My first marathon, and enjoyed it thouroghly. The marathon gets a bad rap for lack of fan support,but because of the route there were only certain places fans could congregate. Where they could the fans were very supportive and knowledgable. My only critique was with the course elevation map online. It appeared the miles 20-25 were downhill, when in reality it was a significant uphill grade. I would have run miles 13-18 differently had I known. Overall very well run. The kids race was extremely well done. My goal was under 4 hours which was easily met.

For this race to be known for its 10K, which gives the highest purse of the weekend to the winner, it was really a shame that no medals were given to the finishers of the 10K as they have in past. Plus for the 10K runners to leave after their run, you might as well forget it. The parking in the city is encircled by the marathon course with basically no way out. The expo, gosh can they find a smaller place to have it? I think of the last 8 years of running it, the expo location was the worst this year.

I ran this marathon in 2003 and finished in 3:35. This time it took me over four hours. Part of the problem was that I was trying to just pace in a slower runner, but the main problem is some idiot changed the course and miles 15-22 were run in a 20- to 30-mile an hour headwind off of Lake Erie! Unless you can promise yourself a pleasant day you are going to get buffeted by the weather. Other gripes are for the lack of crowd support, lack of port-o-johns (I saw lines of six people on the course), and no Mylar blankets at the finish lines for the runners who crossed the finish line in the 50-degree weather and were freezing/chilled. On a good note, the medal is very nice, but not worth it for what you have to go through. The only good thing is I got to urinate on Cleveland Brown Stadium, and for any Steeler fan that is a dream come true.

I ran the half.

Overall a very nice course. I enjoyed running by the lake and through the residential areas.

There were not enough porta-johns, and the water points were too few and far between. Not enough people staffing them either, to be fair the weather might have chased them away (cold and raining for first 45 minutes of race).

The expo was poorly organized. It was crowded and getting in and out of the parking lot was a nightmare.

I'll be back next year.

Despite the ungodly wind around mile #19, this was a terrific race. The water spots were well-manned and the directions out on the course were great. Traffic control was excellent and the crowds, although relatively light, were upbeat and enthusiatic. I'll be back next year!

I must admit that my main reason for doing this marathon was that I had family in Cleveland. I was very pleasantly surprised about everything (except the monsoon like weather). The expo was very nicely organized, although getting in and out of Burke airport was something that needs to be addressed next year. Excellent, friendly vendors with all the good stuff. The start of the race was nicely organized and went off without a hitch. The course itself had some nice areas with great views of lake erie and some very nice parks. There was also a very nice downhill that seemed to go from around mile 18 to 20. Then of course we turned back into what seemed like a 25 mile an hour headwind! A very nice finish area, with an enthusiastic announcer and a nice crowd of people. I would like to thank our pacers Mark and Scott for doing such a great job.

Ok - to start with something positive.... The people of Cleveland were wonderful. The race wasn't. From the lousy location and disorganization of the expo, to a boring course layout. Cleveland is a cool city with great architecture, but nope, they put us on the highway with minor views of the lake. Yawnnnnn. It wasn't as flat as expected. The indoor shopping mall at the start line was a wonderful dry play to determine if I wanted to run in the rain and the cold. The finishing medal states and the race logo is that Cleveland "Rocks and Runs" - BOGUS!!! Speaking of which, it was a cheap and dreary looking medal. Get rid of the corporate logo and use some imagination on the reverse. Better manufacturing would also help. There is no "Rock!" I do have to give praise for the single band around mile six. The Race Roadies were great! The water was bleach. Find a bottled-water sponsor! The tap water was foul tasting and just terrible. The three people out cheering were terrific. OK - so I exaggerate, the crowds were non-existent. All this and a butt-ugly t-shirt! Race director - go to Nashville and learn that attention to detail is important. This could be a classy race but it needs people to put it together with imagination and vision.

Pros:
I only ran the half-marathon. I loved the course, much more scenic than I expected. We ran over the river and flats, along the lake past Edgewater beach and boat docks, and through some beautiful residential neighborhoods.

For slower runners like me I am grateful to the volunteers who manned the refreshment tables late in the race. When I ran the full marathons in Erie, Columbus and Pittsburgh (twice), the volunteers were packing up the water tables at 3.5-4 hours.

The walking division was a good idea, it drew alot of walkers and kept the course open longer for slower runners. I plan to run the full marathon next year.

Cons:
Downtown streets were not completely closed, street crossings required attention to traffic, although there were plenty of police / volunteers directing and stopping traffic.

Not enough Port-A-Johns on the course.

Need better advertising and media hype to get neighbors out cheering for the runners.

The people of Cleveland were wonderful. Everyone we came in contact with was friendly, outgoing and fun. Lots of things to do and see. The field of runners was small but very supportive. The course was a bit challenging and spectators were sparse (otherwise 5 stars). An overall great time.

even in Cleveland, so it seems.

There didn't seem to be any buzz around town for this event. Perhaps it's because the race was in late May. I understand that it had been held in April previously. Given the unpredictability of early Spring weather, the move to May was probably a smart move.

The race itself---I gave the course 4 stars but it's a shaky 4 stars. Miles 13-18 go through a bit of a well-worn area. Wouldn't want to be caught there after dark. However the park from miles 18-20 is pretty nice and you do seem to run by alot of landmarks. Plus you run by the Lake for a fair portion of the race. On a nice day, which it was this year, it's a scenic view.
Hills? I train in a flat area and I didn't consider this to be a hilly course (although the pull up Shoreway at about mile 8 took me by surprise). Otherwise the other 'hills' (3 total) are highway ramps. Other than the last one being at a most inopportune point in the race (23 mile mark), they were no bother. This is mostly a flat course. PR/BQ is certainly possible; especially if you only have around 1600 people running the full marathon like this year. This race could easily be twice as large without feeling crowded.

The Expo was a treat--well-organized. Everything was clearly marked out with plenty of friendly volunteers. A bit small in terms of the number of vendors but every vender there had quality stuff. No junk. It was also right next to a general health expo sponsored by Rite Aid which attracted alot of people. However, you could move around pretty easily at that as well. It was a nice change of pace to experience a well-run quality Expo after having experienced one that was a poorly run disaster the previous October (Marine Corps in DC).

Fans? Not many. Bring your own. If you want the thrill of cheering crowds, this isn't the race for you. I was surprised, though, as to how few spectators there were. Again, perhaps the new date for this year's race had something to do with this.
Water stops were well-manned when I passed through. Pleasantly surprised by the number of kids who gave up their morning to help out.

Accomodations/Pasta Dinner--the pasta dinner at the Hyatt was pretty good. Plenty of food that was much tastier than expected and very attentive help to keep the glasses full and bus the tables. This is worth the price.
We stayed at the Hampton which was about a block or so away from the start/finish. It wasn't included on the list of host hotels so there was no race discount. However, the staff was VERY runner-friendly and the rooms were more than adequate. I'd stay there again.

Negatives:
1) The spectators who came with us could only see us again after the start at about the 12.5 mile mark. Being from out of town, we weren't familiar with Cleveland so we didn't know if there were easy ways to get to other viewing points on the course. If there are other easily accessable spectator points, perhaps this information could be included in the race packet or on the web page?
2) Your local average 10K has more energy and excitement at the finish than this race had. I understand that they brought in someone from out of town who does finish line announcing at other races around the country. He was pretty good and certainly tried to generate some excitement. However, other than him, there just wasn't much cheering or spark among the folks or volunteers who were at the finish.

All in all, however, this is a good race to run and I'm glad to have been a part of it.