This is a great race!! The course is well marked and mostly flat and fast. The organizers do a fantastic job with communication, transportation, expo, course layout, "after race" celebration, live bands on the course, cheering zones, T-shirt, and medal!

The spectator participation is phenomenal,and& I've never seen anything like it at other races. The crowds and bands are great with cheering you on!

Pros
1. Great course (safe and clearly marked)
2. Friendly to walkers
4. Shirt (great design)
5. Medal (biggest medal I've received to date!)
6. Support in crossing the intersections
7. Spectators / celebration
8. "After-race" food and drinks
9. Volunteer support at water stations
10. Race results by name are in the newspaper a few days later

I've done this race for the last two years and am looking forward to next year already!

I thought this was a very well organized and a extremely fast course with plenty of fans out there to cheer us on.

The weather broke just as I arrived, and I have to say that the weather was perfect for a marathon, with cloud-cover and temps in the 50's.

This race is destined to become one of the best - if not already the best - on the west coast. My Eugene Marathon hat is off to the organizers for a job well done. I will be back and hopefully we can finish on Historic Hayward Field.

I would put this on your list of marathons to run in your lifetime.

This is only my second marathon, but it set my standards very high. The weather was perfect (low 50's and a little rain at the start, but it is Oregon after all), the fans were great and the course was beautiful. There are parts of the course that are concrete. It was harder on my legs and feet than I thought it would be. There are two gradual inclines and one steep downhill in the first few miles, and one hill four blocks-long around mile 9. There is great crowd support there to help you get up it. There are 3 times when the marathoners and halfers split on the course. I didn't get lost, but those parts of the course could be better marked.

The Eugene spectators love this event. They know about running and really support you. The crowd at South Eugene High, about mile 7, was fantastic. You'll feel like a rock star. Lots of people parked and played music from their cars. There was one family who blasted the Rocky Theme from their minivan about mile 6. Awesome spectators. The second half of the marathon along the river is much more quiet. I put on my iPod at that point. I flew cross country to run this event, and I'm so glad that I did. I'll be back next year. From what I've heard, the finish will be inside Hayward Field. How can you resist that?

Another note on the weekend: If you run this marathon, the Springfield Marriott Courtyard was outstanding. They had their own pasta party for charity (which was really good), they shuttled us to the official shuttle (took only an extra 10 minutes on Sunday morning), and they gave away gift bags with bananas, energy bars and gel. They also handed out garbage bags to wear to stay dry on Sunday morning. They know how to take care of runners.

I've run marathons all over the world and nothing can match a marathon in "Track Town, USA!!!" It's a small race, but it's very well organized, with great fan support, and a fast, scenic course. What else can you ask for?

There are a lot of marathons run the first weekend of May, and this is probably the fastest. The course was flat except for one small hill at mile 8 and a few minor inlclines here and there. There was rain the night before but it stopped just before the starting gun went off. We had ideal weather for the race - pleasantly cool, with no wind. The race was very well organized, just what you'd expect from a city that bills itself as Track Town, USA and is the birthplace of Nike. Some course changes might be in order if this race gets much bigger. It was a bit crowded in spots.

I couldn't believe this was just the third year for this event.

For a 3rd edition, it doesn't get any better. The course is flat, fast and scenic through neighborhoods near the University of Oregon and then through parks along the Willamette River. This limits somewhat the areas where spectators can congregate but this is a running town and those who were there were very enthusiatic. Plus the band at mile 8 was worth the price of admission!

This year the finish line was moved from Autzen Stadium to the start line location. That itself was a big improvement.

Just like in past years, the course was relatively flat and very scenic. There's word that next year's race will finish on the track at Hayward Field. That would be awesome!

I've run Portland a couple of times and I think the crowd support in Eugene is much better. The Scream Zone at mile 8 is a bit like Wellesley in Boston, except the crowd is close to you on both sides. The screaming gave me goosebumps! The crowd at the finish was also great, with people lining both sides of the course for the last 0.2 miles.

As the race organizers tweak things each year there are bound to be issues. Here are the two that I would focus on fixing. First, the start corrals were too crowded, making it difficult to get in the pack at the appropriate spot. Second, there was some confusion where the marathon briefly re-joined the half-marathon route.

Well done, Eugene. I'm proud to call it my hometown race!

It is a tribute to this race that I praise it so highly, even though I had a lousy race due to leg cramps. The course is gorgeous. The elevation chart will show you the three hills - at .5, 4.5 and 8.5, approximately. The last one is the worst, but none are spirit-breakers. The large portion of the race that runs along the river is just stunning. My only complaint about my entire experience (other than my own mutinous legs) was the road surface. The bike path surface was rough and difficult in places, but worst of all was the opening mile, where we were running very tightly together. It's hard to watch your footing in that kind of crowd, so the potholes are treacherous! I nearly lost my race right there. Other than that, an awesome marathon. I will be back!

Beautiful course - especially the back half! This is a small-town marathon done right. It had its hiccups, but overall? Whoever is in charge definitely knows what they are doing. The only downside to this is that, if you are anywhere near the middle or back of the pack, you will get stuck behind walkers who are oblivious. I welcome walkers with my whole heart, but PLEASE corral them separately! Dodging is exhausting. Great experience, great town, and FANTASTIC spectators - WOW, they were nice! I strongly recommend this one.