Great small-town marathon. Good weather. Flat course, with well-stocked aid stations. Friendly volunteers were at every turn, directing runners and traffic. I plan to be back next year.

The organizers were smart and chose an ideal, flat course away from most traffic. They separated the half marathoners from the full, which helps when a runner is pacing herself. The volunteers were helpful and peppy! The city and spectators were gracious! This marathon will grow fast in the future. I hope to return.

Albany should be proud of its great accomplishment today. They put on a spectacular inaugural race!

The course, the volunteers, the traffic control, the officials... everything was top-notch. I give fans 4 stars because there weren't many people out for the first 4 miles or so; perhaps it was because it was a bit on the chilly side (though for running, even the weather was perfect). The day seemed tailor-made for success.

I had the pleasure of running with one of the race coordinators for the first six miles, and got a play-by-play of the planning, the certification process, the solicitation for sponsors.... It all made the race even more inspiring. To be able to benefit from the fruits of this laborious process was very humbling to say the least.

This was my 92nd race, my sixth this year, and my fifth inaugural.... They take the prize all around.

I am not being biased because I lived there for a short time some years ago. They impressed me beyond measure and that is hard to do!

Anyone who has something negative to say, so sorry that you weren't with me on the course because everyone that I talked with thought along the same line as my posting.

Great job, Albany. Be proud.

Props to the RD for doing a great job in organizing this event. There were at least 2 volunteers at each intersection, even if it was a road that never has any traffic. All of them were cheering too, which was fun. Water stations were great and well stocked. Considering that there were 250 or so marathoners in this race, there was a large spectator-to-runner ratio. This is definitely a small-town marathon though - but if you didn't know that when you signed up, that's your fault. The course could arguably be "boring" or "dangerous because of where it is run" (I know some people will complain about this on MarathonGuide), but the course was laid out perfectly, and the course was online for 2 months before the race, so you had a full idea of what you were getting into. I would recommend this race if you are looking for a race where you run by yourself, with small crowds, great organization, and a great shot at a PR. I was hesitant to sign up for this only because I wanted a course where I could qualify for Boston and this was a shot in the dark. But it's a fast course, and I qualified (barely), so I am thrilled.

Thanks to all the smiling volunteers, the town of Albany, and the RD for a job well done.