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.

The corresponding Rite Aid women's expo was nice if you are a woman. Lots of people but lots of free samples.

The race expo was good. The pasta party was held at the host hotel and was very nice. The host hotel was within 5 blocks of the start and finish, which was great. I liked the course. I think it offered a nice variety of city and scenery. All of the same thing can get boring if you are running for 4 hours-plus.

The aid stations were well stocked with both PowerAde and water. And porta-johns were plentiful along the course at every aid station.

I must say I did expect more music. I counted about 5 bands and a couple radio stations.

The police were friendly and did a fantastic job of keeping traffic stopped for the runners. I made sure I thanked them for being there.

The medal was very nice and the race merchandise was nice. Lots of volunteers along the course! And a nice straight finish that you could see for about 5 blocks. Sure made it more enjoyable to run that last half-mile, and loved having lots of people at the end and a very enthusiastic announcer calling names and encouraging words!

My only complaint was that the course was definitely not flat. If you are looking for flat, this is not the one for you. My husband rode a bike along with me and he said several times he had to shift into lowest gear to get up the hills (mind you he is not in terriffic shape and this was his first time on a bike since last summer.... Nevertheless, he was talking about the last 8 miles!).

I would recommend this marathon, but only if you are prepared for hills. Check the course elevation chart in advance.

This was only my second marathon, but maybe my first experience in Detroit spoiled me.

The good: The expo was jumping and well organized. The weather was excellent. The volunteers that were there were friendly. The pace runners held their own and kept (at least my group) going. The medals are nice.

The bad: I never ran the 'old course' but the layout now is not suited for a crowd, especially those from out of town. Six family members from Michigan came to support me and only saw me at mile 12 and the end. They wanted to see me at my wall (about the 22-mile mark), but because we were running on the expressway, there was no way for them to see me there and at the finish. I experienced a number of 'unmanned' water stations and in fact went without a drink for about the last 4 miles. Not only is it dangerous, but unacceptable.

Overall, my time in Cleveland was nice. I reached my personal goal of breaking five hours. We visited the R&R HOF and had a great time at the House of Blues. However, I would not make the trip again.

I loved the university circle part of the race. I didn't like the water stop that was dry or the one that was out of cups. For a "rocking" marathon there wasn't much music. I finished in 4:13 and there wasn't any fruit left - only some dry hard rolls and chips. I've run 8 different marathons and this one ranks 7th. The organizers could learn a lot from Akron or Cincinnati.

These comments are a repeat of what I first wrote on bulletin board: "I liked Cleveland better than many sights, and had no reason to be biased towards liking it. I expect I'll go back, schedule permitting. Here are my reasons:

1) Course is 26 almost entirely non-repeated miles. More marathons than I thought repeat significant parts of their routes.
2) A lot of time spent seeing the Lake; it is no Miami Beach, but that's fine.
3) Very nice and shaded residential area (4-8); this was really pleasant.
4) Views of downtown from both the east and the west side.
5) Close up views of both football and baseball stadiums, plus a variety of other museums, public buildings, and a theater area.
6) Gorgeous park area from 14 or so to 20, 21? Really pretty.
7) Hills modest, mostly when climbing up to highway bridges; compensated by downhills elsewhere.
8) Organization was fine. Volunteers at water stops are volunteers. Only wish they'd keep fingers out of the drink. Plenty of stops along the way.
9) Expo easy to find; parking plentiful day of the race on the street.
10) Food at the end was minimal, medal a beauty, but who cares? Really nice and not-boring course. There are always a few dull miles (except possibly Big Sur, but I've not been there...); even NYC has Queens industrial parks; but there were far less dull spots than many of the small-town and country marathons I've tried. Cleveland was interesting and entertaining, and I'll be back."

What a great race!! This marathon impressed me in many ways. The expo was great. The race course is awesome but is a bit hilly in some areas. However, this should not discourage any potential runners because the hills are not very severe. The fans were great at the finish line and support along the course was great. I would highly encourage you to participate in this fine event!

This was my first marathon and I thought the organization and course were excellent. The course is basically flat, though there are several hills early and then late to keep it interesting. There were not a huge number of spectators, but I would have done a bigger city marathon if I was interested in masses of people cheering me on. I liked running on the closed highway early in the race and thought the finishing loop around downtown was great. My only suggestion for improvement is to update the map on the race website for course changes; though the changes weren't that significant, I'm not sure why they published an incorrect map.

I am a veteran marathon runner with experience in both large and small races. The Cleveland Marathon was nicely organized and well run. I was impressed with everything from the expo and the starting/finishing areas to the abundant volunteers and support provided.

The crowd support was a bit light, but I'm not a runner who needs much crowd support as I tend to focus more on the course and task. The course is moderately challenging with some long rolling hills. One could potentially run a PR in Cleveland. However, it's important to plan appropriately for the early hills and those found between miles 23 and 25.

My friends and I felt the finishing medal was one of the best we'd ever seen. The free Asics race shirt is excellent. Overall, this is a race I would definitely recommend for the marathon runner who's looking for a nice, orgranized, smaller race.

I watched my sister and a friend run this one last year and was glad I wasn't running because the weather was wet, cold, and windy. I was so excited to hear that the day was changed to late May. The weather was beautiful, and the course was somewhat challenging, with rolling hills. No cars on the course makes for a big plus - the police did a great job controlling traffic. I passed one fluid station that had no fluid, and one that ran out of sports drink. There were not many spectators, but that is okay with me, as my family was able to get to several spots on the course. All in all, I had a great time and will definitely be back.

I ran Cleveland a few years ago. It was an okay race back then: good enough organization, small number of runners, virtually no expo, not much finish line, ho-hum course.

It has really changed!

This is still a small- to medium-size marathon, but it packs more punch. The 10K is still there and is still a big draw. A half has been addded as well, which attracts more people. The course was changed so that it is hillier (not bad hills, but not flat either) and more challenging, but it is also more scenic. The expo is like that of a typical medium-size race, but was pretty crowded due to the health and beauty expo going on next door. But it was a huge improvement over the expo a few years ago.

The race is still well organized. Seventeen water stops seemed like plenty to me, but some complained since they were not at predictable intervals. Not a lot of spectator support, but there were a few bands out. The finish line was vastly improved. There were plenty of drinks and snacks---even Twinkies.

This is a solid late spring race. The course isn't too tough or too crowded, so it could be a PR course for many runners. Weather wasn't a concern this year (high fifties to mid-sixties), but the late May date could be a problem sometime in the future.

If you haven't done this race in a while, it is worth another look.

BTW: the Hilton had a complimentary marathon breakfast box of bagel, peanut butter, banana and water. It arrived the night before. Nice touch.