This is a small marathon on a paved path along the river the entire time. Very scenic. No traffic issues! You're on a dedicated path.
Pluses;
Scenery
No crowding
Great post race food! Yummy.
Super closer to the hotel and only $89/night. Very nice hotel.
Easy free parking.
Downer:
BRING A WATER BOTTLE! The water stops were super helpful, but up to 4 miles apart. If it had been hot, I would have been toast. Thankfully if was awesome marathon weather.
Overall, very much recommended for a good small marathon.

The course this year on the bike trail was peaceful and scenic. More aid stations and better organization would help this race as volunteers at the aid stations weren't expecting the runners at times. I signed up my friend and I and felt that the processing fee of over 15 dollars for the 2 of us was a bit high too. As a Sacramento resident I hope that these issues are corrected and that they continue with more full marathons in Sac.

Beautiful course and very fast, but organization was not up to par. From a lack of signs in the park to show where the start was, to the lack of mile markers, to the small number of aid stations, this is the worst I have seen in my 66 marathons. Hopefully, it will improve when the new organizers get their act together.

This was my second marathon, run one week after the LA marathon. Definitely a contrast to LA, and if you prefer the excitement of a big race, River City probably isn't your speed. If you like a tranquil and pretty course, you'll love it.

As I understand it, elemental running picked up direction of this race after the very sad passing of race director Robert Mathis. Elemental running did an excellent job of managing the race with what little prep time they had. Refreshments on the course every couple miles and helpful, encouraging volunteers. It is a small race, so spectators were few, but very supportive. Its a lovely race along the american river, and parkway traffic was closed to bikes for this event. Weather was fantastic for running, and the food at the finish couldn't have tasted better. Thanks to Robert Mathis for originally providing us with the opportunity to run a marathon along the river and thanks to elemental running for continuing it.

The race organizers had to change the course for the 2011 event because sections along the course and finish area were flooded. That meant the second half of the course (returning to the start area) was mostly uphill. The goodie bag was a Safeway reusable grocery bag, which is cool. No expo; just a packet pickup. The volunteers were excellent for the most part. Slower finishers did not receive medals because marathon medals were given to 1/2 marathoners by mistake. To date that has not been corrected.

Pro: qualified for Boston; enthusiastic volunteers; EMT workers (spent more time with them than I ever wanted to); nice course; helpful organizers.

Con: not enough port-a-potties at the start; not enough aid stations; bicyclists (unbelievable!); heat.

All in all, I enjoyed this marathon. I would consider doing it again, but I would need to be more prepared for the heat.

This was only my second marathon but I have been in many other races. This is a beautiful course, especially the first half of the marathon. They could easily begin the race a half-hour earlier as it was really warm by the finish, adding signs after entering the park for directing runners to start area would help, and closing the course to bikers (they were pretty careless and rude). The spectator count was really low, but they had good food at the finish. All in all, a good experience for me.

I ran the half. No spectators, but that's not a high priority for me. Worst aspect is the lack of mile markers. There are miles marked on the bike path, but they don't match up to the race in any meaningful way. I didn't find the organizers to be helpful. Be aware of the point-to-point nature with transportation - they charge for shuttle. I'll do a better organized one than this in the future.

The race was well organized, there was great food at the end, and some very beautiful scenery. But some of the cyclists who were also on the trail were rude and we witnessed several near accidents due to the speed of some of the cyclists. We were also yelled at by a female cyclist; she was crazy and rude! She was on our side of the trail, perhaps just angry because we happened to be in her way; I'm not sure what her problem was, but who needs that?!

We also felt it would have been great to have had mile markers. We had a good idea because we had studied the course map prior to the race. But, especially towards the end it would have been helpful to have had that information.

One last thing: more water stations! The stations that were there were well stocked with lots of help, but more of them would have been great.

All in all, I may do this again; I'm just not sure at this time. The rude cyclists have left a bad impression on me.

I have run this race both years. For some reason it just likes to get hot race weekend. Nice course; aid stations were well stocked. The food at the finish line was top-notch: TriTip, beans, salad, and corn bread. The race was a lot bigger this year and Robert and Linda did another great job. I will be back next year, God willing!