I ran a PR by over two minutes. I used to live in Cleveland and never realized how hilly the Shoreway is. Despite that, my speed only dropped by about 10 seconds per mile when going uphill, but gained about 15 seconds when running down.

The half-marathoners made it hard to keep pace as the tendency to run faster was there until they turned off after mile 12. Although it was nice to have the extra runners around since there are only 1,600 marathoners.

Martin Luther King Blvd. was a blessing in disguise' the descent really helped me pick up the pace for the second half.

We didn't have much of a wind to deal with this year, but I could imagine a stiff West wind would make for a tough miles 19-23.

Well organized race and great expo!

I?ve done the Cleveland Marathon in 2003 & 2004 & I have been mostly disappointed with it both years. I ran Cleveland those years for 2 reasons: it wasn't far away & it was cheap. The marathon date was changed this year to May instead of April - good decision, for the weather was comfortable instead of freezing cold. This year Cleveland added walking divisions along with a 1/2 marathon & my family & I decided to try the 1/2 marathon walk. Right away I noticed a difference.

The expo was crowded but organized a lot better than last year. The shirts were nice quality with the race you were in on them (1/2, marathon, 10k). There was lots of parking at or near the start line. One good thing about this area of downtown: lots of parking garages. One problem popped up at the start line; they had something like 16 porta-potties for over 3000 runners & walkers. The course does have some hills, but what race doesn't? If hills are the price I pay for walking on completely closed roads, so be it. Some people whined that running on the shore-way means no (or at least fewer) spectators. If you need a lot of people yelling & shouting at you, try another marathon.

Fluid stations were well stocked with both PowerAde & water, & mile markers usually had split times. A big problem was when you exited off the shore-way onto Edgewater Dr. You could see Lake Ave. & runners coming back. I saw 4 people cut over the grass & cheat - effectively cutting off 2 1/2 miles from the course. There needs to be someone watching that part of the course. The police this year were friendly & made sure to keep the roads cleared for you. I didn't notice the loop around the finish line as much this year.

The medals are very nice with a little spinning guitar. The food was the usual after-marathon fare - fruit, beverages, chips, & bagels. Altogether, I really enjoyed this 1/2 marathon & I think the race is finally back on the right track.

I have to say, I was a bit disappointed in the Cleveland experience. There were a few beautiful stretches in the race (the park in particular), but the long stretches on the highways or next to the highways absolutely killed the atmosphere, and certainly made for a less enjoyable miles 20-25 in particular.

I enjoyed the expo but race-day organization left something to be desired. I ran with one of the slower pace groups and twice in the first ten miles we hit water stops that had run out of drinks and/or cups. Now that is just not safe.

The spectators basically weren't even there. I expect that on the long highway stretches, but especially on the back half, we were running through neighborhoods where our only interaction was with angry-looking drivers trying to cross the street.

Oh well, it was 26.2 miles. I'm definitely proud and happy to have taken part. I just don't think the organizers or the people of the city really added much to the race.

This race is okay for local runners but if I lived outside Cuyahoga County I wouldn't be enthused about getting to this one.

What is good:
- The streets are completely closed to automobile traffic.

- The relatively small number of runners (1,400) enables the runner to not feel crowded during the first miles.

- The last 2 miles are flat and run through the downtown streets. This is probably the best section of the course.

What is not so good:
- The new and supposedly improved course stays inside the city limits but now has added many hills that were not on the old out-and-back course. Cleveland was once a PR course but is no longer. Running within the borders of Cleveland and past the buildings is supposed to be less boring than the bland suburban out-and-back course. This possibly is true but Cleveland is unfortunately not very inspiring. With the motto "Cleveland Rocks And Runs," there would be a possibliity of having some bands alongs the course. I counted less than one band. There appeared to be a band on MLK but the rain storm caused the band to leave its stage area.

- There were not many spectators on the old course but the new course seems to have even less people watching. Possibly the wet weather in 2004 was a factor. Several miles are run on an expressway and are inaccessible to spectators. This is a quiet part and is good for meditation or being along with your thoughts.

- Some of the aid stations had 3 volunteers handing out water/Gatorade. This is an acceptable number for a minor-league marathon, but Cleveland should be able to generate a higher quality aid station.

I will run Cleveland in 2005 only because there isn't a nearby, big-time alternative. Plus the entry fee is a rather inexpensive ($50 before January). This is less of a shock than the $95 for Boston.

I highly recommend the Cleveland Marathon, if you want a fun, flat, and well-organized marathon.

We stayed in the Hampton Inn, which was very convenient to the marathon and expo... right across the street. It afforded us the opportunity to visit the expo several times before the race.

The volunteers who worked the expo were friendly and helpful, and I really enjoyed the race director's talk about the course. I've been meaning to contact him and tell him job well done. I understand they changed the course this year, to allow it to be completely within city limits.

This is my first Cleveland Marathon, and it ranks up there as one of my favorites. I loved everything about the race: The water and Powerade stops were plentiful, the volunteers were helpful, and the spectators were awesome, coming out to cheer us on enthusiastically on a wet, rainy day.

It was a flat, interesting course, and we were able to run past many nice sights of the great city of Cleveland: the Rock-n-Roll Hall of Fame, the Browns stadium, the Botanical Gardens, and much more. My favorite part of the race (besides the finish :-)) was at the halfway point, when we ran past a church choir, serenading us on the front steps of their church. Now that's spirit that helped me pull through the rest of the race! I highly recommend the Rite Aid Cleveland Marathon to anyone, as I think they would all enjoy it.

The new course was great and, with the exception of the dull bit on the Marginal Road, I enjoyed every step of it. From Browns Stadium to the West Side Market to Jacobs Field to Playhouse Square to the winding and exhilarating run down MLK, to the edge of the city and through the heart of the city - it was a fine run and I'm glad I did it.

The route was mostly flat - no miles long climb out of a valley as there is in the Akron Marathon - and the few hills that there were just kept it all interesting.

The volunteers were friendly and special thanks to them. I've often thought that it's probably harder standing there being cheerful and positive for hours than it is to run the race.

Thanks to the organizers, too, for infusing the race with new life. I'm sure that next year they'll fix the few things that didn't work - like the plastic cups. I'm looking forward to running it again.

I was a little skeptical of the new course, having run this race 18 previous times and used to every turn and nuance.

It did not disappoint. They were forced to add a couple of hills, but in return you get to see many of the sights that helped to make Cleveland a major metropolis back before the rust belt days.

Among the attractions are the new stadiums, the R&R hall of fame, the west side market, Playhouse Square, the lagoon and art museum, and a long down hill stretch down MLK Drive where there is still beautiful statuary and parks from the early part of the 20th century.

Needed improvements:

Paper water cups. Whoever decided to go with plastic hasn't run in too many races.

Consistency in the order of e.r.g. drinks and water. Each water stop was different.

A more imaginitive finish. The last couple of miles practically wound around in circles as a way of getting the mileage right.

Last year we ran this marathon and were very disappointed but we came back to give it a second chance and we are very happy we did - instead of having nothing but bad memories about this marathon we have good ones. This year the marathon was a lot better than last year, they still need to fix a few things, but they are going in the right direction. The medals were a lot nicer and bigger - they also had enough medals for everybody this year. The t-shirt was a lot nicer too - not great, but nicer than last year. It was long sleeve this year and didn't start to fade after the first wash. The organization was better also - with a nicer expo and friendly volunteers. The course needs a few changes like getting rid of those silly loops at the end but it is much better than last year's course. This year's marathon was also more slow-runner-friendly with several people coming in over 6 hours.

Altogether I am glad we came back and would recommend this marathon to anybody.

This year's course was new, and I was disappointed about the change at first since I knew the prior route to be in a really pretty area. However, I found running through all the different areas throughout Cleveland and the surrounding suburbs a LOT of fun. Organizing neighborhood parties has a lot of potential, but will need a LOT more media attention to get it going. The only part that I would change is the long, boring (and painful, at least for me!) stretch down S. Marginal, and winding around in circles at the very end. Otherwise I think the course change was a great idea. (Also, it was fun running on a highway!) I thought the hills were short & manageable, and this was my first marathon.

This being my first, I was also suprirsed how much spectator support really helps keep you going. Although not great in numbers, they were very friendly and supportive. There was a neighborhood church giving out water bottles, which was a nice touch. Again, media attention & advertising would really help with the numbers (of course, so would a nice sunny day!)

Although I would have liked getting ANY medal at all, I really liked the design of this year's finisher's medal. Also, because I signed up early on, I got a really nice technical training T-shirt.

I'm going to be moving back to my home state soon, and running the marathon through all the different areas of Cleveland will be some of my best memories of being here. Thanks to the new race director, organizers & volunteers for a great first marathon experience. I plan to come back to visit and run Cleveland again!

Flat-landers seemed to complain about hills. I didn't notice anything on this course I'd call a hill. But there WAS too much hard concrete on this course, especially in the late miles. Organization was fair--they had run out of all liquids at the second water stop by the time I got there. Timing signs were sparse in the second half. The t-shirt and medal were both really lame.

No offense to Clevelanders, but while the small crowds lining the route were enthusiastic and friendly, I found the city filled with very unfriendly people the rest of the time I was there. Despite these drawbacks, a generally positive experience. But next time, I'll run Columbus or Cincinnati.