OK, so I only ran the half marathon, but I thought the course was terrific. A Cleveland native, I enjoyed revisiting some of my former haunts, especially the portion of the course near Edgewater Park, where I ran so many high school cross country meets. Perhaps because I live in a hilly area now, I thought the course was flat and fast, though it's true the bridges are actually *hills!* (I still smashed my half marathon PR here.) The one thing that others have said that I agree with is the lack of spectators for much of the course. However, having run a rather secluded trail marathon in the past, as well as many small local 5K & 10K road races with very few fans, I thought the fan support at this race was WAY better than those. So it's a matter of perspective. If you are happy with moderately sized, but enthusiastic crowds, this race is a good one. If you need GIANT sized crowds, you may want to race elsewhere.

I'm an overseas runner from Singapore. And this is my 1st time running in Ohio, USA. I'm totally impressed with the free singlet which was mailed to me as part of the early bird registration. I did not expect an overseas runner being eligible with no shipping cost incurred. This was a very sweet surprise! The finisher medal was GREAT! The nicest medal in my collection of 7 medals.

Course-wise, the first part of the course was great, although running along Euclid Avenue & Chester (after the 1/2 marathon turning) was a tad boring. Also, there seems to be a little confusion after the bridge (after Jacobs Stadium), where you have to filter from left to right (just before the 1/2 marathoners have to break off with the marathoners). I was lucky as I was 100M behind some 1/2 marathoners and I knew exactly where to continue my marathon route.

Also, the last part of the marathon was boring, as it was run inside the highway. There were only a couple of people (police guarding the intersection points). Not very exciting as this was the part where the slower runners like myself struggle to run with all the devils ringing in your ears... Also, the last part where you run round the loop (towards the West Street then back to East Street), was not very encouraging either. Imagine having to run past the finish (on the next street) and then u-turn back! Kind of demoralizing.

But lucky for me, this was my 1st marathon (although the Mad City Marathon I did 1 week later at Madison also did the same thing), as I heard my home town (Singapore) being read over the public announcing system! That was COOL! And they knew where exactly Singapore is - a very far place from Cleveland, Ohio!

Although this is my 2nd worst marathon (would have been my worst if I was 18 minutes slower), I had no hesitation in recommending to others. Just remember to do some hill training (it's not as flat as advertised). The charm of Cleveland will captivate you. I recommend the Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland Museum of Natural History, and the tour of Cleveland's Red Indians (Jacob Fields) to anyone who have not visited Clevland.

To the organizer: good job but do consider tweaking the final 2 - 3 miles. Also, do consider having your 1/2 marathoners start 15 to 30 minutes later! This is quite a BIG-scale marathon! : )

I have run the marathon the last four years, and the 2005 edition was the best yet.

I like the course a lot. It is about as good a course as you can get while staying within the Cleveland city limits. The Rock Hall, Science Center, Browns Stadium, Lake Erie, Edgewater Park, Ohio City, Jacobs Field, Playhouse Square, Severance Hall, Art Museum, Rockefeller Park (best part of the course), Warehouse District... you'll run by them all.

The course has several rolling hills in the first half (mostly on the Shoreway); the second half is almost all flat to downhill, with a couple of hills late in the race. I hesitate to call it a PR course -- I've only PR'd here once, and that was the first time, in my first marathon. But it is not as hilly as some might have you believe.

I agree with the reviewer who pointed out the potential for cheaters to hop over the Shoreway barrier. Suggested solution: place a chip mat on West 117th (westernmost part of the course).

The organization has definitely improved and shows that the race organizers are listening to runners' comments. The expo this year was much better; the medals are terrific; the T-shirt is a technical/wicking shirt; there were several bands along the course; they used paper cups at the water stops; the water stops had many more volunteers this year; the results were on the website by about 4 PM. It's almost like the race organizers read the prior years' reviews and set out to correct what they could. (They even brought better weather this year!)

Not sure what to say to those who found aid stations that were unmanned or out of supplies; I don't doubt their experiences, but I had no problems getting water/Powerade at all the stops.

My major issue was the lack of protection on Lakeside Avenue (for most of the last 1.5 miles of the race). Cones marked off one lane for the runners, which was fine - by that point in the race, one lane was enough. But that same lane also had many parked cars, so runners had no choice but to go outside the cones. The police seemed to do a good job of shooing away any cars, but it would have been nice to have two lanes marked off or to forbid street parking during the race.

This isn't a race to run if you need constant fan support, although there are quite a few fans at the start/finish and at various points of the course. Certainly the Chicagos and Bostons of the world have larger cheering sections, but I have also run in races with far fewer spectators.

Overall, this race felt like much more of an 'event' this year (overall participation was up by about 50%), and I really enjoyed it. See you in 2006....

Cleveland is a cool city. There are many great tourist attractions in the downtown area... most within walking distance of the host hotel (the Hyatt). The race was average... room for improvement. Don't expect a flat course. Water stations were sub-par. Volunteers handled cups without gloves. Also many of the cups were barely filled, which doesn't help with water stations that were a dozen or so volunteers deep.

Okay marathon, but would not recommend it if you have to travel from out of town. I found the course more hilly than advertised and did not like the amount of concrete we ran on throughout the course.

Most of all, I REALLY disliked the Marriott hotel (one of the hotels the marathon recommends). There was a large, loud party in the room next door to us and the hotel refused to address the situation or move us to a different room until 1:30 AM. In the end, I ended up with an hour of sleep and blame the hotel for my overly difficult marathon experience. Don't stay here if you want to get any sleep before your race!

Positives...Great medal, nice race shirt and supportive spectators (though not too many of them!)

This was my 21st marathon, and 1st in Cleveland. I liked the start/finish line area; it was very easy. The 7:00 am start was good with me. I walked right from my hotel. The course was pretty nice; there was variety, including some hills and a downhill run through a park. It wasn't a flat, boring out and back. My biggest disappointment was the lack of local crowd support. It didn't feel like a big city marathon. I would recommend this race to a newbie, but I don't think I will run it again. No thrill.

I was excited to run my first marathon for Rite Aid after doing the 10K in the past. The course was great. I didn't like the porta-potties, couldn't find a place to wash my face and hands. Twinkies at the end!!! Where was the fruit? Terrible food and drink at the end.

This was my first marathon and I chose it over my hometown marathon Akron because I felt it would be flat. It was a pretty good course, though I didn't enjoy running for long periods of time on concrete with no crowd support. Since I was a slower runner, some of the water stops had run out of cups and the bands were shutting down, which made the final miles difficult. The expo, shirt and medal were great!

This was a big improvement over last year's race. The expo was a good size, with a nicely stocked goody bag. Lots more of free stuff at the health and beauty expo next store. The course does have a couple of hills in it, but nothing that bad, and mostly in the first half. Miles 11-20 are very easy on the legs. I feel this is a fast course. I have only a couple of minor suggestons for improvement. 1) It would have been nice if at the water stops, PowerAde could have been on one side and water on the other. The stations on the first half of the course got jammed up at times. 2) Home of the "Rock 'N Roll Hall of Fame" - how about a couple more bands on the course? I'll even take a couple of marching bands.

This was my first time in Cleveland. Neat/clean downtown and area. Expo was good too. The course is basically flat with a couple of inclines. All areas of the course had their own distinct appeal. My only complaint has to do with the first two fluid stations. The first one was too crowded on a narrow bridge, and the second station did not have enough water/PowerAde prepared in advance. Another thing was the person passing out the energy gel was not marked well as I ran past. There were at least two porta-johns at every mile. The spectators were supportive and vocal. Traffic control was good. The shirt and medal are real nice. I would recommend running the Cleveland Marathon.