I have run 22 marathons ranging from small out of the way races in remote places to large events like Los Angeles, Disney World, and Boston. I have to say that this race has the best post race runner's area by far. Instead of being shuttled through a corral set up on a street, this one was set up on a field behind the track with the idea of allowing the runners ample time to recover. The runner's only area had tables and seating where participants could sit and eat their pancakes, bagels, and chocolate milk. Sure beats sitting on the curb after running for 3 hours. I was very happy to have a chair to plop down into while regaining my composure. Once in the family reunion area, there was a live band, a large massage tent, and an even larger stretching tent.

Finishing on Hayward Field was great. I don't know that there are prettier gates on the planet than the green iron gates that mark the entrance to the track. Of course it may just be because I was hurting a lot as I approached the finish.

The course was very well laid out with just enough elevation change to keep the legs from getting too stale on continually flat terrain. I could have done with a little less concrete path, though.

There may not be the huge crowds in Eugene, but the fans that were out there understand running. I was never told 'You're looking great,' or 'You're almost there,' (even though I still have the last 10k to go). Rather there were signs such as '6 miles to beer,' and 'Go Random Stranger, Go' to keep us amused. With the way the course is looped, spectators have the capability to watch their runners at several points without too much traveling on the congested roadways. The cheering spectators in Hayward Field, lining the track and filling the lower portion of the grandstand were great.

I have never heard a field of runners get so quiet so quickly as we did for the moment to honor the victims of the Boston Marathon bombing. Rather than set a somber tone, the memory of what happened in Boston just 2 weeks prior was handled in a way that gave us (I talked to several runners after the race) a sense of pride to be running our own 26.2.

Other than our shuttle bus taking a few wrong turns on the way back to the hotel, this event went great. I highly recommend this race to anyone.

I traveled from N.J.to Eugene to cross off Oregon and was very pleased with my decision!
Most of the 'cons' from previous years comments were addressed. The expo was just the right size, easy to find, no crowds, free parking and just enough shopping. The volunteers were very helpful with my questions as an out of town guest.

We ventured over to Hayward Field to get a feel for the finish & to try & figure out spectator parking for race day. There is so much history here and it was great to run in the foot steps of legends.

We found 'Pre's Rock' and even met one of Steve's college professors who knew the history of his accident. Eugene was a great town to stroll around and have lunch.

Props to the staff at The Holiday Inn Express in Springfield. We had food & grab bags at 4:00 a.m. and were walking distance to the shuttles. The buses were great and dropped us in front of gear check near the start. The tribute to Boston was touching just before the start. The corrals and wave start were perfect.


Props to the Cliff Bar Pace Team who was very motivating and dead on with the splits for all 26.2 miles. Crowd support was good & the weather was perfect.

Plenty of water stops, pot-a -potties and even some music on the course.

Con: My wife had a terrible time getting to the finish despite leaving our hotel at 8:30. The road closures were not defined the night before, she got lost and could not find parking. She missed my finish and was a basket case when I found her.This is tough because parking is so limited near the finish. Spectators were not allowed on the shuttles as part of the extra security from the Boston Marthon experience.Not sure how an out of towner could have handled this any better.

All in all a great race!

I registered for this race after reading about it in Runner's World.

Pros -

1) The course is relatively flat. I think some of the comments are a little exaggerated on how flat the course really is. There are definitely sections that are rolling, and much of the course is at least at a slight incline. However, there are many downhills to compensate, and the largest hills on the course are not very big.

2) The course is very scenic. I had never been to Oregon, and the scenery is truly unique. The many bridges along the course were a highlight for me.

3) I thought they did a good job with the aid stations. This is an area most runners complain about, but I think they got it just right - about every other mile until the last 4 or 5 miles, where they had it every mile. Most of the aid stations were manned by kids, and they were super professional and helpful.

Cons -

1) The concrete was a very real challenge. Many of the comments on here echo this, and for good reason. I should have trained on more concrete, but my focus is always to make it to the starting line healthy. My advice to anyone running this race for the first time would absolutely be to get some concrete training in - your legs will thank you for it.

2) I'm generally not a fan of mixing in the half and full marathoners. Because the course is open for 7 hours for the full, you have quite a lot of half marathon walkers coming in to the finish around the same time as most of the mid-pack full runners. At the end of an exhausting race, the last thing i want to be doing is dodging walkers. There were people around mile 25ish trying to separate them out, but it didn't seem to be working very well - something to work on for next year.

3) I'm not sure what happened with the 'Running with Legends' theme. It's all over their website, and even on the back of the medal, but if it was actually represented on the course, I never noticed it. I thought each mile marker was supposed to be labeled with a Eugene legend. If they were, it didn't stand out. It's a cool theme, so they should put more emphasis on it.

Overall, it was a good race - can't complain about a PR, and this is definitely a PR friendly race. A little hard on the legs and sometimes congested, but overall pretty good. Worth running once.

OMG what a FANTASTIC marathon. I am in the process of running a marathon in all 50 states. I had Eugene picked out for my Oregon state and it was such an emotional experience running into historic Hayward Field. I am not built for speed. My finish times are around 4:20 but at the Hayward Field moment I sprinted like a Jamaican Olympian and ran out of breath and at the same time I was engulfed with emotions! The crowd support was out in force. There must have been hundreds of children eagerly waiting for a high-five. Adults were cheering on every single runner it seemed not only their significant runner! Most had Oregon hats/t shirts/jackets on. Many had creative signs and noise makers...they were all simply and genuinely happy to be there to cheer us all on! This was my 59th career marathon and it takes the cake for crowd support. The race director Richard also was great in communicating information about the race when I called him. Also the feed zone had fresh made to order pancakes, bottles of chocolate milk, bagels with peanut butter in little dixie cups, cookies, chips. It was a great race all the way around. Track town did it right!

This was my first full marathon, but I've done several halfs. They could not have organized this better. The course was flat and great for a PR. The city gave us plenty of room on the streets. About 1/3 or the course was on nice, wide bike paths along the river.

The crowd support was amazing. Eugene loves their runners. Some of the signs the students made were hilarious. 'Run quieter, I'm hungover.'

The finish might just be the best of any marathon. running into legendary Hayward Field with a stand full of people cheering and seeing yourself finish on the jumbo-tron was incredible. They even had a live link on the website to watch the finish. There is nothing like making it back to the hotel room, pouring a glass of champaign and watching more runners come in.

I came to Eugene to run my Oregon race and feel I chose wisely. Running in 'Track Town USA' and on Hayward Field is just to cool.

The expo is about what you'd expect from a mid-sized race like this. Big enough to pick up last minute supplies or souvenirs but not an all day Mega shopping experience (which suits me just fine). I got my packet and some gel very quickly and only hung around to hear Meb speak. That was a nice perk.

The course itself is nice. It is quite flat. We hit a small hill around 4 miles and then a larger one at mile 7. Neither hill is overwhelming and after that there is barely a roller to be found. The second half is run on a paved bike path along the Williamette River. This is a nice section that the halfers miss.

As Advertised the race ends on Hayward Field and running on that historic setting and seeing youself up on the Jumbo tron as the announcer calls your name really caps the day. The medal is nice (this year's had Hayward Field) and you get a nice long sleeve tech shirt (Halfers got a short sleeve). I can never eat much after a marathon but for those of you with stronger constitutions you could get pancakes after the race.

My main criticism is that the race felt to me like it had grown some in recent years but the infrastructure and planning hadn't kept up. There weren't enough porta-potties. I got back in line for one last time at 6:30 and didn't get close to the front when I finally bailed and headed for the start line. Tons of folks were just using the bushes and I'm sure the U of Oregon folks were not happy about that. Also there were only 3 corrals and that wasn't enough. The roads stayed very congested for miles. I didn't feel as though I could settle into a steady pace until after mile 4. This over crowding also made the early water stops a real mess. The volunteers at those early stops were working their butts off.

Otherwise the race seemed to be well organized. The shuttle buses worked well for me. Fans support was, like the expo about what you'd expect for a mid-sized race. Small pockets of enthusiastic folks separated by long quiet sections (which is fine by me). Weather was near perfect this year and having lived in the Pacific Northwest in the past this is what you can expect in late April. I ran my final tuneup on Pre's trail and made the pilgrimage to Pre's Rock. If you come to Eugene try to do the same.

Eugene had the whole package for the 3 of us from NM great restaurants, an enthusiastic and well-run expo, scenic-enough course, an opportunity to hear Meb, a beautiful campus with blooming trees,and a relaxed hippie vibe. I don't need many spectators, but the ones that were out knew the drill. And the icing? Running a Friday evening casual 3 miler with Lauren Fleshman (on her elliptigo) on a super-inspiring, little advertised run with the Eugene Running Company. I set my sights on a PR and BQ and nabbed both. Yeah, it hurt the last 4 miles, but as soon as I saw Hayward and knew I would be on that historic track the pain transformed into energy. What a feeling.

Entered to have a shot at BQ and to train with a friend who was running Boston 2 weeks earlier.
Really enjoyed the atmosphere of the town and the expo. Traveled from Alabama, so a bit of an 'event' marathon for myself and 2 other runners.

Website, communication, and packet pickup all easy.

Expo better than I expected, boosted by opportunity to meet and take picture with Meb.

Transportation and start organization fine. As per most races, not enough portable toilets pre race.

Course beautiful and flat. We were fortunate enough to get fantastic weather (40s-60s w/sun). Only a couple significant hills and really didn't affect the effort. Thought the lanes were a little narrow at times, even late in the race-however, it was usually b/c you were on scenic trails, so the pros outweighed the cons. Tables could have been laid out a little better at aid stations-had a couple episodes of not being able to get a drink b/c of the setup. Was a little disappointed at volume of folks at course-side; town certainly supports running and those present were enthusiastic, but only patches of crowds here and there.

Postrace was great-pancakes, chocolate milk, chips, drinks, postrace massage, and of course, Heyward Field. Tons of room in recovery area and transportation was easy.

In summary, wouldn't hesitate to run again. Only reason I didn't do as well as expected was my hitting the wall at 22, nothing to do with the course.

Would recommend.

I've run this marathon every year and the race course is generally good, but I think the start should be staggered between the half and full marathon, and the route for the half should take better advantage of the river routes. I understand splitting the race earlier would require additional timing spots, but I think the half would be more enjoyable if there were fewer miles on city streets and more on the river path. If the half started say, an hour later, this would put the finishes for the first runners from each race closer together, which would make it more interesting for spectators at the end.

This was my 3rd marathon and my best experience overall. Great course. Friendly support and spectators. Very well-organized. Perfect weather (50ish at start).
Loved running by the stadiums and up and down the river, through the parks. Enough runners to have someone around you but not crowded.
Only negative- ran out of my size shirt at expo- bummer because I had registered ahead of time but not a huge deal.
Will definitely try to do this race again!