This was my 15th marathon and by far the toughest. It is held entirely in a park in metro Nashville. Support was way more than I expected - much better than for some of the larger races I've done. Great food (though the chocolate-chip, whole-grain cookies I brought were gone before I finished). I would NOT recommend this for first-time marathoners. But if you've done a few, don't need (or want) to BQ and are tired of races where they run out of water (this one DIDN'T), give this race a try. Just do LOTS of hill training first.

The website is very accurate and so are the comments about this beautiful marathon. If the scenery does not take your breath away, the hills will. Train. Marathoners who have been at it for awhile need to get out here and celebrate your physical and mental strength with only runners, volunteers, and nature. I'll take thousands of trees before thousands of people any day. After doing 50 marathons, this one hangs with my top five.

The Monkey's Revenge - or the Flying Monkey, Part II. Either way it was as awesome as last year, only more so. More people, more food, more hills (at least it seemed so), more fun, more pain, and more monkeys! My favorite marathon of the 10 I have done. Thanks to the RD for a great vision of what running is and should be!

When you finish this marathon, you really feel like you've accomplished something. Not to say a marathon anywhere isn't an accomplishment, but this one isn't like any others that I've run. Gorgeous course, great people, one-big-family type of atmosphere. Great volunteers, very nice shirts, great pre-race get-together, great post-race food. I hope I'm able to do this one every year the RD is willing to put it on.

Excellent! Everything about the event was fantastic - from the directions on the website, to the water stations ,to the course itself. Running through the early morning fog - surreal. I want to know how Trent was able to release those deer right in front of me all those times. Perfect place to have a marathon. Everyone should run this one, but sign up early. One of the charms of this race is the small number of runners. Great job, Trent!!

I thought the experience was spectacular at every single level! With some races, they have a lot of hype and you end up disappointed. With this race, I was extremely impressed as it went above and beyond my expectations. I can't wait to do it again next year!

Perks: Personalized bibs and technical shirts, nice hilly course, fun people, friendly volunteers, ample aid stations, and a great pot-luck afterwards.

Negatives: None.

Thanks for a great race, Trent!

In 21 marathons this is by far the toughest road marathon course profile I have run. I could compare it to courses like San Juan Island, or Heart of America, but those comparisons are weak. The Flying Monkey Marathon course at Percy Warner Park in Nashville, TN is simply amazingly tough, but amazingly beautiful, and amazingly well organized/supported. The weather was PERFECT.

I drove 8 1/2 hours from KC, MO to run it, and was not disappointed. The Flying Monkeys attacked me at mile 23. I survived the attack thanks to the help of other runners and support staff... and finished with a personal worst marathon finish time that was more than 2 hours slower than my personal best from December of 2006... which I ran in Vegas on a flat course.

I am proud of my personal worst finish at the Monkey Marathon. It is a marathon treasure tucked inside a beautiful park filled with twisting paved surfaces, ascents and descents, walkers, joggers, runners, and trail runners... and, of course, those dreaded Flying Monkeys.

I even heard a Tarzan yell. It doesn't get any better than that!

I would give the course and organization 6 stars if I could. The fall colors were spectacular throughout, while the course itself undulated relentlessly and was quite challenging, particularly on the back half. The RD and volunteers were superb and I've not seen a better post-race food spread, replete with homemade pumpkin and bourbon chocolate pies. Not to mention the great home brew at the 10/15-mile aid station. The supportive cheering from the volunteers at every aid station plus nature's abundant beauty more than made up for the lack of spectators. Pre- and post-race get-togethers were a lot of fun. Great people, great race. Oh, and did I mention the flying monkey overhead at the 1-mile mark?

This race was like a dream! It was wonderful - everything about it! I ran it in 2006 and thought it was excellent, but this year was even better! It was like a little bit of heaven! Gorgeous morning, beautiful course, perfect weather, wonderful volunteers, friendly participants, awesome RD, and quirky atmosphere. This experience seems like so much more than just another race. It is really something special.

Please come join us in Nashville next year for this race!

the 5 stars are earned, across the board, at this event. this is a unique marathon - the course is blatantly, brutally hilly; the spectators are few but are also extremely enthusiastic, supportive, & encouraging; the organization - from pre-race meals to packet pickup to post-race potluck recovery feast - is superb. the course support includes so many aid stations that you can get fluids just about whenever you want them. however, there are miles to cover between aid stations when you are likely to find yourself alone on a steep hill, alone suddenly exiting cool woods into hot sunshine, alone working your way through hairpin turns... this is the sort of course where you might not see another runner, spectator, or aid station for quite a ways, and the going does get tough. but, that is when you get to learn what you are made of, in a race that really is about the pure running experience.