The sections of the race along the river were wonderful, but there were some dull stretches through neighborhoods and on the shoulders of main roads as well. Nice, big medal at the end, but it would be nice to have Spokane rather than the sponsor's name mentioned on it. Not getting the distance of the course right is inexcusable. I didn't hear the announcer telling people to turn around at the end and finished my "marathon" with 11 minutes to spare to run 0.8 miles for what should have been an easy Boston qualifier. Thanks, RD. This must have been disappointing for those running their first marathon or attempting PR's. Give this race a miss until they establish a track record of getting the basics right. There are plenty of other choices at this time of year that are also relatively flat, scenic, not too large, and run reliably.

Most of the route was not even close to the river. Too much of it was near busy roads/highways and in subdivisions in hot sun, while the website and course photos lead you to believe it is in shade along the river. I only saw one medical person on a bicycle early in course; however, when I needed someone around mile 22, there was no one around.

The mileage markers were totally wrong from beginning to end, which made it difficult to pace. Apparently the markers were messed up in 2009, so that should have been corrected. Beer should have been free (perhaps 2 max per person), as most people don't have money with them when running a marathon. The few spectators and volunteers that were out there were great, and the medal was beautiful.

This was absolutely the worst organized event I have ever been a part of. The race started 15 minutes late because they only had one clock at the finish line, so they had to start the half and the full at the same time. Fifteen minutes is a pretty big deal on a day that ended in the upper 70s, with no clouds in the sky. Then, .5 miles into the race, the lead cyclists took us on a wrong turn. We hit the Mile 2 marker at mile 1.25. So we had to run the last 25 miles knowing the race was a sham, uncertified and counting for nothing. I feel worst for those trying to qualify for Boston, especially the ones who paid $100. So the course ended up being 25.5 miles - not 26.2. If there is one thing a race has to get right, it's the course. And they blew it. Also, I was in the front and not all of the mile markers had been set up in the middle of the course. Also, the congestion at the end as we caught up to the slower half marathoners was a nightmare. I will never trust four months of training to this race again and I would suggest others take a second look as well.

Overall the marathon was perfect. The weather in Spokane in May is usually nice (wonderful this year). The course couldn't be better. It is flat and along the river. The path is shaded for about half of the run. The race had some great spectator spots that made it easy for family to support the runners.

I only have one complaint... the mile markers!!! They were about .75-miles off from the beginning. Those who wanted to BQ had to run a little out-and-back at the finish line. Work out that problem and it would be an awesome race!

In 2009, the mile markers were off due to some high schoolers pulling a prank. OK. Shame on them.

In 2010, the COURSE for the marathon was short by 3/4 of a mile AND the mile markers were once again off (by the aforementioned 3/4 of a mile). After you crossed the finish line, the organizers thought it was entirely acceptable to turn us around to run the additional mileage causing us to "finish" far from the actual finish line.

I live in Spokane, and, if they had actual runners organizing the race rather than the realtors from Windemere (although bless them for putting on the race), it would be really a nice, small marathon.

Fool me once, shame on me; fool me twice, I'm not running again.

I ran the half-marathon. It was super well organized; had flawless bus service to the start; provided a super shirt; featured superb placement of water/electrolyte stations; had excellent support from police for stopping traffic; offered a lovely course along the river; routed us through neighborhoods just slightly more than desirable, but that was quite fine; had a superb finish line set-up (and goodies); had AWESOME VOLUNTEERS/SPECTATORS!; gave us an awesome medal; and overall, just was a really great time. I'll be back with friends who couldn't make this one (and are regretting it)!

No lines at the honey buckets? Priceless. Some intersections could have been better manned. Prettiest medals I've ever seen.

Nice and flat marathon, but since this was the first time, there were a couple of minor mistakes and one major one.

Minor: At one water station they ran out of water and the people manning the table didn't appear to be in any hurry to fix things. Then there was one aid station that was unmanned. Water and equipment were there, but there were just no people.

Major issue: The mile markers (according to the event personnel) were moved and way out of sync. I feel it caused me to miss my Boston qualifying time goal by 3 minutes. Very unhappy about that. BUT, I think a couple of fixes and they'll have a great race. The course runs by the Spokane River for most of the time and is very pretty. We did have to run on a semi-busy road for about a 1.5 miles.

A runner's marathon - thoughtful about the details that matter. Any small kinks will easily be worked out next year. This should be a nice staple for running in the greater Spokane area - a nice place to visit from out of town too.

Pros: (1) packet pick-up was easy enough - cool shirts and reusable totes; (2) bus transportation to the start was painless; (3) adequate porta-potties; (4) the course was gorgeous and paralleled the lovely and full Spokane River most of the way - the finish over the raging river and falls was awesome! (5) aid stations were well stocked with electrolytes or water - there was also GU, but I did not use it; (6) mile markers consisted of very visible real estate signs with the mileage on them and were pretty close to accurate (I learned from a race official that the markers and aid station supplies were set out the night before and were vandalized overnight so the race officials did a nice job on recovery); (7) the medal was way cool; (8) the race officials waited almost 8 hours for the last finishers and kept the clock running and finishers medals handy - that is just classy

Cons:
These are all minor and will be easily fixed next year. (1) the start line bus drop off was hard to find; (2) the 1-2 mile detour around the the Barker Bridge was a little boring - the river spoiled us; (3) the finisher's party later on was probably good, but I prefer getting it all done at once before people scatter.

A big thanks to all of the sponsors, volunteers, and competitors (and their support crews).