My general rule of thumb is to never run a marathon the first year it is put on. I broke this rule for Eugene because I like the area so much, and figured if anyone could put together a well organized marathon, it would be someone from Eugene. I was not disappointed.

The course is beautiful, with only two 'tough' hills in the first five miles. The first half of the course is mostly through neighborhoods, with the half marathon and marathon runners together for a total of about eleven miles. The second half is along the Willamette River, which was an absolute pleasure to run along.

There was a surprising amount of spectator support. The water stops were plentiful, with cheerful, well trained volunteers. The only reason I did not give the organization a perfect score is that some of the mile markers were difficult to see. I missed about four. My husband and two friends ran this race as well, and we all missed mile markers. That is such a small point, and did not detract from the overall good experience of this marathon.

It is a fast course that I think anyone would do well on. I just hope that the race director does not allow it to become too large. The number of people who ran this year seemed like the right size for the path that makes up about half the race.

Eugene was a very good spring Marathon and was very well organized for a inaugural marathon. The course was a mix of city streets and river bike paths with about 10 miles of it being on the bike paths. Most of course was flat with only 1 hill at mile 5. I thought there was a bit too much bike path but it was scenic along the river. The bike path was a bit rough and very curvy. This lead to slower times than expected. There were a lot of PRs set judging by post event comments.
The only glitch I saw was about 3 of the mile markers signs didn't get put up. This made for a lot of confusion with people that were going for specific times. Everything else was done very well. Absolutely FANTASTIC spectators almost all the way along the course that were cheering you on by name because your name was on everybody's bib number. That is a great idea and more marathons could learn from Eugene's group. The Expo was not much but hopefully it will get better next year. It was fun and yes I did PR. Thanks to the Eugene Marathon and everybody that was involved :)

I only have 8 states left to run (between now and Sept.) and this was truly a great one to do!

HATS OFF to all of you folks from Eugene - you all should feel very, very proud. May our Lord bless all of you in a special way for treating us to a wonderful marathon in a super city!

The buzz was there. The start at historic Hayward field was inspiring. Even the slogan, 'in the footsteps of legends' had us channeling our inner Prefontaine.

The Scenery: Pretty spectacular. Over half the course follows a nicely paved bike path along the Willamette river. Crossing the footbridge just after Mile 6 was jaw-droppingly beautiful.

The Course: Very well-marked and mostly flat (after early hills). The out and back got old, even with the incredible scenery. Having the Half Marathoners split at Mile 10 and then rejoin 1.5 miles later, only to veer off to their finish was a tad disheartening. As were the directional arrows pointing right to Mile 7 or straight for Mile 25. Sadly, the biggest discouragement was the lackluster finish in the barren gravel parking lot at the far end of the football stadium. It would have been magic had they allowed us to finish in the stadium, OR, at least, let us park in the empty lot at the finish.

Support: Plenty of water. The Glucose was a flavor disaster. GU, bananas, orange wedges, ANYTHING would have been greatly appreciated (and a nice touch) for the second half. MANY great volunteers!

The small stuff: Printed name on bib was a great addition! Unfortunate that $85 buys a non-recyclable plastic Nike shopping bag for my 'goodies'. Medal was fine but nothing exceptional.

It was well-organized for an inaugural event. They had the opportunity to make it a premier west coast marathon without a lot of tweaking. Unfortunately, they settled for good, not great. The legends and myself had hoped for more. However, it's worth doing.

Great, well organized marathon with flat and fast course. Therefore, a new PR is pretty much guaranteed. I got a new PR and everyone I talked to got one as well. Not only the flat course, but the weather was also perfect. But for me, running with a breathtaking view of the Wellamette River for miles and miles was the most inspiring. I recommend it for everyone who wants a new PR.

I would have liked to finish as you come into the stadium. Psychologically it was a bummer to get to Autzen and still have another 1.2 to go, and coming in on Centennial next to all that traffic wasn't the best way to finish a marathon.

Cons first, just to get these out of the way:

- Three mile markers weren't all that visibly marked, or maybe not marked at all, including two in a row (miles 9 and 10, I believe, or maybe 10 and 11). I suspect they were obscured by coincident water stations, but missing a marker, particularly two in a row, is always a bad surprise.

- There was no Gu, or any solid food other than GummiBears, out on the course, not even once at a mile 18-20 aid station, as many races will do. To be fair, the website didn't say that there would be, so I wasn't unpleasantly surprised out on the course. But, personally, I would pay $1 more in my entry fee in exchange for someone handing me a Gu at mile 18.

- Food at the finish was a little lacking  cookies, bananas, and plain bagels (with nothing to put on them), and that was about it. A little more fruit would have been nice, maybe some yogurt drinks, too.

Pros:

Really, just about everything else. The course was great: Flat, fast, and scenic, with only 1-2 miles in one lane of a busy multilane street, and all the rest on back streets or, of course, those great riverside bike trails. Course support was excellent; we went through a lot of neighborhoods, and there were people out in force throughout. Ample water stations  15 in all?  with well-trained volunteers at all of them. There was ample parking at Autzen Stadium, and it was easy to leave from there efficiently  in short, a well-put-together race, on a very attractive course, that was very well run. And did I mention how nice it was to run alongside the Willamette for over half the course?

Bottom line, I guess I can't help but compare this to the Portland Marathon, as that's my hometown run, and one I've done five times. The capsule review of Portland, as just a few minutes browsing comments on that race would suggest, is that it's very well-organized and yet not particularly attractive. (Fairly true and very true, respectively, I would say.) In comparison, Eugene was just as well-organized, and about ten times nicer out on the course itself. Hope this one sticks around.

Having been raised in Eugene, it was a thrill to see the hometown finally get its own marathon. The course itself is the strongest asset, at least for the marathon. Miles 15 through the end are almost all paved trails along the river and it is a joy to be in such scenery. The 1/2 marathon didn't have anything like the views and trails that the full had and they really should change that to put their best foot forward next year. Volunteers and overall organization were adequate, but not insanely wonderful as I have seen in some other marathons (Portland). Overall, for an inaugural, I think it's off to a good start; some minor fine tuning and this will start to pick up some big numbers.

Overall, the race organizers did a lot of things well for an inaugural event. For example, packet pickup was easy and smooth. The website was well done and continuously updated. The race t-shirt and finishers medals were excellent. The name on the race number was a nice touch.

In addition, course marshalling and directional markings were excellent. If anyone got lost, they shouldn't be running a marathon. And while I would have liked to have started on Hayward Field, logistically I think it would have been very difficult, but not impossible. Regardless it was great to start at the 'House that Pre Built.'

The fluids were plentiful and were at frequent spots. Ninety-five percent of the volunteers at the aid stations knew how to hand the fluids as I ran by (i.e., they were experienced or well trained!). Thank you volunteers!

Things to focus on next year  ensure mile markers appear at every mile, they were missing from 6, 9, 10 & 13; Provide some gels at 17, 20 & 23; Move the finish inside the stadium (Instead of going left off the bridge, go right and around to MLK Blvd, and straight into the Stadium); lastly post direction signs indicating where the shuttle pickup is from Autzen to Hayward (e.g, at the intersection of MLK Blvd and LH Pkwy).

One other thing that would be nice, but again difficult logistically is to not have the Half-Marathon merge back with the Marathon at 11.5. Or alternatively, what might be possible is to create two running lanes one for the marathon & one for the 1/2 marathon at the point that the two merge to the point where they diverge again. Half-marathoners would stay on the right side and marathoners would be on the left.

Again a lot of things done very well. My hats off to the organizers!

Wasn't sure what to expect at an inaugral race in such a small town but it was the best race I have ever done. Besides setting a PR for myself, the course was amazing!! Running along the river was beautiful and the rest of the scenery was so nice. The expo was small but nice, the hotels were convenient and close to the start and finish, the shuttle buses ran smoothly and got us to where we needed to go in plenty of time, parking was abundant, volunteers were superb and the small crowds were so supportive as they cheered you on. I am used to running VERY large marathons but this one was small but perfect!! A+ to those who designed and set this race up!! This will definitely be a race I will do every year!!