This town knows running, and it shows. The course is flat and fast, the race well-organized. There are enough turns so you aren't bored but not so many that it slows you. Even with the addition of a half-marathon, this race is still small enough that an 8-minute/mile pace means you have plenty of space in which to run without worrying about being slowed by people in front of you or pushed by someone from behind. Most of the last 16 miles are along the Willamette River, on a path. The finish is in the parking lot of the football stadium (not so scenic, though practical in terms of parking). Shuttle buses are available to get runners from the finish to the start or downtown. They need (prominent) signs and/or announcements to let runners know where to board those buses, but when that's the biggest thing to gripe about, you know the race is good. I came all the way from Atlanta, and I'd do it again.

Possibly one of the best marathons of the 40+ I have run. This race has it all: gorgeous scenery, cool temperatures, an exceptional running community, flat and fast course, excellent organization, access to fun tourist activities, friendly people, and top-notch race operations. Eugene is a groovy college town and the whole "running mecca" aura was in full swing. A total blast. Do Eugene if you are looking for an awesome, small marathon.

This was a fun, flat and beautiful course. HOWEVER, be aware the majority of the course has concrete footing (I said concrete - not asphalt). That aside, this marathon ROCKS, and we enjoyed the City of Eugene too.

I was impressed by this marathon. A pleasant course paired with entertaining spectators and thoughtful organization - right down to the compost bins for food scraps at the finish line. And the cool, reusable, green goody bag, and the technical shirt were an unexpected bonus!

I loved the course: Beautiful, flat, fast, good scenery. Pasta dinner, expo, starting line, and finish line were all great. My only complaints were that they listed all the musical acts that would be along the course and I saw none of these. They also advertised a 3:15 pacer who either didn't show up or was hiding really well at the start. Finally, the crowds were disappointing. My last 2 marathons were Richmond and Green Bay - both had A LOT more crowd support than Eugene. I was pretty surprised by that. The college kids don't really come out to cheer you on though.

This was my first marathon in 22 years. I really liked the size of this event - very well organized and not too big. Scenic course, but I didn't care for the concrete path sections of the trail. They were a little hard on my old legs. Eugene is a great destination, and the fans and volunteers were very friendly and supportive. I'd definitely recommend this race to others.

Eugene is a lovely city and is very green in both uses of the word: parks and recycling. Most of the course is on bike trails through parks after the first few miles. I would only classify about half a mile as a boring area along a street. There were a few hills early, with a big one at about 7.5, but after that it was pretty flat (and I live where it is really flat). Great course overall.

The only glitch was they were slow in opening the gates to the parking lot at the finish so that we could take the bus to the start. The first bus left at 5:30am but we weren't allowed into the parking area until later. This was strange, since they have a huge lot for the football stadium so parking should not have been an issue.

There were tons of portacans at the start, but along the route they were sparse. At about mile 6, I saw 2 portacans with a line about 10-15 people. A guy ahead of me took off a long way across a soccer field to a portacan he saw near a school. They needed to add a few more along the way, especially until the half marathon splits off at 11 miles.

The volunteer tshirts were cool (tie-dyed green) but the race shirts were a dull grey with minimal printing. I love the volunteers, but why was their shirt so much nicer than the race shirt?

Eugene has a special place in running history, and this race fits that tradition. There is no reason not to run this race.

Beautiful course - almost flat. The problem is that, at least in its second half, the trails are concrete, which puts a lot of load on your legs. Good water stations. I suggest putting them on both sides of the course and clearly indicating what comes first - water or electrolytes. We had to guess. But the finish line and its party are wonderful.

Highly recommended. The half and 5K are very well organized as well; my kids did them, and were very pleased.

Loved the course! It was flat, scenic, and the weather could not have been more perfect. Running the trails through the fir trees was incredibly beautiful - even when the going got tough. The volunteers were wonderful and enthusiastic and very supportive!

I enjoyed the event overall but do have a few negatives:

There was no finisher t-shirt at the end which I thought was a little odd, but not a deal-breaker. The one we got at the expo was nice, although everyone I talked to would've preferred to have the colorful volunteer t-shirt.

The finisher medal was a little cheap-looking - definitely room for improvement. If they're not going to give out finisher t-shirts, then they should spend a little extra money to make the finisher medal more appealing (wider, more colorful ribbon, heavier medal - check out Austin, TX.) When I go to expos and see what other marathons are offering as a finisher medal, my decision about whether or not I will sign up can be greatly influenced.

Food at the finish - HUGE disappointment! Granted, this was one of my slowest finish times ever, but all that was available were bagged chips, bananas, brownie crumbs, and tiny, plain bagels. Subway was supposedly there with sandwiches, but they were long gone by the time I came across the finish. Check out Austin, Dallas & Houston's marathons for tips on providing nourishing after-event food.

The last negative was the pancake breakfast that I pre-registered for. I got there right at 7:30 and what they had out in the the burner trays were cold. Then they brought some out "just out of the steamer," and those were tough and barely warm. Except for the orange juice and tiny sausages, it was not worth $7. The free breakfast at my hotel was a much better bet.

Eugene, Oregon is a beautiful city, but I'm not sure I would travel out-of-town to do this one again.

A great marathon and beautiful course. The route snakes through Eugene proper and out along the river, along roads and a bike path. The starting point at the campus is central to most hotels and provides plenty of space. The volunteers were plentiful and gracious throughout. The pasta party was merely adequate, but conveniently located in the marathon host hotel. Plenty of port-o-potties at the start and food at the finish (though we missed out on the Subway sandwiches after the half-marathoners exhausted the supply). A couple of areas for improvement include the number of after-race shuttle buses (one from my count and we waited for 30 minutes in the uncovered parking lot) and the inflexibility of the host hotel for late checkouts. They may also consider staggering the start for the full and half. Overall a race worth repeating.