal best by 10 minutes and hit a BQ by 23 minutes, but I had to walk 3 times briefly, as my legs were totally shot after mile 20.

Train really hard on hills and you may well run a personal best - but your quads will probably be hurting for several days.

THIS COURSE requires serious training. Beautiful scenery, great volunteers, and awesome, friendly (but sparse) fans. The host hotel is a dirty, unaccommodating dump. They would not offer courtesy late checkout to marathon runners. What a joke. Avoid this place - it is a zero....

The Run for the Red has upgraded to a nice, quality running shirt this year. It's a very nice addition to a nice marathon - well done.

I thought this marathon was a great experience. The only complaint is that two days later the results have not been posted. The course is fast but it's not easy. I would highly recommend this race, but be ready for the steep downhills in the first half.

This is a fun course that can be fast if you are able to prepare for the steep downhills between miles 8 and 13. Since I did not train for the downhills, my legs suffered the effects and my mile splits started to slow at mile 19. I think this could easily be a PR course with the fast first half. Train, train, train for the downhill!

The race starts at a grade school, which is wonderful. Any race that lets you wait inside prior to the start gets high marks in my book. There were lots of water stops, although I think they could have taken a few from the early miles and placed them in the last 6 miles; there seemed to be bigger gaps between water stops from 18 through 25, though that could also have been my fatigue.

My only complaint is really about the host hotel. Both nights that we stayed there, our room was not made up until very late in the afternoon, and a friend's room was not made up until 5:00 the day of the marathon. There was also a nonexistent "runner's breakfast" advertised on the website, leaving another friend without her expected pre-race fuel. Despite these small complaints, the hotel is in a great location and had an acceptable pre-race pasta dinner.

This is a pretty course that I would recommend to anyone who can handle some hills and doesn't need the constant crowds along the sideline of the big-city marathons.

Qualified for Boston this time. I have run this race before. It is a great race - better the second time, as I knew where the hills were and had a strategy going in. Very scenic. The volunteers are great. The last 5 miles were brutal. Got myself a cushion in the first 16 miles so I wouldn't lose the BQ in the end.

This was my first marathon, and I had a wonderful experience. The course was beautiful, the weather was perfect, and the volunteers were great and supportive. Even though it is a small-town race, there were enough people cheering, and I was never running alone during the whole race. The whole race was hilly, up and down, but never too steep to slow you down. I'm very sore the day after, though! Great course!

The only negatives: there were not any gels or GU during the whole course, and it was stated that there would be. Also, the host hotel was supposed to have a special "runners' breakfast," but they never did.