ONU is a first-class facility with a nice, soft surface on the indoor track. The track was not crowded and we had plenty of supplies. The free dinner was nice; the on-campus hotel was close and also very nice; the track team and staff was well organized, helpful and very energetic in their support of the runners; and reversing direction every 30 minutes helped a lot to limit the muscle fatigue from the 210 laps. Special thanks to my lap counters, A and K. You rock!

Kudos to RDs Brian, Jason and Regina for putting on a nearly perfect event. Yes, it is 210 laps, but once you get by that fact, it is an extremely well run and wonderfully fun event.

Quite a novel concept: The goody bag actually had goodies in it (long-sleeve tech shirt, gloves, hat, gels) - not just advertising brochures as at other races. Good attention to detail by the officials. There were numerous tables spread throughout the track where runners could pick up a water bottle and place it another table; there was music playing the entire time; there was a live webcast during the event; there was great pre-race communication; etc. Believe it or not, boredom was never an issue (at least not any more than at a "traditional" marathon).

My main worry about this event was not boredom, but how would my knees/ankles/hips hold out (I searched reviews of other indoor marathons, and nobody commented)? Other than a little hip pain during the race, everything was fine. Based on how I feel 24 hours later, I would expect that I might need an extra day to recover (quads are hurting more than normal), but all of the joints feel good.

One word of advice: bring cough drops or candy with you. The humidity level is low inside the sports center, and I found myself with a dry, raspy throat during the run (not sure if anybody else experienced this or not).

Lastly, a heartfelt "thank you" to the fine men and women of the ONU cross-country teams for their support during the race. They counted every lap, came out and ran with the runners, and cheered everybody on for each and every of the 210 laps, despite returning from a meet in the early morning hours. Thank you all so much.

If you are on the fence about running an indoor marathon, give it a try and you will be glad you did.

Ohio Northern University put on this event to help fund the cross-country and track teams. A great thing to be able to run in warmth during the Ohio winter. Aid stations about every 100 feet. And, the most energetic spectators I have seen! Great fun and well done!