Number 19 with a 3:52:13 finish.

This is the prettiest, quietest, most peaceful marathon I've run. I loved it! The marathon is a cross of easy trail running (dirt/gravel roads) and road course, with stairs and ditch thrown in.

Though uncontrollable, the weather was perfect: 47 at the start, sunny day, high of 69. This is the second smallest full marathon I've done, and the organization was great. The host hotel was very runner-friendly by having breakfast starting at 4 a.m. A shuttle stopped at the hotel bound for the start.

There are eateries, and a supermarket a quarter-mile from the hotel. A horse track and casino (if that's your thing) less than a mile from the hotel. The hotel is 10 miles in a straight shot to Shepherdstown.

Shepherdstown is small but full of old architecture, little shops, pubs, and eateries that were a joy to walk in and look around.

The expo has bare-bone essentials, so don't expect a runner's wardrobe.

Volunteers were fabulous!

The course: The first 14 miles are a piece of cake. I was at mile 6 before I knew I was in a marathon; it was that pretty. The next 7 miles, Antietam: humbling, not only because of the hills, but also for its beauty and history! The last 5.2 were the standard run back to town on a main road.

I really didn't have much problems with the hills, but if I had a bad day, they would have destroyed me. Sharp ups and downs. The worst part, for me was AFTER I finished, when the real pain in the legs sets in. There is no flat. Anywhere you go is either up or down.

But a nice shower at the Wellness Center on campus helped. Even if you don't drink, go to the Bavarian to get your pint glass - a very cool and useable item.

Water stations: for the weather, there was enough. If it were hot, probably a couple of more would ease the mind. Most stations had gels too. Port-o-lets? There were enough.

Organization: For the size of all of the events, it was wonderful. Depending on how it grows, there could be future problems.

Spectators: The quietest marathon I've been to. BUT because at least one person said, "Nice job" they get a 5. I'm not a glory hound.
My wife (non-runner) walked the half (3:43 and change), she loved the course, but not the hills.

All in all, my first choice in beauty, 5th choice overall, which isn't too bad after 19 marathons. I'd recommend this marathon to anyone, BUT do your hill work or YOU WILL PAY! Keep up the great job. I will be back some day!!!

This was an absolutely awesome race. It is fairly flat in the first half, with gorgeous scenery along the Potomac River. Then, it gets tough as you start climbing the hills into and through the Antietam Battlefield. These hills ARE tough, but if you plan for them and train for them, they are not so bad. Can't be too bad. I ran my first-ever sub-4-hour marathon in this race: 3 hours and 56 minutes. And the scenery running through the battlefield and the town of Sharpsburg, MD is awesome. It is a small race, which gave it an awesome feel. There were no huge crowds of spectators, but the ones that were there really made you feel good. The locals were VERY supportive in this event. I can't give mark Cucuzzella (the race director) and his team of volunteers enough kudos for their organization and execution of this event. I also made some great new friends while I was running this race. I would DEFINITELY do this race again!

If you like hills, you should definitely run this marathon. If not... unless you're trying to do 50 states, maybe skip West Virginia?

Pros:

-The course was absolutely beautiful - one of the most scenic I have run
-Newton Running was there... they rock
-Small-town feel
-Race finishes at 50-yard line of stadium
-Excellent pre-race pasta dinner
-"Battle Hymn of the Republic" before the race... always nice to hear some 'Merican tunes!
-Oranges! Life-saving oranges!

Cons:

-The hills. I mean, imagine thinking to yourself "it can't possibly get any worse than that," and then looking up with a gaping mouth at the next hill. Yeah, ouch. Switch to survival mode.
-The medal... the race itself is inexpensive, so you get what you pay for, and that's OK (unless you're in it for the bling...).
-The shirt... leaves much, much to be desired.
-Was there beer after the race?
-The finish line at the 50-yard line was very cool, but the descent down to the field after 26.2 miles of running was terrifying.

Great job by the volunteers. All of the credit goes to those folks, without whom races would be impossible. And kudos to Shepherdstown, West Virginia, for being an excellent place to finish a race!

Cannot find enough words to describe how incredible this race is. Yes, the second half of the marathon is hilly - at times, very hilly - but we've been warned. The area is so scenic and beautiful. The volunteers were so amazing and friendly. The water stops were fully stocked with  oranges, GU, bananas, etc. Actually, the stops were better stocked than the finish line area  LOL. Small complaint, but when I finished (in 3:50) there were only oranges and apples at the finish line. Also, the water bottle was really screwed up - as much as you can mess up a water bottle - as you could not drink from it without spilling all over yourself. Also, it was not really easy to find the start area. Medal - tiny, but that's fine; it was made by a local artist and I truly appreciate that. Unique; however, it would be nice if it said, "Marathon" anywhere, or "WV" or the date. Anything. Again, all small stuff.

Everything else was just amazing. Environmentally friendly. The party by the Bavarian Inn was great: Live music, wonderful weather, lots of beer.

This race is very well organized and very scenic, going through 4 national parks. Miles 15-22 are in Antietam National Park, which is VERY hilly, making this race rather challenging. Considering the small size of this marathon, I was impressed by the number of water/Gatorade stops, and it is the only race that I have run so far that allows you to take a hot shower at the end. It would be difficult to set a personal record when running this race, due to the aforementioned hills. However, this race is definitely worth running again.

The first half of the course was nice and flat. The second half was very hilly but scenic. The volunteers did a great job at all the water stops. Plenty of Gatorade, water, and food at ALL the stops. Plenty of pot-a-pots. It was a very pretty run through WV and MD. I stayed at the Comfort Inn in Shepherdstown. It was within walking distance of the shuttle start pick-up and post-race party. There's a drug store, a grocery store, a McDonald's and a pizza place next door. Great location to stay. Liked the shirt.

This was a race run by runners using everything they knew from other marathons - and it shows. The people were so nice and the course beautiful with goo and fruit at every stop. I knew from the elevation chart there was one big hill from 15-16 - yeah right, that hill started about 5 miles of hills worse than San Francisco, thus my comment that they were satanic. We just walked and walked and walked hills that all seemed steeper than the last. The final five miles were mostly downhill, which was nice as we could run and pass people who actually tried to run those hills.

Our group, which has run over 40 marathons combined, all concurred that together these were the steepest series of hills in any race they have run leading to PW's for all.

Still we absolutely loved the race and the people. For all you 50-state aspirants, this should be your WV run; just accept that it will be at least 30 minutes and potentially an hour more than normal.

This was an excellent small marathon. Not enough could be said for the organizers - best I've seen. Example: A runner in our hotel needed a babysitter and the race director himself got one for her. Just a great job to all organizers and course support!

The course was extremely scenic - 10 miles along the Potomac with breathtaking views, 5+ miles through the Antietam battlefield, through historic Harpers Ferry, etc. You'll almost wish you had your camera.

Miles 15-20 are difficult. These are not "rolling hills." There's 3 or 4 hills that probably should have a ski lift. The rest is hilly, but those 3-4 spots on the course are significant to say the least.

This is not to say don't do the course... it's a great experience and tons of fun. Just expect 3 or 4 eye-popping hills, don't expect a PR, and enjoy the wonderful course and fantastic race!

Beautiful run and very well organized! Mostly flat to 15 along the C and O canal through tree covered trails. Good number of hills through Antietam battlefields and through a couple towns. Aid stations had great volunteers and selection of food. Overall great run, especially for only the 2nd year. Fans couldn't reealy get to most of the first 16 miles, but the town of Sharpsburg had almost no one on the streets. Great folks when you met them in their shops, but the pasta dinner was a bust: Generic noodles, sauce, salad, and bread. They ran out of everything and it was about 20 minutes before they resupplied. No one seemed too concerned and didn't bother communicating that food was on the way or apologizing for running out. Shepherdstown seemed to have several cute places to eat with atmosphere and similar prices. I don't think the dinner was run by the race directly.

This is the MOST beautiful run in which I have participated. Loved the course. Fairly flat in the first half, and then rolling/hilly out of the C&O Canal and through Antietam. Harper's Ferry and Antietam are overwhelming in their beauty. The volunteer support was EXCELLENT, and I liked the concern for composting and recycling throughout the run. While the start and finish were not in the same place, the organizers did a good job of shuttling people back to the start.